Radiation treatments create cancer cells 30 times more potent than regular cancer

Tony Isaacs
Infowars.com
March 20, 2012

In a groundbreaking new study just published in the peer reviewed journal Stem Cells, researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Department of Oncology found that, despite killing half of all tumor cells per treatment, radiation treatments on breast cancer transforms other cancer cells into cancer stem cells which are vastly more treatment-resistant than normal cancer cells. The new study is yet another blow to the failed and favored mainstream treatment paradigm of trying to cut out, poison out or burn out cancer symptoms (tumors) instead of actually curing cancer.

Senior study author Dr. Frank Pajonk, associate professor of radiation oncology at the Jonsson Center, reported that induced breast cancer stem cells (iBCSC) “were generated by radiation-induced activation of the same cellular pathways used to reprogram normal cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in regenerative medicine.” Pjonk, who is also a scientist with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA, added “It was remarkable that these breast cancers used the same reprogramming pathways to fight back against the radiation treatment.”

In the new study, Pajonk and his team irradiated normal non-stem cell cancer cells and placed them into mice. Through a unique imaging system, the researchers observed the cells differentiate into iBCSC in response to radiation treatments. Pjonk reported that the newly generated cells were remarkably similar to non-irradiated breast cancer stem cells. The team of researchers also found that the radiation-induced stem cells had a more than 30-fold increased ability to form tumors compared with non-irradiated breast cancer cells.

Despite mounting evidence, mainstream medicine clings to surgery, chemo and radiation and ignores natural solutions

Despite all the billions of dollars spent on cancer, the 40 year “war on cancer” has been a losing one by any honest evaluation. One hundred years ago, anywhere from 1 in 50 to perhaps 1 in 100 people could be expected to develop cancer. Now it is estimated that 1 in every 2 men and 1 in every 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Despite more people around the world developing cancer and dying from cancer every year, mainstream medicine continues to cling to failed treatments which more often than not fail to eliminate the cancer and help cancer spread and return more aggressively than ever. Notably, two of the three major mainstream cancer treatments – radiation and chemo – are themselves highly carcinogenic.

One might think that the new study provided ample reasons to rethink using radiation. However, the study authors looked at the results as an opportunity to continue and enhance the use of radiation by finding ways to control the cell differentiation. What the scientists failed to note is that natural alternatives have already been found which prevent the development of cancer stem cells.

As just one example, Natural News reported in May 2010 that a University of Michigan study had found a compound in broccoli and broccoli sprouts which had the ability to target cancer stem cells. See:

• 

http://www.naturalnews.com/028822_broccoli_breast_cancer.html

The researchers failed to note how cancer cells fought against unnatural treatments. They also failed to take into account the mounting evidence that the best way to beat cancer as well as avoid it is to build and enhance our natural first line of defense – our immune system.

The safest and most effective way to enhance the natural immune system and fight cancer in general is by working with nature. It is also by far the least expensive way, and therein likely lies the rub. You can’t patent and profit from nature like you can with mainstream drugs and treatments.

Note: Neither NaturalNews nor this author condone the inhumane use of animals in medical studies.

Other sources included:

www.cancer.ucla.edu/Index.aspx?page=644
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213185115.htm
www.naturalnews.com/cancer_cells.html
www.naturalnews.com/stem_cells.html

This article was originally published on Natural News.

I Will Not Be Pinkwashed: Komen's Race Is For Money, Not Cure

http://www.alternet.org/story/154010/i_will_not_be_pinkwashed:_komen%27s_race_is_for_money,_not_cure__/

Outrageous salaries, drug company ties, and less than a dime of every dollar looks for a cure.

February 4, 2012 |

It’s October. And that means, it’s prime pink season. It’s national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, that magical time of year when shades of pale pink are plastered onto every product, every container, every conceivable gadget or gizmo the Susan G. Komen Foundation can get its hands on. That iconic symbol of overlapped ribbon is supposed to adorn every man, woman and child who ever had a mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, niece or aunt who faced the horrifying struggle of breast cancer.

But I am not buying it.

Susan G. Komen: For Cure of Con?

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a multimillion-dollar company with assets totaling over $390 million. Only 20.9% of these funds were reportedly used in the 2009-2010 fiscal year for research “for the cure.” Where does the rest of the money go? Let’s have a look. Health screening is 13.0%. Treatment is 5.6%. Fundraising is 10.0%. The largest chunk of the pie is going toward “public health education,” 39.1%. More on that later, but for now I’d like to take a look at the millions, or 11.3%, spent on “administrative costs.”

