cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- May 25, 2006





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- May 25, 2006
Posted by CN Staff on May 25, 2006 at 14:16:00 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 
Santa Cruz Voters To Decide Lowest Pot Priority OrdinanceMay 25, 2006 - Santa Cruz, CA, USASanta Cruz, CA: Santa Cruz officials this week confirmed that a municipal initiative that seeks to make marijuana law enforcement the city's "lowest priority" has been certified to appear on the November 2006 ballot.
The measure, sponsored by Santa Cruz Citizens for Responsible Marijuana Policy, directs Santa Cruz police to make activities related to the investigation, citation, and/or arrest of adult cannabis users their lowest priority. It would also appoint a Community Oversight Committee to monitor police activity as it pertains to marijuana law enforcement. Seattle voters passed a similar proposal in 2003, which has led to a 75 percent reduction in citywide marijuana arrests.According to the results of a November 2005 city poll, 85 percent of Santa Cruz voters oppose criminalizing adults who use cannabis.If passed, the Santa Cruz initiative would also demand city officials express public support for regulating cannabis as a legally taxed commodity. Oakland voters approved a similar proposal in 2004.Proponents are gathering signatures in support of similar city initiatives in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood in hopes of gaining support for a potential statewide measure in 2008.For more information, please visit: http://www.taxandregulate.org/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6915THC Analog Suppresses Pain, Bladder Over-Activity From Interstitial Cystitis, Study Says May 25, 2006 - Atlanta, GA, USAAtlanta, GA: Administration of a synthetic, structural derivative of THC reduces bladder inflammation and bladder over-activity in animals, according to preclinical findings presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.Rats administered the THC analog IP 751 experienced reduced irritation and pain in the bladder associated with interstitial cystitis (IC), investigators reported. Interstitial cystitis is a chronic pelvic pain disorder that affects an estimated 700,000 Americans, mostly women.Previous preclinical research has demonstrated cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system to play a potential role in the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders, such as Crohn's Disease and colitis, while clinical trials of natural cannabis extracts have demonstrated cannabis to dramatically reduce incontinence associated with Multiple Sclerosis.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6916Cannabis Smoking Not Linked To Lung Cancer, Case-Control Study Says May 24, 2006 - San Diego, CA, USASan Diego, CA: Smoking cannabis, even long-term, is not positively associated with increased incidence of lung-cancer, according to the findings of the largest population-based case-control study performed to date. Lead investigator Donald Tashkin of the David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, at the University of California-Los Angeles, presented the results this week at the 2006 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.Investigators assessed the possible association between cannabis use and the risk of lung cancer in middle-aged adults (ages 18-59) living in Los Angeles. Researchers conducted interviews with 611 subjects with lung cancer and 1,040 controls matched for age, gender and neighborhood. Data was collected on lifetime marijuana use, as well as subjects' use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, diet, occupation, and family history of cancer. Investigators used a logistical regression model to estimate the effect of cannabis smoking on lung cancer risk, adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and cumulative tobacco smoking and alcohol use."We did not observe a positive association of marijuana use -- even heavy long-term use -- with lung cancer, controlling for tobacco smoking and other potential cofounders," investigators concluded. Their data further revealed that one subset of moderate lifetime users (10-Investigators also did not report a positive association between cannabis use and increased incidence of upper aerodigestive tract (UAT) cancers. The five-year trial was sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano said that Tashkin's findings reaffirm the results of prior case-control studies dismissing a causal link between cannabis use and certain types of lung and upper aerodigestive tract (UAT) cancers. These include: a 2001 John Hopkins University hospital-based case-control study that found neither "lifetime use" nor "ever use" of cannabis were associated with head, neck or lung cancer in younger adults; a 2004 University of Washington case-control study that found "no association" between cannabis use and incidents of oral cancer, regardless of how long, how much or how often individuals had used it; and a 1997 Kaiser Permanente retrospective cohort study that found that cannabis use was not associated with increased risks of developing tobacco-use related cancers of the lung and upper aerodigestive tract or other cancers in men and women who used marijuana but did not smoke tobacco."The most remarkable aspect of this study is that its findings are, in fact, unremarkable," Armentano said. "As has been previously reported by the US Institute of Medicine and others, there is no conclusive evidence that marijuana causes cancer in humans, including those cancers generally related to tobacco use."Armentano suggested that cannabis consumers who desire the rapid onset of action associated with inhalation but who are concerned about the potential harms of noxious smoke can dramatically cut down on their intake of carcinogenic compounds by engaging in vaporization rather than smoking.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Additional information on cannabis and cancer is available in NORML's report, "Cannabis Smoke and Cancer: Assessing the Risk," available online at:http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6891DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6912Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: May 25, 2006Copyright: 2006 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on May 28, 2006 at 07:56:41 PT
Chicago Tribune: Now He's 64
For Paul McCartney, 'many years from now' is next month, and it's time to wonder: Has art become life?By Mark Caro, Tribune Entertainment ReporterPublished May 28, 2006He's not losing his hair, though color seems to be an issue.He does have grandchildren, though no Vera, Chuck or Dave.He has been known to do a little gardening work, "digging the weed," so to speak. In fact, one of his multiple marijuana busts was for growing the stuff on his Scotland farm back in the early '70s.Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/eh6sl
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Comment #40 posted by whig on May 27, 2006 at 22:40:47 PT
BGreen
Some movies you just feel dumber after you watch.Oh well.
