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10 Reasons the U.S. Military Should (Officially) Use Pot

Medical marijuana may have a host of advantages over other treatments for traumatized vets, but the VA won't even study its efficacy.
December 29, 2009  |  
 
 
 
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"There’s a lot of things I’m passionate about, but getting a prescription for my marijuana from the VA is probably at the top of my list. I’d be like a kid waiting up for Santa if I thought he might be bringing me one of those. Haha!"

On top of a 100 percent disability rating with PTSD, "Charlie" -- who asked that his real name not be used -- came home from Afghanistan with a traumatic brain injury, a back injury and gastrointestinal problems. The VA pulled every magic trick out of its bag to treat him. But nothing worked.

What did work was marijuana.  

Shirak-e-Mazar, the milk of Mazar, is what got Charlie through his deployment in Afghanistan. Shirak-e-Mazar is what Afghanis call the paper-thin sheets of hashish that sell for about $1.50 an ounce. It’s a 5000-year-old recipe, perfected in the Mazar-e-Sharif region, for preparing the compressed resin glands of the marijuana plant, and unless things have changed since Charlie left Afghanistan in 2004, it’s available, well, just about everywhere.  

So was alcohol, but according to Charlie, it didn't provide the same kind of relief: "You get some drinks in you, you get nice and loose; you drop your inhibitions and think you're invincible. But you haven’t dealt with the stress; you've just kind of blocked it; you don't really understand the possible outcomes of what you’re about to do—or you don't care.  

"Smoking though ... you can appreciate the stresses and understand everything that's going on, but you’re still relaxed enough to do what you have to do, and do it well."

Since he got home, he says he is “smoking about one and a half grams a day, depending on how I'm doing. I go through an ounce in three to four weeks. I'm medicating for PTSD, but also a back injury and gastrointestinal problems, so if I had to do things like shovel the walk ... I would have to smoke a little more."

Unfortunately, Charlie does not live in one of the 13 states that have authorized the use of medical marijuana. In the rest of the states, federal law still applies, and according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I drugs are those deemed most dangerous, more so than cocaine, oxycodone and methamphetamines, all of which are Schedule II.  

“Me and the rest of my veterans' group talk about it all the time," he says. "Most of them also medicate with marijuana. If you asked any of us what, out of everything, was most effective in PTSD treatment, we would tell you marijuana." But the VA is a federal agency, so even in the 13 states where doctors are at liberty to suggest that patients try marijuana, they are prohibited from dispensing it.  

The first two years after he got home, Charlie and his wife were still active duty. Marijuana was too risky, so he drank. A lot. So much that he almost killed himself and his wife. "Alcohol seemed to exaggerate all the negative feelings, the anger, the rage, the depression, the desperation."

Since Charlie was discharged in 2006, the VA has pulled an astonishing variety of medications out of its magic bag. Charlie's list is an impressive one that many, perhaps most, vets who have gone to the VA for help with post-combat stress and pain issues will recognize.   

“I’ve been on six different antidepressants, lorazepam for anxiety; two sleep aids, Ambien and something else; three medications for my stomach problems, including omeprazole; and Topomax and amyltriptomine for migraines.  

“Even if the sleeping pills got me to sleep, I’d still wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares. The only difference is that WITH the pills I'd wake up dizzy and disoriented. The disorientation made for a smooth transition into flashbacks, and if you want to see a vet have a bad episode, make sure he/she is completely disoriented and wake them suddenly in the dark. (Don't try this at home -- danger, danger!)

“The lorazepam was prescribed for the anxiety caused by the antidepressants, but it turned me into some kind of shuffling Ozzie Osborne zombie. I didn't have the physical energy to do anything but lay on the couch. Topomax and amyltriptomine turned me into a sloppy, silly bedlamite, groggy like I’d had too much to drink and babbling like a face-painted Anna Nicole Smith. Oh, and the Topomax had me hurling up last year's Christmas dinner.  


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Penny Coleman is the widow of a Vietnam veteran who took his own life after coming home. Her latest book, Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide and the Lessons of War, was released on Memorial Day 2006. Her Web site is Flashback.
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Its a little different as suggested
Posted by: heartcore on Dec 29, 2009 1:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is not that the VA does not want to study the effects of MJ. I mean, the research is all out there:

- pain reliefe
- Curing cancer (www.phoenixtears.ca)
- Cures glaucoma
- Helps ADHD effects
- Is NOT responsible for shizofrenia/psychosis
- Helps against depressions

Don't take my word for it, educate yourself, the information is all out there.

