Hurdles facing medical cannabis in Germany

Depending on the indication, it is moderately difficult to obtain prepared cannabis drugs on prescription. When it comes to the plant version it becomes complex but not irresolvable. Germany must supply patients with cannabis whether it wants to or not because some patients have gone to court to obtain it.

 
Import is expensive because transport to and sale in Germany costs between 9 and 14 euros per gram – ultimately more than the flower itself. The German government has for years been refusing to allow the medicine to be produced domestically because it does not want to establish a cannabis agency. After all, a cannabis agency would mean regulation, and most importantly the standardisation of natural cannabis medication.

In Germany, the country with the most powerful pharmaceutics lobby in the EU, this is not politically desirable. This is why the import model and bureaucratic monster known as the “Certificate of exemption under § 3 clause 2 of the Narcotics Act” was established. It is a way of protecting against lawsuits from more patients and at the same time creating enormous hurdles which many ill people cannot get over on their own. For the moment, at least.

Continue reading: http://sensiseeds.com/en/blog/hurdles-facing-natural-cannabis-medicine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hurdles-facing-natural-cannabis-medicine

mothers give epileptic kids covertly grown medical cannabis

Paulina Bobadilla was beyond desperate. The drugs no longer stopped her daughter’s epileptic seizures and the little girl had become so numb to pain, she would tear off her own fingernails and leave her small fingers bleeding.

Bobadilla was driving on a mountain road with Javiera, intent on ending it all by steering their car off a cliff.
“All I wanted to do was to die along with her,” the 34-year-old mother recalled of that day in April 2013. “I told her: ‘This is it.’ But then she said, ‘Mommy, I love you.’ I looked at her and I knew I had to continue fighting.”

 
 Seven-year-old epilepsy sufferer Javiera Canales holds a watering can on Nov. 16 amid pots of cannabis plants grown for their oil. Her mother, Paulina Bobadilla, knows cultivation is illegal, but says a few drops a day lessens Javiera's seizures.

Bobadilla’s desperation to ease her daughter’s condition is an emotion familiar to other Chilean parents who say medical marijuana can help their children and who, rather than wait for Congress to act, have taken matters into their own hands.

Despite the risk of jail time, about 100 parents have formed a group, Mama Cultiva, or “Mama Grows,” to share knowledge about cultivating marijuana to extract cannabis oil for their seizure-stricken children.

In clandestine meetings, the parents exchange tips and listen to cultivation experts explain how to grow and reproduce plants. Bobadilla and most of the members grow marijuana in their backyards, even though they could face up to 15 years in jail for doing so.

Alcohol is far more deadly than cannabis, former minister Norman Baker says

Alcohol is a much greater threat to people’s health than cannabis, former Home Office minister Norman Baker has warned, saying its dangers are being underplayed.

 
 Pointing to figures that show there were only 13 deaths related to cannabis use last year compared with more than 7,000 caused by alcohol, the Lib Dem MP says there is “hysteria” over drug use in the UK.

 Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that of the 13 deaths in 2013 that were related to cannabis, 12 mentioned other factors as well on the death certificates.

“These figures show that we need to be less hysterical about cannabis and worried more about alcohol,” said Mr Baker. “I’m in favour of evidence-based policy, and we underplay the dangers of alcohol. Politicians need to reflect that society has changed since the 1970s, so the rhetoric should change.”

The ONS said that only one death certificate solely mentioned cannabis use.

This is believed to be Gemma Moss, a 31-year-old mother of three from Boscombe in Bournemouth, who died last October having taken up cannabis after a two-year break to help her sleep.

Even in that case, thought to be the first instance of a British woman to have died of cannabis poisoning, drugs charities have questioned the findings.

Read the full article at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/alcohol-is-far-more-deadly-than-cannabis-former-minister-norman-baker-says-9885334.html

Could CANNABIS prevent PTSD? Drug 'alters the area of the brain associated with traumatic memories'

• Synthetic cannabis compound given to rats after an electric shock
• They were then shown a reminder of the shock to bring back the memory 
• Rats given the compound showed no symptoms of PTSD
• Comparably, rats not administered the compound showed PTSD symptoms
• Compound alters area of the brain associated with traumatic memories
• 'Human trials should be carried out to see if cannabis is a viable treatment'
  
    
   
  Cannabis could help prevent the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), scientists have claimed.
  The drug triggers changes in the area of the brain associated with traumatic memories, they found. 
  The new study adds to a growing body of research showing marijuana can have a positive effect on PTSD. 
  Scientists at the University of Haifa in Israel examined the effects of WIN 55,212-2, a synthetic compound that produces a similar effect that of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in marijuana. 
  