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Comment #39 posted by BGreen on May 27, 2006 at 21:33:42 PT
Watcheth thine movie with thanksgiving
and I shall comsumeth with moderation, brother whig.In fact, I'm consumething right now. :-)The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #38 posted by whig on May 27, 2006 at 21:12:51 PT
BGreen
Be moderate, then, and do nothing to excess. But the admonishment is well taken.Bom ShankarI think I will go and do something with my time to enlighten my mind, and learn new ideas about the way the world is and how it shall be. I will go and watch "Half-Baked."Have a nice holiday, y'all.
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Comment #37 posted by BGreen on May 27, 2006 at 21:07:29 PT
Drunkards/Gluttons
These two words are used together in Proverbs, Matthew and Luke, so gluttony is not something that is encouraged.The health reasons for avoiding both activities are well known and obvious.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #36 posted by BGreen on May 27, 2006 at 20:56:22 PT
How dare you challenge my great knowledge?
LOLOK, that's correct, but look what was written:NIV Proverbs 23:1-2 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.Geesh, that doesn't seem to be encouraging overeating.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #35 posted by whig on May 27, 2006 at 20:22:36 PT
BGreen
I don't think gluttony is a biblical injunction either, for what it's worth. That and the rest of the "seven deadly sins" came along as a later part of Catholic doctrine.Not that I'm disagreeing with your point, but if we're going to be fair we have to be as accurate as we can.
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Comment #34 posted by ekim on May 27, 2006 at 16:25:36 PT
happy days everyone
Saturday, May 27, 2006 Nall Y'all makes a differenceCheck out Alabama gubernatorial candidate Loretta Nall's story of her opportunity to speak to The National Coalition of 100 Black Women. What a wonderful moment she had.
 
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/Jun 1 06 Stanford University: Effective Public Speaking 07:30 PM James Anthony Stanford California USA 
 Speaker James Anthony will meet with students of the E103 Effective Public Speaking Class to introduce LEAP, discuss its mission to end the failed war on drugs and to discuss various drug related and LEAP mission topics. Location: Stanford University, Room TBD 
http://leap.cc/events/ 
Join us at the Marijuana Policy Project’s Awards Gala
in New York City 
 
Host Committee
http://mpp.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=167524
American Civil Liberties Union
John Perry Barlow
Steven Blush
Richard Brookhiser
U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr.
Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP
U.S. Rep. Sam Farr
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank
Nick Gillespie, Editor-in-Chief, Reason magazine
Hon. Deborah J. Glick
Hon. Richard N. Gottfried
Alex and Allyson Grey
Hon. Liz Krueger
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Hon. John W. Lavelle
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee
Vince Marrone
Carlo McCormick
Hon. John J. McEneny
U.S. Rep. George Miller
Senator Velmanette Montgomery
Mary-Louise Parker
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne
Nathan Riley
Tim Robbins
U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez
Susan Sarandon
Valerie Vande Panne
U.S. Rep. Pete Stark
Montel Williams 
 
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Comment #33 posted by BGreen on May 27, 2006 at 16:21:06 PT
Gluttony: One of the 7 deadly sins
But the fake "christians" totally ignore the biblical warnings of the sin of gluttony, and instead choose to attack cannabis possession and use as a "sin punishable by death," even though it isn't mentioned a single time in their (or anybodies) Bible.I am personally disgusted at these displays of blatant gluttony disguised as contests. I can't stand the commercials for Hardie's which show people smacking and slurping and talking with their mouths full, once again glorifying a gluttonous misuse of food.As far as I'm concerned, most of those attacking us are in complete and total disobedience to God, and it is our duty to expose their evil ways at every chance we get.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #32 posted by Max Flowers on May 27, 2006 at 15:00:35 PT
My "liberal thought for the day" (yes, OT)
Just thought I'd share something on my mind at the moment after being reminded of it by a newspaper article. An American "cultural phenomenon" that I find very shameful is this moronic activity we call "competetive eating." With all the people in this world, and even in this country, who are desperate for food, it seems amazingly insensitive and disgusting that we have "eating competitions" where people gorge themselves on 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes (as one example that I just read about in the paper) just to be able to say they are the "best" at such displays of gluttony. Why can't these so-called competitors be more fulfilled by the act of taking their hundreds of hot dogs and feeding scores of needy people? It's a near-criminal waste of food for a single person to stuff himself sick for what is basically a joke when there are people to whom a single hot dog would make the difference between hours of gnawing, debilitating hunger, and not experiencing such. And the wrongness of it is compounded by the fact that it is multiplied by 10 or 20 when you factor in all the people doing it in each pigging contest.Why do I have to be the one to point out this obvious inequity? Why isn't it pointed out by so many people that the entire "sport" of "competitive eating" is shamed out of existence? Am I just being too bleeding-heart? If I am un-American for denouncing this repulsive, greedy activity, then call me un-American. 
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on May 26, 2006 at 17:46:46 PT
So true. OverwhelmSam.
So true. I don't now how we, just the people, individual free people, are ever going to wrest control of our government from corporation and industry, but it has to be done. It has to be. Life, hope, and freedom are doomed if we don't. 
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Comment #30 posted by OverwhelmSam on May 26, 2006 at 15:28:18 PT
People Ignore The Law
Interesting that pot smokers are subject to all kinds of sanctions and prejudice for possession of pot. If you copy movies the FBI can arrest you and send you to jail for 5 years plus a $250,000 fine. Gee, half the people I know rent and burn movies. How come the FBI is not kicking in these criminals doors and taking their houses? We need to get big business out of government. Currently, our Senators and Representatives are bought and paid for. It's time to start firing some politicians.
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on May 26, 2006 at 10:48:54 PT
Music That Matters Festival June 2-4
The 4th Annual California Music That Matters Festival held June 2, 3, and 4, 2006, is a 3-day family music and camping festival on the confluence of the Yuba and Feather Rivers at the Mervyns Riverfront Pavilion in Marysville and features 28 bands, a Health Fair and Education forum, Community Tent, Special Kids Entertainment Arena, International Arts and Crafts Vendors, Food Vendors and special guest speakers. Complete Article: http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_36550.shtmlhttp://www.camusicthatmatters.org/
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Comment #28 posted by afterburner on May 26, 2006 at 07:07:16 PT
International Drug Enforcement Counter Symposium
Re: International Drug Enforcement Counter Symposium There are a couple good audio clips from the conference at...
http://www.drugtruth.net/ Look for these shows...Century of Lies
 05/12/06 Canadian Assoc. of Reform Organization (Anti DEA) Conference in Montreal with Barrister Kirk Tousaw, Diane Riley of CFDP and Terry Nelson of LEAP 
MP3: http://www.drugtruth.net/cbaudio06/COL_051206.mp3Cultural Baggage
 5/19/06 Canadian Assoc. of Reform Organization II (Anti DEA) Conference with BC judge Jerry Paradis, Argentinean Judge Martin Vasquez Acunas, former police Chief Jerry Cameron of LEAP + Black Perspective on the drug war + Drug War Name Contest Winner 
MP3: http://www.drugtruth.net/cbaudio06/FDBCB_051906.mp3Thanks to Frank Discussion.
