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By LINDSEY TANNER

AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- Medical marijuana has not been proven to work for many illnesses that state laws have approved it for, according to the first comprehensive analysis of research on its potential benefits.

The strongest evidence is for chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis, according to the review, which evaluated 79 studies involving more than 6,000 patients. Evidence was weak for many other conditions, including anxiety, sleep disorders, and Tourette's syndrome and the authors recommend more research.

The analysis is among several medical marijuana articles published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They include a small study suggesting that many brand labels for edible marijuana products list inaccurate amounts of active ingredients. More than half of brands tested had much lower amounts than labeled, meaning users might get no effect.

THE ANALYSIS

The researchers pooled results from studies that tested marijuana against placebos, usual care or no treatment. That's the most rigorous kind of research but many studies found no conclusive evidence of any benefit. Side effects were common and included dizziness, dry mouth and sleepiness. A less extensive research review in the journal found similar results.

It's possible medical marijuana could have widespread benefits, but strong evidence from high-quality studies is lacking, authors of both articles say.

"It's not a wonder drug but it certainly has some potential," said Dr. Robert Wolff, a co-author and researcher with Kleijnen Systematic Reviews Ltd., a research company in York, England.

EDIBLE PRODUCTS

Researchers evaluated 47 brands of medical marijuana products, including candy, baked goods and drinks, bought at dispensaries in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

Independent laboratory testing for THC, marijuana's leading active ingredient, found accurate amounts listed on labels for just 13 of 75 products. Almost 1 in 4 had higher amounts than labeled, which could cause ill effects. Most had lower-than-listed amounts. There were similar findings for another active ingredient. Products were not identified by name.

Johns Hopkins University researcher Ryan Vandrey, the lead author, said he was surprised so many labels were inaccurate. The researchers note, however, that the results may not be the same in other locations.

MARIJUANA LAWS

Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have laws permitting medical marijuana use. Approved conditions vary but include Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, kidney disease, lupus and Parkinson's disease.

An editorial in the journal says approval in many states has been based on poor quality studies, patients' testimonials or other nonscientific evidence.

Marijuana is illegal under federal law and some scientists say research has been stymied by government hurdles including a declaration that marijuana is a controlled substance with no accepted medical use.

But in a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the Department of Health and Human Services made it a little easier for privately funded medical marijuana research to get approved. The department said that a federal Public Health Service review of research proposals is no longer necessary because it duplicates a required review by the Food and Drug Administration.

THE FUTURE

Colorado, one of a few states where recreational marijuana use is legal, has pledged more than $8 million in state funds for several studies on the drug's potential medical benefits, including whether it can reduce veterans' symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. That study may begin recruiting participants later this year, said Vandrey, one of that study's leaders.

Vandrey said there's a feeling of optimism in the research community that "we'll start to get a good science base" for the potential medical uses of marijuana.

THE RECOMMENDATIONS

The editorial by two Yale University psychiatrists suggests enthusiasm for medical marijuana has outpaced rigorous research and says widespread use should wait for better evidence. Federal and state governments should support and encourage such research, the editorial says.

"Perhaps it is time to place the horse back in front of the cart," Drs. Deepak Cyril D'Souza and Mohini Ranganathan wrote in the editorial.

They note that repeated recreational marijuana use can be addictive and say unanswered questions include what are the long-term health effects of medical marijuana use and whether its use is justified in children whose developing brains may be more vulnerable to its effects.

There is a proposed MM outlet very near where we live and the neighborhood is up in arms!

My guess is the facility is betting on MJ being legalized by voters next year and the supporters have posted stuff like 'Dope for the Slopes' (Mt. Rose ski resort is :15 up the road from the proposed facility.)

Just what we want in a very upscale neighborhood - dopers, high school kids hanging around (the HS is just down the road) as well as the Mexican drug gangs who have moved in to CO to take over the legal Dope businesses!

Since so many of them are left over stoners, snorters, trippers, MM is just the nose in the door to complete legalization of drugs (except of course for the ones they don't like).

It’s hard to believe that an unregulated industry devoted to getting people high might not be concerned about extreme accuracy in representing their products. But a group of doctors writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that most cannabis edibles they tested were stronger or weaker than advertised.

So at least this is an issue of poor accuracy, rather than pure ripoff strategies — unless you’re in Seattle, where edibles were consistently described as having higher doses of THC and CBD than they actually did. The researchers tested 75 products from 49 different brands, purchased in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Using liquid chromatography, a technique that isolates chemical compounds in a substance, they tested for THC and CBD strength in edibles like baked goods, beverages, and candy or chocolate.

What they discovered was that when it came to THC content, 17% of products were accurately labeled, while 23% percent underreported THC levels and 60% overreported. So be careful when it comes to trusting the doses on your cannabis candies.

The authors suggest that this kind of poor labeling is not likely to continue once cannabis is legalized in more states and there are regulations governing its marketing.

[full scientific paper via JAMA]

I do believe that SpongeBob and Patrick REALLY NEED MJ - all the time.

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Discarded fertilizer boxes reflect not only how marijuana cultivation is introducing agro-chemicals into sensitive natural landscapes, but also trash and solid waste pollution. Additionally, the water tank and tubing provide evidence of the type of irrigation infrastructure utilized. Image: Jennifer Carah, The Nature ConservancyThe debate over the legalization of marijuana has focused primarily on questions of law, policy and health. But a new paper, co-authored by UC Berkeley researchers, shines a spotlight on the environment as an underappreciated victim of the plant’s growing popularity as a cash crop.

Published in the journal Bioscience, the report outlines how illegal marijuana production is hitting California where it hurts, such as in sensitive watersheds already stressed by the state’s ongoing drought. Networks of pipes and hoses siphon water directly from small streams to irrigate the crops, draining what little water there is for wildlife and plants.

Moreover, heavy use of pesticides and poison to keep rats from eating the crops has also polluted the landscape and water. In some cases, the toxins have made their way into the terrestrial food chain, sickening or killing predators that feed on the rats, including Pacific fishers, a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The ecological impact has only worsened since the state’s voters legalized the medical use of pot in 1996, creating a “green rush” of marijuana growers seeking to make a profit.

Led by researchers from the Nature Conservancy, the study included significant UC Berkeley contributions from freshwater fish ecologist Stephanie Carlson, an associate professor of environmental sciences, policy and management; stream ecologist Mary Power, a professor of integrative biology; ecohydrologist Sally Thompson, an assistant professor of environmental engineering; and applied mathematician David Dralle, a Ph.D. student in environmental engineering.

“The environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation has largely been ignored, but this is a mistake,” said Carlson. “Marijuana is a thirsty crop that often relies on surface water diversions during California’s summer dry season. While many of our native aquatic organisms are adapted to California’s Mediterranean seasonality, the combination of our current drought and summer water diversions for marijuana could be a one-two punch that drives declines in several sensitive populations.”

continued at link

While Bird hunting on Oahu, Hawaii, back in Nov 2013, I came across a grow site on the public land I was on.

Glad I was armed. You can see my Martin Takedown and homemade FluFlu Fletching on my arrows, and my pack, on the right side of the photo, surrounded by discarded black irrigation pipe.

I don't know if this grow site was raided, or they left after harvest. But they sure didn't clean up after themselves.

The cost of inaction couldn’t be more clear.

Acres of ancient trees are disappearing and illegal marijuana farms are popping up in their place. Streams and rivers are being sucked dry, diverted sometimes miles away through plastic pipes into tanks. Several species of fish, along with a rare breed of wild rodent, are on the verge of extinction.

All of this is happening now, all across California, but particularly in the North Coast and in our national parks in the San Joaquin Valley. All of this environmental destruction is occurring to grow marijuana and meet consumer demand.

While there’s plenty of blame to go around for how things have turned out in the nearly 20 years since California legalized medical marijuana, much of it must land at the feet of consumers, and of lawmakers.

Apathetic consumers seem unaffected by the environmental damage that weed causes. We buy fair-trade coffee and free-range chickens. Where’s the outrage about the environmental impact of marijuana?

Through the inaction of lawmakers, pot remains unregulated and spreads like weeds. Add to this the drought and speculation that California will soon join Washington and Oregon in making pot legal for recreational use, and our state has the makings of an ecological disaster on its hands.

This was the sobering message that came through July 1 at a hearing of the state Senate’s Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. Official after official testified about the negative effects that illegal pot farming has had on the environment and in unfairly exacerbating the drought.

Charlton Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, talked about his “existential crisis” while watching species of salmon dwindle to dangerously low numbers.

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman spoke of how, at a recent bust near Island Mountain, illegal growers had depleted the mighty Eel River to the point that it was full of moss. He estimated the farmers needed about 500,000 precious gallons of water a day to support the nearly 87,000 plants they found.

Thousands of growers are doing the same despicable things to the environment all over California. These aren’t the “old hippies” who have been growing pot for years in California, but the “rich white people growers,” as Allman calls them, who are moving here in droves, hoping to claim a stake in our unregulated market before demand really ramps up for legal recreational use.