  

  They analysed how the compound affected people exposed to reminders of their trauma.

  
  

  PTSD sufferers often find certain events, places or situations bring back the memory of their trauma, amplifying the negative effects. 

  
  

  Lead author Dr Irit Akirav, of the University of Haifa, said: 'The findings of our study suggest that the connectivity within the brain's fear circuit changes following trauma, and the administration of cannabinoids prevents this change from happening.'

  
  

  She said: 'This study can lead to future trials in humans regarding possible ways to prevent the development of PTSD and anxiety disorders in response to a traumatic event.' 

    

  SYMPTOMS OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISOREDER 

  
  

  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

  PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event or it can occur weeks, months or even years later.

  PTSD is estimated to affect about one in every three people who have a traumatic experience, but it's not clear exactly why some people develop the condition and others don't.

  Someone with PTSD will often relive the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt.

  They may also have problems sleeping, such as insomnia, and find concentrating difficult.

  These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on the person’s day-to-day life.

  Source: NHS Choices

  
  Continue reading: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2848670/Could-CANNABIS-prevent-PTSD-Drug-alters-area-brain-associated-traumatic-memories.html#ixzz3KAPJ4tf2

   

Cannabis accessories: The strange world of the 'head shop'

Cannabis is illegal and yet in the UK shops selling cannabis paraphernalia operate openly on the High Street. The "head shop" is an institution that shows no sign of going away, writes Helen Soteriou.

People may not be familiar with the 1960s term "head shop", but there's one in virtually every British and American city.

 
 They tend to make a lot of their money from two categories of products.

There are bongs. Cigarette papers of every size and make. T-shirts bearing the legend "Adihash", in a reference to Adidas's logo looking a bit like a leaf. Steel pipes. Plastic grinders. Rolling "machines" for cannabis smokers who can't be bothered learning how to do it by hand. Sundry caps with Bob Marley on.
The other category is legal highs - drugs formulated to avoid breaching current laws and the subject of perennial concern after a series of high-profile deaths.

One of the last acts by recently departed Home Office minister Norman Baker was to propose restrictions on head shops. He was speaking as part of an attack on legal highs. The substances are a big part of the profits made by many head shops.

Continue reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30185559

Spine fracture victim used web ‘idiot’s guide’ to grow medical cannabis - and it turned into triffids!

A DRIVER who suffered serious back injuries in a "terrible" road accident grew cannabis plants at a Belton industrial unit for pain relief rather than having to buy it from dealers.

 
 Medical Cannabis plants grown in Scunthrope

But he was shocked at how "scarily" the plants grew to "triffid" sizes after he followed an "idiot's guide" from the internet, a court heard.

Adam Moran, 30, admitted producing cannabis.

District judge Daniel Curtis told North Lincolnshire Magistrates' Court that police executed a search warrant at a unit on Sandtoft industrial estate, Belton, and found 10 cannabis plants as well as lighting and ventilation equipment. The estimated potential value of the cannabis was £14,400.

Moran had previously been a motor sport driver and in May 2007 suffered a "terrible" road accident which left him suffering serious spine fractures. He needed a back brace, which was removed two years later.

Moran tried cannabis to tackle pain, but did not like coming into contact with dealers so grew his own using an "idiot's guide" from the internet, but claimed the plants grew "scarily" and showed big "triffid" growth.
"His aim was not to sell or distribute this cannabis, but to keep it for himself," said Mr Curtis.

"He suffered debilitating daily pain. He was desperate to find pain relief without physical side-effects. There was no evidence whatsoever of any financial motive."

Moran, of Lord Porter Avenue, Stainforth, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and must pay £85 costs and an £80 victims' surcharge.

Read more: http://www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk/Spine-fracture-victim-used-web-8216-idiot-8217-s/story-24568414-detail/story.html

Cannabis extracts can help slow the growth of cancerous tumours when used alongside radiotherapy treatments, new research has suggested.

Two active chemical components found in cannabis plants, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) were tested as part of research into the treatment of brain cancer tumours.

This type of cancer is notoriously difficult to treat and has a particularly poor prognosis. The rate of survival for patients five years after diagnosis is just 10 per cent.

 

A team at St George's, the University of London, treated brain tumours in mice in a variety of ways, either without any treatment, the cannabinoids alone, irradiation alone or with the cannabinoids and irradiation at the same time.