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Comment #27 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 21:55:14 PT
Very interesting thought, Afterburner.
"I'm wondering if a "cannabinoid deficiency" may contribute to the onset of schizophrenia, rather than the conventional prohibitionist myth that cannabis *causes* schizophrenia."Very interesting. Maybe researchers will one day be really able to look into it.
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Comment #26 posted by afterburner on May 25, 2006 at 21:47:06 PT
Hope
"I'm cannabinoid deprived. I didn't even get human mother's milk as a newborn, which is the only other natural source of cannabinoids, if I understand it correctly."I consider cannabis to be a mild psychedelic, especially hashish, based on personal experience and research. I know that not everyone agrees with my opinion. However, consider that the term psychedelic (mind manifesting) was coined in contrast to another descriptive term psychotomimetic (mimicking psychosis). Psychedelic is more in line with human potential psychology, a newer branch of the field. Psychotomimetic is more in line with the origins of psychology, namely abnormal psychology, which has tended to dominate the field.I had a flash of insight when you mentioned being "cannabinoid deprived." I have a relative who is most likely "cannabinoid deprived" as well. This person was allergic to milk and was nurtured on formula. This relative once self-medicated with cannabis. At one point this person was diagnosed as schizophrenic. Persecution by the almighty federal government made obtaining and medicating with cannabis too difficult. Switching to alcohol and tobacco, this individual became more deranged of thought and more physically ill.I'm wondering if a "cannabinoid deficiency" may contribute to the onset of schizophrenia, rather than the conventional prohibitionist myth that cannabis *causes* schizophrenia. Other relatives are convinced of the truth of this prohibitionist myth. They *blame cannabis* [my little wordplay on the song "blame Canada"]."Save lives! Legalize!"
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Comment #25 posted by John Tyler on May 25, 2006 at 19:29:20 PT
OT for runderwo
The anti cannabis ad you were interested in seeing was in last sunday's (5/21/2006) Parade mag. insert on page 26. It was also in the 5/15 and 5/18 edition (first section) of the Washington Post. I also saw it in some news magazine, but I don't remember which one. They have been spending some money on it.
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 19:27:45 PT
You're right.
But the glossing over gets more difficult for them all the time.
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Comment #23 posted by john wayne on May 25, 2006 at 19:22:14 PT
the wonder of it all
Gee...I wonder if it will pass?I wonder if the cops will complain?I wonder if the politicians will stick their head in the sand again?These things I wonder....NOT!
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:27:12 PT
OOOOH....Stamps floor!
You got me again!I'm being told to "Make that dust fly with that broom, you won't rock n roll no more!" I don't want to do that.:0)I must resist. Back later.
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:25:33 PT
Believe me...
was what I meant to say. Am I incogent? Must be. Messing up. Rushing. Too many irons in the fire to be sitting at this computer even if I do need a break. I'm sitting here too long and I don't think this is the first cigarette I've had since I first sat down.Fascinating news and comments.Company coming. Busy Busy...or I should be.heart heart heart:0)
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Comment #20 posted by mayan on May 25, 2006 at 18:23:26 PT
They're Terrified!
The pharmaceutical industry is terrified that the masses are discovering all of the diseases and ailments that cannabis can treat! For years they've been bribing the government to say that cannabis has no medicinal value but now they're producing pharmaceuticals which contain WHOLE CANNABIS EXTRACTS!!! They know the cat's escaped the bag and are now trying to sew a bag around the cat. Good luck! The cannabis plant will be the medicine and material of this still young millenium. All I can say to the prohibitionists is get over it because you've already lost!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for US Senate, today called for a new, independent investigation of the 9/11 attacks:
http://www.gp.org/press/states/ny_2006_05_25.shtmlFirst Amendment Assassins: Media assaults on 911 Truth Movement: 
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/may2006/250506_b_Assassins.htmGathering's focus June 2-4 is 9/11 events, their aftermath:
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/ni/05-25-06-921517.html9/11 & The Neo-Con Agenda:
http://69.93.122.250/%7Eamerican/Shout Out! 
