Salem-News.com Medical Marijuana

On Dec. 12th I posted PTSD: Medical Marijuana Clinical Studies Confirm Benefits. The Clinical Studies were done in Israel and possibly are the first clinically controlled reports. Their studies were directed at the action of Cannabis on adverse memory problems which is the essence of PTSD.

I wrote a weird story about this dude a couple of weeks ago. I was so intrigued by his ignorant arrogance regarding the benefits of Marijuana as medicine that I “hit the computer” to see what he was about. I was astonished at how bigoted he was about the whole subject. My reference is a copy of his speech to the California Police Chiefs Association on March 4, 2010. The title of the article in celebstoner.com is Gil Kerlikowske’s Reefer Madness which seems singularly appropriate. I will pass on some of his words of “wisdom” transmitted to the Chiefs of Police...

Marijuana use by 8th, 10th and 12th grade students increased again in 2011, with more American teenagers now using marijuana for the fourth year in a row, according to numbers released today by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan as part of the annual Monitoring the Future survey. In 2011, a lightly larger percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the last 30 days, while slightly less had used alcohol.

West Coast Leaf- winter edition, just published the results of a two-year clinical trial about cannabis for PTSD comparing about 40 victims receiving cannabis with about 40 who did not. This work was done at Bat-Yam in Israel and reported at the Cannabinoid Conference 2011 in Bonn, Germany. The Israeli Army has been using cannabis successfully for its soldiers for since it was officially announced by the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) but this seems to be the first clinically controlled study.

This headline will come as a violent surprise to 300 million Americans. This story was prompted by an article by Paul Armenteno of NORML, from a Washington Post exchange by Tennessee Congressman Steven Cohen, who wants the Obama Administration to change cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II. And Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, who responded by stating that the government, "ardently supports medical marijuana research".

Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced she filed a petition with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration asking the agency to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug, which will allow its use for treatment – prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacists. Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I-RI) also signed the petition. The petition will require the Federal Drug Administration to conduct a new scientific review and analysis of recent advances in Cannabis research since the last time the FDA reviewed the matter in 2006.

The staffer is Rafael Lemaitre who is associate director of the office of National Drug Control Policy. The New York Times has a motto, 'All the news that's fit to print'. This may be the first time of such a colossal goof.

Don't question me yet, but take a read about it. The TV says that 9.2 percent of returning veterans can't find work. (Atrocity #1) But it also says that for veterans 20 and under, 20% of them cannot find work (atrocity #2). The TV says veterans learn marketable skills in the service (atrocity #3).

I am completely flummoxed by the complete u-turn made by our president regarding medical marijuana. Nadelman in the NY Times on 7 November points the artillery and fires, what's going on? In October 2009 he defended the use of medical marijuana and he promised his smoking public that he "would not use the justice department resources to override state laws on the issue". I can not imagine that being a flat-out lie but he surely has some answering to do.

The Oregonian newspaper and its continual reports of malfeasance amaze me. The latest headline report in the Oregonian states, Prescriptions May Play Role in Opioid Abuse by Joe Rojas-Burke. In the first place, opioids such as Demeral, Fentanyl, Methadone etc., are not derived from opium but act like it.

A petition to allow the use of medical marijuana for veterans suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is something readers can quickly sign and show their support for those who serve their country. The Veterans Administration fails to recognize the importance of this natural herb which has never caused a human death, instead forcing veterans to take a number of addicting drugs that in many cases, turn them into vegetables.

For enthusiasts, it’s all about cementing the power of the industrial hemp movement right into people’s homes. You might ask, squinting one eye, and jutting forward to re-read...Hempcrete? Say what! When it comes to hemp, the ranges of uses (including food, clothing, rope, paper, soap, cosmetics, and even fuel) are well-known. One not so readily understood usage, is hemp as a building material, and the science behind hemp composites.

I presume I’m preaching to the choir, but I will be preaching anyhow. The New York Times, my favorite source of subject material, is a gold mine of really weird stuff. On Tuesday Oct 11 2011 they published "States Adding Drug Tests Hurdles for Welfare".

A U.S. prosecutor says the federal government will soon target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets in Southern California that allow the advertisement of medical marijuana dispensaries. The move is seen as a further escalation of the Obama administration's renewed war on the medical marijuana industry. The motives of one prosecutor are murky at best.

The Times has had many articles about this subject but most usually commend the police for arresting sick users of this valuable medicine or casual one stick smokers. It seems the police would have more important useful tasks to account for their $70,000 per year salaries.

With jobs harder and harder to come by, many people have had to redirect their personal convictions and cave in to the demand for pre-employment drug testing. Medical marijuana patients are not excluded from this, though they are legal users. The controversy behind this deviation from justice is an ongoing challenge of our right to privacy under the Bill of Rights, and no doubt this error will be corrected in the near future.

I can't say that I am amused by the continuing blather erupted by Dr./Gen. Barry McCaffrey about PTSD and also drugs when he was interviewed by Mike Francis of the Oregonian 28 Sept. 2011. He proved when he was drug czar in the White House a few years ago that he didn't know anything factual about marijuana and drug abuse and he repeated showing his ignorance in this article.

The Marijuana positive urine test has been used for years to fine and incarcerate Marijuana users and even non-users who happened to be in the same room with a Marijuana party. If a person inhales Marijuana fumes directly by smoking or inhaling vaporized fumes from a vaporizer, the “medicine” will go directly through the lungs and into the blood stream. If a person is in the same room with smokers, he will also inhale “side smoke” which will end up the same way.

We petition the Obama administration to... Allow United States Disabled Military Veterans access to medical marijuana to treat their PTSD. Modern research has proven what disabled Veterans have known for a very long time, Cannabis is an effective medicine. Veterans from the time of the United States Revolution through World War I had legal access to cannabis but in 1942 due to the efforts of a handful of powerful men cannabis was removed from the United States Formulary.

To admit that The Oregonian would print BEER BONG OK, NOT BONG HITS as an OPED article on the editorial page Sunday, September 19, 2011 was like an electric shock. Maybe some of their editors, reporters or other stringers have severe pain problems or just want to enjoy the effects of an excellent tranquillizer after an arduous days work instead of a nasty old glass of beer or wine.