Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Rick Simpson has been providing people with instructions on how to make Hemp Oil medicines for about 8 years. The results, Rick claims, have been nothing short of amazing. The research, backed by hundreds of other studies done worldwide, have proven that properly made hemp medicine provides relief and cures many diseases, even cancer. Simpson has provided hemp oil to hundreds of people with various medical conditions and the results speak for themselves. Throughout man’s history hemp has always been known as a powerful medicinal plant across the world. We’ll discuss Rick’s story and the use of hemp oil as medicine. He’ll explain how it works and talk about the reasons why the pharmaceutical establishment refuses to acknowledge the powerful effects and benefits of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Endocannabinoids Emerge Out of the Shadows
- Ed Glick
The Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics met in Tucson, Arizona on April 26-28, 2012. As is customary with this series of conferences, Patients Out of Time brought together a wide variety of clinical, research and experiential presenters who described the expanding universe of endocannabinoid therapeutics. However, this conference became a benchmark in understanding these complex systems. Where previously, underlying mechanisms of action were vaguely understood, today these biochemical pathways have been described in detail. Where previously, researchers (and patients) knew that cannabinoids dampen down excitatory sensory impulses, today they know how this is accomplished. Additionally, research continues to expand the understanding of anti tumor effects of cannabinoids.
Most of the endogenous (anandamide), or exogenous (herbal cannabis), effects are through neuro modulation at the synapse. (Neuro modulation is the activity of a chemical signal which stimulates or dampens the release of neuro transmitters at the space between two nerve cells.) This complicated process acts like a feedback mechanism to the cells pushing them towards homeostasis- or balance. The reason cannabinoids benefit so many different disease states is precisely because this neuromodulation is occurring as a process of homeostatic re-regulation. Since all mammals have evolved the endocannabinoid signaling system over millions of years, the use of cannabis to selectively activate it is nothing short of a profound medical breakthrough-(which patients have been aware of for generations!)
The ocular neuro protective effects of endocannabinoids are also becoming understood and were described by Professor Melanie Kelly of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia Canada. When nerve cells (neurons) are degraded or inflamed, local endocannabinoid production is increased in that location. Blocking CB1 or CB2 receptor activity increases the susceptibility of that neuron to stroke and trauma. Cannabinoids display neuro protective effects in experimental models of trauma. Again, the activation of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 or CB2) through either endogenous release of anandamide, or through the exogenous use of herbal cannabis, stimulates a return toward homeostasis by decreasing neurological stress and inflammation.
Another researcher, Martin Lee described his research into unlocking the mechanisms of cannabdiol (CBD)- the non-psychoactive cannabinoid. Most readers understand that THC is the cannabinoid in cannabis that is primarily responsible for the euphoria that is prized by recreational users and that was intentionally bred into most strains. What is much less known are the various important effects of the non-psychoactive CBD. Apart from the obvious benefit to some -that it stimulates endocannabinoid signaling without the person getting high -CBD also reduces breast and glioblastoma cell proliferation, may protect neurons against cellular degradation, promotes stem cell neurogenesis (growth), exerts anti psychotic influences, suppresses cardiac arrhythmia, is anti biotic, and has anti-oxidant properties. Interestingly, CBD has little affinity for the cannabinoid receptors, rather it works by activating non cannabinoid receptors and "enhances endocannabinoid tone by inhibiting FAAH ... a key endocannabinoid metabolizing enzyme." FAAH breaks down endocannabinoids, CBD slows the degradation and enhances cannabinoid signaling. (Since it's therapeutic re-discovery in 2009, CBD-rich strains like Cannatonic and Harlequin are being grown specifically for patients who want pain control with less psycho activity.)
In addition to numerous speakers, the Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was the site for a meeting of the American Cannabis Nurses Association. Founded two years ago, the ACNA is the professional organization for nurses and others who are interested in the unique interaction of nurses and cannabis patients. Nurses all over the country are caring for and in contact with cannabis patients and have little understanding or awareness of its mechanism of action or of the many complex legal issues presented by the Federal governments ongoing war on cannabis patients. How should a nurse counsel a patient about safe use of cannabis? Nursing as a specialty is concerned with the provision of direct patient care, and the subspecialty of cannabis nursing lends itself to this role.
The conference was also attended by a number of physicians, some of whom participated in the first credentialing seminar hosted by the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine. This seminar provided physicians with advanced practice certification.
The conference and the venue were enhanced by the sponsorship of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson. Dr Andrew Weil, author of From Chocolate to Morphine spoke to the gathering exhorting participants to take control of this issue, rather than let it be continually framed by drug war proponents and conservative media. He described the huge education gap of clinicians and the "deep-rooted irrationality" surrounding cannabis. His talk ranged over the limitations of conventional pharmaceutical treatments, contrasting the risk/benefit relationship of cannabis.
The Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was well attended by over 250 participants, and was held at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, in the canyons north of Tucson. This spectacular setting was matched by the culinary offerings created by the Loews Chef, who offered many dishes created with hemp.