http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2006/05/shout-out.html  
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on May 25, 2006 at 18:21:09 PT
News Article on Santa Cruz MJ Initiative from KTVU
Santa Cruz Pot Initiative Headed For November Ballot*** May 25, 2006SANTA CRUZ -- An initiative that would make marijuana offenses the lowest priority for police in Santa Cruz has officially qualified for the November ballot, the Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy announced Thursday, a day after the county clerk finished counting the more than 6,000 signatures the group filed in April.The initiative needed 3,423 signatures of registered voters to come before voters."Voters in Santa Cruz are tired of the failed and immoral federal war on drugs," Andrea Tischler, chair of Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy, said in a statement released today. "Let's move to a more reasonable marijuana policy, and make sure that our police and courts are not wasting their time and resources arresting and prosecuting nonviolent marijuana offenders. By passing this initiative, Santa Cruz can be a beacon of light showing the way to a more sensible policy that is compatible with the values of the majority of citizens."According to the group, a telephone survey of 409 registered county voters conducted by opinion and research firm Evans/McDonough Co. in November found that 70 percent of Santa Cruz voters think police should treat adult marijuana transgressions as a low priority.The same poll found that 85 percent of voters do not think marijuana users should go to prison, and 78 percent said marijuana should be legalized for adult use and sold "through licensed businesses rather than street dealers," according to the survey.By adopting the city policy, which would also support a "tax and regulate" approach to marijuana use, advocates hope the grassroots effort will eventually balloon into a statewide initiative, making marijuana purchases similar to buying alcohol or tobacco.If approved by voters, the policy would also create a seven-member oversight committee, comprised of City Council appointees, two Santa Cruz County district attorney representatives and a police officer. The oversight committee would track marijuana arrests and address grievances brought to the committee by citizens. It would be up to the City Council to take action if the committee finds that the Police Department is not abiding by the policy.The city ordinance would conflict with state law, which allows medical marijuana use only, and federal law, which prohibits marijuana use for any purpose.The policy would not protect minors smoking marijuana, individuals selling marijuana to minors, use in public places or driving under the influence. Copyright 2006 by KTVU.com and Bay City Newshttp://www.ktvu.com/news/9276957/detail.html
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:18:03 PT
It's amazing I spelled it right the first time.
Believe, I seldom use the word, "Cogent". Don't know that I have ever used the word...but dang...you know it when you see it.
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:16:21 PT
:0)  Nope
Sorry. The word for Roger's work is COGENT. Keep wanting to put a j in it now for some reason. It's the word that came to my mind and I spelled it right...the first time.Roger's letter is cogent, big time, though...(even if I'm not)*smile*
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:13:25 PT
Cojent?
Very.
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:11:06 PT
Roger's work
Sharp. Very sharp. Sharp edge. Cogent. Undeniable facts. Cuts deep. Goes for the kill. Touche, Roger! You must be inspired!
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 18:06:43 PT
Roger Christie...Sorry I didn't get around 
to reading this until now.I salute you, Man!http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?39b98c45-6a17-4cd1-9296-8d300eae5538
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Comment #13 posted by global_warming on May 25, 2006 at 17:51:51 PT
can 'we accept
Our place in this 'universe?1Jo 5:8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood--and these three are in agreement. 1Jo 5:9 If we accept the testimony of men, God's testimony is greater, because it is God's testimony that He has given about His Son. Our Son, in this world
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Comment #12 posted by whig on May 25, 2006 at 17:32:44 PT
Hope
There is much ignorance among the general public about this issue. Many people have been given false information for many decades and there is a reluctance to doubt everything one has been taught from an early age, everything which one has seen on the news, everything which one has believed since childhood, about cannabis or anything else.But among those who are responsible for policy, among those who push prohibition on the people, among those who have studied the science and suppressed the facts for the sake of their agenda -- there can be no claim of ignorance. There can be no imagining that they are anything but knowing purveyors of lies.