“It’s hard to ask everyone to cut their water and deal with water cuts when we’re not dealing with this,” said Resources Secretary John Laird.

The way to curb the environmental destruction is for users to consider the implications of their purchases, and to regulate the industry. Sen. Mike McGuire and Assembly Member Jim Wood, both North Coast Democrats, have bills to do that.

The cost of inaction is too high.

I'm betting they have Mexican "gardeners". :^)

If someone tells me that pot works for them , who am I to seek to prohibit their access.

"Crime is so high along the Mexican border that nearly half of all the criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors in the United States last fiscal year were concentrated in a handful of districts located in that region, according to the U.S. government’s figures."

It also seems some skewing is going on in the media as to the report....

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Medical marijuana can be useful in treating chronic pain, but may be less effective for other conditions, a new analysis reveals.

A review of nearly 80 clinical trials involving medical marijuana or marijuana-derived drugs revealed moderately strong evidence to support their use in treating chronic pain, says a report published June 23 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The evidence also showed that the medications could help multiple sclerosis patients who suffer from spasticity, which involves sustained muscle contractions or sudden involuntary movements.

But the review found weaker support for the drugs' use in treating sleep disorders; nausea or vomiting related to chemotherapy; for producing weight gain in people with HIV; or for reducing symptoms of Tourette syndrome, a nervous system disorder characterized by repetitive movements or sounds.

The researchers also found no evidence that marijuana-based drugs could help treat psychosis or depression.

I have known people with cancer and pot helped nausea over the years, I recently lost my next door neighbor and friend. I have known Doctors who have suggested it, I know people who claim it works for sea sickness, as someone who loves the ocean and is seasick prone I have experienced the results (when I was young), I have never met a chronic pain user who was not a stoner before getting their medical MJ card.

MJ is only a small part of the Mexico problem. Heroin, Meth,Coke and a host of other narcotics/lab made drugs are where the big $ is.

I get asked by Cruise Ship tourists allot about where they can go smoke some ... Alaska is deciding now (on the state level) if they are going to allow 'social clubs' where pot can be smoked. Then it will be up to the local town, if they want to say no to 'social clubs'. Local Taxes = Local $'s ...

Many Alaska employers have taken MJ off the drug testing list. The State officially has said you can possess the legal one ounce while traveling on the State Ferry or flying with-in the State. Contrary to Fed Law.

Some of Ketchikan's city & borough council members were very opposed, like many of the CF members here, until legal council started asking them what they didn't understand about the word 'Legal' & explaining the actual 'Law' to them.

I know the answer. It is part of the overall intent to remove morality and discipline from the American citizen and public conscience.

Do not forget that it is still illegal by federal law. Just like immigration laws, the feds are turning a blind eye to both the breaking of the laws and the damage it is doing.

•80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin. •The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives. •The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives. •Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt. •Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen. •In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture •Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. •Henry Ford’s first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, ‘grown from the soil,’ had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941. •Hemp called ‘Billion Dollar Crop.’ It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938. •Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled ‘The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.’ It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Hemp clothing last for a very long time, even handed down from generation. Cotton clothing last for a short time requiring you to purchase again. Not to mention the synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil, which was patented by Dupont in 1937 which so happens to be the same year pot became illeagle under the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law ... without testimony from the American Medical Assoc on purpose ...

President Hoover had appointed Andrew Mellon Secretary of the Treasury and Mellon was Dupont’s primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.

Randolph Hearst coined the term Marijuana (actually misspelled from the Mexican term “mariguana.”) owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products of the day and stood to gain Billions via timber production.

What does this have to do with the discussion? Nothing.

BTW, how much is grown and used to make paper in the nations where it is still legal?

Blow your smoke in somebody else's face.

But throughout the 19th century, Americans used the word “cannabis” when referring to the plant. Pharmaceutical companies like Bristol-Myers Squib and Eli Lilly used cannabis in medicines — widely sold in U.S. pharmacies — to treat insomnia, migraines and rheumatism. From 1840 to 1900, U.S. scientific journals published hundreds of articles touting the therapeutic benefits of cannabis.

But nobody played a larger role in cementing the word 'Marijuana' in the national consciousness than Harry Anslinger, director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. An outspoken critic of the drug, he set out in the 1930s to place a federal ban on cannabis, embarking on a series of public appearances across the country.

Anslinger is often referred to as the great racist of the war on drugs, says John Collins, coordinator of the LSE IDEAS International Drug Policy Project in London.

Collins is not certain if Anslinger truly was a bigot. “But he knew that he had to play up people’s fears in order to get federal legislation passed,” Collins said. “So when talking to senators with large immigrant populations, it very much helped to portray drugs as something external, something that is invading the U.S. He would use the term ‘marijuana’ knowing that it sounds Hispanic, it sounds foreign.”

Anslinger reportedly kept files on jazz musicians titled “Marijuana and Musicians,” and monitored band mates who played alongside Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington, among others. And he began his federal campaign against the drug by publishing a report titled “Marijuana: Assassin of Youth” in 1937.

That year, Anslinger testified before Congress in favor of marijuana prohibition.

“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind,” he said during testimony. “Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage."

Anslinger’s crusade succeeded. In 1937 Congress approved the Marijuana Tax Act, which criminalized pot possession throughout the United States.

U.S. perceptions of marijuana is coming full circle, especially as states increasingly recognize the plant’s medicinal benefits. The U.S. public has played a role too, as polls show that a majority of Americans favor marijuana legalization.

Or if someone with a medical condition smokes, eats or vapes some Cannabis because it actually helps them or even if they think it helps them.

You guys are making a big deal out of no deal. Sugar is probably more harmful than Cannabis.

HA?KS .... Like I said before I feel sorry for your students.

I work in the construction industry. Through 3 decades, I have worked with scores of rough characters. I have never had one get high and beat his "old lady" and I have never had one too stoned from the night before to work the next day. Alcohol was an almost 100% factor in off-hours trouble.

I have no interest in this fight but I am smart enough there is no principle reason why MJ has the stigma it has relative to actual deleterious effects. Not with alcohol on the market and not with the pages of pharmaceuticals out there that are killing people.

"The FDA has, however, approved one drug containing a synthetic version of a substance that is present in the marijuana plant"

"The FDA supports researchers who conduct adequate and well-controlled clinical trials which may lead to the development of safe and effective marijuana products to treat medical conditions. We have talked to several states, including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New York and Pennsylvania, who are considering support for medical research of marijuana and its derivatives to ensure that their plans meet federal requirements and scientific standards."

This has absolutely nothing to do with how I teach. Unlike leftists, I do not use my teaching position to force my opinions or biases on my students. I teach thinking skills.

Why do you make this a personal attack on me instead of a discussion of the facts? I feel sorry for your teachers. They must be so disappointed some times.

If MJ had to follow the same rules as other drugs it would have to say the same thing.

Until that is done, medical MJ is just an excuse to get high for the vast majority who use it. It is just a way to get on the track to legalization for all.

Remember that tobacco was also touted as a miracle cure - as were opium, cocaine, and LSD.

Amputation can cure certain medical conditions, but I do not think applying it for every ailment that comes along is appropriate.

Saying that MJ should be legal because it is not as deadly as alcohol is spurious at best.

muskeg, does it not alarm you that the heyday of MJ coincides with the heyday of patent medicine fraud?

As for recreational use of any mind-altering substance, personal morality is the only solution. I for one do not understand why anyone would give their mind over to allow a substance to control them instead of the other way around.

-HA, with respects, I have to disagree. I don't know if there has been even 1 death attributed to smoking MJ solely. Conversely, I have family, friends and colleagues that have drank themselves to death. Back in college, the student body lost a few young souls to acute alcohol poisoning. I've also lost more friends and a cousin that died in DUIs. Not smokers. Recreational beer warriors.

The evidence just does not support an MJ prohibition with exponentially more harmful substances on sale 24/7. The more we ruminate on the subject, the more absurd is seems the roles of alcohol and MJ are not reversed.

It is a principle thing with me. I have come to believe liberty will die if not observed as objectively as humanly possible and objectivity requires a vigorous application of logic.

"your thoughts on bringing money into states?" I can never understand anyone who is willing to sacrifice ethics for cash. Think how many fewer people would be in jail if we made all financial crimes legal.

We were told that making liquor by the drink and gambling legal in KS would fill the states coffers. Yeah, right! They are all legal and the costs to the state and citizenry far exceeds the revenue.

Of course ethics are important. And yes, many of them should be pushed onto others. Stan, quit saying ridiculous crap.

Crime rates have dropped. Do you believe more guns equal more crime as well?

"Here’s what we know so far: According to the state’s department of revenue, the first ten months of legal marijuana sales have resulted in nearly $40 million in tax revenue. The city of Denver saw a decrease in violent crime rates in the first 11 months of 2014, following a similar trend in 2013. Statewide traffic fatalities continue to decline, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Upwards of $8 million has been allocated to fund youth education and drug prevention efforts. And the state is enjoying economic growth and the lowest unemployment rate in years."

