Cannabis oil could ease Michelle's pain

MICHELLE Spencer has been battling breast cancer since 2011. Now in its secondary stage, the 57-year-old takes a multitude of pills every day to try to keep her symptoms under control, many of which would not be needed if cannabis oil was legally available in Queensland.

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Does it treat epilepsy? Prove it. Does it shrink tumours? Prove it. Alleviate post traumatic stress? Prove it

Regarding a recent article by Peter Clausi , an experienced investment banker, who claims there is "no proof" that cannabis has any medicinal efficacy and that all that's available is anecdotal evidence; sarcastically he quotes “my cousin took it and felt better”.

In defense of cannabis and it's medicinal use, I say yes, most of the evidence is anecdotal.This is 100% due to the fact that people are incarcerated for even looking at the plant and also that it's been labelled a schedule 1 drug for the past 50 years, a category of drugs not considered legitimate for medical use.
Special licensing procedures must be followed to use Schedule I substances and the governing body doesn't make it easy to acquire it in the first place.

The problem stems from the fact that the war on drugs has perverted scientific research!

Even though it's a schedule 1 drug, lots of scientific research has been done, starting with Dr. Raphael Mechoulam work in Israel over 50 years ago.

Mr. Clausi goes on to say: "At some point, the marijuana industry is going to have to undergo stringent trials to prove up the various claims being made about its medical efficacy. Does it treat epilepsy? Prove it. Does it shrink tumours? Prove it. Alleviate post traumatic stress? Prove it".

My response is; Unfortunately Mr. Clausi, most of the funding for cannabis research in the past has been to disproof any benefit from using it, to prove it's harmfulness, to prop up the war on drugs.
Several years back the UK government funded professor David Nutt to do exactly this, and after years of dedicated research he submitted his findings to the government that cannabis was one of the safest plants in existence, non toxic, won't kill you and doesn't cause mental health issues such as Schizophrenia.

Directly after Professor Nutt submitted his research he was sacked, The UK government claimed they had conflicting views.
Which backfired, because now he has a whole bunch of well educated scientists supporting his findings.

Anyway, going back to Mr. Clausi's original article "Death in the Marijuana Market" (sounds like Agatha Christie) and the tragedy in France where a man died and several others were hospitalised with irreversible brain damage, a tragic event.

But lets not pin the blame on cannabis! I would say this is a case of pharmaceutical companies attempting to synthesize cannabis and play with it's structural integrity so they can patent and profit from it?

As you say Mr. Clausi "It’s like working in the kitchen to prepare a new meal, without a recipe and not knowing what ingredient does what. You might get eggs and baking powder and flour – you might get lemon peels, chicken feet and pig eyes. Would you want to eat that cake?"

I say, if you remove a key ingredient from a great recipe it can spoil the dish.

Synthetic adulterated cannabis is dangerous, no doubts about it.
On another note, there is a great clinical trial happening in Chile, The Daya Foundation, I'm looking forward to their results.

NT Police say no leniency for medical marijuana users when new drug-driving laws start

The Australian government is coming down hard on using cannabis and driving, with on the spot fines of $400 for a first offence.
This comprehensive report by the US Department of Transportation states that cannabis is relatively safe to drive on, so why the hefty fines? why any fine?

"The existing epidemiological research (both
culpability and case-control studies) have produced contradictory
estimates of risk for marijuana use. Some of
these studies have suggested that marijuana use has minimal
or no effect on the likelihood of crash involvement,
while others have estimated a small increase in the risk of
crash involvement."

"The Li study estimated the increased risk of crash involvement
for drivers using marijuana at 1.83 times that of drug-free
drivers, while the Romano study found no increased risk
of crash involvement for those drivers testing positive
for THC (the main psychoactive substance in marijuana)."

NT News

TERRITORY stoners and medicinal marijuana smokers are becoming increasingly paranoid they will be caught out by tougher drug-driving laws.

But Police Minister Peter Chandler said there would be no leniency for medicinal marijuana smokers when the new laws come into effect on February 1.

Drivers face lengthy driving bans and thousands of dollars in fines for returning a positive test. The NT News has spoken to cannabis smokers worried they will be penalised despite not being under the influence of the drug.

One casual drug user said there was a subculture of Territory cannabis smokers who used cannabis responsibly.

He said there was a difference between casually smoking cannabis and driving after smoking meth.

“We are organised people. We have got a family and kids. When the kids go to bed at night we’ll indulge in a chuff,” he said.

“There’s quite a few people that indulge in marijuana frequently and no other drug. They enjoy that and they are no harm to the community.

“We’re made to be instant criminals straight away.”

A medicinal cannabis user said he used the drug to ease the pain of his illness.

But Mr Chandler made no apology for the tough stance.

“There will be a zero tolerance approach to drivers who drive under the influence of drugs. Any trace of prohibited drugs in your system will result in a penalty – cannabis, ice or ecstasy, no drug is excluded,” he said.

“All drugs are illegal and if you’re caught risking your own life and the lives of others you will be prosecuted. There is a simple solution. Don’t take drugs.

“Cannabis – even medicinal cannabis – isn’t legal in the Northern Territory. If you’re driving under the influence of cannabis then you’re both a fool and committing a crime.”

Drug drivers face two categories of penalties if they return a positive test and a lab analysis confirms the presence of illicit substances.

A driver caught with traces of drugs in their system is issued with a $400 on-the-spot fine.

For a second offence, drivers face a minimum three-month disqualification, a $1200 fine or six months in prison.

However, drivers face a six-month driving ban, a $1500 fine or 12 months in prison if caught driving under the influence of illicit substances.

The penalty doubles for a second offence.

reference; NT News

US Department of Transport