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 17:27:16 PT
Sam
I certainly believed the med patients, but it's another thing altogether to experience it. Like I said, I was impressed. And something else about that particular headache.It's far from the first time it has wakened me during the night and it's sometime completely intractable, even with pharmaceuticals, coffee, massage, and heat. Like you said...it was an amazing and enlightening experience. I know a young parapalegic that cannabis will stop their muscle spasms almost instantly. It's wonderful...except that they can't have it in this state, because of the laws and "people" would think they were a "pothead" or a "druggie" or a "doper". So they continue to suffer from the hideously powerful spasms, when there is a substance that helps them ease and won't hurt them and that they could probably grow, themselves, for a small percentage of the costs of expensive pharmaceutical anti-spasmodics. But, it is "prohibited" to the people to possess that plant or plant material.*sigh* It just doesn't seem right to me. I cannot understand a person who can maintain his prohibitionist zeal knowing these things. Oh yeah...he just tells himself or she just tells herself, that the patients and their caregivers are lying. "Lying Scum" of some sort, sometimes...even. Yeah...that's their "ticket" to maintaining their god awful zeal for prohibition. That and the income enhancement. Oh..and the power over others, lesser "others", to their minds.It's not right. It's not right at all.
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Comment #10 posted by sam adams on May 25, 2006 at 16:52:38 PT
medals
EJ, great idea - Congressional medal of honor. We could start with Todd Mcormick. The sad part is that many of those deserving medals have been forced to flee the country.  Or they're dead. I'm sure they could still get the medal posthumously.Hope, your story reminds me of a friend who got gout in his foot (from heavy drinking). I remember we blazed up a huge joint in a big group before a concert.  10 mintes later, he said "the pain in my toe is COMPLETELY gone". For the first time in weeks. I think many sick people are aware of medical MJ and desperately want to try it, even those who have never smoked it.  Sadly, there aren't enough evil "drug dealers" to go around.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 16:47:51 PT
Woke up forty five minutes later in pain again
I get about two hours relief from pharmaceuticals. I got about an hour's relief with a few puffs of rather mediocre pot. I got relief, cannabinoids, anti-oxidants, and didn't have to put a strain on my liver, as well.It was ALL good.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 16:42:36 PT
Sam comment 6
Right on!
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on May 25, 2006 at 16:40:05 PT
   EJ
Odd that you should mention that. Just today I was thinking about the fact that I believed using cannabis had an extremely positive effect on the seeming health of my bladder and kidneys. It seemed liked a cleansing diuretic. Smoking it! I never told anyone that. But I've definitely thought it. Another time, the pain relieving qualities of cannabis were proven to me...powerfully.I was visiting someone...spent the night...strange bed...bad neck.....horrible colossal huge unbearable horrible headache neck ache and shoulder ache.I woke up whimpering. My host had nothing but aspirin or aspirin containing products in his country house. I'm allergic to aspirin. It was storming. (Why I stayed.) I was hurting too badly to be able to drive and my host was totally night blind. I made hot strong coffee...which can help headaches...friend heated a rice bag for me...and I was able to take a few puffs of the so called, "non medicinal", herb, which he happened to have. It was not easy or funnish like it usually was, if I smoked. I hurt to0 bad to purse and draw (that sounds funny). It was a painful struggle to do so. At the time, I thought of primitive peoples. It would have been nice if someone had some smoking in a large bowl...not a pipe bowl...and waved it under my nose or fanned it to me or just let me breathe over it. Boy was I sick with pain. Sick. Hysterical. It was bad. Anyway...I got a few puffs down. I drank the coffee...although I thought, hoplessly, and used the heated rice bag (it seemed a comfort).After a bit of more whimpering and rocking and crying, the pain decreased magnificently...it became more bearable, my neck and shoulders relaxed some.I went back to bed and to sleep. Woke up forty five minutes later in pain again. Did the same routine...but didn't go back to that bed and pillow and just sat up and did the same things...got a burn from the rice bag...almost a serious burn, drank coffee, and had a couple of puffs every thirty minutes or so. Survived. It was a bad one...and I had survived it without a pharmaceutical.Daylight...I got some Tylenol and Advil....but it was, in a way, nearly, worth it, to have suffered, to then possess the knowledge, first hand, that it is a stunningly good and non druggy (that sounds funny, too) pain controller. I was impressed and extremely thankful. That's still not why I do this though. It's because of the persecution, the prisoners, the lives lost.I'm cannabinoid deprived. I didn't even get human mother's milk as a newborn, which is the only other natural source of cannabinoids, if I understand it correctly. :0(But not sad about the fact that the good properties of the wonderful cannabis plant are finally being revealed to larger masses of the people, albeit, apparently, very, very reluctantly.