Hypocrite.

One of the main objectives is getting it out of the black market. Bringing those millions (state level) or even billions (USA level) of dollars out of the shadows and into the light, where it should be. Also control of the product so you have some sort of control to keep it from the kids, like Alcohol / Tobacco.

Once the 'new' is wearing off in Colorado and Washington this is exactly what is happening. Sure there is always going to be some black market, just like Alcohol / Tobacco.

Maybe some of you people just don't realize actually how much Cannabis is really being used anyway, in both the MMJ and Rec uses.

Take a look at my link, the State of Alaska is officially trying to figure out actual use to project tax $'s. Washington State came in quite aways above official projections. IMHO the State of AK's projections are low, even on the high end, but we will see. And like is mentioned in the article they aren't even calculating the savings that is already being realized thru the police, jail & court system. But the local drug testing company here sure is squealing like a stuck pig.

I was talking with a Trooper not long ago, and he was kind of struggling with the new legalization. He was upset that the ST of AK hasn't defined 'open container' yet. He said he wanted to give those drivers carrying some pot in their pocket a $300 ticket !!!

Accept it. Which the 'morals police' here at the CF never will.

I wonder if bank robberies would increase if they were legalized? Apparently pot use rates increase for adults as penalties are relaxed and states legalize.

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams

I believe I posted "The rest of the story" pertaining to the original one sided report if I am not mistaken. I can't be sure however because the article has been removed.

Probably due to lack of factual evidence...

The Bible clearly states that the government has a duty to protect people and punish evil. All statements about taking care of those in need are directed at individuals and churches, but never at the government.

Instead of twaddling, you might want to do a little research. Environmental damage caused by illegal growers out here/west is huge. Beyond the overuse and dumping of fertilizers with contaminat the streams, illegal operations are using so much water they are drying up the Eel river watershed a major steelhead and salmon river in CA. On one creek which feeds the eel river they found .

""The study identified 441 marijuana cultivation sites in the Outlet Creek watershed from aerial photographs combined with field observations. Some sites had outdoor plantings, some greenhouses and many had both. Watershed photos were taken in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The researchers estimated the marijuana cultivation sites in the Outlet Creek watershed were growing 32,000 marijuana plants and requiring about 191,000 gallons per day of water.""

Other studies show the entire Eel river watershed is losing close to 600,000 gallons a day to the growing of illegal MJ. These operations are not the hippie operations of the past, they are huge with some operations exceeding 100,000 plants ran by cartels,gangs and organized crime.

They have zero regard for the environment, but don't worry be happy, enlighten us with some more bong logic.

Just Google or Yahoo does Medical MJ work and the number of links with evidence 'pro' far outnumber the links with evidence 'anti'.

Murder, theft, bank robbery ....Apples & Oranges HA?KS ... as per usual from the anti-MMJ / anti-MJ spinners. Bless your heart !!!

Do whatever you want, but live with the consequences.

from an article last fall .....

"U.S. Representative for California’s 2nd District Jared Huffman said that ultimately the problem stems from the conflict between state and federal law.

In February, Huffman and 17 other members of Congress, including Colorado’s Jared Polis and Oregon’s Earl Blumenauer, urged President Obama to demote marijuana on the federal Controlled Substance Act, or remove it altogether. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance – the strictest classification, higher than cocaine or methamphetamine. “Classifying marijuana as Schedule I at the federal level perpetuates an unjust and irrational system,” wrote the congressmen. With marijuana now legal for recreational use in two states and for medical use in 21 states and D.C., not to mention the trespass grow dilemma, “This makes no sense.”

Huffman emphasized that as long as it’s a federal crime, there won’t be the option to create effective institutions to regulate and tax marijuana. Until it is decriminalized, so that growers can raise their crops without hiding them deep in public forests, he said, the environmental devastation will continue. Federal regulations could create environmental and public health standards for marijuana agriculture and provide transparency for consumers who want assurance that their weed is clean and “green.”"

But you CF anti's will argue with these boots on the ground professionals that have actually been working this major problem for many years.

1 Peter 2:14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Making up more ridiculous stuff in the hope of bolstering your argument isn't convincing.

doc, I have done that, but the vast majority of the sites claiming to have research evidence supporting the effectiveness of MM have an agenda.

There have been some double blind studies that show some evidence of efficacy in specific ailments - mostly in pain relief. Where are the next steps as in advanced clinical trials, etc? Why should MM be sold in America without going through the same process as any other drug?

forWARD!

The use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes dates back at least 3,000 years. It came into use in Western medicine in the 19th century and was said to relieve pain, inflammation, spasms, and convulsions.

In 1937, the U.S. Treasury began taxing Cannabis under the Marijuana Tax Act at one dollar per ounce for medicinal use and one hundred dollars per ounce for recreational use. The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed this regulation of Cannabis and did not want studies of its potential medicinal benefits to be limited. In 1942, Cannabis was removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia because of continuing concerns about its safety. In 1951, Congress passed the Boggs Act, which included Cannabis with narcotic drugs for the first time.

Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, mescaline, methaqualone, and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).

Although Cannabis was not believed to have any medicinal use, the U.S. government distributed it to patients on a case-by-case basis under the Compassionate Use Investigational New Drug (IND) program between 1978 and 1992.

In the past 20 years, researchers have studied how cannabinoids act on the brain and other parts of the body. Cannabinoid receptors (molecules that bind cannabinoids) have been discovered in brain cells and nerve cells in other parts of the body. The presence of cannabinoid receptors on immune system cells suggests that cannabinoids may have a role in immunity.

Studies in mice and rats have shown that cannabinoids may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.

A study in mice showed that cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have potential in reducing the risk of colon cancer, and possibly in its treatment.

A laboratory study of delta-9-THC in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed that it damaged or killed the cancer cells. The same study of delta-9-THC in mouse models of liver cancer showed that it had antitumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting on molecules that may also be found in non-small cell lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells.

A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells showed that it caused cancer cell death while having little effect on normal breast cells. Studies in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer showed that cannabinoids may lessen the growth, number, and spread of tumors.

A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in human glioma cells showed that when given along with chemotherapy, CBD may make chemotherapy more effective and increase cancer cell death without harming normal cells. Studies in mouse models of cancer showed that CBD together with delta-9-THC may make chemotherapy such as temozolomide more effective.

Why do they need higher concentrations in THC if it's the CBD's that have the medical benefits?

"What Murphy and many others want to see is cannabis legalized, so that it and its water supply can be regulated. They point to an operation like HappyDay Farms belonging to Casey O’Neill and his family as a model. O’Neill sells his organic vegetables at farmer’s markets, and his very healthy marijuana crop to what he calls patients."

"We’re craving regulations. We’re also craving the incentives that come with those regulations. So if you’re a compliant farmer and you’re doing a good job as an environmental steward, then you are rewarded with an aboveground marketplace, maybe crop insurance, and stability that this region hasn’t seen for a long time."

"eliminating prohibition of all drugs for adults" LSD on demand? Date rape drugs? Cancer treatments? Why stop at drugs, why not radiation?

Sounds a whole lot like Obama logic.

forWARD!

On another note for the pro MJ crowd.

Is the CBD in MM monitored, measured, have any kind of controls to protect the consumer?

Why do they need higher concentrations in THC if it's the CBD's that have the medical benefits?

When opium was outlawed in the early 1900`s lots of Civil War veterans were incarcerated due to their addiction. It was called "The War Disease".

Meanwhile ten years ago 8 tons of vicodin was sold in the US,..last year ..42 tons. Somethings wrong here when pot gets a black -eye and opioids are consumed like skittles.

So you don't keep posting questions you know the answer to...

Not until its completely legal.

Not sure who they is? They as you refer may just want to get High....High...

This is kinda of like letting big pharma turn loose a drug out into the public without any oversight or purity? One batch could have .03mg and the next could have 3.0mg. How do doctors even have the gall to prescribe this? How does the patient who is actually sick get what they need when no one knows what it's contents are.

So the theory is based on Nancy Pelosi's Obamacare Logic. We need to make it legal everywhere to see the effectiveness it will have on society as a recreational and medical cure, something along the lines of two birds with one stone. Got it.

Not to mention the masses who will go on disability because they can not function without MJ while at the same time they can not function in the workplace because they are too stoned.

I would go to pot parties on Friday and Sat nights, and remain sober.

While all the guys, that were not my friends, smoked the whacky weed and were getting stoned, I was upstairs playing hide the banana with their girlfriends.

Certainly, I do not want a bunch of potheads on the highway, with no way for the Cops to prove they are under the influence.

All you pot smokers think about that for a while, and consider that your teenagers and loved ones will be sharing the road with legal potheads.

My experience is that the potheads were too stoned to play hide the banana with their ladies, too stoned to realize that I was, and way too stoned to be driving.