They found tumours growing in the brains of mice were drastically slowed down when the THC and CBD cannabinoids were combined with irradiation.

The team are now discussing testing the treatment in human clinical trials.

Dr Wai Liu, Senior Research Fellow and lead researcher on the project, described the results as “extremely exciting”.

"Those treated with both irradiation and the cannabinoids saw the most beneficial results and a drastic reduction in size," he said.

“In some cases, the tumours effectively disappeared in the animals. This augurs well for further research in humans in the future. - this is a mostly fatal disease at the moment.

"The benefits of the cannabis plant elements were known before but the drastic reduction of brain cancers if used with irradiation is something new and may well prove promising for patients who are in gravely serious situations with such cancers in the future."

The study has been published in the Molecular Cancer Therapeutics journal.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/cannabis-extracts-can-dramatically-slow-growth-of-brain-cancer-tumours-9863097.html

Bob Marley family launches "first world cannabis brand"

The family of the late Jamaican reggae artist, Bob Marley has launched what they describe as the world's first global cannabis brand.

 

 Bob Marley's image presides over a medical marijuana farmer's market in California

It will be called Marley Natural and be used to sell cannabis-infused lotions, creams and various accessories.
The new brand is being developed with Privateer Holdings based in Washington state, stressing the life and legacy of Jamaica's greatest cultural export.

It is intended to be sold in the US and possibly worldwide from next year.  Bob Marley's daughter, Cedella Marley, said her father would welcome the move. "My dad would be so happy to see people understanding the healing power of the herb," she said.

Privateer's chief executive Brendan Kennedy said a Marley was "someone who, in many ways, helped start the movement to end cannabis prohibition 50 years ago. "It was just a natural fit between Bob Marley and this product. You know if you were to look for the most famous human being who ever walked the face of the earth related to cannabis, it would be Bob Marley."

Bob Marley died of cancer in May 1981. He embraced cannabis as a key part of his Rastafarian faith and supported its legalisation. Cannabis use for recreational purposes is legal in the US states of Colorado and Washington.Several other states may follow suit and others are permitting the sale of cannabis for prescribed medical purposes. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-30110235

The new strain of medical cannabis plant that could help treat psychosis

Although widely seen as a potential trigger for schizophrenia, marijuana also contains an ingredient that appears to have antipsychotic effects. 

 
 Dr David Potter of GW Pharmaceuticals surrounded by 30,000 cannabis plants at an undisclosed location in the UK. Photograph: Peter Smith

In an enormous glasshouse a few hours from London, there’s a powerful, unmistakable smell in the air: it’s the one that seems to cling to some surly teenagers and drifts around on the breeze at pop festivals. Here, 30,000 cannabis plants sway gently beneath giant fans and immensely bright lights. Only the remarkable uniformity of the plants – and the people walking round in lab coats – tells you the place isn’t some drug lord’s illicit cannabis factory.

This is the only research facility in the UK licensed to grow cannabis on a vast commercial scale. Here, Dr David Potter has overseen the production of nearly 2m cannabis plants, mostly for medical research or the production of the cannabis-based multiple sclerosis drug Sativex. He is director of botany and cultivation for GW Pharmaceuticals, a company that is exploring how cannabis could help treat a range of illnesses ranging from epilepsy to cancer.

Recently Potter and GW’s team have turned their attention to developing a cannabis-based treatment for psychosis and related illnesses such as schizophrenia. For a drug that is widely seen as a trigger for acute psychotic illness in young users, this at first sounds preposterous. But, as Potter explains, the cannabis plant is much more than just a psychedelic weed.

“The most well-known ingredient in cannabis that gets people high is THC [or tetrahydrocannabinol],” says Potter, who often travels to give talks in London carrying a suspicious-smelling suitcase of the plants. “But THC is just one of dozens of potentially useful cannabinoids in the plant.”

Continue reading: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/16/new-strain-cannabis-treat-psychosis-schizophrenia-gw-pharmaceuticals-david-potter?CMP=share_btn_fb

Study finds compound in medical cannabis plant can help shrink aggressive brain tumours

Treatment uses active chemical components of the plant - cannabinoids these were combined with radiation when treating brain cancer patients. Mice given the treatment saw tumours shrink  in size dramatically. In some, they virtually disappeared, hailed as 'extremely exciting'.



Cannabis can have a dramatic effect on aggressive forms of brain cancer, a new study shows.

The new research, conducted by specialists at St George's, University of London, studied the treatment of brain tumours in the laboratory.