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Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on May 25, 2006 at 16:39:30 PT
yes, another one
EJ, glad to hear the cannabis is helping. I also had a chronic health problem fixed nearly 100% by using cannabis, I don't want to go into too much detail, but I was able to completely quit taking steroids & 2 other prescription meds, that was, hmmmm, about 15 years ago now?Once this has happened to you, you understand why medical marijuana and medical MJ activists have been driving the entire MJ reform movement. It's because experiencing that "Eureka" moment changes you for life.First, you are joyful because you've discovered something that cures you. Then, bewilderment and wonder - something that was right there all along was your cure, and you never knew. You might have even avoided the cannabis because, with all that nasty propaganda, you thought it might make your health problem even worse.The final stage is, of course, outrage. Terrible, terrible, outrage. You realize how many thousands of people die each year from your health problem, with no one to tell them about cannabis. No one to provide it for them.You realize that you and all your doctors have been enveloped in a "cancerous tissue of lies" for your entire life (thanks Bill Buckley). This is the "santa clause" part. You start to look around and wonder what else they've been lying to you about.  You start to realize that the dishonesty and hypocrisy are at the root of most problems facing the US today.I don't know where the process ends! Recently I saw that only 4% of non-fatal shootings in my city were solved by the police last year; and only 25% of fatal shootings resulted in arrest. Yet the crusade against cannabis continues unabated. You wonder what would happen at your job if you completed 4% of the work.
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Comment #5 posted by global_warming on May 25, 2006 at 16:26:28 PT
Nice,,Ej
After that point, my urologist told me he didn't have anything more to offer me, and went back to his "whore" profitable business of penile implants."Glad to hear that you are still amongst the living, in this hellish world, and that you have found some remedy for your flesh and body.
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Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on May 25, 2006 at 15:52:14 PT
If I were President
I would give a medal to anyone who has ever grown pot, whether commercially or medical.It's only because of the recreational users and commercial growers that medical grade cannabis was there ready for all the poor sick people abandoned by traditional medicine to try.
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on May 25, 2006 at 15:49:47 PT
I have been vindicated by science
Interstitial cystitis is not what's officially on my doctor's letter but it felt like an immensely happy coinicidence that in addition to the problem that is on my doctor's letter, my interstitial cystitis went away after I started using medical marijuana.IC is a really nasty thing to have. It really ruins your life and the life of whoever shares your bed, because you get up every twenty minutes to pee and nothing comes out and it hurts instead.That's no way to live. It seems like such an inncuous, silly thing -- but really, a lot of people have decided to have their bladders removed rather than live like that.Thank God I found cannabis before I got to that point of desperation.I had my bladder electro-cauterized once. It was a miserable procedure -- they make you drink water until your bladder is filled to bursting, then they stick in an electrode and zap any open wounds they see.It worked, but the effects only lasted a few months.After that point, my urologist told me he didn't have anything more to offer me, and went back to his more profitable business of penile implants.I was left to fend for myself. I don't know what i would have done if someone hadn't offered me a joint one day and I accepted.
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Comment #2 posted by global_warming on May 25, 2006 at 15:11:51 PT
my attitude
is tainted by another article I read about santa cruz.."Minimum wage and marijuana initiatives make it on the ballot"http://tinyurl.com/n7l9qFrom that article I quote,.."In Santa Cruz, marijuana is very prolific. It plays some factor in a number of crimes," police Lt. Steve Clark said. "It's dangerous when you come up with something to criminalize law enforcement officers for enforcing the law."We'd end up having to defend ourselves for what we're sworn to do."Imagine that, "sworn" to put people in a cage for using a plant, talk about the ultimate in focused barbarity, good little soldier, you are doing your job, don't listen to those little voices in your brain, you are doing the right thing, you are saving the human race from that thing that belongs to the devil, that thing that is against the law, because it is against the law..
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on May 25, 2006 at 14:41:45 PT
those poor
policemen in santa cruz, I bet this new law just pulls them apart...In the news, cmon New York.. http://tinyurl.com/qcr2j"New York Medical Marijuana Bill Sails Through Assembly Health Committee"
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