Comparing MJ to an evil drug, is like comparing the Buddha or Jesus with a mass murderer, it doesn't make sense at all.

There was a time where the church was against science and discouraged the use of telescopes to avoid people figuring out certain fact about the stolen story of Jesus. A similar thing is going on with the discouragement of MJ use: If people figure out that some of the stuff they can grow for free in their garden works better than the dozen of pills they swallow each day, a lot of those greedy pharmaceuticals could be out of business overnight.

And this is not some conpiracy theory, it's just adding up simple economics, sound scientific research related to medical MJ and the greedy character of many of our fellow humans.

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Awesome article, thanks!
Posted by: Sister_Lauren on Dec 29, 2009 1:44 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The best I've seen yet on the subject.

I discovered something yesterday that might help us legalize,

Congregation Kit

I am not making an endorsement but I was impressed and thought this information would help small groups trying to legitimatize their church.

I would strongly recommend checking with a tax expert and get the right sort of accounting advice. Nothing proves intent like the proper handling of money. That non-profit tax ID is gold, especially when it is above board and documented.

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Legalize Marijuana, The True Panacea
Posted by: Ishmael1 on Dec 29, 2009 3:39 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In addition to the beneficial effects listed above, Marijuana usage has also been found effective in treating Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma and a host of other ailments. It truly IS a panacea all by itself. A neighbor of mine had a kidney transplant years ago. After many years of taking anti-rejection drugs and suffering side effects, he started using the Bud. In the 7 years since, he has cut his anti-rejection drug usage to 0 and all his medical checkups show him in the best health of his life.

When me wife was undergoing interferon combination therapy for Hepatitis C(a disease she contracted by being a nurse), marijuana kept her sane, rational and eating. This despite the fact that the treatment didn't cure the Hep C, caused her to go blind and gave her hundreds of mini strokes.

So Big Pharma, once again, stands in the way of true healing. Thanks William Randolph Hearst. I hope your version of Hell is to be surrounded by Pot Smokers who don't let you have any.

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as long as we are talking about medicine and the imposing of arbitrary rules
Posted by: Sister_Lauren on Dec 29, 2009 3:55 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I thought this might be of interest,

Where Is Our Hope When Catholic Bishops Lay Down the Rules?

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A little off the mark
Posted by: Wonko the Sane on Dec 29, 2009 4:29 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I notice two things conspicuously absent from this story:

1. Any evidence that suggests that marijuana would is a viable treatment for PTSD. (In fact, one of the strongest etiologic/maintaining factors of PTSD is avoidance, one of the most severe forms being the use of drugs & alcohol.)

2. While the Vet in this story supposedly "tried everything", what you mean is "tried many different kinds of medication". There is no mention of him being treated using any of the kinds of talk therapy that have been proven to actually treat PTSD, with none of the pesky side-effects of medication.

Overall, this story appears less to do with Veterans or PTSD and more to do with providing another argument for legalizing marijuana, however weak or inappropriate it may be.

While many Vets may be "self-medicating" with marijuana, it is probably making their problems worse, rather than truly helping. A better solution would probably be to get into the VA to speak with a therapist or counsellor about what's really troubling them. It takes courage to face the past, but that's how to really get better.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: A little off the mark Posted by: DavidHart
» Have a J Posted by: jwg
» RE: Wonko is 'A little off the mark' Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: You're little off the mark Posted by: winchelenator
» And to add to that, Posted by: LightningJoe
» You are sooo full of crap. Posted by: UnEasyOne
» RE: Rummy runs drug wars Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: A little off the mark Posted by: finefroghair
» RE: A little off the mark Posted by: Redhead5050

Comments are closed-

old vet
Posted by: sopomike on Dec 29, 2009 5:36 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
i believe we are going to have to pick up our rifles one more time boys .and take out these despicable profiteers in human misery who are keeping us from relief we need.we earned the right to live free and its mostly non vets standing between us and freedom

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» RE: old vet Posted by: bomfog

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VA won't even write a scrip
Posted by: dingham on Dec 29, 2009 5:40 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
My VA doc said "We can't prescribe, period" MI just became a med mj state and I wasn't asking for them to fill it, just write it.