It found the most effective treatment was to combine active chemical components of the cannabis plant, which are known as cannabinoids.

Two of these - called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) - were tested as part of the research into brain cancer.

This is particularly difficult to treat and claims the lives of about 5,200 patients each year.

It also has a particularly poor prognosis as the rate of survival after five years of patients' diagnosis is around 10 per cent,

The new research is the first to show a drastic effect when combining THC and CBD with radiation.

Dr Wai Liu, Senior Research Fellow and lead researcher on the project, said: 'The results are extremely exciting.

'The tumours were treated in a variety of ways - either with no treatment, the cannabinoids alone, and radiation alone.

'Or, with both the cannabinoids and radiation at the same time.

'Those treated with both radiation and the cannabinoids saw the most beneficial results and a drastic reduction in size.

In some cases, the tumours effectively disappeared in the animals.

'The benefits of the cannabis plant elements were known before.

'But the drastic reduction of brain cancers - if used with radiation - is something new and may well prove promising for patients who are in gravely serious situations with such cancers in the future.'

Continue reading: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2837774/How-CANNABIS-treat-cancer-Study-finds-compound-plant-help-shrink-brain-aggressive-brain-tumours.html

E-cigarette firm eyes emerging medical cannabis oil market

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — As more states approve the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, an Oklahoma-based electronic cigarette retailer is looking to build a national franchise.

Marijuana is illegal under federal drug laws. But voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., approved ballot measures Tuesday to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, joining Washington state and Colorado. And in more than a dozen other states, medical marijuana is available.

 

The growing availability of legal pot opens the door for Tulsa-based Palm Beach Vapors to market a method for producing a cannabis oil product that can be inhaled through a common e-cigarette, according to CEO and co-founder Chip Paul.

"This is a wave that's kind of sweeping the nation," said Paul, whose company is looking to patent the method and has already signed licensing deals in California and Colorado for what it calls the M-System. He said he intends to set up franchise locations in other states.

The use of marijuana is currently illegal in Oklahoma, but the market for cannabis products is projected to grow as more states move to legalize it. Advocates plan a big push for legalization initiatives on 2016 ballots in California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada, according to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Continue reading: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/e-cigarette-firm-eyes-emerging-cannabis-oil-market-155010063.html

Arthritis sufferer used cannabis to ease his medical condition

FATHER-OF-TWO Christopher Dutton grew 16 cannabis plants in his bedroom to help ease his arthritis.

The 46-year-old was caught growing the class B drug in his specially-adapted home at Rosemary Place, Sneyd Green.

 

Christopher Dutton (pictured) claimed he used the drugs as medication for his severe arthritis.

But he narrowly avoided jail when he appeared before Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Paul Farrow said: "Officers executed a warrant at an address in Sneyd Green. The defendant opened the door and officers searched the house.

"They went into a rear bedroom where they discovered 16 cannabis plants behind a partition along with the usual equipment. The defendant said they were his.

"A further search found two small bags in the kitchen, with an estimated £40 worth of cannabis inside. The estimated yield of the plants was 630 grams, a street value of £5,100."

Dutton was interviewed and told officer he would use around six plants for medicinal purposes.

He said he had arthritis and would turn the plants into oil and also eat the cannabis.

Continue reading: http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Sneyd-Green-arthritis-sufferer-used-cannabis-ease/story-24506038-detail/story.html

Cannabis gran Pat Tabram from Hexham who baked hash cookies for her neighbours dies The cannabis dealing grandmother, who made drug laced casseroles at her Humshaugh near Hexham, home was 'ahead of her time'

A cannabis-dealing grandmother who used to cook drug-laced casseroles for her neighbours was ahead of her times, a friend has said after her death.
 
  Patricia Tabram hit the headlines when her house was repeatedly raided by police after they were tipped off about the savoury smells and activities coming from her bungalow near Hexham, Northumberland.

In her kitchen she would cook up home-made herbal cookies, casseroles and soups, all with the special ingredient for her friends, who she said she was medicating.

She even went on to stand against a former cabinet minister in the 2005 General Election, representing the Legalise Cannabis Party.

Eventually the law caught up with her and she appeared at Newcastle Crown Court aged 66 in 2005 and admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

But despite receiving a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years she made it clear she would continue taking the drug.

Continue reading: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/cannabis-gran-pat-tabram-hexham-8098953

Effects of cannabis use study: Scientists say brains of regular cannabis are smaller – but work faster

A new study into the effects of cannabis has discovered that regular users have smaller brains than those who never smoke the substance.