Click on this link from Susan G. Komen’s Form 990 from 2008 showing the salaries of some of its highest-paid employees. All non-profits have to file these with the IRS. "Part VII, Section AAa" show what the numbers in the columns represent, but cut out the board members listed as having no salary -- er, “reportable” salary.

What do we see? Note the dates of employment for some of the lesser-paid employees. Gary Dicovitsky, VP Development, for example, was paid $95,291 (plus $2,746) only from 10/08 to 3/09. Gary must have gotten a promotion since then, though. Because while it still lists his position as VP Development from 10/08 – 3/09, his salary from 2009 was $417,109. Oh, plus $18,091 in change.

I don’t know about you, but I would never expect directors of a charitable “non-profit” organization to make more than most doctors, lawyers, or even politicians. Their CEO and president, Hala G. Moddelmog, made $531,924, plus $26,683 in change. That's more than President Obama makes.

Here's another screenshot from 2009 Form 990, straight from Komen.org. Yup, more of the same. Curiously, these were the only employees listed in this type of form, similar to the 2008 one. Other employees were not listed with their position title.

In all, about 11% of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s annual revenue goes toward employee salaries. And that adds up to a lot of money. But what about the rest?

"Public Health Education"

We have all seen the rallies with pink hats, pink T-shirts, pink staging, pink everything. Is this really making a difference?

The area in which Komen spends the highest percentage of funds is in “public health education,” in other words, bringing awareness to the population of the disease itself and the importance of screening for early detection of breast cancer. While that may be considered a worthwhile goal to some, it’s important to realize that Komen stands to profit from spreading that message.

It admits to about 10% of funds used for “fundraising,” but let’s be honest, the pink-ribbon-plastered “awareness” and”education” campaigns are often little more than a highly effective form of advertising — which in turn, brings in Komen’s millions. In other words, a way to raise funds for itself, while getting a pat on the back for its efforts to “save lives.”

One thing that doesn’t quite compute with me is how Komen’s mission of finding a “cure” — after all, that is its name — is congruent with putting over half its money toward promoting awareness and screening, for early detection of breast cancer. It’s not curing breast cancer to be aware that you could get it, nor is finding out that you have cancer and treating it in the early stages in hopes of entering into remission. That’s not a cure. Yet that is Komen’s largest promoted focus.

read more at link

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BREAKING NEWS: Cannabis Science, Inc: Cannabis Oil Shrinks “One Of The Worst” Cancers

http://cannabiscureuk.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/breaking-news-cannabis-science-inc-cannabis-oil-shrinks-one-of-the-worst-cancers/

January 11, 2012

tags: cancer, cannabis, cannabis science, cannabis science inc., colorado, cure, death, heal, kill, mearijuana, medical, medicine

COLORADO’S pioneering biotech company Cannabis Science, Inc have released graphic photos of a patient, suffering with what their physician described as “the worst case of squamous cell carcinoma cancer” he had ever seen, being healed by cannabis oil administered at home.

From Skin Cancer.org “Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are the second most common form of skin cancer and are very small usually when they are first noticed. It is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells arising in the squamous cells, which compose most of the skin’s upper layers (the epidermis). SCCs often look like scaly red patches, open sores, or warts; they may crust or bleed. SCC is mainly caused by cumulative UV exposure over the course of a lifetime. It can become disfiguring and sometimes deadly if allowed to grow. An estimated 700,000 cases of SCC are diagnosed each year in the US, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths.”

Cannabis After Radiot-Therapy Session

The first pictures released by Cannabis Science, Inc. show a tumour protruding the skull with two sinus-like holes in the top. Cannabis extract was then applied in and around the holes and to all of the surrounding tissue on the scalp whilst the patient was undergoing radiotherapy treatment which can be seen in the second photos. This kind of extract which contains cannabinoids such as THC and CBD is more commonly referred to as “hash oil” or “concentrate” in the fledging regulated cannabis industry in Colorado, most particularly, Denver. Colorado made it legal for patients with qualifying conditions, after citizens used ballot initiatives and petitions, to use Cannabis to treat their symptoms. MS, chronic pain and nausea are all qualifying conditions, not just life threatening ones.

