New research in The Journal of Molecular Pharmacology demonstrates that Cannabis compounds may be a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. It may seem counter-intuitive that compounds from the Cannabis plant may preserve memory, however Cannabidiol (CBD) and other compounds on the plant have neuroprotective effects. CBD appears to inhibit the cells directly involved with the progression of the disease. Read the new study on cannabinoids and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Delaware Medical Marijuana Bill Clears Final Vote
[UPDATE 5/13/2011 – Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law. DE is now, officially, a medical marijuana state.] 5/11/2011 – “The First State” may become the 16th with a working medical marijuana law. The Delaware Senate passed the amended medical marijuana bill today 17-4. This was the final vote and the bill now heads to Governor Jack Markell’s desk for his signature.
The language creates Compassion Centers within each county for qualifying patients to access up to six ounces of cannabis per month. There are no provisions for home cultivation.
Despite the recent flurry of paper threats from several US Attorneys against medical marijuana programs, more states are moving ahead with bills to legalize them. Medical cannabis dispensaries are also just a signature away from becoming a reality in Vermont.
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Scientists Uncover How CBD Treats MS, Alters Cholesterol Metabolism
Cannabidiol
5/25/2011 – Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychotropic compound found in the Cannabis plant that is currently being exploited by researchers for its therapeutic properties. CBD is usually the second most abundant compound found in the plant.
A research team devoted to studying the effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) on the immune system has made a series of breakthroughs that may have uncovered a mechanism of CBD’s actions (Kozela 2009, Rimmerman 2011, Juknat 2011). The team may have discovered the specific genes responsible for some of CBD’s therapeutic effects. This type of research could be a big leap forward.
Previously the same team had shown that CBD can effectively treat the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis in mice. This is in agreement with earlier research published by other labs throughout the world.
This collective body of research demonstrates that CBD that is isolated from the plant (as well as Cannabis preparations containing CBD) have been shown to ameliorate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis in animal models and clinical trials. The effects of CBD on disease progression include decreased inflammation, neuronal protection, and decreased immune cell activity.
In other words, this is even more science that shows how CBD from natural cannabis plants works to treat MS in animals and humans.
Now for the interesting genetic details. CBD can affect the genes Soat2 andCyp27a1, which control sterol metabolism (Ex. Cholesterol). These are part of a larger group of genes, known as stress genes. The well-known cannabinoid THC does not appear to have any effect on these genes.
Anandamide is a natural compound made by mammals from lipids, in a sense it is the “natural THC” found in our brains and throughout the human body. Anandamide and THC act through the cannabinoid receptors and have similar effects. For example THC and Anandamide have similar effects on pain, appetite, and memory.
Special receptors allow THC and Anandamide to work, but CBD does not interact directly with cannabinoid receptors.
Additionally, this research team found that CBD can increase the amount of Anandamide and other important lipids.
There are dozens of cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant. Much attention has been paid to THC over the years because of its euphoric side-effect. Researchers are now very interested in the abilities of CBD because it works so effectively without causing impairment.
Jahan Marcu is currently investigating the pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors. He was working at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute when exciting discoveries were made showing enhanced anti-cancer effects with THC and CBD from the Cannabis plant. The findings were published in the Journal of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. In 2009 he received the Billy Martin Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS). Jahan is currently the vice-chair the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board at Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Contact: science { at } freedomisgreen.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent any University, business or affiliates. While the information provided in this blog is from published scientific studies it is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease.
Delaware Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Key Vote
5/5/2011 – Despite the recent flurry of paper threats from several US Attorneys against medical marijuana programs, more states are moving ahead with bills to legalize them. Last month the Delaware Senate passed compassionate use legislation and now the House has followed suit. Both floor votes showed strong support. The bill must return to the Senate to finalize some last-minute amendments but the House vote tonight is a good sign that “The First State” may become the 16th with a working medical marijuana law.
From The News Journal
The Delaware House approved use of marijuana for medical purposes today, but tacked on additional restrictions to require the drug is distributed in tamper-proof containers and prohibit smoking cannabis in buses and vehicles.
The House voted 24-17 on Senate Bill 17, which must go back to the Senate for the upper chamber to consider the changes.
The legislation allows Delawareans with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder and other debilitating diseases to get a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana to treat their pain, nausea or illness.
Qualified patients would be issued a state identification card.Three state-regulated not-for-profit dispensaries would be established in each county to sell and distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients and caregivers. READ FULL ARTICLE
Medical marijuana legislation is also pending in New Hampshire, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Connecticut … and that’s just on the East Coast.
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A Profound Moment for American Marijuana
Photo by David Sygall
The spring of 2011 has brought tension to the air for everyone involved with cannabis in the United States. Federal authorities have unleashed a coordinated attack on political efforts to tax marijuana and they have made war on medical marijuana programs. This has been matched by additional states changing local laws, putting more skin into the game than ever.
The bets are now in for the biggest cannabis policy showdown in our generation – right in Washington DC. The Schedule I status of marijuana in the federal Controlled Substances Act will either be re-affirmed or changed, likely over the next 24 months.
