Pubdate: Thu, 11 Feb 2016
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Column: The 420
Copyright: 2016 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Ngaio Bealum

AN EXCELLENT BUMMR

I hear there is a new Weed Czar in town. I would like to know more.

- -Tab U. LaRasa

You are correct! Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Lori Ajax, currently 
the chief deputy director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage 
Control, to head the new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation. (By 
the way, Brown signed Assembly Bill 21, so that March 1 deadline for 
cities and towns to develop regulations is a thing of the past.) 
Ajax-a Republican, if you care about those things; I know plenty of 
folks on all sides of every aisle who want clear and fair statewide 
regulations-will have to be approved by the Senate. If she gains 
approval, she will be in charge of creating an entirely new state 
agency, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation. Aside from the 
unfortunate acronym (BuMMR, which is the opposite of what cannabis 
does), this new agency will have to deal with a ton of BS from all 
sides. The NIMBYs, the techies, the growers, the water providers, et 
al. will be clamoring to make sure they all receive their fair share 
of unfair advantages. To call her new job a huge and gigantic 
undertaking is perhaps the understatement of the year and I wish her 
the best of luck. I will also most likely be hitting her up for a 
job, since she will need at least 40-50 people on her team. Everyone 
polish up your resumes!

Can you tell me more about CBD? My mother-in-law has questions.

- -LFM

It will be a pleasure. Cannabidiol, a.k.a. CBD, is one of the many 
therapeutic substances found in the marijuana plant. CBD is known for 
its anti-inflammatory effects, and is known to be an effective 
treatment for certain forms of epilepsy. Many states have passed laws 
that allow for cannabis-based medicines made with CBD, but not THC. I 
have no idea why that is. I guess it's mostly because people still 
think of cannabis as a dangerous narcotic.

The thing is, and I am not a doctor, but my understanding of the 
cannabis plant is that it works best because of what they call the 
"entourage effect." So, the THC works in conjunction with the CBD and 
the CBG and the myrcene and the pinene and the beta-carotene to make 
a happier, healthier person. Of course, some people need more CBD, 
some like more myrcene, what have you. I personally think pinene 
(smells like Christmas, think strains like Trainwreck or Jack Herer) 
is the bee's knees. My point is, if a state is going to allow people 
who need medical cannabis to use CBD, why not let them use the whole 
plant? No one will die from a marijuana overdose, unlike the current 
spike in opioid-related deaths. In fact, states with medical 
marijuana laws have lower rates of narcotic use and fewer overdoses. 
Cannabis has been proven to be a safe, effective medicine for 
hundreds of years. All this selective prohibition is nonproductive. 
But anyway, yes, CBD is cool and it doesn't get you high like THC does.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom