Our Government Holds a Patent for Medical Cannabis, Why is it Illegal? – Dr. Gupta

Our Government Holds a Patent for Medical Cannabis, Why is it Illegal? - Dr. Gupta | Third Monk image 4

sanjay-gupta-animal-new-york - Dr. Gupta

It’s been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential.

I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them.

There is emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics override science and patients are caught in the middle.

The Undeniable Medical Value of Cannabis

Dr. Gupta

Since our documentary “Weed” aired in August 2013, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.

I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy.

I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I’ve seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.

I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.

I should add that, although I’ve taken some heat for my reporting on marijuana, it hasn’t been as lonely a position as I expected. Legislators from several states have reached out to me, eager to inform their own positions and asking to show the documentary to their fellow lawmakers.

One place where lawmakers saw a long clip was Georgia, where the state House just passed a medical marijuana bill by a vote of 171-4. Before the legislative session started, most people didn’t think this bill had a chance.

Federal Hypocrites

weed-medicinal-benefits-patent

Along the way, the public has become intensely engaged. Our collective society has paid closer attention to this issue than ever before, and with that increased education, support for medical marijuana has only grown, including in some unexpected places.

Pete Carroll, the coach of the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks, said the NFL should explore medical marijuana if it helps players. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hasn’t dismissed the idea, saying that if marijuana is reconsidered by the medical establishment, the league would treat it the same as any other medicine. Goodell also says the NFL is following the science that suggests marijuana may help recovery from concussions.

Recently, I had the chance to tell him that the United States already holds a patent on medical marijuana for that very purpose. Patent No. 6630507: Cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke or trauma.

However, this particular issue still bothers me: How can the government deny the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits? Members of the Food and Drug Administration declined my repeated requests for an interview.

Weed Vs Government Approved Drugs

cannabis-vs-other-drugs-deaths

This past year, President Barack Obama told the New Yorker magazine, “I don’t think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol.” And yet, as alcohol remains available to any adult, the president has not moved to remove marijuana from the list of the most tightly controlled substances in the country.

Since I started my reporting on this topic, I have mostly resisted temptation to inject a subjective moral equivalency into this discussion, such as pitting alcohol against marijuana or reminding you that cocaine and methamphetamine are actually more available than marijuana to patients, physicians and medical researchers: They are Schedule II drugs, with recognized medical uses. Or telling you that on average, a person dies every 19 minutes in this country from a legal prescription drug overdose, while it is virtually unheard-of to die from a marijuana overdose.

> Dr. Gupta: ‘I am doubling down’ on medical marijuana | CNN

Medical Marijuana For Kids Instead of Harsh Treatments (Video)

Medical Marijuana For Kids Instead of Harsh Treatments (Video) | Third Monk image 4

cannabis-kids-treatment

Medical marijuana for kids is a touchy subject at the moment because of cannabis’ history as a schedule 1 drug.

Many people are still informing themselves on the topic but those that are experiencing the wonder first hand know that medical marijuana is a viable alternative to harsh treatments.

The evidence speaks for itself and it will only be a matter of time until science echoes what we already know. These Medical Marijuana success stories are now being covered by mainstream media. and although many doctors don’t agree with the treatment some have made a full 180 on the subject like Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Reduction of Seizures From Using Medical Cannabis

Kyung Lah (CNN) reports on a 6-year-old epilepsy patient who has been suffering fewer seizures since taking medical marijuana.

7 Year Old Girl Uses Medical Marijuana to Treat Cancer

A little girl with a rare form of cancer in Oregon uses medical marijuana as part of her treatment.

Medical Marijuana Used To Treat Autism In Children

Parents decide to use cannabis to treat their autistic son.

Medical Marijuana for kids

Mom Saves Her Son From Cancer by Choosing Cannabis Over Chemotherapy (Video)

Mom Saves Her Son From Cancer by Choosing Cannabis Over Chemotherapy (Video) | Third Monk image 2

Under doctors’ orders, 3-year-old Landon Riddle began treatment for his leukemia: aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. But while still living in Utah, Sierra Riddle watched her little boy become violently ill from the chemotherapy.

Landon suffered nerve-damage in his legs, nausea that led to vomiting dozens of times a day, intense pain and at one point went 25 days without eating following the chemo treatment, according to CNN.

“Around the clock, he was usually on liquid morphine, Ativan, Promethexane,” Sierra told CNN.

“And it just really didn’t seem to be helping.”

Feeling like her family “didn’t have anything left to lose” she looked into medical marijuana treatment. She moved her family to Colorado Springs, Colo. to benefit from the state’s marijuana laws and started to give Landon liquid forms of both Cannabidiol, or CBD, and Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC.