Well good Lord I sure hope so! Like we don't have enough trouble with the drunks and texters now.

But based on this, here's a question. Other than a blood/urine test (which is not really a "field" test as lab work is required), is there a field sobriety test for cannabis like they have for alcohol? And if there isn't then why in heavens name would they legalize an intoxicant that impairs one's driving ability with NO WAY to test those suspected of impairment and get them the hell off the roads?

And don't tell me that it doesn't matter because they're there already, because it DOES matter. When you legalize it MORE PEOPLE will be doing it AND driving impaired.

Yes, there's probably a lot of responsible stoners (is that an oxymoron?), but there's also a HELL of a lot of irresponsible a-hole stoners, and in my experience that's what MOST of the one's I've known are.

And if I'm not mistaken texting while driving IS a criminal offense, or at least one that can get you a ticket and maybe your licence suspended, as it should be.

And you don't have to be smart a$$. I asked a legit question. Why do you stoners always have to get so defensive? I though that crap made you "mellow"?

But like mentioned above the standard under the influence of any thing test is red line.

No longer can a LEO, where it is legal, say "I smell pot I can search you."

Much scarier than the texters, readers, drunks, and just plain idiots currently driving....

"Well now that you mention it, I would love to see a computer chip installed on ALL handheld devices that would make them inoperable if they were within 2 or 3 feet of an ignition switch."

I already hate my seat belt buzzer and you want this?.....

"texting while driving IS a criminal offense"

Nope, I text legally all the time while driving in missouri....;^)

"Reckless" and "distracted driving" laws already exist. I see texting laws like I see hate crime laws, totally unnecessary law but it makes you feel good....

"No longer can a LEO, where it is legal, say "I smell pot I can search you." "

Takes away "cops right to lie" concerning pot. Awesome.....

Stupid is, as stupid does.

There shouldn't HAVE to be a law for this, it should be obvious to anyone with any brain at all, but unfortunately that's not the case.

If you (not you personally G) want to act stupid and risk your life then go right ahead. It'll strenghten the gene pool. But DO NOT risk mine!!!

Is this the reason the law was passed?

I don't know what you're getting at, but I assume it was passed because people are fricking STUPID and they endanger other people's lives.

I Did a google search for it but only found school bus drivers texting and killing students, like the recent example in Knoxville, TN.

Tennessee Law....

"It's illegal for anyone to type or read a text message while driving.

Also, anyone driving a school bus may not use a cell phone, unless it's to report an emergency situation."

What is the difference between Reckless, Distracted, and texting while driving.

Society would crumble without any laws, we just have too many stupid ones....

Pharmaceutical companies are the biggest supporters of anti-MJ stuff so of course they want the studies to portray uselessness. So who did the analysis in this study??

Pharmaceutical companies make money by having patents on drugs and selling them... You cannot patent marijuana.

The Pharmaceutical companies and MSM is bullstuffing you guys and validating what you want to belive so you will go along.

Reminds me of the civil war stuff right now. 275,000 dead before the Emancipation was penned but the War was about slavery.

War on drugs = Fail for all involved except drug companies and politicians....

If people were allowed to hunt in the same areas you hunt without purchasing a license or following game laws, would you be opposing them?

With Alcohol, you can self monitor, and know how much is too many, know when you are buzzed, etc.

With MJ, the effects are instantaneous.

Ya never hear the Stoners and MJ supporters talk about this, because they have no counter arguement, because THERE IS NO COUNTER ARGUEMENT.

Totally false. Really? You are a Vet, studying medicine, and come at us with that?

"You never see MJ users intoxicated to the point they can't walk or talk"

Not totally true. This is definately a straw man arguement. I have seen people that would blow twice the legal limit of alcohol, but can still walk and talk.

Instant inebriation IS A FACTOR. Your liver, and a tummy full of food, can slow the effects of alcohol. A 180 pound man can drink one beer an hour, and never blow over the legal limit. That same 180 pound man who smokes a joint, IMMEDIATELY receives the full effect of THC, that remains in his system for days.

Nice try, Pig "straw man" Doc, but no cigar for you. You, having studied medicine, should be ashamed of your knowingly false argument. You have intentionally LIED to the entire CF.

We look at the stuff inside the bell curve.

Excerpts:

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a paper this year, said cannabis impairs psychomotor skills, attention, lane tracking and cognitive function, but not enough is known about how much is needed to affect driving performance.

This is primarily because of the vastly different ways in which alcohol and cannabis affect the human body.

Whether marijuana is smoked or ingested also dramatically changes how the body processes it. It's also difficult to isolate the affects of cannabis in crashes if drivers have also consumed alcohol and/or other drugs.

But some states are not waiting to reach a consensus on how much THC is too much to drive.

Washington and Montana have set a limit of 5 nanograms/milliliter (ng/mL), while Pennsylvania has a 1 ng/mL limit.

Other states prohibit drivers from having any measurable amount of cannabis in their system.

These limits are more political than based on science, said Nicholas Lovrich, a political scientist at Washington State University who is researching the accuracy of drug-recognition experts - police officers trained to detect drug impairment in drivers.

Cannabix founder Kal Malhi initially aims to cater to Canada and the U.S. states that have zero tolerance for THC, hoping his device - designed to confirm police observations - will be able to accurately detect THC up to two hours after consumption.

"It is WAY easier to control MJ "

Really? How about the physiology of lungs, and the instant absorbtion of THC into the bloodstream.

Tell me again, Pig Doc, how you didn't lie to us.

You want to smoke pot legally, then just tell us so. No need to bullsh!t us.

Metabolites, small molecules that are intermediaries and products of metabolism of marijuana’s chemical compounds, are what remain in the body and can be detected by testing. After a person consumes pot, the psychoactive compound THC is metabolized via the liver by select enzymes, first into the active Hydroxy-THC, then transforming to the non-psychoactive THC Carboxylic Acid (THC-COOH), a fat-soluble metabolite that exits the body slowly. Pot enters the bloodstream in minutes when smoked and takes 20 minutes or more when orally ingested, and can leave the blood within 24 hours – but not always. While pot is detectable in urine longer than in blood, this only reveals recent use, NEVER INTOXICATION. Some THC metabolites have an elimination half-life (the time it takes for them to lose half their pharmacologic activity) of 20 hours. THC-COOH has the longer elimination half-life of 13 days, generally regarded as the threshold for detecting cannabis in urine.

Another ‘09 study, “Do (THC) Concentrations Indicate Recent Use in Cannabis Users,” published in the journal Addiction, assessed the whole blood THC concentrations of 25 frequent cannabis users who were confined to a secure research facility during a weeklong span of pot abstinence. The results revealed whole blood THC concentrations that were highly variable among participants, with nine having no quantifiable THC at any time. However, six subjects displayed substantial THC concentrations in their blood even after seven days of cessation from cannabis. These findings further substantiate that issuing marijuana DUI’s in one-third of America – a dozen states have zero tolerance for pot metabolites in the blood – is actually punishment for being a stoner, not for being stoned while driving.

"I think the first breathalyzer on the market will be a simple 'yes' or 'no' for the presence of THC at the time of the test, and in that sense it won't provide a quantitative evidential measure," Barry Knott, the chief executive of Lifeloc, which already makes alcohol breathalyzers, told Reuters. That's cool and all, except existing DWI for cannabis tests -- both urine and blood analysis -- already do this with greater accuracy. There's also the issue with THC's fat-soluble nature that allows it to remain in the user's bloodstream for up to a month after ingestion. Having a device that only says "yes" or "no" doesn't actually add any value to the police officer's investigation when the machine's determination could be based on biomarkers more than a fortnight old. Granted, the Cannabix device is reportedly designed to detect THC up to two hours after it's been smoked but there's no word on how (or whether) it will work for ingested or vaporized cannabis. In fact, the company has been rather tight lipped in general about how the device operates, save for pointing out that it is patent pending.

Then there's the whole mess of differing levels of impairment between states. In Washington and Montana 5 nanograms/milliliter (ng/mL) of THC counts as "too stoned to drive." In Pennsylvania, that limit is 1 ng/mL. And as Nicholas Lovrich, a political scientist at Washington State University, told Reuters, these limits are based more on politics than on science. So until both the science and policy surrounding cannabis advance beyond their present states, don't expect these devices to be entered into evidence in your DUI case anytime soon.

Quit being anti-employment and anti-free market...

"Marital marijuana? A new study by researchers at the University of Buffalo finds a significantly lower incidence of domestic violence among married couples who smoke pot. "Couples in which both spouses used marijuana frequently reported the least frequent IPV [intimate partner violence] perpetration," the study concludes."

Really? Law is your forte now, Muskeg? I assure you that just as blood or breath results for DUI cases comes in, the blood test or urine tests will be a part of a DUID case just as well, as they have been for a long time.

Cancer survival rates have gone from 50% to 70% in 30 years. They went from basically 0% to 50% before that.

Prior to the development of vaccination, nearly 50% of children died of childhood diseases.

When was the last time you knew someone who contracted Polio?