The field of cannabinoid research has been hampered for decades by overreliance on the single-molecule profit-based health care industry of America. As Dr. Weil pointed out, this accounts for much of the obstruction, insanity, and senselessness of the continuing federal prohibition on cannabis. The very fact that millions of patients can "dispense" with their muscle relaxants, opiates, sedatives and tranquilizers by using a safe and powerful remedy must make pharmaceutical industry accountants break into a cold sweat. Nevertheless, as this conference showed, the re-integration of cannabis into the Pharmacopoeia is now inevitable, and the legal prohibitions are destined to fall like dead leaves on a tree.
The Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics marked, for the first time, the emergence of cannabinoid science from a poorly understood complex process into an increasingly cohesive body of clinical and experiential wisdom which represents the last new frontier of conventional medical advancement. This is, of course, something millions of patients have known for centuries. Their cumulative experience has precipitated this beginning revolution in medical care. Patients are, after all, the leaders here.
Patients Out Of Time (www.medicalcannabis.com)
American Cannabis Nurses Association (www.cannabisnurse.org)
American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (www.aacmsite.org)
Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (www.Integrativemedicine.arizona.edu)
Most of the endogenous (anandamide), or exogenous (herbal cannabis), effects are through neuro modulation at the synapse. (Neuro modulation is the activity of a chemical signal which stimulates or dampens the release of neuro transmitters at the space between two nerve cells.) This complicated process acts like a feedback mechanism to the cells pushing them towards homeostasis- or balance. The reason cannabinoids benefit so many different disease states is precisely because this neuromodulation is occurring as a process of homeostatic re-regulation. Since all mammals have evolved the endocannabinoid signaling system over millions of years, the use of cannabis to selectively activate it is nothing short of a profound medical breakthrough-(which patients have been aware of for generations!)
The ocular neuro protective effects of endocannabinoids are also becoming understood and were described by Professor Melanie Kelly of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia Canada. When nerve cells (neurons) are degraded or inflamed, local endocannabinoid production is increased in that location. Blocking CB1 or CB2 receptor activity increases the susceptibility of that neuron to stroke and trauma. Cannabinoids display neuro protective effects in experimental models of trauma. Again, the activation of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 or CB2) through either endogenous release of anandamide, or through the exogenous use of herbal cannabis, stimulates a return toward homeostasis by decreasing neurological stress and inflammation.
Another researcher, Martin Lee described his research into unlocking the mechanisms of cannabdiol (CBD)- the non-psychoactive cannabinoid. Most readers understand that THC is the cannabinoid in cannabis that is primarily responsible for the euphoria that is prized by recreational users and that was intentionally bred into most strains. What is much less known are the various important effects of the non-psychoactive CBD. Apart from the obvious benefit to some -that it stimulates endocannabinoid signaling without the person getting high -CBD also reduces breast and glioblastoma cell proliferation, may protect neurons against cellular degradation, promotes stem cell neurogenesis (growth), exerts anti psychotic influences, suppresses cardiac arrhythmia, is anti biotic, and has anti-oxidant properties. Interestingly, CBD has little affinity for the cannabinoid receptors, rather it works by activating non cannabinoid receptors and "enhances endocannabinoid tone by inhibiting FAAH ... a key endocannabinoid metabolizing enzyme." FAAH breaks down endocannabinoids, CBD slows the degradation and enhances cannabinoid signaling. (Since it's therapeutic re-discovery in 2009, CBD-rich strains like Cannatonic and Harlequin are being grown specifically for patients who want pain control with less psycho activity.)
In addition to numerous speakers, the Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was the site for a meeting of the American Cannabis Nurses Association. Founded two years ago, the ACNA is the professional organization for nurses and others who are interested in the unique interaction of nurses and cannabis patients. Nurses all over the country are caring for and in contact with cannabis patients and have little understanding or awareness of its mechanism of action or of the many complex legal issues presented by the Federal governments ongoing war on cannabis patients. How should a nurse counsel a patient about safe use of cannabis? Nursing as a specialty is concerned with the provision of direct patient care, and the subspecialty of cannabis nursing lends itself to this role.
The conference was also attended by a number of physicians, some of whom participated in the first credentialing seminar hosted by the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine. This seminar provided physicians with advanced practice certification.
The conference and the venue were enhanced by the sponsorship of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson. Dr Andrew Weil, author of From Chocolate to Morphine spoke to the gathering exhorting participants to take control of this issue, rather than let it be continually framed by drug war proponents and conservative media. He described the huge education gap of clinicians and the "deep-rooted irrationality" surrounding cannabis. His talk ranged over the limitations of conventional pharmaceutical treatments, contrasting the risk/benefit relationship of cannabis.
The Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics was well attended by over 250 participants, and was held at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, in the canyons north of Tucson. This spectacular setting was matched by the culinary offerings created by the Loews Chef, who offered many dishes created with hemp.