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Marijuana and combat stress injury (PTSD)
Posted by: Dr T on Dec 29, 2009 5:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A comment in this string by Wonko the Sane made some valid points. Marijuana does not have a strong research base because it is still a demonized substance throughout most of the world. Wonko also makes the point the marijuana can be used for avoidance and generally this makes trauma disorders worse.

However, as a military trained psychiatrist, former US Navy Commander, and recently retired VA trauma psychiatrist, dismissing the possible benefits of marijuana does a disservice to combat veterans.

Wonko mentions "talk" therapies but these are not particularly effective for combat PTSD. Stress desentization/integration techniques such as cardiac coherence training (see heartmath.org), virtual therapies (see Frank Rizzo's Virtual Iraq), use of cycloserine (Google the name), and MDMA/ecstasy (see maps.org) can be very useful.

However it is a mistake to dismiss marijuana/cannabis as a potential therapy. The body's endocannabinoid system modulates many things, including the somatic memories of suffering. I suggest all who have interest in the area listen to a 2007 address by Raphael Mechoulam (Google his name and go to the video.google.com site).

Without doing the research using marijuana combined with various other techniques, we'll never know how effective marijuana could be.

Lighting a candle is better than cursing the darkness.

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» Incredibly well said Dr. T Posted by: Fencerider
» RE: Marijuana and PTSD Posted by: Wonko the Sane
» RE: Marijuana and PTSD Posted by: Dr T
» RE: Thank you Dr T Posted by: channing
» RE: Marijuana and PTSD Posted by: PDJr
» RE: Marijuana and PTSD Posted by: Wonko the Sane
» "12-Step" groups Posted by: Gabba_Gabba_Hey
» Based on what? Posted by: UnEasyOne
» Marijuana is not for everyone Posted by: Gabba_Gabba_Hey
» RE: Marijuana is not for everyone Posted by: surfreality
» RE: Marijuana is not for everyone Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: Marijuana is not for everyone Posted by: Gabba_Gabba_Hey
» RE: Paranoia is a common side effect Posted by: Gabba_Gabba_Hey
» RE: Marijuana is not for everyone Posted by: LightningJoe
» RE: Marijuana is not for everyone Posted by: Gabba_Gabba_Hey

Comments are closed-

Why Have Alternet Buried Chris Hedges New Article And Got This On The Front Page?
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 6:26 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm not disagreeing with any of the content here, but Chris Hedges article is far more interesting and relevant.

I found it on information clearing house. It is on Alternet, but I bet hardly anyone has seen it.

Maybe the journo's on Alternet are afraid of ending up in the same US Torture Chamber. I know nothing about the main subject in Chris Hedges article, but I expect Gary McKinnon is now even more worried about being extradited from the UK to a US Prison and Court.

Could Alternet Please Promote this Article To Their Front Page?

One Day We'll All Be Terrorists

Extract

By Chris Hedges, Truthdig. Posted December 29, 2009.

Our descent is the familiar disease of decaying empires. Dissent is starting to become defined as an act of terrorism.

Syed Fahad Hashmi can tell you about the dark heart of America. He knows that our First Amendment rights have become a joke, that habeas corpus no longer exists and that we torture, not only in black sites such as those at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan or at Guantánamo Bay, but also at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Lower Manhattan. Hashmi is a U.S. citizen of Muslim descent imprisoned on two counts of providing and conspiring to provide material support and two counts of making and conspiring to make a contribution of goods or services to al-Qaida. As his case prepares for trial, his plight illustrates that the gravest threat we face is not from Islamic extremists, but the codification of draconian procedures that deny Americans basic civil liberties and due process. Hashmi would be a better person to tell you this, but he is not allowed to speak.