Marijuana prohibition has become the most refined and serious states’ rights issue of the 21st Century. Millions of Americans are now participating in a multi-billion dollar medical cannabis economy.
States are taking greater pains to regulate this fast-moving industry. Why? To recognize the will of their residents but also to gain badly needed tax dollars. In some cases, they are getting that money.
At the same time, Michele Leonhart has led the Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct a major escalation of raids that bring automatic weapons into peaceful marijuana centers.
If marijuana were moved to Schedule II, III, or IV or even removed from the schedule (that is an option), it would end the conflict of state vs. federal law on all related matters. That means whatever marijuana industry that states decide to authorize (medical, recreational or hemp) could be protected, regulated and taxed.
When the Controlled Substances Act was created in 1970 a blue-ribbon commission was chartered by President Nixon to study marijuana’s proper placement. The recommendation in 1972 was that personal cannabis use should be decriminalized and it should not appear in the scheduling. Obviously Nixon ignored those suggestions.
Forty years later we live in the ‘Just Say Drug War’ era. Still, the status of marijuana has always been overseen by Congress and the President. They have been the quiet players at the poker game thus far. But the increase in aggression by the DEA and US Attorneys has produced an interesting result.
When the Washington state Legislature recently passed a bill to regulate a dispensary system for patients the fed came down like a ton of bricks on the political process. Governor Chris Gregoire (a former US Attorney in her own right) vetoed the bill. But then she turned around to announce plans to bring together the now 16 medical marijuana Governors in a unified lobby for re-scheduling to category II.
Gregoire currently leads the National Governors Association. Having the elected leaders of these states actively seek an end to federal cannabis prohibition could be a significant pressure point on Senators and Representatives in Washington DC.
We are also just beginning to see federal lawsuits filed in Montana by the victims of these DEA raids over illegal search and seizure. Cannabis and money are stolen, bank accounts cleared out; but no one is arrested. Not exactly by-the-books due-process.
The IRS has now appeared at the table as a major player, staked by the Fed against individual entrepreneurs. Financial investigations of successful cannabis business like Harborside Health Services in Oakland are underway.
At the same time the city of San Jose California began raking in $290,000 in monthly taxes from local medical cannabis sales!
The effect of these simultaneous actions has just forced everyone in the game to go all-in. Congress and President Obama are being positioned to make their bets and address the issue…during an election season. And that may be the plan.
However, supporting the move to Schedule II in the CSA is a safe position, politically. Ever growing majorities of American voters, of all parties, support their local medical cannabis laws. So, re-scheduling is backed by tremendous public support, but groups such as the American Medial Association (AMA) have also recommended the change.
Moving to Schedule II is a good quick-fix for the current medical cannabis industry as well as programs like Rhode Island and New Jersey that remain on hold. Even the Internal Revenue Service would be mollified.
Still, there should be a modern congressional commission designated to study full cannabis legalization if re-scheduling is adopted.
A more disturbing outcome is possible. The current Schedule I status could ultimately be upheld by Congress and President Obama. That would likely signal another significant increase in federal aggression towards the existing medical cannabis industry. This sends everyone down a terrible path. Battles will rage in the courts and in the faces of seriously ill patients just trying to follow their state laws.
Would some Governors then mobilize their Attorneys General, their police or even the National Guard to protect their state employees, medical cannabis centers and patients?
We are experiencing the Cuban Missile Crisis in the cold war between the States and the US Federal Government on medical marijuana laws. Moving to Schedule II would pull authorities on both sides back from the brink of violence.
The move would allow everyone to split the pot. Of paramount importance, it would directly help the millions of seriously ill residents who access this proven therapy every day.
Marijuana prohibition has seen windows for reform in the past; none have been open this wide.
Public support must be channeled because taking the game to Congress is also where the marijuana reform movement has traditionally been the weakest.
Just a handful of federal legislators are there to champion this cause: Ron Paul (R-TX), Barney Frank (D-MA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to name the most vocal.
However there is one place that the marijuana legalization movement is stronger than everyone else, including the Fed: Online. Within the modern Matrix cannabis reform is Neo.
This could be the end-game. Everyone online is at the table too, so don’t sit this one out.
Marijuana prohibition deserves a peaceful solution, for all Americans.
Commentary from Editor Chris Goldstein
Get involved:
NORML- www.norml.org
Students for Sensible Drug Policy – www.ssdp.org
The Drug Policy Alliance – www.drugpolicy.org
The Marijuana Policy Project – www.mpp.org
NORML Women’s Alliance – http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=8059
Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party – www.teapotparty.org
Questions? [email protected]
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. He volunteers with local groups to change prohibition laws including PhillyNORML and The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey.
Booze, Weed and Women
When I read this article, it didn’t sit with me entirely. Several days ago, the Women’s Marijuana Movement marked both Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Alcohol Awareness Month [that’s a lot of awareness for one month] by arguing that increased cannabis use may help prevent rapes fueled by booze. Shew. That’s a stretch for me. Increased yoga might also lessen the amount of booze-fueled rapes, but I don’t think the frat boys at the local university are going to go for it. There’s a personal accountability element that seems to be missing as well, though I recognize some of her points.