The research into “chronic” marijuana use confirms in humans a phenomenon that has previously been observed in laboratory mice – the existence of reduced grey matter.
 
 
According to a team of scientists from the University of Texas and the Mind Research Network, whose study was published in the PNAS journal on Monday, marijuana users had “significantly less volume” to their orbitofrontal cortex, a region of the brain that is critical to how a person processes reward, motivation and addictive decisions.

But the study, which compared 48 users with 62 “control” subjects who never smoked, found that the brains of the former had “higher functional and structural connectivity”.

Though the research did not observe users over time, its results did suggest that those who had used cannabis regularly over a “protracted” period had better-connected brains, which they speculated could be the result of the body compensating for the damage caused, the LA Times reported.

Continue reading: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/effects-of-cannabis-use-study-scientists-say-brains-of-regular-marijuana-smokers-are-smaller--but-work-faster-9852937.html

Michael J Fox , Medical Cannabis and Parkinsons - tough viewing but worth doing

One of the main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is a deterioration of motor functions, which can be grouped into four different categories: tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement and postural instability. Tremors are certainly the most visible and well-known of the motor symptoms, but there are numerous other specific motor symptoms that patients can suffer from, depending on the individual.

 

Please view the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En5HJBxstVk

In addition to the motor symptoms, there are also neuropsychiatric symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that can include a deterioration of certain cognitive functions, mood disorders or behavioural disorders. These disorders largely manifest themselves as problems with concentration, memory, language and visuospatial skills. The progressive deterioration of this cognitive capacity can, over the long-term, result in a much more severe manifestation of dementia.

Since the 1970s, the scientific community – prompted by frequent reports from patients opting for self-medication – has been able to focus its research on cannabinoids for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The number of studies conducted on the subject continues to be relatively low, despite recent renewed efforts in this direction owing to the frequency of cases reported by patients suffering from the disease.

Tests were carried out on patients with an average age of 66 and were conducted before consuming cannabis, then 30 minutes after consuming cannabis. The differences in the scores obtained on each of the key motor symptoms were conclusive, especially insofar as these patients had been diagnosed on average 7.5 years previously.

The patients tested had a common variable: they were all regular consumers of cannabis, having opted of their own accord for self-medication. According to these patients, one “dose” of cannabis, i.e. one cannabis cigarette or one dose of vaporised cannabis, could provide relief for 2 to 3 hours.

Finally, an observational study presented by Israeli neuroscientists in March 2014 proved for the first time the efficacy of cannabinoids on a group of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, including both motor and non-motor disorders. These findings represent incredible progress as these types of tests have always been difficult, or near impossible, because of the limited availability of medicinal cannabis for use in research.

Continue reading: http://sensiseeds.com/en/blog/cannabis-parkinsons-disease/

There have been anecdotal reports that cannabis might be useful for multiple sclerosis symptoms such as pain, spasticity and bladder symptoms.

There has been some research into cannabis based medicines.

The CAMS study, which involved 660 participants around the UK, looked at the effect of cannabis on various symptoms of MS, primarily on spasticity. Results of this study were mixed, with no significant effect on spasticity as measured by the Ashworth scale. However, some improvement was shown on the time taken to complete a 10-metre walk and patient satisfaction scored were positive.

 


A systematic review published in December 2009 found that five out of six double-blind, randomized controlled trials reported a decrease in spasticity and improved mobility in people with MS taking a combination of the cannabis extracts Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). All of the studies reported some side effects which seemed to be related to the dosage. Generally the treatment was well-tolerated.

The CUPID trial explored whether cannabis might have a role in protecting the brain from damage by multiple sclerosis, a concept called neuroprotection. Initial results from the study were presented in May 2012 and showed that was no difference between participants who took the cannabis based medicine and those on placebo.

The MUSEC trial, which reported in 2012, involved 279 people taking a cannabis based pill or placebo. The trial showed higher proportions of people on the active treatment reporting reductions in muscle stiffness, spasms and pain and improved sleep quality.

Sativex

Sativex is a cannabis based mouth spray. It is licensed as an add-on treatment for moderate to severe MS spasticity in people who receive inadequate relief from the standard oral anti-spasticity medicines or have experienced unbearable side effects whilst taking these medicines.
Other than its use in medical trials or in the form of Sativex, it is illegal to posess, cultivate or supply cannabis in the UK.