Diabetes has gone from a death sentence to a manageable condition thanks to the development of insulin therapy.

"Cure?" "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

I suppose that you don't eat, pay your phone bill, bathe, or shave either since they only treat, but do not cure the condition.

Law is not my fort ... ha ... I kill fish and game for a living.

Just because you have a substance in you blood or urine does not mean you are currently under the influence, as per a vehicle violation. As far as being a DUI for pot use until they separate Hydroxy-THC and THC Carboxylic Acid, which can be now be done, it is political not science, just like alcohol was during the early days of setting the impairment level.

You guys are trying to make a big deal out of no big deal !!!!

Good luck with that. The jails are full of people who want to tell the court what laws are important and what are not.

I'm not deciding anything. You guys are the ones deciding a person can't or shouldn't take a toke !!!!

Maybe your to young to remember how controversial (politically) the .08 alcohol threshold came about.

What don't you understand about the word 'LEGAL' in almost half the states for MMJ and 4 states (including yours) recreational ?

Drinking is legal, too. So is taking Percocet with a prescription. But take enough to go over the limit, and drive* a car, you'll find the law is quite harsh.

For pot, it's 5 ng/ml in Colorado, a fairly low number. Don't like that? The state legislature is at Colfax and Broadway, gold dome on the top. Can't miss it. Tell it to them. Have fun.

*Actually, "drive" means actual physical control, which is a very loose definition that includes sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running or just the keys in the ignition.

"but the vast majority of the sites claiming to have research evidence supporting the effectiveness of MM have an agenda"

Link please.

""But ... but wait ... you guys have been using the argument that after legalization teens will be flocking to the bongs !!!""

Aparently, you did not read the link of the original post. Now learn to read and stop bullsh!tting us.

"MJ should be legalized for recreational use. It is far less harmful than alcohol and the War on Drugs has been a disaster. Legalizing MJ will save billions for taxpayers and will reduce violent crimes. If you don't believe me ask the guys at LEAP."

Spoken by every pothead for the past several decades. No studies to back it up, just make it legal, and let the potheads roll out on the interstate without forethought.

You are so bright, PigDoc, usuing your education, please tell us what happens with the lungs when you inhale MJ smoke. Tell us how to self regulate, and prohibit instant inebriation with MJ.

- or - you can bullsh1t us some more.

I dont think anyone is advocating folks getting high and driving. But , they do it anyway regardless of the laws.

Usually wearing Birkenstocks, rose colored sun glasses shaped like hearts and tie dyed tee shirts.

Oh and the women smell like patchouli and have hairy armpits.

There are no such controls over the "medical" usage of marijuana. There are no quality controls (nor can there be for raw weed). No one can tell just what the content of a joint has, nor the dosage of any of the active components are. Smoking a joint for medical relief is akin to chewing a willow tree for a headache.

One of my colleagues was a pharmacological researcher at MSU and exposed me to some of the facets and complexities of drug discovery and development. I would say that at this point in time, the use of MM is in the realm of folk medicine...there are probably some benefits for some conditions, but going to a local dispensary and getting ones prescription filled is like purchasing a bottle of patent medicine.

MM has become a fad medicine and probably over-prescribed for conditions that it has no effect other than the psychological high obtained...giving the illusion to the user that it has cured/alleviated their problems. In other words, many actually seek the use of MM to obtain a legal-previously-illegal high. When Michigan instituted its MM laws, all sorts of advertising was seen/heard on radio and TV by doctors willing to write scripts for just about any medical condition.

Like many other prescribed drugs, mixing marijuana with other medications (or/and especially alchol)can alter the effects drastically. Further, studies have shown that the marijuana of the present is a much different critter than the days of "sex, drugs and RR" with a much higher THC content.

Because of US drug laws; compared to other psychoactive drugs, far less research has been done and published about the active ingredients and how they interact in marijuana. Further, past data has shown that smoking marijuana provides the same negative effects as smoking tobacco...tar, increase CO, and carcinogens are at similar (or greater as marijuana smokers have been observed retaining the smoke deeper and longer in their lungs)levels as those that smoke tobacco. Thus, in the long run, MM smokers face the same consequences of smoking related cancers/emphysema.

THC and other cannabanoids are fat soluble. Long term usage finds that they build up in the body fat and can be released at a later time. Probably at such low levels that they cause no discernible "high".

I think that there would be less resistance when it comes to marijuana if there were specific drugs developed for specific treatments with quality control both in content and dose...and not the snake oil promotion seen in the present.

I'm for decriminalization and regulated production (can't believe i just said either of those things),so research $$ can flow, hopefully

what is more useful, the poppy or all its derivatives?

I wonder if they realize how much they sound like Occupy Wall Street?

no, you can

ol pissypants ol hippy

"...There is strong evidence that MMJ, particularly CBD, a non-intoxicating component..."

Which proves the point...MM as propagandised is merely folk medicine/snake oil. Other than the actual component that may (with few science based science studies other than anecdotal stories)provide relief for a particular symptom or disease.

Patent medicines sometimes aided a users complaints/medical problems, but most (like MM)contained components that did not have any benefit and could be considered pollutants.

Opiate derivatives have been found to be of use in modern medicine and are pure and able to be administered in defined dosages. Pure opium is another matter entirely.

WRT your hypothetical question: I would do research, talk to actual experts and if CBD were actually recommended over all other options (based on efficacy and safety) , would find a study^*where it was in clinical testing. Dosing her with MM as practiced today would be the absolute last option.

^*I actually spent time in a lab with my pharm friend who was doing research and assisted in the isolation and purification of CBD. He had a NIH grant to isolate/study THC and cannibidols in the late 70's. Probably could do it in my basement lab. ;o)

"Why doctors are not in favor of medical cannabis"

Legalization makes it easier for teens to get it, and we have other drug options.

Legislatures across the country are legalizing medical marijuana, but the nation’s physicians aren’t requesting these laws. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Society of Addiction Medicine are both against medical marijuana laws. The American Medical Association doesn’t support them either.

Groups representing patients aren’t behind these laws. The American Cancer Society hasn’t demanded them, and the Glaucoma Foundation even warns patients against using the drug.

Instead, the demand comes from groups like the Drug Policy Alliance and Marijuana Policy Project. These are not medical organizations. They are part of a pro-legalization lobby supported by pro-marijuana billionaires. And they’ve apparently convinced state legislators to ignore some very serious problems.

The biggest problem is that medical marijuana laws are responsible for most of the growth in adolescent use. According to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey, teen use in the U.S. surged between 2005 and 2011. But it didn’t surge equally in all states.

Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that the number of teens who smoked pot over the past month increased by 33 percent in medical marijuana states, but by only 6 percent in the rest of the country. In 2005, only about 20 percent of the U.S. population lived in medical marijuana states, yet those states accounted for more than two-thirds of the increase in adolescent use between 2005 and 2011. If it weren’t for states with medical marijuana laws, teen use would have barely increased at all.

There’s also evidence that even among adults, nearly all of the “medical” marijuana goes to drug abuse. The largest survey of medical marijuana patients, published in 2014 in the Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice, found that only 6 percent reported using marijuana for cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, hepatitis C, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The vast majority — 91 percent — got their marijuana for pain.

Research shows that most chronic pain patients are women. In 2001, the journal Pain published a study by researchers who interviewed more than 17,000 people and found that 54 percent of those with chronic pain were female. On the other hand, five years of data from the NSDUH showed that adult marijuana abusers were 69 percent male. So if the pain patients using medical marijuana are genuine, they should be mostly female. If they’re substance abusers faking or exaggerating pain just to get high, they should be about 69 percent male.

Between 2011 and 2013, I contacted all of the state medical marijuana programs and got data from seven. In all but one of the states, 64 to 74 percent of the pain patients were male.

These numbers are nowhere near what we would expect from a cross-section of legitimate pain patients. Instead, they’re clustered around the result we would see if the patients were all substance abusers. So while not every medical marijuana patient is misusing the law just to get high, the great majority probably are.

A 2011 study from the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis found similar results. The researchers surveyed 1,655 consecutive patients from nine medical marijuana clinics in California and found that the average patient was a 32-year-old man who started smoking pot as a teenager.

Not only are these laws harmful, but they’re completely unnecessary. While some seriously ill patients are helped by marijuana, there are four prescription cannabinoid medications that are just as helpful. So there’s no reason to use marijuana itself as medicine.

Two of these medicines, Marinol and Cesamet, are available in the U.S. by prescription. A third, Epidiolex, or pure cannabidiol, is available for children with seizures through a special Food and Drug Administration program. The fourth, Sativex, is in the last stages of approval.

Some of these medicines have fewer side effects than marijuana and are longer-acting, which means they are better for genuine patients who don’t want to be stoned all the time. However, the biggest advantage of prescription cannabinoids is that they’re much less likely to be abused or diverted to teenage use than medical marijuana is.