The field of cannabinoid research has been hampered for decades by overreliance on the single-molecule profit-based health care industry of America. As Dr. Weil pointed out, this accounts for much of the obstruction, insanity, and senselessness of the continuing federal prohibition on cannabis. The very fact that millions of patients can "dispense" with their muscle relaxants, opiates, sedatives and tranquilizers by using a safe and powerful remedy must make pharmaceutical industry accountants break into a cold sweat. Nevertheless, as this conference showed, the re-integration of cannabis into the Pharmacopoeia is now inevitable, and the legal prohibitions are destined to fall like dead leaves on a tree.
The Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics marked, for the first time, the emergence of cannabinoid science from a poorly understood complex process into an increasingly cohesive body of clinical and experiential wisdom which represents the last new frontier of conventional medical advancement. This is, of course, something millions of patients have known for centuries. Their cumulative experience has precipitated this beginning revolution in medical care. Patients are, after all, the leaders here.
Patients Out Of Time (www.medicalcannabis.com)
American Cannabis Nurses Association (www.cannabisnurse.org)
American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (www.aacmsite.org)
Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (www.Integrativemedicine.arizona.edu)
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Medical Cannabis educational video project
Click here to donate
Education is needed
I am Arthur Livermore and I have been working to educate people about the medical uses of marijuana for more than 30 years. This campaign will produce educational videos about how marijuana is used in the treatment of various medical conditions.
The Impact
Many people have heard that marijuana can be good medicine, but they don't know what is is useful for. These educational videos will be professional quality with medical cannabis experts and patients describing how they use marijuana to treat their condition.
What We Need & What You Get
We need to raise at least $20,000 to get this project started. We will have to invest in video production equipment and pay for travel expenses to interview medical cannabis experts and patients. As a contributor of $1000 to this campaign, you will receive a copy of the finished educational video about the medical condition of your choice.
Other Ways You Can Help
In addition to helping us with your contribution, we would like you to reach out to people who don't understand that marijuana is medicine. Please share this campaign with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. and your local community members.
Click here to donate
Education is needed
I am Arthur Livermore and I have been working to educate people about the medical uses of marijuana for more than 30 years. This campaign will produce educational videos about how marijuana is used in the treatment of various medical conditions.
The Impact
Many people have heard that marijuana can be good medicine, but they don't know what is is useful for. These educational videos will be professional quality with medical cannabis experts and patients describing how they use marijuana to treat their condition.
What We Need & What You Get
We need to raise at least $20,000 to get this project started. We will have to invest in video production equipment and pay for travel expenses to interview medical cannabis experts and patients. As a contributor of $1000 to this campaign, you will receive a copy of the finished educational video about the medical condition of your choice.
Other Ways You Can Help
In addition to helping us with your contribution, we would like you to reach out to people who don't understand that marijuana is medicine. Please share this campaign with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. and your local community members.
Click here to donate
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Cannabis smoking does not impair lung function
Science: Cannabis smoking does not impair lung function according
large long-term study
Cannabis does not impair lung function - at least not in the doses
inhaled by the majority of users, according to the largest and
longest study ever to consider the issue, which was published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association. US researchers conducted
a longitudinal study collecting repeated measurements of pulmonary
function and smoking over 20 years from 1985 to 2006 in 5115 men and
women. "Occasional and low cumulative marijuana use was not
associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function," authors
summarized the results. Lifetime exposure to cannabis cigarettes was
expressed in joint-years, with 1 joint-year of exposure equivalent to
smoking 365 joints (cannabis cigarettes) or filled pipe bowls.
Researchers found that measures of lung function - forced expiratory
volume in the first second of expiration and forced vital capacity -
actually improved slightly as young people reported using more
cannabis - at least up to 7 joint-years or 2,555 joints. "There's no
doubt marijuana triggers a cough," said Dr. Stefan Kertesz, from the
University of Alabama at Birmingham, who worked on the new study. But
questions have remained about the drug's longer-term effect on lung
functioning. Not surprisingly tobacco use was associated with
decreased lung function. But at least at moderate levels of cannabis
smoking, that didn't seem to be the case - in fact, the trend was
reversed. Lung volume and air flow rates both increased with each
joint-year in moderate users. "It's a very real increase (...) but
it's so small that I don't think that a person would feel a benefit
in terms of their breathing," Kertesz said. At the highest levels of
cannabis smoking lung function seemed to decline again, but the
researchers noted that there weren't enough heavy cannabis users in
their study population to be sure of that.
It is unlikely that cannabis puts users at risk of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, as smoking tobacco does, says
Dr. Donald Tashkin, professor at the University of California in Los
Angeles, who studies the effects of cannabis on the lungs for decades
but wasn't involved in the new study. When it comes to diminished
lung function, "This particular potential complication of marijuana
smoking doesn't appear to be an important risk," he told the press
agency Reuters. "Therefore, people who are using marijuana for
medicinal purposes or recreationally at least could be reassured that
they're not harming their lungs in this way."
More at:
In English
In Spanish
In German
(Source: Pletcher MJ, Vittinghoff E, Kalhan R, Richman J, Safford M,
Sidney S, Lin F, Kertesz S. Association between marijuana exposure
and pulmonary function over 20 years. JAMA 2012;307(2):173-81.)
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