Continue reading and references: http://www.mstrust.org.uk/atoz/cannabis.jsp

Medical marijuana users caught in state-federal conflict

The grandfather and several members of his family are facing federal charges for something the state of Washington has considered legal for more than 15 years.

Steph Sherer - The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely hers.

 

Larry is a medical marijuana patient. He legally used cannabis to treat severe pain, caused by a lifetime of work as a commercial fisherman and long-haul truck driver. Larry and his wife, Rhonda, live in the mountains outside a tiny town called Kettle Falls, where they garden, hunt and fish for nearly all of their food. Cannabis was among the dozens of herbs that grew on their property.

(CNN) -- Ten years in prison seems like a life-changing sentence for most people, but for 70-year-old Larry Harvey, it would effectively be a death sentence.

The tranquility was shattered on a hot August day in 2012, when armed state and federal agents stormed the Harvey homestead in the first of three raids, conducted at a big expense to taxpayers. Despite his poor health and low risk to society, Larry was handcuffed and sent to jail by the government, after prosecutors said guns were found along with the marijuana. By the time a judge released him 17 days later, Larry was unable to walk because of a severe gout flare-up caused by his lack of health care in jail and can now only walk very short distances.

Larry is the latest in a long line of desperately ill patients who have suffered enormously while enduring prosecution for medical marijuana.

Jerry Duval, a dual transplant recipient from Michigan, is serving a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence at a federal medical prison.

Aaron Sandusky, a provider from California, is locked up in Texas with a heart condition that could claim his life without proper medication.

Tragically, best-selling author Peter McWilliams died from complications of HIV and cancer after the terms of his federal probation outlawed the use of cannabis. And there are, unfortunately, many others.

Continue readign and watch the excellent CNN piece:

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/05/opinion/sherer-medical-marijuana-prosecutions/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Editor's note: David Mattingly talks to Larry and Rhonda Harvey about their case Monday night on Erin Burnett OutFront at 7 p.m. ET on CNN. Steph Sherer is founder and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, a national organization that seeks to promote safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. 

Legalise medical cannabis campaigners Devon Cannabis Club write to Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, taking bid to Westminster

DEVON Cannabis Club has written a lengthy letter Totnes MP Dr Sarah Wollaston about drug policy in its crusade to get the drug legalised.

 The group, who openly smoked the drug in Exeter's Flower Pots Park during an event in September, is taking its bid to get the drug legalised to Westminster.



Following Sarah Wollaston’s appearance in a House of Commons debate about drugs , Devon Cannabis Club chairman Daryl Sullivan has written to her.

"......

An area of the debate that was hardly touched upon in the commons is the medical uses for cannabis. Medicinal marijuana is available in 23 US states plus the District of Columbia, as well as a huge number of countries around the world. In the UK GW Pharmaceuticals produce tonnes of medical grade cannabis every year which is used to make medicines such as Sativex, an oral spray which has just been blacklisted by NICE due to cost effectiveness worries. This blacklisting has nothing to do with the efficacy of the drugs and everything to do with the fact that GW, being the sole owners of a government license to grow cannabis, are able to charge pretty much whatever they like for them. Cannabis is proven to be massively beneficial for a huge number of medical conditions and the fact that the UK government continues to class it as having no medical value is beyond ludicrous – it is criminal. Allowing cannabis to be prescribed to sick people who need it would be the humane thing to do and would save the NHS millions as patients would literally be able to grow their own medicine. But instead we insist on breaking down the doors of people growing a plant to improve their lives, branding them criminals, and in some cases locking them up and forcing them back onto legal medications which often don’t work and almost always have far greater risks to the individual than cannabis.

....."

For the full transcript of the letter: http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/Legalise-cannabis-campaigners-Devon-Cannabis-Club/story-24290261-detail/story.html

CHARITIES have called for Scotland to have the power to decriminalise medical cannabis

As Westminster Government partners fall out over the UK's long-standing policy of prohibition, the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is lobbying for drug laws to be devolved.

The umbrella group has formally asked the all-party Smith Commission, which is working on new Home Rule proposals, to move control of the Misuse Of Drugs Act north of the Border.

 

 

Charities backing the move include Addaction, one of the biggest bodies supporting addicts in the UK.
Ruchir Shah, SCVO's policy manager, said: "Many voluntary organisations want Scotland to have powers over the control of illegal drugs. Tackling substance abuse could then be tailored more closely to Scotland's particular challenges and needs.

"Some of SCVO's member charities have raised concerns the current approach tries to criminalise people. They would prefer to see policies coming from a health, care and community approach."