“Within four weeks we could see the improvement,” Sierra told KRDO, a local news affiliate

Sierra swapped chemotherapy for cannabis therapy and has seen her son return to his old energetic self as his cancer has gone into remission. 

cannabis3n-2-web

Doctor Threatens Mother for Choosing Cannabis Over Chemo

Sierra Riddle’s decision to use medical marijuana as treatment for her son’s cancer has raised some eyebrows in the traditional medical community — so much so, that one Colorado doctor reported Sierra to Human Services for refusing chemotherapy for Landon.

Landon-Riddle-Cannabis-Cure-StonerDays-7

Amazing Microscopic Footage of Cannabis Oil Purging Cancer Cells (Video)

Amazing Microscopic Footage of Cannabis Oil Purging Cancer Cells (Video) | Third Monk

Watch as the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, kills cancer cells.

Since 1974, studies have shown that cannabis has anti-tumor effects. The results of the 1974 Washington Post Study, were that cannabis’s component, THC, “slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent.”

In 1998, a research team at Madrid’s Complutense University discovered that THC can selectively induce programmed cell death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting surrounding healthy cells. 

No chemotherapy can match this nontoxic anti-cancer action.

– The SETH Group, Cancer Research

The Action of Cannabinoids in Cancer Cells

A breakdown of what happens when THC enters a cancer cell.

A March 2002 issue of “Nature Medicine” showed that cannabis had destroyed incurable brain cancer tumors in rats by injecting them with THC. 

Scientists Cure Cancer in Mice with Cannabis

Watch as cancer cells self destruct in the presence of cannabis.

Parallel experiments were performed testing the effect of THC on human brain cancer cells (glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM) and also on normal brain cells. Both types of cells were treated with the same concentration of Δ9-THC but after 20 hours only the cancer cells died. Cell death is seen in the lower right panel as cells shrinking to inanimate white spheres.

Clip from the PBS documentary Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis

Cannabis Prevents Brain Disease By Removing Damaged Cells (Study)

Cannabis Prevents Brain Disease By Removing Damaged Cells (Study) | Third Monk

cannabis-removes-brain-damage

A recent cannabis study conducted in Germany is suggesting that marijuana triggers the release of antioxidants, which act as a cleansing mechanism. This process is known to remove damaged cells and improve the efficiency of mitochondria, which is the energy source that powers cells.

These discoveries shed new insight on how natural marijuana cannabinoids hold the capacity to literally kill the brain inflammation responsible for causing cognitive decline, neural failure, and brain degeneration.

By supplying these receptor sites with cannabinoids, patients may be able to overcome brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and more, not to mention premature brain aging. The human brain has an extensive network of special receptor sites that modulate nervous system function only when activated by the appropriate cannabinoid compounds, which are found in the marijuana plant.

Cannabis, the Most Efficient Cancer Fighting Substance

Cannabinoid system activity is neuroprotective, and increasing it could be a promising strategy for slowing down the progression of brain aging and for alleviating the systems of neurodegenerative disorders  – Andras Biokei, Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn in Germany

I’ve been trying to find a drug that will reduce brain inflammation and restore cognitive function in rats for over 25 years; cannabinoids are the first and only class of drugs that have ever been effective. I think that the perception about this drug is changing and in the future people will be less fearful. – Gerry Wenk, Professor of neuroscience at Ohio State University

Biokei and his collegues said that the greatest hurdle for moving forward with their research are the social and political challenges. This isn’t something new, our world seems to be dominated by belief systems instead of obvious fact.

It’s quite clear that the powers that be do not want to legalize marijuana, and we know that they do not have our best interest at hand. 

Cannabis Brain Damage Study Sources:

http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/367/1607/3326.abstract?sid=20cf2c23-e4fd-49e3-9398-ec8be2e00226

http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/29/how-cannabinoids-may-slow-brain-aging/

http://www.drugscience.org/Petition/C3D.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/040456_marijuana_cannabinoids_dementia.html

http://edrv.endojournals.org/content/27/1/73.fullhttp://cannabisclinicians.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/OS-2011-Terpenes+Minor-CBs.pdf

New Study Shows Cannabinoids Improve Efficiency Of Mitochondria And Remove Damaged Brain Cells | Collective Evolution

Medical Marijuana Laws, State Comparison (Infographic)

Medical Marijuana Laws, State Comparison (Infographic) | Third Monk image 2

Medical Marijuana Infographic

Timeline of Prop. 215 and SB420 – California’s Medical Marijuana Laws

Prop. 215 took effect on Nov. 6, 1996 as California Health & Safety Code 11362.5. The law makes it legal for patients and their designated primary caregivers to possess and cultivate marijuana for their personal medical use given the recommendation or approval of a California-licensed physician.