Claims of cannabis’ ability to shrink tumours have been made for many years, but within the last decade the anecdotal evidence has stacked up to the point that pharmaceutical companies have started taking these claims more seriously. GW Pharmaceuticals, who are set to go global in 2012 with their cannabis tincture spray Sativex, are currently Phase III trialling their oromucosal mouth spray for cancer pain in both the UK and the US. It is already prescribed to a select number of MS suffers in parts of the UK and in continental Europe in countries such as Italy, Germany, Sweden and even Czech Republic this year.

What is visible in the next set of photos is what has been described as the cannabis oil being drawn out of the wound and, in the words of Cannabis Science, Inc., “killing the cancer cells from these lesions”. If this is “killing” the cancer cells then surely this must be an indication that the anecdotal claims and evidence that we have seen more of in the press so recently and many times in 2011, shows that cannabis does cure cancer.

Cannabis oil killing cancer

Back in 1974, researchers at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond inadvertently found the THC slowed the growth of cancer cells in mice with cancer of the lung, breast and a virus-induced leukemia. Their funding ended since the original goal was to determine its harmful effects to the immune system. In 2000 Guzman and his research team in Madrid, Spain demonstrated that injected THC could shrink or destroy brain cell tumors (Glioma) in rats. The 1974 studies were never published and in recent years there has been little coverage in the U.S. about Guzman’s work.

In 2006 a Canadian man by the name of Rick Simpson dropped the film Run From The Cure on the cannabis world with claims and a full video guide of how to make a cure for cancer from whole plant cannabis extract. Since then he has become a modern icon for the movement and his video has been used to help reach hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who need help to treat not only cancer but diseases affecting every part of the human system. He is now on the run as a fugitive from the DEA of America.

In 2011 the Daily Mail published the story of the two year old boy whose father secretly fed him cannabis oil through his feeding tube whist undergoing several treatments that were quickly killing him before the intervention of easily applicable cannabis oil. Also in a Medical Marijuana state. Why are the UK so behind this?

In the United Kingdom Her Majesty’s Government insist on the truth of their statement “cannabis has no medicinal benefits”, and occasionally add “in herbal form” to account for the fact that they allow GW Pharmaceuticals to grow 300 tonnes of the plant a year for… medical purposes. But that’s OK, they are licensed to extract oil from it to make Sativex, which is due to embark on a new cancer pain market worth £millions this year. Because the product Sativex contains CBD, or cannabidiol, which can moderate the effects of THC’s euphoric or ‘high’ effect, but also prolong it as it slows down its break down in the body, meaning it can be used more effectively over a longer period of time. This is what we call an FAAH inhibitor. (Just a little bit of cannabis science for you!)

U.S. Government Licenses Patent for Medical Marijuana

http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/US_Government_Licenses_Patent_for_Medical_Marijuana,201138687.aspx

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is About to Award

Exclusive Rights to Apply Marijuana as a Medical Therapeutic

Deadline for Comment: Monday, Dec. 19

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dec. 15, 2011--The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients has just discovered that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is about to award an exclusive license to KannaLife Sciences, Inc. of New York to develop medical therapeutics based on the chemistry of cannabis. According to the notice in the Federal Register, public comments will be accepted through Monday, December 19.

"We find it hypocritical and incredible that on the one hand, the U.S. Department of Justice is persecuting medical cannabis patient associations, asserting that the federal government regards marijuana as having absolutely no medical value, despite overwhelming clinical evidence," said Union director James Shaw. "On the other hand, the Department of Health and Human Services is planning to grant patent rights with possible worldwide application to develop medicines based on cannabis."

While the Union applauds the U.S. government's efforts into researching the medical value of cannabis, Shaw said, "they should have affirmatively rescheduled cannabis when they discovered it had medical efficacy and, of course, it makes no sense for the government to provide U.S. Patent 6,630,507, which the government owns, to a single company with exclusive rights." He urged medical cannabis patient associations and patients using marijuana for medical reasons to protest this giveaway to one pharmaceutical firm.

Comments need to be submitted in writing by next Monday to Betty B. Tong, Ph.D., Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville MD 20852-3804, fax (301) 402-0220, or tongb@mail.nih.gov.

More information on this issue can be found at www.Unionmmp.org.