Such an approach could see Scotland move to a more liberal regime within the UK - mirroring America. There, different states take very different attitudes to drugs, with two having legalised cannabis and several other decriminalising the substance.

Several senior drugs policy experts north of the border now question Westminster rhetoric on the issue.
SNP MSP Christine Grahame, who chairs the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee, welcomed any move to bring drugs laws to Holyrood, saying this would provide more "cohesive" policy-making.

"If we are going to tackle drug issues we need the full range of powers. In many cases we would endeavour to be compatible with the rest of the UK - especially in terms of enforcement - but that does not mean we can't lead the way, as with the ban on smoking in public places."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/call-to-devolve-laws-on-cannabis.25777680

Slim Majority of Americans Support Marijuana Legalization

Support is down from last year's Gallup poll

Though the majority of Americans still support the legalization of marijuana, the percentage of the population in support has dropped significantly since last year. The poll comes just days after voters in Oregon and Alaska decided to legalize recreational marijuana in the state and voters in D.C. passed a measure that makes it legal for residents over 21 years of age to possess up to 2 oz. of marijuana. Four states and the District of Columbia have now all legalized recreational use of pot.

 

Fifty-one percent of Americans support the legalization of pot, according to a new Gallup poll   that was conducted from Oct. 12 to 15. That number is down from 2013, when 58% said they were in favor, but similar to the numbers from 2011 and 2012 when 50% of the population supported legalizing marijuana.

While 73% of liberals and 58% of moderates supported legalization, only 31% of conservatives did.

 Gallup suggests that the drop in enthusiasm for legalization of marijuana may come from recent news items about the risk that marijuana-infused edibles pose to children. They also say that momentum had built behind legalization around the time of last year’s poll as Colorado prepared to put its new laws into effect, but no such momentum has built this year.


http://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/

Integrative medicine therapies can decrease pain, anxiety for hospitalized cancer patients - Use natural pain killers such as medical cannabis

Pain is a common symptom of cancer and side effect of cancer treatment, and treating cancer-related pain is often a challenge for health care providers.

The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing researchers found that integrative medicine therapies can substantially decrease pain and anxiety for hospitalized cancer patients. Their findings are published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs.

 

"Following Integrative medicine interventions, such as medical massage, acupuncture, guided imagery or relaxation response intervention, cancer patients experienced a reduction in pain by an average of 47 percent and anxiety by 56 percent," said Jill Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., lead author and Senior Scientific Advisor at the Penny George Institute.

"The size of these reductions is clinically important, because theoretically, these therapies can be as effective as medications, which is the next step of our research," said Jeffery Dusek, Ph.D., senior author and Research Director for the Penny George Institute.

ADMIN: Cannabis is a natural pain killer that can be taken a number of different ways that has been used for thousands of years.  It is maddness to confuse recreational use with medical use - Cannabis needs to be made available for medical use

Please continue reading: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20141107/Integrative-medicine-therapies-can-decrease-pain-anxiety-for-hospitalized-cancer-patients.aspx?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Donna McWhinnie is seeking someone to supply her with cannabis oil after her cancer returned

A brave young mum fighting brain cancer has made an emotional plea to the public to try and help save her life.

Mum-of-one Donna McWhinnie is seeking someone to supply her with cannabis oil, which she believes will cure her.

The 27-year-old was given the devastating news in February last year that she had a grade-two giloma, half the size of her brain.
 

 Hairdresser Donna, who has a two-year-old son, Taylor, underwent six weeks of intense radiotherapy at the Beatson Cancer Centre where she lost her hair, the Daily Record reports.

She was then given the good news last June that the cancerous cells had been destroyed and the tumour was now inactive.

But following a routine MRI scan last month, Donna was shocked when doctors informed her that her cancer had returned.

Desperate to beat the disease, Donna and her mother Lesley began researching online - and found articles stating that the use of cannabis oil may help cure cancer.

Continue reading: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-desperately-searching-drug-believes-4530797

Paul Flynn MP fights for those suffering due to chronic pain to allow them to use medical cannabis

Question asked in Parliament to the Minister
Paul Flynn: In Canada, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Israel, Spain, Portugal and parts of the United States, patients can take medicinal cannabis in its natural form safely and legally. Why are seriously ill patients in our country, particularly those suffering the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, forced to break the law when they want to use their medicine of choice?

 
Paul Philip Flynn is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Newport West since the 1987 general election. He was born in Cardiff of Welsh/Irish parentage.
 
