Sativex is available now in 22 countries including Australia
via what is known as named patient
supply. GW Pharmaceuticals are not allowed to promote this,
so you are not going to see any advertisements or read about
it in newspapers.
Under this procedure, a patient's doctor writes a prescription
for Sativex that is sent to GW Pharmaceuticals in the UK. In
countries that allow this, the material is then sent directly
to the patient. The process begins with the doctor sending an
enquiry to:
Dr. Robert J. Melamede Ph.D. Chairman of the Biology
Department of the University of Colorado:
"The Cannabinoid System has been around for over 600 million
years. Before the Dinosaurs. The Cannabinoid System is continuously
evolutioning and has been retained by all new species. Food
and feeding is at the heart of the Cannabinoid System."
More here!
Long term cannabis use by patients with schizophrenia
is associated with enhanced cognitive functioning, with both
frequency and recency of use linked to better neuropsychological
performance, conclude Australian researchers. (1st November
2007)
"Logistic regression analysis revealed that more patients
with lifetime cannabis abuse/dependence performed better on
the psychomotor speed component than those without lifetime
abuse/dependence. Frequency and recency of cannabis use were
associated with better performance, particularly on the attention/processing
speed and executive function domains." While acknowledging
the issues around cannabis use in schizophrenia patients, the
team concludes in the journal Schizophrenia Research: 'In essence,
the findings of this study suggest that cannabinoids, via their
agonistic effects on cannabinoid receptors in the forebrain,
may have a potentially useful role in the treatment of high-order
cognitive processes known to be impaired in schizophrenia."
Minnesota Medical Marijuana Ads urging Governor Pawlenty
not to veto a passed Bill.
Medical Cannabis Information
Be sure to Bookmark the Hemp Embassy Website
as many of these links take you offsite.
US Patent No.6630507 was issued on 7 October 2003. It has been
kept hidden for five years, and it has only been the assiduous
work of people trying to get marijuana legalised for medical
use that has uncovered this. The application went in on 2 February
2001. Here is the abstract:
"Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties,
unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property
makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of
a wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic,
age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids
are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants,
for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic
insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative
diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and
HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil,
are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity
that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses
useful in the method of the present in vention. A particular
disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants
is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected
from the group consisting of H, CH3 and COCH3."
The inventors—and I dislike that word because it is like
a version of plant-variety rights—are: Hampson, Aidan
J.; Axelrod, Julius; and, Grimaldi, Maurizio. The assignee is
the United States of America, as represented by the Department
of Health and Human Services. So, the US government knows the
medical value of this substance.
In 14 states of the USA you can be prescribed cannabis for
cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency
virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, agitation of Alzheimer's
disease, nail patella, or the treatment of these conditions.
Patients are also offered legal protection if they have a chronic
or debilitating disease or medical condition or treatment of
said condition that produces one or more of the following: cachexia
or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea;
seizures, including but not limited to those characteristic
of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including
but not limited to those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
Canada seems to lead the world
with its medical cannabis. Lots of good information on this
site. Click on the banner.
A note on eating cannabis.
If you take it orally (Eating cookies, cakes, etc), you could
be in for quite a ride. The liver metabolises THC into 11-OH-*9-THC,
a compound three times more psychoactive. Oral cannabis is a
powerful, almost psychedelic experience, which can be very uncomfortable
if you're not expecting it. The effects are slower to come on
(1 to 2 hours) and last considerably longer (around 4 hours).
Different people have different experiences. While one person
might go to sleep, another might smile and laugh excessively,
while another might have a panic attack. These are classic responses
but they are by no means definitive. Experiences vary. If smoking
cannabis makes you nervous or agitated, then
consuming cookies (and indeed other temporarily mind altering
drugs) may be inadvisable.
Do not assume cookies from different sources are of the same
strength. Even different batches from the same source can vary.
Know thyself. Stay in your comfort zone. Try half a cookie
first, and self-assess.
Medical Cannabis Feature Story: CLICK
HERE to play the Real Video file of the interview
with Smolder.
This interview is with Smoulder - a unique individual who has
cerebral palsy, and suffers that little bit more because of
the prohibition of cannabis. This Interview was made in 1999
at the People's Drug Summit in the Domain, in Sydney.
Smoulder is concerned that cannabis is
not legal and he would like to be able to smoke before getting
into bed each night so he can get a good sleep.
It may be difficult to understand Smoulder's
speech and Australian accent, as the traffic around the Domain
is very loud, so read the text of what he says here first.
Smoulder's message is clear and uncomplicated;
the truth.
He believes people in this country must be free to grow and
to smoke marijuana.
Smoulder: "I get very angry and can't understand
why people are not free to smoke openly and freely in Australia".
Lucy: "and what sort of difference would
it make to your life if cannabis was legal and you were able
to just get it any time you needed it, without any hassle"?
Johanne: "He still needs someone to roll
because he can't roll".
Smoulder: "I would be happy to have my
own; I can barely afford to pay rent, run a car and buy my drugs.
It is very unfair".
Johanne and Lucy: "It is unfair, it is very unfair".
Despite his apparrent disability, and difficulty with
speech, Smoulder has no mental impairment, and is actually a
very intelligent individual with a unique slant on life that
has grown from his varied experiences with institutions and
able bodied humanity.
He walks like a drunken sailor, it takes much time
and patience to learn to understand his words, and he can barely
light his joints, but he can climb into the specially built
four wheel drive he uses, and drive as well as anyone. He often
helps people out of bogs or move house, and has a very organised
mind. When you take the time to know him, he is inspirational
and your own everyday problems look insignificant by comparison.
Medical Marijuana: Whole Plant Better
Than Isolated Components in Pain Relief, Italian Study Finds
Scientists at the University of Milan have published a study
finding that whole-plant marijuana extracts provide better relief
for neuropathic pain than isolated components of the plant,
like THC alone. The research is an intervention in the ongoing
debate between medical marijuana supporters and herbal and alternative
medicine advocates on one side and the US government, some politicians,
and the pharmaceuticalized medicine industry on the other.
The use of a standardized extract of Cannabis sativa... evoked
a total relief of thermal hyperalgesia, in an experimental model
of neuropathic pain,... ameliorating the effect of single cannabinoids,"
the investigators reported. "Collectively, these findings
strongly support the idea that the combination of cannabinoid
and non-cannabinoid compounds, as present in extracts, provide
significant advantages... compared with pure cannabinoids alone."
USA Congressional drug warriors like Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)
have long argued that marijuana is not a medicine and that any
medicinal compounds in the plant should be isolated or synthesized,
as is the case with Marinol, which contains one of the hundreds
of cannabinoids found in the plant. The DEA takes a similar
approach.
But this latest research only adds to the evidence that that
position is mistaken.
The Gallery at Cannabisculture.com
Cooking with Cannabis. So far, we've got a few nice recipes.
... This one is an
old-time favorite from the 1954 Alice B. Toklas Cook Book,.
HASCHICH FUDGE ... www.cannabisculture.com/gallery/cook/cook.html
- 34k
AAMC: Cooking with Cannabis
Chili Con Cannabis. Chuey’s Chewy Oatmeal/Raisin Delight
NEW and IMPROVED!
Coma Cookies NEW! Cooking Means Cash. Ginger Snap Heaven. Green
Garlic Toasted ... www.letfreedomgrow.com/recipes/ - 14k
cannabis cooking recipes
Marijuana, cannabis, hemp all describe the same plant cannabis
sativa. Unbiased
information about marijuana, cannabis, and hemp. (Goes to Home
page - navigate to link) www.disabilityuk.com/cannabis/
cannabis_cooking_recipies.htm" - 54k