Prop. 215 explicitly covers marijuana possession and cultivation for personal medical use. Hashish and concentrated cannabis, including edibles, are also included.

SB420, a legislative statute, went into effect on January 1, 2004 as California H&SC 11362.7-.83. This law broadens Prop. 215 to transportation and other offenses in certain circumstances; allows patients to form medical cultivation “collectives” or “cooperatives”; and establishes a voluntary state ID card system run through county health departments. SB420 sets a baseline statewide guideline of 6 mature or 12 immature plants, and 1/2 pound (8 oz.) processed cannabis per patient. Individual cities and counties are allowed to enact higher, but not lower, limits than the state standard.

Under Prop. 215, a recommendation is valid so long as the doctor says it is. However, SB420 requires ID cards to be renewed annually, and many police refuse to recognize recommendations that are older than a year or so. Courts have ruled that patients must have a valid approval at the time of their arrest, though this can have been oral.

Patients are not required to get an ID card to enjoy the protection of Prop. 215. All that is needed is a physician’s statement saying that marijuana is “approved” or “recommended.”

 

As Medical Marijuana Laws continue to be progressive we still see entities such as the DEA and the U.N. fight to nullify the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado for fear of a domino effect across the nation. As we go through these changes remain knowledgeable on the current Medical Marijuana Laws, their guidelines and spread knowledge. Cannabis has uses beyond simply altering one’s state of being and the studies on cannabis continue to uncover more and more benefits. Our bodies are wired to intake cannabis, hemp can be used for a wide array of manufacturing purposes, and the relief brought to patients and the economy are indisputable.

For a deeper look into Medical Marijuana Laws check out the California NORML site.

Cannabis Cures Cancer – The Science Behind Marijuana’s Cancer Fighting Properties (Video)

Cannabis Cures Cancer - The Science Behind Marijuana's Cancer Fighting Properties (Video) | Third Monk image 2

Cannabis-Stops-Cancer

The joint research of Pierre Desprez  and Sean McAllister lead to the discovery of the relationship between ID-1, the gene that causes cancer to spread, and Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, a non-toxic, non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. The cannabinoid CBD has the ability to send a death signal from the body to the ID-1.

Our body has two types of cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2. When Cannabidiol meets with CB2 receptors your body sends a suicide signal to the cancer cell.

Cannabis Cures Cancer – Proof

This video shows the positive results of CBD’s cancer fighting properties in lab tests and on rats.

7 Marijuana Myths and Propaganda Debunked

7 Marijuana Myths and Propaganda Debunked | Third Monk image 14

marijuana-myths-propaganda-debunked

Marijuana is a tool on par with a Swiss army knife. It can benefit humans medically, creatively and spiritually. Marijuana itself is not inherently detrimental.

Humans are responsible for the way tools are used and any tool can be used to harm oneself or another human. The science speaks for itself; it is time for humans to take responsibility for their own shortcomings and look for ways to further advance themselves.

“Smoking pot doesn’t make you a loser, being a loser makes you a loser.” – Joe Rogan

Marijuana Myth 1: Marijuana Causes Birth Defects

tumblr_ltlun8hWdX1qb1kwgo1_1280A study of Jamaican women who had smoked pot throughout pregnancy found that their babies registered higher on developmental scores at the age of 30 days, while experiencing no significant effects on birth-weight or length.

While cannabis use is not recommended in pregnancy, it may be of medical value to some women in treating morning sickness or easing childbirth.

Marijuana Myth 2: Marijuana Causes Sterility and Lowers Testosterone

1013Government experts concede that pot has no permanent effect on the male or female reproductive systems. A couple of lab studies indicated that very heavy marijuana smoking might lower sperm counts. However, surveys of chronic smokers have turned up no indication of infertility or other abnormalities.

One human study suggested that pot may mildly disrupt ovulation. It is possible that adolescents are peculiarly vulnerable to hormonal disruptions from pot. However, not a single case of impaired fertility has ever been observed in humans of either sex.

Marijuana Myth 3: Marijuana Causes Chromosome and Cell Damage

jail-for-marijuana-patientsCannabinoids in themselves are neither mutagenic nor carcinogenic, though the tars produced by marijuana combustion are. Some laboratory studies have suggested that high dosages of THC might interfere with cell replication and produce abnormal numbers of chromosomes; however, there is no evidence of such damage in realistic situations.

Marijuana Myth 4: Marijuana Kills Brain Cells

Monkey-Brain-DamageGovernment experts now admit that pot doesn’t kill brain cells. This myth came from a handful of animal experiments in which structural changes (not actual cell death, as is often alleged) were observed in brain cells of animals exposed to high doses of pot.

Human studies of heavy users in Jamaica and Costa Rica found no evidence of abnormalities in brain physiology.

