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Source: Coastal Post, The (CA) Copyright: The Coastal Post Contact: editor@coastalpost.com Address: PO Box 31, Bolinas CA 94924 Fax: (415)868-0502 Website: http://www.coastalpost.com/ Bookmark: MAP's link to California articles is: http://www.mapinc.org/states/ca Author: Stephan Simac | |||
| MEDICAL MARIJUANA: HEALTHCARE MIRACLE AND DRUG WAR VICTIM | |||
The largest minority is the last to be freed from legal persecution and flat out denial of their constitutional rights. Marijuana users, former and current, are mainly silent in demanding that their natural rights be recognized, or they're coughing. Medical marijuana is still held in shackles although the people have voted to set her free. Smoking pot does not make a person evil or dangerous, just criminal in America for seventy odd years. The pursuit of happiness seems like an orphan stepchild in the viciousness of the government's war on cannabis. The evil weed looks pretty sweet on closer examination. Original research by J.M. McPartland, DO and Patty Pruitt in the July '99 issue of Alternative Therapies, analyzes some of the aromatic compounds in marijuana and explores their possible use in medicine. There are over 400 compounds in marijuana, seventy are unique to the cannabis plant. Most of these are cannabinoids, of which THC is the most psychoactive. The others have effects which help to soften the stronger psychological effects of pure THC. Delta 9--The Devil's Child Pure THC can cause hallucinations, even psychotic episodes, disrupt short term memory and does affect the immune system, but it benefits Alzheimer's patients. Cannabidiol and cannibinol, two other compounds in pot have anxiety reducing, antipsychotic, sedative and pain killing properties. Volatile terpenoids which are aromatic components of the plant flower have sedative and memory improving powers. Cannabis plants are being bred to contain different proportions of compounds for different medical conditions by GW pharmaceutical company in England, even though medical marijuana is not yet legal there. American breeders are locked out of a megabillion dollar market and millions of aging Americans suffer because they can not legally grow medical varieties of cannabis without fear of legal persecution, even where the people have voted to legalize it. Cannabinoids are even more potent antioxidants than vitamins A, C or E, which are essential for preventing cellular aging and cancers. Smoking the dried flower is not the healthiest way to get high or feel better. Burning almost anything, spliffs or flame broiled burgers releases several varieties of benzenes and other toxic substances. Moldy pot releases poisonous fungi and aflatoxin which can infect the lungs. There are vaporizers which heat the buds only enough to release their cannabinoids, but they don't protect against aspergillus, a mold which infects herb. Herbal extracts which can be made into a lollipop or a patch are being developed in Europe, and will dominate the market for treatment of many illnesses. It's The Smoke Stupid Holding ganga smoke in for any longer than a second is superfluous, since cannabinoids are rapidly taken up in the lungs. Holding a toke in until you choke and cough is giving you a carbon monoxide or dioxide buzz. Medical marijuana has been voted legal in California with Proposition 215 and a cascade of other states and districts have followed. That's fitting because California was the first state to pass marijuana laws in the 20's because of Hearst newspaper propaganda. The electorate has spoken, if you're sick and suffering it's OK to get high, because you're no longer an economic unit. Otherwise you're a malinger, it's a war out there in global trade, we don't want your attention wandering. The economy depends on the underground herb and its users. but it would be transformed if it were legalized. The plant and it's autumn flowers are more beautiful and fragrant than prize winning roses, and the glut of wine grapes would be replaced with boutique buds. Men In Black Breaking Down Doors Without tokers restaurants would be hard up for help, no janitors would be cleaning your toilet, no ditches dug, walls built, fewer painters, carpenters, accountants even. We are everywhere, but we're still stoned in the back of the bus. Law enforcers used to say we don't make the laws we just enforce them, yet with their continued persecution of medical marijuana users in California and other states, they've shown the lie to that. They are so delusional that some even claim medical authority. If you're in an accident who do you want to show up first, the Drug Czar or a paramedic? Some potheads say that cannabis is the medicine for what ails western civilization. Relieves stress, lowers blood pressure, improves sex and music, strengthens social relationships and encourages gardening and connection with the earth. I wish to praise the leaves of grass, especially the dried flowers. Without weed we'd still be listening to oompapa bands, cheering two handed set shots in basketball, there would be no personal computers, environmental movement, organic farming, or health food superstores. For all the creative juices the kind has stirred, it also seems to dope most of it's users into complicity with the loss