Scott Smith

The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients

Los Angeles, CA

310-254-4051

Jump To The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients

The Medical Miracle You'll Get Arrested for Using

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/26/obama-war-on-weed.aspx?e_cid=20111126_DNL_art_1

Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 26 2011 | 187,388 views

By Dr. Mercola

Marijuana was a popular botanical medicine in the 19th and 20th centuries, common in U.S. pharmacies of the time.

Yet, in 1970, the herb was declared a Schedule 1 controlled substance and labeled as a drug with a "high potential for abuse" and "no accepted medical use."

Three years later the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was formed to enforce the newly created drug schedules, and the fight against marijuana use began.

The Huffington Post has a concise history of marijuana prohibition, and the struggle for legalization, that is well worth reading -- but the most successful movement to date, and the one that is set to produce the first legal marijuana market in decades, is the medical marijuana movement.

Unfortunately, the feds have recently announced a blatant reversal on their previous pro-medical marijuana stance -- a move that is threatening to stop the industry cold.

Story at-a-glance

• Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia have laws permitting medical marijuana, but the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has raided medical marijuana suppliers and even arrested patients, because on a federal level, possessing or distributing marijuana is still considered a criminal offense
• In 2009, the U.S. Justice Department told federal prosecutors to lay off Americans producing and using medical marijuana in accordance with state laws, but this year in a blatant about-face, the Obama administration declared that only seriously ill patients and caregivers would be spared from arrest
• Recently, a series of attacks against the medical marijuana industry have occurred, including threats against banks and landlords that do business with those in the industry. Also, the IRS has denied medical cannabis facilities in California the right to file standard expense deductions. These strong-arm tactics put the medical marijuana industry in jeopardy, and may force those who depend on it for medical purposes to resort to the black market
• Research shows medical marijuana holds promise in the treatment of over 100 health conditions, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, pain, glaucoma, asthma, psychiatric conditions and high blood pressure.
• Fifty percent of Americans now support the legalization of marijuana

Why are the Feds So Concerned About Medical Marijuana?

Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia have laws allowing medical marijuana.

In other words, in those states it is considered legal to consume, possess or distribute marijuana for medical use.

Up until 2009, the U.S. Justice Department essentially told federal prosecutors to lay off Americans producing and using medical marijuana in accordance with state laws.

But despite marijuana's legal status at the state level, historically it was common for the DEA to raid medical marijuana suppliers and even arrest patients.

This is because federal law overrides state law, defining the possession or distribution of marijuana as a criminal offense.

According to The State of the Medical Marijuana Markets 2011, the national market for medical marijuana is now worth $1.7 billion -- and could grow to close to $9 billion in the next five years -- if not for a stunning reversal by the Obama administration. In October 2011, the Obama administration released a letter to clarify their earlier position, which, as Seattle Weekly reports, indicates, "The only people safe from arrest were the "seriously ill" patients and their caregivers... Everyone else? Be forewarned."

The Obama administration has long been supportive of the medical marijuana movement, even stating during the presidential campaign that, "The basic concept of using medical marijuana... [is] entirely appropriate." However the Feds now appear to be launching a full-fledged attack against this legitimate industry, not only by threatening prosecution and arrest, but also by intimidating and coercing banks, land and store owners, as well as other business entities, that help keep the medical marijuana industry alive.

Feds Attempt to Force Medical Marijuana Industry Out of Business

In recent months there have been several blows to the various industries who support the medical marijuana market. Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, reported in U.S. News & World Report Opinion, these disturbing changes:

• "The Department of Justice sent letters this past spring to state lawmakers that were debating legislation to allow for the licensed distribution of medical cannabis, threatening prosecution of those involved with said efforts if the measures went forward;
• The IRS has assessed crippling penalties on taxpaying medical cannabis facilities in California by denying these operations the right to file standard expense deductions;
• The Department of Treasury has strong-armed local banks and other financial institutions into closing their accounts with medicinal cannabis operators;
• The Drug Enforcement Administration has rejected a nine-year-old administrative petition that called for hearings regarding the federal rescheduling of cannabis for medical use, ignoring extensive scientific evidence of its medical efficacy;
• The National Institute on Drug Abuse rejected an FDA-approved protocol to allow for clinical research assessing the use of cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, stating, "We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana."
• Most recently, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, along with the four U.S. attorneys from California, announced plans for a coordinated effort against operations in California that provide above-ground access to cannabis for those patients qualified to use the substance in accordance with state law."