Toni Fox, who’s the stepmother of an eighteen-year-old college student and mother of a fourteen-month-old toddler, comes from what she describes as “an alcoholic family” and admits that she developed “a tendency to use alcohol to the point where you get intoxicated.”
This habit led directly to the first of several incidents during her life when she was sexually assaulted, she says.
“I was in tenth grade, and I lived in a small town — absolutely middle America, where it’s socially acceptable for kids to binge-drink at any early age,” she recalls. “I was invited to a party with the popular kids and binge-drank with them. And one of the attendees, a very popular kid in school, took complete advantage of me. I was completely inebriated, passed out, and he had sex with me anyway.”
Similar situations took place in years to come. “When I was older, in my twenties and going out to nightclubs, excessive drinking was always part of the poor choices I made. You lose your ability to rationalize, and bad things can happen. And every woman I’ve spoken to, other than my daughter, has been sexually assaulted in one form or another — and when they look back on it, alcohol was involved.”
That’s one reason Fox got involved with the Mason Tvert-founded SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation) six years ago. She subsequently helped launch the Women’s Marijuana Movement — and her stepdaughter’s attendance at Metro State College has only reinforced her views about marijuana versus alcohol.
“My daughter makes the safer choice,” notes Fox, who says she now drinks rarely and only in moderation. “Not that I condone her using marijuana when she’s only eighteen. But she tells me on almost a weekly basis about someone she knows at school who was date-raped because of alcohol. And thank goodness nothing like that has ever happened to her.”
Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished actor and director with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can often be seen surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.
Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com
About
Marijuana News, Science, Activism and Culture
Growing the East Coast cannabis community
3/2/2011 Chris Goldstein, a nationally recognized journalist and pro-marijuana advocate, is launching a new online resource for the East Coast.
“Freedomisgreen.com is here to cover the news, activism and lifestyle of American marijuana,” he said today.
Editorial staff
Chris Goldstein – Founder/Site Editor (267) 702 3731 chris { at }freedomisgreen.com
Beth Mann – Mary Jane Editor maryjane{ at } freedomisgreen.com
Jahan Marcu – Science Editor science {at} freedomisgreen.com
Diane Fornbacher – grassroots{ at }freedomisgreen.com
Main Categories
Freedom Buzz
News and culture for the cannabis community
Sensible Science
Cannabinoid research, cannabis studies and medical breakthroughs
Green Justice
Prohibition impact, court cases, civil rights and legal perspectives
Mary Jane’s Corner
Women’s views about marijuana
Canna-Business
Information related to the domestic cannabis industry
Grass Roots
Activism meetings, concerts, rallies, conferences and events
Connecticut House Passes Final Vote on Marijuana Decrim Bill
Hartford
6/7/2011 – Today the Connecticut House of Representatives passed SB 1014, a bill to make possession of less than 14 grams of marijuana a non-criminal violation for adults. There was heavy debate about the concept, but the measure prevailed in a 90-57 vote. The legislation was passed by the Senate over the weekend.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy sponsored the bill and is now expected to sign it into law.
Speaking about the bill on the floor today Republican Rep. Brenda Kupchick seemed torn: “Someone wrote to me today that if I didn’t support this bill that I would be an active proponent to government intervention into the private lives of citizens and interfering with individual liberties. That actually bothered me.”
Rep. Gerald Fox, a proponent of the legislation and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, answered dozens of questions from his peers. Opponents seemed to be most concerned with lightening the criminal treatment for those ages 18-21. But Fox assured them that young adults would face the same penalties for marijuana as they do for underage drinking.
Rep. Fox also pointed out that by treating possession of small amounts as a non-criminal offense it would not hurt the future employment or military eligibility of young people.
“The penalty is different, but going to court remains the same,” said Fox.
Under the new bill adults in possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana would be punished with a $150 fine on the first occasion and $200-$500 for additional offenses. Those between the ages of 18-21 will need to appear in court and will also have their drivers’ license suspended for 60 days.
[UPDATE 5:05PM] Governor Malloy issued this statement today:
“Final approval of this legislation accepts the reality that the current law does more harm than good – both in the impact it has on people’s lives and the burden it places on police, prosecutors and probation officers of the criminal justice system. Let me make it clear – we are not legalizing the use of marijuana. In modifying this law, we are recognizing that the punishment should fit the crime, and acknowledging the effects of its application. There is no question that the state’s criminal justice resources could be more effectively utilized for convicting, incarcerating and supervising violent and more serious offenders.
“Modification of this law will now put Connecticut in line with the laws of two of our neighboring states, New York and Massachusetts, and a total of thirteen states across the country with similar statutes. I applaud the General Assembly in their passage of this legislation and will sign it into law. I would also like to specifically thank State Senator Martin Looney, who first introduced this legislation in 2009, for his support and advocacy of this issue.”
When the bill is signed into law Connecticut will be the 14th US State to make adult cannabis possession a non-criminal offense.
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]