Marijuana Myth 5: Marijuana Damages the Immune System

MMJ-AdvocatesThe recent discovery of a cannabinoid receptor inside rat spleens, where immune cells reside, raises the likelihood that cannabinoids do exert some sort of influence on the immune system. It has even been suggested that these effects might be beneficial for patients with auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Nevertheless, not a single case of marijuana-induced immune deficiency has ever been clinically or epidemiologically detected in humans.

There is no reason to think marijuana is dangerous to AIDS patients. On the contrary, many AIDS patients report that marijuana helps avert the deadly “wasting syndrome” by stimulating appetite and reducing nausea. Cannabinoids do not actually damage the T-cells, which are depleted in HIV patients: one study even found that marijuana exposure increased T-cell counts in subjects (not AIDS patients) whose T-cell counts had been low.

Marijuana Myth 6: Marijuana Prohibition Improves Public Safety

JNS.MarijuanaRaid3There is no evidence that the prohibition of marijuana reduces the net social risk of accidents. On the contrary, recent studies suggest that marijuana may actually be beneficial in that it substitutes for alcohol and other, more dangerous drugs.

Research by Karyn Model found that states with marijuana decriminalization had lower overall drug abuse rates than others; another study by Frank Chaloupka found decriminalization states have lower accident rates too.

Marijuana Myth 7: Marijuana is a Dangerous Drug

stonerseriesheadstonerAny discussion of marijuana should begin with the fact that there have been numerous official reports and studies, every one of which has concluded that marijuana poses no great risk to society and should not be criminalized.

The current consensus is well stated in the 20th annual report of the California Research Advisory Panel (1990), which recommended that personal use and cultivation of marijuana be legalized: “An objective consideration of marijuana shows that it is responsible for less damage to society and the individual than are alcohol and cigarettes.”

 

Check out NORML’s Marijuana Health Mythology for more marijuana myths and all the studies that led to the debunking of these myths.

Medical Marijuana – Impact on Human Health Documentary (Video)

Medical Marijuana - Impact on Human Health Documentary (Video) | Third Monk image 3

In this myth shattering, information packed documentary, learn from physicians and leading researchers about medical marijuana and its demonstrated effects on human health. This game changing documentary presents the most comprehensive synopsis to date of the real science surrounding the world’s most controversial plant.

Medical Marijuana – Impact on Human Health Documentary Topics

-What the consensus is from over 1500 scientific and medical trials

-What conditions have been proven to benefit from medical marijuana

-Its historical use as medicine dating back over 5300 years

Methods of delivery and their different advantages

-Government sponsored studies intended to show Marijuana having negative effects that yielded the exact opposite results

Common myths about negative effects of Marijuana and what the research really says about these topics

Marijuana’s History in Medicine

It was in 1942 that it was totally removed from the US Pharmacopeia or the formulary (list of medicines), but up until 1942 physicians could still write prescriptions for cannabis. Marijuana hasn’t been a medicine for 68 years in this country but it has been a medicine in the world for 3000 years. – Dr. Donald Abrams M.D., Chief of Hematology/Oncology, SF General Hospital

Unjust Government Classification of Cannabis

In 1988 the chief administrative law judge of the FDA issued a ruling recommending that marijuana be rescheduled from schedule 1 to schedule 2. In his ruling he found that marijuana was one of the safest therapeutic agents known to man and he stated that it was safer than eating 10 potatoes. So I’ve always been very careful about the number of potatoes I’ve eaten since then. – Dr. David Bearman M.D., Physician

Marijuana is Natural, Herbal Treatment for Asthma

Marijuana was widely used in the 1920s for the treatment of asthma and in the 1970s we found that marijuana has a Bronchodilator effect, it’s because the THC in the marijuana. – Dr. Donald Tashkin M.D., Professor of Pulmonary Medicin, UCLA

The Right to Use Cannabis as Medicine

If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls of those who live under tyranny. – Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence

Carl Sagan On the Importance of Medical Marijuana (Video)

Carl Sagan On the Importance of Medical Marijuana (Video) | Third Monk

All over the country there are people having terminal cases of cancer or aids, who are given for example huge doses of chemotherapy agents which force them to be nauseous and unable to eat food which leads rapidly to their dwindling away because they can’t eat.

It’s well established that Marijuana counteracts this nausea and a few cases where it’s permitted or when its done illegally remarkable benefits accrue.

Is it rational to forbid patients who are dying from taking marijuana as a palliate to permit them to gain body weight and to get food down? It seems madness to say we’re worried they’re going to become addicted to marijuana—which there’s no evidence whatsoever that it’s addictive—but even if it were, these people are dying. What are we saving them from? So that’s a highly irrational official government position on at least some parts of drugs. – Carl Sagan

Carl-Sagan-medical-marijuana