Legislators should ignore the pro-marijuana lobbyists and instead listen to the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. If we want to rein in teenage marijuana use and prevent widespread abuse of the drug, instead of passing new state medical marijuana laws, we should get rid of the ones we already have.

Dr. Ed Gogek is an addiction psychiatrist in Prescott, Ariz., and author of the book “Marijuana Debunked: A handbook for Parents, Pundits, and Politicians Who Want to Know the Case Against Legalization,” which is scheduled to be released in August by Chiron Publications.

To summarize the article:

- Medical marijuana's promises have far exceeded the latest medical studies on its effectiveness.

- But, it does appear to help for chronic pain.

- Prescription painkillers are responsible for more that 16,000 deaths each year (overdoses).

- Author is arguing those deaths could be reduced/eliminated.

As a student of history, I would suggest you look back when patent medicines were all the rage. Media and advertising promoted such wonderful cures as tobacco, cocaine, opiates, and other drugs that upon research were found to be not so wonder cures at all. A lot of people became addicted to morphine, which when introduced to the pharmacopoeia was considered to be the best treatment for chronic pain (and it did work as prescribed). We all are familiar with the problems of addiction today and heroin is not found in any hospital pharmacy.

You (and others) have fallen into the trap of advocacy promoted pharmaceuticals like the unregulated concoctions of the past. Taking a MM prescription to your local pot dispensary will never provide you with actual knowledge of what you are purchasing--no matter what name they put on the jar of buds. The drug content will not only vary from batch to batch, but also from plant to plant and even within the same plant.

Even the lowly aspirin sold over the counter has more quality control WRT dosage and composition and comes under more scrutiny than seen in the medical pot industry.

I will admit that if I did not have a background in both clinical and research immunogenetics, as a parent with a child with a medical problem, I would be tempted to go the snake oil route...but only as the ultimate last resort.

Your emotional pointless drivel is being wasted here, use it over at the the DU where it will have the effeminate weenies in tears.

Problem? It didn't cure cancer. All it cured was small bank accounts in Mexico and big ones in the US.

If you look, it is still being offered to the gullible on line. I think they call it vitamin B 17 now.

As thread owner, I will go first;

PigDoc, I humbly apologize for saying that you lied. I will leave it as you left out some medical stuff that you are qualified in, and we will just continue to dissagree.

Stan, stop the needless name calling. This is your only warning. Thread owner tools will be utilized.

I hate the apricot seed story because I knew people who impoverished their family going to Mexico to pursue the false hope when they could have possibly had a cure with traditional treatments or at least not left their loved ones in poverty.

The saddest was when the parents lived out their lives in poverty because they took their cancerous child to medical charlatans Mexico.

Botox has medical uses, so we need to quit regulating it and allow any individual or corporation to sell it to anyone who wants to purchase it without regulation or quality controls.

Clostridium botulinum is entirely natural. The government and big pharma are just trying to keep this great cure out of the hands of the people so they can control our lives and get rich.

You are comparing paralytic nerve toxin that is being modified by scientists to treat illness to a plant that has been used for medicinal purpose since at least 2900 B.C.

Desperation without evidence ensues....

If I've learned one thing about people, it's that they will continue to pursue their agenda regardless of the evidence presented by the opposing side.

So many people are claiming a "lack of research" to support their position. The evidence showing the efficiency of Cannabis as a useful medication goes back over 3000 years.

Want some research that's more contemporary?

http://grannystormcrowslist2014.webs.com/apps/forums/

Hopefully, you naysayers will be up stand-up folks and spend the time doing some research yourselves.

What's the fun of that? Get healed without getting high.

This from a link on the page Mike shared: "New findings published by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital revealed the risk of young children swallowing, breathing or being exposed to marijuana in general rose from 147.5 percent in 2006 through 2013 across the United States; this rate has increased by nearly 610 percent during the same period in states that have legalized marijuana use prior to 2000."

From the link: "Shady ballot brokers are “doping the vote” in the Rio Grande Valley, an election-watch group says. Now the FBI is on the case.

“(The politiqueras) took voters to their weed man after voting,” Logan Churchwell, a spokesman for True the Vote, told Watchdog.org.

Trafficking in petty cash and dime bags, politiqueras round up voters for South Texas candidates, nearly all Democrats. The pay-for-ballot activity has resulted in 11 federal indictments so far."

soros is a major source of pro-pot funding. What is his real agenda?

If a trained medical doctor prescribed a legal medication that had been proven effective and safe by clinical trials, then yes even if it originally came from MJ. It wouldn't even have to be the only available treatment. If the doctor I trusted recommended it, I would give approval. After that, the unknowns become too many to give you an answer.

See link from Epilepsy Society.

That is a misquote of what most of us have been saying. We have been saying that MM should be held to the same standards as other medications that are sold to the general public.

The vast majority of MM has no quality controls, unknown dosages of both active ingredients and "inert" ingredients. Dosages may vary by 1000% or more. That would not be tolerated by the medical profession, regulatory agencies, or individual consumers for any other medicine.

If the true purpose of MM is to treat illnesses, then treat it like medicine instead of a less illegal way to get high.

From this link https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/whats-the-deal-with-these-high-cbd-strains :

"While high THC strains often tout levels of over 20%, generally, CBD levels of over 4% are considered to be high."

From the Colorado MJ study (link): : "The average CBD amount: 0.1 percent, his study reports."

From 0.1% to 20% is a ___________ % difference.

"prices vary by strength, the people know what they are selling"

"What LaFrate didn't see, however, also astonished him. The 600-plus weed samples generally carried little or no cannabidiol, or CBD — the compound that makes medical marijuana "medical." The average CBD amount: 0.1 percent, his study reports."

In other words, people said they were buying the MJ for medical reasons, but it had high THC and virtually no CBD.

"...LaFrate. After analyzing more than 600 samples of bud provided by certified growers and sellers, LaFrate said he detected little medical value and lots of contamination. He presents those findings Monday to a national meeting of the American Chemical Society, a nonprofit scientific group chartered by Congress..."

And

"... Some green buds he viewed were covered in funghi — and he estimated that several marijuana flowers were "crawling" with up to 1 million fungal spores.

"It's a natural product. There's going to be microbial growth on it no matter what you do," LaFrate said. "So the questions become: What's a safe threshold? And which contaminants do we need to be concerned about?"..."

HPLC showed that extracts often contained adulterants such as butane and other solvents used in extraction.

"Colorado does not require pre-sale testing of medical marijuana. LaFrate did not analyze any edibles. "

Until medical marijuana is actually treated as medicine, with determination of content, dosage, purity and quality control, it must be treated as historical patent medicine snake oil.

Rare to see (if any)any proponent of MM while touting the wonders and benefits call for establishing any parameters that apply to even the simplest OTC drug when it comes to medical usage. This alone supports the suspicion that a majority of those touting the benefits more or less do it for the underlying excuse for a legal high.

MN has recognized that MM has to be treated as a legitimate medical treatment and has addressed the issue by separating its medical value from snake oil as seen in most other states that have decriminalized MM.

MN has addressed this issue in an adult manner compared to most other states. Participants must not only register, but also pay an enrolment fee (some discounted fees are available under certain circumstances. No fees will be charged for those enrolled in clinical research trials). This is far different from a state like MI, where all a person has to do is see a doctor and get a MM card (there are clinics that advertise and provide cards for almost any real or imagined complaint);.

MN has limited the use to 9 specific conditions:

* Cancer associated with severe/chronic pain, nausea or bsevere vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting.

* Glaucoma.

* HIV/AIDS.

* Tourette Syndrome.

* Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

* Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy.

* Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

* Crohn’s Disease.

* Terminal illness, with a life expectancy of less than one year, if the illness or treatment produces severe/chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, cachexia or severe wasting.

It does not allow for the use of raw marijuana and smoking it. The preparations from both supplying laboratories undergo QC providing: active ingredients; inactive ingredients; and contaminants. (All mentioned previously on this thread)

Note: also, Hydro-carbon based Extraction Prohibited.

Unlike the Obama administrations deal with Iran, there is Compliance Assurance:

The Department has broad authority to perform unannounced inspections and have access to all of the manufacturer’s facilities and business records. Manufacturers are subject to monetary fines of up to $1000 for violating any relevant regulation in addition to having their registration suspended, revoked or non-renewed.

Worth reading:

Medical Cannabis

WRT the two authorized labs, Leafline Labs has a much more informative site.

When one looks at MN's website and compares it to the practice elsewhere, it proves the point made so often, not only on this thread, but the majority of the medical marijuana hucksters.

Again...Thanks PD.

Again, maybe Mike will drop by and describe how drugs are brought to market/FDA regulations.

. . . preliminary test results showed Bland had marijuana in her system, but full toxicology results were expected to be released Friday.

Yep, smoking the whacky weed, getting a "warning" ticket, and then going off the deep end and getting arrested. Gotta love that MJ.

"Some research suggests that marijuana smokers are diagnosed with depression more often than nonsmokers are — particularly regular or heavy marijuana users. However, it doesn't appear that marijuana directly causes depression."