The war on marijuana is indeed a strange one, considering the legality of cigarettes and alcohol -- products that have vastly greater potential to harm public health, without any of the medicinal benefits. Not to mention that the FDA approves drugs, prescribed by doctors every day, that kill over 100,000 Americans a year.

Moreover, by shutting down reputable marijuana dispensaries, it will only force those who legitimately depend upon it to alleviate their suffering to enter the (sometimes dangerous) black market.

As Seattle Weekly wrote:

"Landlords, worried the feds will steal their property, will tell dispensaries to move out. Banks won't handle money for pot-themed businesses. Dispensaries will be taxed so heavily they won't be able to cover the payroll or pay the electric bill.

… An estimated one million people in California have obtained a doctor's recommendation to grow and use marijuana legally. Patient estimates in Washington are hazier, but the number is thought to be around 100,000.

If the feds shut down every dispensary in the country, all these people will still be able to legally possess marijuana—no matter where they bought it—under their state laws. The only difference is they'll be forced to go back to buying their weed from Mexican drug cartels, rather than from Americans who provide jobs and pay taxes."

What are the Medical Uses for Marijuana?

In order to really comprehend the movement behind medical marijuana, you must first understand that this herb truly does show outstanding promise as a medicinal plant. The studies conducted so far show significant potential for the use of cannabis in the prevention and treatment of a wide range of health conditions, including cancer.

For instance, in 2009 a study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research found that marijuana smokers have a lower risk of head and neck cancers than non-marijuana smokers.

Harvard researchers also found that THC in marijuana cuts tumor growth in lung cancer while significantly reducing its ability to spread. There is also a wealth of research linking marijuana with pain relief and improved sleep. In one recent study, just three puffs of marijuana a day for five days helped those with chronic nerve pain to relieve pain and sleep better.

Americans for Safe Access also has links to research studies suggesting that cannabis may help in the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer's disease and cancer, while the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine highlights the following medical uses:

Nausea	Vomiting	Anorexia	Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome)
Spasticity	Movement Disorders	Pain	Glaucoma
Epilepsy	Asthma	Dependency and Withdrawal	Psychiatric Symptoms
Autoimmune Diseases	Inflammation	High Blood Pressure	Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Lastly, the research site GreenMedInfo.com lists over 126 potential therapeutic applications for marijuana in disease prevention and treatment, further illustrating just how voluminous the scientific evidence really is in support of the medical marijuana movement.

Your Body is Hard-Wired to Respond to Cannabinoids in the Marijuana Plant

There are more than 60 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids in the marijuana plant. Cannabinoids interact with your body by way of naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors embedded in cell membranes throughout your body. There are cannabinoid receptors in your brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, immune system and more; both the therapeutic and psychoactive properties of marijuana occur when a cannabinoid (such as the THC produced by the cannabis plant) activates a cannabinoid receptor.

Your body also has naturally occurring endocannabinoids that stimulate your cannabinoid receptors and produce a variety of important physiologic processes, far beyond that of the traditional "highs" associated with THC.

What is amazing is that your body is actually hard-wired to respond to cannabinoids through this unique cannabinoid receptor system; research is still ongoing on just how extensive their impact is on our health, but to date it's known that cannabinoid receptors play an important role in many body processes, including metabolic regulation, cravings, pain, anxiety, bone growth, and immune function.

A report by Dr. Manuel Guzman in the journal of Nature Reviews suggests that these active components of cannabis and their derivatives are potential anti-cancer agents:

" … these compounds [cannabinoids] have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumour cells in culture and animal models by modulating key cell-signaling pathways. Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies."

A report by the American College of Physicians (ACP) further notes that:

"Marijuana has been smoked for its medicinal properties for centuries. It was in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until 1942 when it was removed because federal legislation made the drug illegal … Still, the overwhelming number of anecdotal reports on the therapeutic properties of marijuana sparks interest from scientists, health care providers, and patients.

Over the past 20 years, researchers have discovered cannabinoid receptors: CB1, which mediates the central nervous system (CNS), and CB2, which occurs outside the CNS and is believed to have anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activity.

These scientific developments have revealed much information supporting expansion of research into the potential therapeutic properties of marijuana and its cannabinoids."

Why Isn't Marijuana Being Studied?

This is the burning question, as even a quick review of the data suggests that cannabis deserves more than a passing glance as a potential treatment for various diseases. But in the United States – primarily for political reasons -- these studies are not being performed.