of their constitutional rights. Many stoners won't even vote, don't make no difference dude, as if they had tried. The best part about pot is the same as the worst thing about it. It reduces your cares and worries, for a while, so much so that the largest minority does not effectively fight to restore their rights, vote the despots out of elected office and prosecute the fascists who have been leading the war on people who use illegal drugs, for war crimes. Almost all illegal drug users in America are marijuana users, a few percent prefer other illegal drugs. These white powder drugs are unhealthy, made worse by their criminalization and demonization. Marijuana has been linked with these other drugs with outright lies, to hoodwink the voters, especially the elderly who would most benefit from cannabis. The actual "gateway" drug by the government's own surveys is tobacco. Unless you include caffeinated sodas or white sugar. It is clear by now that the War On Drugs is run by American nazis, complete with storm troopers and master plans. Gary Webb's book "The Dark Alliance" documents the role of the CIA in importing drugs into the country. Acid Dreams a book by Martin Lee and Bruce Schlain uncovered the history of how the CIA initiated much of the drug use in this country in the fifties and sixties. They began creating and testing drugs for military or covert activity use. Their scientists created a highly potent extract of cannabis, which they called the Truth Drug. It was a gateway drug for the CIA, which led to harder drugs, including, cocaine, methamphetamine and LSD. Other books, investigations, and sworn testimony implicate the DEA, sitting politicians and multinational banks in profiting from drugs. Frau Feinstein Salutes Hitler The December Harpers magazine details the numerous losses of our constitutional rights from the War on people who use Drugs. The entire bill of rights has been hoisted on the petard of prohibition. California's senator Feinstein is currently pushing a bill which would eliminate the first amendment rights on the internet. It's billed as methamphetamine legislation, but makes it a federal crime to write about all illegal drugs on the internet. With Feinstein's fascist law this article could get me ten years in prison. Her ideological soul mate Orrin Hatch from Utah is co-sponsoring it. It's a shame they couldn't get Hermann Goering to sign on. The December '99 issue of Cannabis Culture magazine reports on Jeb Bush, governor of Florida, going ahead with plans to release a genetically altered fungus, a fusarium designed to kill pot plants. Farmers are fighting it because Supermold could wind up killing tomatoes, sugar cane, ornamental flowers, and lawn sod crops. Maybe Bush wants to save the Everglades. The government would like to ban everything except genetically altered food and high density TV watching. Using drugs can be unhealthy, but people do a lot of stupid and unhealthy things, some with government approval. Illegality makes all these bathtub meth labs, operated by tweakers, more dangerous and damaging to users and the watersheds. The prohibition on drugs costs billions, increases violence and criminal activity. This is good for business. The secret teams need the black market for drugs to maintain an enormous untraceable cash flow for their black operations. Pharmaceutical, alcohol, tobacco and agricultural industries are threatened with competition from cannabis and conspire to lie to the public in television ads, public relations and news stories to prevent ending the War. This Is Your Brain On Fried Eggs The Center for the Study of Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) is one of these well funded propaganda machines. It is affiliated with Columbia University, headed by Joseph Califano of the Reagan administration. It is notorious for delivering misinformation directly to the media, without peer review. The media loves their slant so much they pay for it. CASA particularly likes to link marijuana with harder drugs, and downplay the benefits of medical marijuana, regardless of the truth. The December issue of High Times reports that it is heavily funded by the federal government, Coca Cola, Ford, Carnegie, pharmaceutical companies, Dupont and by the media including Hearst, CBS, NBC, Time Warner and Dan Rather. The media regularly report misinformation about marijuana, but ignore the DEA's own administrative judge. In 1987 after hearing expert testimony, he declared marijuana the safest known drug with therapeutic value, and ordered it removed from Schedule 1 which says it has no medical use. Complying with that order would end the feds insistence that medical marijuana violates federal law, it was overruled and the judge retired. Dozens of government and independent studies, have been suppressed or ignored, because they concluded that there was no basis for criminalizing cannabis and that it had many medical and health care uses. America is spending close to $100 billion a year on all aspects of the War on people who use illegal drugs. It is mainly a war on marijuana users, the largest minority in America still denied their human rights. We just don't seem to have any ambition to change that, and they keep building prisons. | |||
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