More medical uses.....

"Scientists in Israel are exploring another medical use for marijuana: Their research indicates that a compound in the plant helps heal bone fractures.

The new study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, found that broken bones healed faster and stronger when the patient received the non-psychoactive compound cannabidiol, or CBD.

"We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone tissue," said Dr. Yankel Gabet, one of the lead researchers, in a statement. "After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future.""

MM as prescribed and used for the most part is still at the same equivalent of patent medicine. Ever try to eat just one home made chocolate cookie, let alone just a part? (link)

Your response is an indication that all you have is pig poop to refute it.

Smoking (or eating) dope IS patent medicine (snake oil). I would be willing to bet that every patent medicine sold contained substances that have medicinal qualities. That doesn't make patent medicine a good idea.

You probably don't remember or are aware that cigarettes at one time were promoted for their health benefits.

There are scientific studies that smokers of marijuana actually consume more carbon monoxide and tars than tobacco smokers for the simple fact that they tend to inhale deeper and hold the smoke longer than a cigarette smoker.

Down the road, we will see like with tobacco, a linkage between marijuana and lung cancers and emphysema as seen with tobacco use.

Can some strains of MJ make you mellow? Yep. Can some strains of MJ give you anxiety? Yep..that too is true.

Many folks here are single malt, or whiskey drinkers. Some prefer wine..(white or red?), and yet others are beer fans. When my ex-wife (#2) would drink white wine I knew it would be a nice evening, but if she was drinking red wine I looked for any excuse to get out of the house and go do something. Why? Cause it made her meaner than a stepped on snake, that's why.

Many won't drink tequila...anymore. Why? Tempers flare and people do galacticly stupid stuff.

Just because someone smoked some bud does not mean they still can't get royally pissed off if situations or conditions warrant such a response.

That said, the incidents of violence that occur while under the influence of cannabis (only) or alcohol (only) are about 50,000 to 1. Alcohol is clearly a destroyer of thousands of lives taken by drunk drivers each year, not to mention the livers of millions getting trashed by it as I write... Yet, most all of you drink an alcoholic beverage daily.

I know of no one, ever, who has taken a hit or two of a joint and become an addict...yet, how often we hear of people taking one drink of alcohol and they suddenly have a physical and psychological dependence on alcohol?

Still...some of you are on a Crusade, and there is no scientific evidence or anecdotal evidence, anywhere, that is going to change your minds.

Nor can you support the claim that "most all of you drink an alcoholic beverage daily."

Made up stuff is not persuasive.

I've said for years that I have seen too many lives wrecked by pot to be in favor of it. Sorry, but the evidence I see, in the business, and in a state that legalized it, is not good for your cause.

You believe what you believe, and nothing or no one is going to change your mind. Not a damn thing wrong with that, even if I believe you are incorrect. So, why waste your time taking about it here? What are you trying to prove, and to whom?

Do you actually believe that anyone here is going to change their behavior over this thread?

I actually know what I know, which is different than believing what I believe. I've seen a young man who was beside himself after having bludgeoned his best friend with a steel pipe, while high on pot, remembering none of it. You don't forget those things.

I am here because I've been a Bowsite/Leatherwall/Community Forum member for over 17 years, and have just as much right to post my opinion in a thread as you do.

Specific to this thread, I have been a Medical Cannabis patient since 2007, and have worked with hundreds of sick and terminal individuals to improve the quality of their life. I've personally grown hundreds of plants (legally), developed new strains for specific illnesses, and have taught thousands more how to raise their own medicine. I've worked to educate medical professionals on the benefits of individual strains, and what they might suggest vs. what their patients should avoid.

I've offered testimony in front of several "governing bodies" on the medicinal benefits of Cannabis.

I know more about Cannabis, it's effects, and how it should, or shouldn't be used than you, or anyone else in this forum ever will.

I DID NOT (and do not) support general legalization.

That's why I posted in the thread.

Aside from that, I am not trying to disrespect your opinion. Your opinion, as you said, is based on what you've seen, and what you've been told by others.

You've seen it from one side, and I've seen it from the other.

My experience is from personal experience, and that of thousands of others I've had contact with over the years. It's not a miracle drug, yet, but there's many times I wished it were as I sat holding the hand of a cancer or AIDS patient while they passed from one life to another.

I've disrespected nobody in this thread, yet you see idiotic, asshat comments like the one from Slade. If someone goes on the offensive because I disagree with them, well, that's their problem. I've got better things to do with my time.

That is all I have to say on the matter.

You are also confused when you state, "... there is no scientific evidence or anecdotal evidence, anywhere, that is going to change your minds" That applies to the use of marijuana as medicine. Scientific studies have indicated that there may well be medical benefits from some of the components of marijuana (CBD for example). These components have been studied in controlled experiments where purity and dosage is a known factor.

There can be no such control using raw marijuana whose medicinal values are determined by name of a strain sold at a pot shop told to the purchaser by the guy behind the counter. The amount of THC or CBD sold will vary from plant to plant.

Snake oil.

Let's see some of the science based science and PLEASE use your emotional drivel over at the DU where is will shed many a tear. I see thousands of fellow users anytime I visit Portlandia or Seattle in their Birkenstocks looking dazed and confused.

Can't ask the fellow who jumped off the fourth floor, he's dead.

Can't ask the fellow who is charged with first degree murder, he can't talk to anyone except his lawyer right now.

My former client, well, I was with him for an hour and a half in a local detention facility. He wasn't lying, he was crying most of the time, having just beaten his best friend with a steel pipe so many times that the poor guy lost about 40 IQ points.

"I see thousands of fellow users anytime I visit Portlandia or Seattle in their Birkenstocks looking dazed and confused."

You're not opinionated in the least, are you. You're much more impressed with yourself, and how you can instantly discern another persons physical/mental condition based on where they live and the shoes they wear.

Again, I have no intention of wasting my time arguing over the subject.

If I were to start posting science, all you (and your followers) will do is make every effort to shred and discredit it, after which of course I provide more fodder for you to attempt to discredit.

When it's all said and done, not you, or anyone else will have changed their minds...it's nuthin' but a circle jerk, so no, I ain't interested.

If you honestly want to learn something, then check out some of the research done on "Granny's List". I posted a link to it earlier.

Show us some science based science, talking feelings to a panel of do gooders is not science, come on cowboy, you keep displaying that stenson lets see the cattle.

Don't you be going capon on us rubes, next thing you know you will be channeling Ella and crying me a river.

Nice try bud. The link states promising/potentially etc.. etc.., having not yet occurred.

So let me understand this, you are moving forward on something which you claim is already settled science, in other words we have MM facilities PUSHING drugs to cure ailments based on science we are only moving forward with, bong logic at it's core.

What I find funny about all this is that, politically, I'm shoulder to shoulder with 99% of ya, but let me disagree with you on one issue, and you pile on like ticks on a dog.

You want science, well, there ya go. There's enough links on the side panels to keep you busy for months. Anything you disagree with please take it up with MD's and Ph.D's that did the research.

Here's another good link about Charlotte's Web, the high CBD strain developed in a laboratory.

http://extras.denverpost.com/stateofhope/#part1

The high CBD oil is manufactured in a state-of-the-art medical laboratory, so that the medicine is pure, and that dosages are exact from one batch to another.

This is information only. As said, take it up with the researchers if you don't like their findings.

I've got $10 says Y'all come right back at me with the same acrimoniousness, which is exactly what I said would happen. You're not the least bit interested in the truth, and that's why I refuse to get sucked into these ridiculous debates.

I'm done here as it's just not worth the stress.

Th high CBD oil is manufactured in a state-of-the-art medical laboratory, so that the medicine is pure, and that dosages are exact from one batch to another.

Who is ensuring this? The FDA?

FYI, we recently lost our neighbor and friend to cancer, MM oil was one of the few alternatives he had due to type and location, he was a staunch conservative and christian who did not take drugs or even drink. So yes I am very aware of what he and his family went thru first hand on the varying quality and potency of the snake oil the MM passed off as medicine. It is criminal on what they get away with here in WA and Oregon.

In other words cattle less spin and emotional bloviating.

Stop the useless name calling.

This is your only warning.

Didn't think calling someone an "ass" was such a horrible thing, but then again it's a different world we live in.

Slade's a trucker, just as I was, and I have little doubt his skin is at least an inch thick. Still, I should have more class, regardless how others are treating me.

Edited it out of my posts.

My apologies to anyone I may have offended.

Even the components that lead to the high may have medicinal properties which need to be tested.

I have taken Codeine cough syrup as a prescription, but would never consider using opiates from the street - and there is nowhere in America that it would be legal for someone to sell it to me and say it would treat my illness. Why shouldn't marijuana be treated the same?

HA/KS: Mike, the contention is that smoking a joint is no way to medicate our population. Extracting and testing the components that have medicinal properties is. Even the components that lead to the high may have medicinal properties which need to be tested.

Good question; happy to answer but please understand I can only speak for myself, and what I know to be true, and not the rest of the world.

I would agree. A person using any medication, IMO, needs to be aware of what that medicine is, what's in it, and how it is to be used.

Just an FYI (for some): Retail MJ shops in WA. have a detailed analysis of each strain they sell, tested from the batch they are currently offering.

There are now several independent labs where anyone can send in a sample, pay the lab fee, and then get the same detailed analysis of their own MJ.

HA/KSI have taken Codeine cough syrup as a prescription, but would never consider using opiates from the street - and there is nowhere in America that it would be legal for someone to sell it to me and say it would treat my illness. Why shouldn't marijuana be treated the same?

Couple differences to consider. That cough syrup is compounded using specific measurements for the ingredients, where Cannabis is a grown and used as-is, or rendered into an oil (for food) or a tincture.

The forests are filled with a host of effective, natural medicines. I don't need a pharmacist to make some mashed up Devil's Club inner stem so I can treat the wound(s) from Devil's Club thorns/spikes.

Cannabis came to be a medicine about 3000 years ago when Chinese medicine dudes (don't know what else to call 'em) figured out that certain parts of the plant were beneficial.

Today, especially in Colorado, there are state-of-the-art laboratories producing Cannabis medicines under the strictest of controls.

Another issue to consider is that Cannabis can treat a host of ailments, it has a very, very low addiction rate, and almost no undesired side effects. So, that said, if a person decides to smoke a joint of a recommended strain to see if it helps their illness, then even if it is of no benefit there is no harm done.

People are correct in one regard, in that if you buy off the street then you basically have no control over what you're getting. I would never do it myself, nor would I ever recommend it to a potential MMJ patient. This is why having good laws is so important.

As for more research, the largest barrier to that is the US Government, as they simply will not allow much to be done. Odd though, as the US Government actually holds a patent on Cannabis! (maybe they hate competition?)

See the link.

Interesting, ain't it?

No problems here, I am opinionated as all get out, I dish it out and my skin is thick enough to withstand the torment when it's shoveled back...)

"On July 9, 2015, in the case of Olive v. Commissioner, San Francisco's Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. tax code section 280E which states that expenditures in connection with the illegal sale of drugs don't qualify for any deductions or credits. What this means is that marijuana-based businesses aren't able to deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses, and are thus being taxed on 100% of their gross profit as opposed to net profit."

When you go to your local Walmart, CVS or Wallgreens to pick up cold medicine (or any other health product), do you ever think of the quality of the product? More than likely you grab the product off the shelf and hurry home to remedy your illness or whatever health ailment you might face. Little do we think of the testing behind the medications prescribed to us that improve the quality of our lives. Yet, stringent testing is needed for any pharmaceutical or health care product to hit the shelves of your local convenience store.

Why is quality control testing so important for pharmaceutical and health care applications? The short answer: Any product of inferior quality can have negative outcomes for patients. For this reason, quality control testing is one critical safeguard used to prevent products that don’t meet exacting specifications from reaching patients, protecting public health. “Additionally, manufacturers use the feedback gained from quality control testing results to continuously improve manufacturing process in an effort to reduce errors and deliver quality products more efficiently,” says Carl Craig, PhD, Corporate VP, Charles River Laboratories.

Quality control for pharmaceuticals For the quality control testing of pharmaceutical and health care products, The United States Phamocopeial Convention (USP) establishes, through the use of expert committees, uniform quality standards that are enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These standards are similar to those of the Japanese Pharmacopeia and the European Pharmacopeia. The quality standards are documented as Compendial Tests, and every pharmaceutical product is subjected to the appropriate Compendial Test as a way to demonstrate product quality, efficacy, potency and so forth.

By its nature, the regulated pharmaceutical products market is conservative and slow to adopt change in quality control testing. “After all, if the regulatory bodies, such as the USP and FDA, have determined existing quality tests are working to protect public health, any change could potentially have a negative impact on the public,” says Craig.

However, rapid testing is now at a place where it can meet the same quality specifications of traditional testing methods, only faster. “In many cases, rapid tests deliver results hours and even days before traditional methods,” says Craig. “This has obvious economic benefits for business; it expedites product release.”

Rapid tests also allow for products to be reliably tested and released based on the quality control data, whereas with traditional methods the products may be released and used “at risk”, only to receive the quality testing results after the product’s release and use. “With that said, the industry has struggled to validate these rapid test methods,” says Craig. This is mainly due to this industry’s reluctance to change traditional quality control procedures that have protected human and public health for decades.

And since rapid methods are considered “alternative methods” by regulators, and must be independently validated according to specific guidance outlined in the respective pharmacopoeias, manufacturers of rapid methods must appeal to regulators for approval. This slows the adoption of these methods, and ultimately the time pharmaceutical and health care manufacturers can get products to market.

The endotoxin way Endotoxin testing is a rapid quality control test method that takes hours versus days to reach results. And, according to Craig, endotoxin testing has clearly demonstrated improvements over the previous “compendial rabbit pyrogen method of quality control.”

Technology based on limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL)—a key ingredient in horseshoe crab blood that reacts in the presence of gram-negative bacteria—has progressed to the point where rapid cartridge-based systems now enable companies to rapidly measure endotoxins. The technology works like this: Precise amounts of LAL reagent, chromagenic substrate and control endotoxin are pre-loaded onto a four-channel cartridge, at which point the cartridge is placed in a handheld reader that serves as an incubator (that heats the cartridge to 37 C), a pumping system (that mixes the sample with each of the reagents applied to the cartridge) and spectrophotometer. The LAL method provides results in about 15 min. The most recent advances in LAL technology include a multi-cartridge system and a fully automated, robotic system suitable for high-volume water testing.

“Since the advent of mandatory endotoxin testing for drugs, biologics and medical devices in the early 1980s, there hasn’t been a single incident of a product recall due to endotoxin contamination from a failure of an endotoxin assay that has been properly performed,” says Craig. And, with the advent and FDA approval of Charles Rivers Laboratories’ Endosafe-PTS method of rapid endotoxin testing in 2006, the company has seen a successful decrease—days to minutes—in test time that demonstrates successful adoption of simpler, less-invasive, more reliable rapid methods that don’t compromise public health.

“We hope the successful adoption of rapid endotoxin testing can be a blueprint for adoption of other rapid methods in the future,” says Craig.

The future of quality control testing What does the future hold for pharmaceutical and health care product quality control testing? Technological improvements combined with cost improvements will be at the forefront of future methods and technologies. “Technological improvements, alongside the significant and often unnecessary cost of having products sit and wait for testing to be completed before the product is release or moved to the next step, has strengthened the case for quality control testing that’s simpler, faster and more automated,” says Craig.

There’s also a movement within the pharmaceutical industry to bring quality decisions closer to the manufacturing floor. With this trend, there’s an opportunity to develop easy-to-use and rapid quality control methods that can be decentralized from the quality lab and used by technicians in manufacturing without compromising testing quality or public health. “This allows for more timely and accurate decision to be made regarding the release of regulated products,” says Craig.

We were discussing managing family farmland that is in Colorado. My brother jokingly said that since it is in CO we could plant it to a lucrative crop. He told my brother and I that if MM ever comes to a vote in KS to vote against it.

I asked if he has to deal with patients from CO that come to the ER with marijuana induced problems. He said that they get a lot of them. I "jokingly" said that can't be true because it isn't addictive. He said that it actually is, just not in the traditional sense.

He then went into detailed medical/physiological/chemical information that I thought I followed, but could not repeat. Apparently MJ is very hard on the stomach lining. Patients come to the ER in agony and are given opiate painkillers. I don't remember the details of problem/symptoms.

He also said that one problem with the aging is that they are anxious that they will not be able to sleep due to pain that they expect to occur and keep them awake. So, they are given opiate-based painkillers which are really given not for pain, but for anxiety. He stated that there are components of MM that would much better serve these people than prescribing opiates to help them sleep. For one thing, the opiates have many side effects.

He said the answer is not passing a joint in the old folk's home at bedtime, but to isolate the effective components of MM so they can be prescribed and administered in appropriate doses.

Everyone's situation differs, but in my case I've been a daily user for over 6 years. Came from the factory with a testy stomach and haven't had any issues that most of us don't deal with on a daily basis. Who doesn't rip a good one now and then, and besides, if ya don't fart you'll explode!

Diverticulitis and I have a long standing relationship, but MJ is of no help in relieving any of the pain associated with it. It's good with muscle issues (cramps, etc.), but diverticulitis is an infected and pissed off colon; only a few days of clear food (like water and broth w/ no chicken) plus antibiotics will clear it up.

On the flip side, medical cannabis is among the best treatments for Crohn's and several other gastrointestinal issues.

Go figure.

"Specifically, researchers found that in the 18 states where medical marijuana was legalized and shops were open for business, there was a 16% reduction in opioid-related deaths and a 28% reduction in opioid-related treatment admissions."

Obviously, it does help cognitive faculties.