According to a report by Americans for Safe Access:

"In the past three decades, there has been an explosion of international studies designed to investigate the therapeutic value of cannabis (marijuana).

However, drastic restrictions on research in the U.S. have meant that few clinical trials are being conducted domestically and none are being conducted as part of a sponsor-funded drug development plan aimed at obtaining Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the prescription use of the botanical plant itself.

Meanwhile, research teams in Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Israel, and elsewhere have confirmed - through case studies, basic research, pre-clinical, and preliminary clinical investigations - the medical value of cannabis … "

Of course, in the United States marijuana is so heavily controlled that even if you wanted to conduct a clinical trial, you would have a hard time getting a supply for research purposes. As the Safe Access report states:

" … the federal monopoly on the supply of cannabis has fundamentally limited FDA-approved clinical research to investigate its safety and efficacy in controlling symptoms of serious and chronic illnesses.

In the United States, research is stalled, and in some cases blocked, by a complicated federal approval process, restricted access to research-grade cannabis, and the refusal of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to license private production of cannabis for use exclusively in federally approved research."

The DEA appears to be behind many puzzling restrictions concerning the marijuana plant, including the fact that it is even illegal to grow hemp in the United States.

Contrary to popular opinion, hemp and marijuana are not the same. Both are members of the Cannabis sativa plant species, but they are two distinct varieties, with hemp generally being too low in THC (the compound responsible for the plant's notorious psychoactive effect) to create a "high." In fact, the THC is intentionally bred out of the plant in order to maximize its fiber, seeds and oil -- the constituents for which it is most commonly used.

Ironically, despite these differences, the DEA classifies all Cannabis sativa varieties as "marijuana." This is why the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world where growing industrial hemp is next to impossible. To do so requires a permit from the DEA -- and it is reportedly almost impossible to get one.

Could it be that the DEA has its own agenda for keeping marijuana a controlled substance?

Seattle Weekly speculates:

"Ignorance, false propaganda, and rank political posturing tend to be the foundation of the anti-marijuana argument. (Throw in bureaucratic turf protection as well. The DEA, for example, would need fewer agents if pot was decriminalized nationwide.)"

Many Americans Have an Open Mind About Legalizing Marijuana

A new Gallup poll found that a record high number of Americans -- 50 percent -- favor legalizing marijuana use, which suggests that public pressure will continue to build for a (pun-intended) grassroots legislative overhaul of U.S marijuana laws...

Of course, there are certainly some downsides to marijuana use that need to be addressed, particularly if you are thinking of smoking it for recreational purposes.

Marijuana use can be addictive, and no doubt resources have been squandered, families have been broken up and jobs lost over its use. In the short-term, marijuana use can cause trouble with your ability to think clearly and may impair memory. Marijuana also leads to motor skill impairment and may adversely affect alertness, coordination and reaction time, which is why it should never be used prior to driving.

There is also some evidence that marijuana use can exacerbate psychotic symptoms in those with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, as well as serve as a "gateway" drug that eventually leads to the use of "harder" drugs like cocaine and heroine, although this is still a matter of debate.

Marijuana use among children and teens can also have dire consequences, as drug use of any kind may encourage risky choices and irresponsible behaviors.

Furthermore, while the vast majority of marijuana use is through the act of smoking it, it is worth noting that anytime you heat materials and inhale them you run the risk of introducing toxic elements into your system. Because of this it is always best to use an organic version; any pesticides that are on the material that is burned and inhaled will dramatically increase its toxicity.

It is possible to avoid these risks entirely by either using cannabis in hemp oil form or, as many medical marijuana patients advocate, by using a vaporizer. The device allows for the ingestion of marijuana without any combustion byproducts, eliminating rightful concerns about the cumulative harms associated with smoking it. It is also possible to minimize harm by eating marijuana (along with some fat, as THC is fat-soluble and will not dissolve in water).

It is important to note that in the United States today using marijuana for any reason is still considered an illegal activity that can result in serious legal consequences, including imprisonment.

Sadly, it is not the scientific evidence -- but rather politics and an increasingly insatiable privatized industrial-prison complex in need of more drug-convicted "criminals" -- which maintains the stranglehold on our freedom to choose wild growing plants as our medicine rather than soley FDA-approved drugs.

I think Willie Nelson said it well in the following quote:

I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?

Source: Seattle Weekly October 26, 2011

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