Full question and answer from Hansard:

8. Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab): What her policy is on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. [54324]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Brokenshire): We do not recognise cannabis in its raw form to have any medicinal purposes; cannabis is a harmful drug. However, Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine, has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency as a safe and effective medicine for patients with multiple sclerosis.
Paul Flynn: In Canada, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Israel, Spain, Portugal and parts of the United States, patients can take medicinal cannabis in its natural form safely and legally. Why are seriously ill patients in our country, particularly those suffering the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, forced to break the law when they want to use their medicine of choice?
James Brokenshire: The advice we have received from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs confirms that cannabis is a significant public health issue. I certainly sympathise with anyone suffering from a debilitating illness, but we do not condone any illicit drug taking, for whatever reason. As I have indicated, GPs may prescribe Sativex in the circumstances mentioned. That is available, and we are dealing with its regulation.
Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con): That is not the most significant medical issue in relation to cannabis. In its higher form in particular, there are significant risks to young people, such as the probable causal link to mental illness, especially psychosis and schizophrenia. Will the Minister reassure the House that the Government will continue to take a tough line and ensure effective enforcement of the law on possession of cannabis?
James Brokenshire: I know that my hon. Friend takes these issues incredibly seriously, and has focused on drugs policy for some time. I assure him that our position is that the classification of “illegality” can influence behaviour and be a meaningful factor when people are contemplating taking drugs. That is why we do not have any proposals to change the classification of cannabis, and why we place so much importance on

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110509/debtext/110509-0001.htm

Lynne Featherstone takes Lib Dem Home Office job - High hopes for Ms Feartherstone hopes supporting medical cannabis

Lynne Featherstone is to replace Norman Baker as the Lib Dem minister in the Home Office, the party has said.

 

 Ms Featherstone has worked with the home secretary in the past

Mr Baker quit on Monday, saying he found it a "constant battle" working with Home Secretary Theresa May.

Ms Featherstone worked with Mrs May in the Home Office for two years and has been a minister for international development since 2012.

In other Lib Dem ministerial changes, Jenny Willott and Mark Hunter have also left the government.
Mr Baker criticised the way Mrs May ran her department and accused the Conservatives of a "lurch to the right" after stepping down as minister for crime prevention.

The Conservatives have disputed this and questioned Mr Baker's own performance in the job.

Continue reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29899440

Disabled Nottingham man given conditional discharge after claiming he smoked medical cannabis to 'ease pain'

A DISABLED man was given a two-year conditional discharge after claiming he only smoked cannabis to ease pain.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard that former railman Antony Green was seen carrying tubs of cannabis plants near his home in St Michael's Avenue, Bilborough.

Green, 50, admitted possessing six cannabis plants on May 23 last year. They will be destroyed and he was ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs as well as a £15 Government surcharge.

He drove into the courtroom on a Shopmobility scooter with a walking stick hooked on the back. He was allowed to sit nearer the front of the room after saying he suffered from tinnitus.

Lianne Summers, in mitigation, handed in a statement from Green's doctor, outlining medical problems. She said his marriage had broken up and he was living alone.

He "had to endure a lengthy court case" to get Disability Living Allowance, which was now being paid. In 2012, he was given a police caution for producing cannabis.

Miss Summers said: "It helps ease the pain of his condition. He is on very strong painkillers but they do not help with his medical condition.

"The doctor recognises Mr Green has smoked cannabis to assist. He does smoke when the pain becomes too much."

Continue reading: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Man-smoked-cannabis-ease-pain/story-23877974-detail/story.html

Medical cannabis vote should be a no-brainer in Florida and the UK

 Rhonda Swan - South Florida Sun-Sentinel thewordzlady​@gmail.com

When I was in pain — at times quite debilitating — from four breast-cancer related surgeries, I wished Florida had medical marijuana because narcotics make me sick.
 
The highly addictive drugs my doctors prescribed made me nauseous and lethargic but didn't relieve my pain.
Research shows medical marijuana is a safe and effective treatment for pain that, unlike narcotics, has no known lethal dose. And the drug relieves the nausea and vomiting that cancer patients suffer from chemotherapy.

That is one of several reasons I voted yes on Florida's Amendment 2, which would legalize medical marijuana.

I trust Mother Nature more than Big Pharma. And more than the Florida Sheriff's Association, which has a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal, namely the millions Florida law enforcement agencies take in every year seizing assets.

Continue reading: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-rscol-oped1103-20141103-column.html