This corruption of our legal system, if history is any guide, will not be reserved by the state for suspected terrorists, or even Muslim Americans. In the coming turmoil and economic collapse, it will be used to silence all who are branded as disruptive or subversive. Hashmi endures what many others, who are not Muslim, will endure later. Radical activists in the environmental, globalization, anti-nuclear, sustainable agriculture and anarchist movements—who are already being placed by the state in special detention facilities with Muslims charged with terrorism—have discovered that his fate is their fate. Courageous groups have organized protests, including vigils outside the Manhattan detention facility. They can be found at www.educatorsforcivilliberties.org or www.freefahad.com. On On Martin Luther King Day, this Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. EST, protesters will hold a large vigil in front of the MCC on 150 Park Row in Lower Manhattan to call for a return of our constitutional rights. Join them if you can.

The case against Hashmi, like most of the terrorist cases launched by the Bush administration, is appallingly weak and built on flimsy circumstantial evidence. This may be the reason the state has set up parallel legal and penal codes to railroad those it charges with links to terrorism. If it were a matter of evidence, activists like Hashmi, who is accused of facilitating the delivery of socks to al-Qaida, would probably never be brought to trial.

Hashmi, who if convicted could face up to 70 years in prison, has been held in solitary confinement for more than 2½ years. Special administrative measures, known as SAMs, have been imposed by the attorney general to prevent or severely restrict communication with other prisoners, attorneys, family, the media and people outside the jail. He also is denied access to the news and other reading material.

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Misleading headline
Posted by: Gabba_Gabba_Hey on Dec 29, 2009 7:18 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is a fine article and it's great to see Penny Coleman getting up to speed on this stuff, after a couple of clunkers. So I almost hate to quibble about the misleading headline the editors have put on it.

The article is about the VA, and the VA is not part of the "military."

VA doctors are rarely even veterans (don't know stats there but undoubtedly true).

And the VA shouldn't be confused with the military hospitals like Walter Reed that have had well-publicized problems lately.

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Fact America is full of pain! + Question what caused it? Answer Communist Illegal laws'
Posted by: Richardsievert on Dec 29, 2009 7:19 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Marijuana is just a prescription to the problem the real cure is Les law and more freedom more rights equals less wrong! If a country is happy if there working if there free to do what they please there less likely to hurt someone because the law says they can't.
Period.
Its is a mental breakdown of freedom that is Americas problem without more freedom expect more problems simple answers to complex problems it's even relevant to science if you tighten a rope it is tense' If you loosen it it is relaxed you at the top if you keep rolling huge balls down hill and there hitting us expect one day for us to start finding a way to pick them up and throw them back at you.
Even if it's up hill's you government listen please listen to me i am a witness of your bad bill' Stop the war on drugs and undo what Nixon did and the angels just might not destroy you all.

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» Well said. Posted by: UnEasyOne

Comments are closed-

rats have rights!
Posted by: vasumurti on Dec 29, 2009 7:32 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Israeli rats have less stress than American soldiers.

In an article published in the September issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, Israeli scientists revealed that injecting synthetic marijuana into the brains of rats allowed them to recover faster from trauma. In fact, it “canceled out the symptoms of stress."

The researchers predicted that marijuana may help patients overcome life stresses that worsen reawakened trauma and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.


I agree with PETA: rats have rights!

We know animal tests are poor science. Official figures show that an astonishing 92 per cent of drugs tested on animals prove to be ineffective or unsafe for humans.

As renowned pathologist Dr Bruno Fedi points out, "The abolition of vivisection would in no way halt medical progress, just the opposite is the case. .... No surgeon can gain the least knowledge from experiments on animals, and all the great surgeons of the past and of the present day are in agreement on that".

"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: 'Because the animals are like us.' Ask the experimenters why it is morally acceptable to experiment on animals, and the answer is: 'Because the animals are not like us.' Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction."

-Charles R. Magel, professor of philosophy

Opposition to animal experimentation has a long history. The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) was founded by Caroline Earle White in 1883...long before PETA, which was founded in 1980, and even longer than before the current debate over stem-cell research!

An editorial in the now-defunct Animals' Agenda from 2001 or 2002, noted that animal research goes on unquestioned, while debate rages over stem-cell research, for no other reason than the stem-cells have human chromosomes. This is speciesism -- discrimination on the basis of species...a term which has not caught on or become part of the American vernacular, even among progressives, the way words like "Ms." or "homophobia" have become part of the American lexicon.

"The women we recognize today as the founders of AAVS," writes Lily Santoro, "were pioneers in the world of animal welfare but not in the sphere of reform movements. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a rise in reform movements known as the Progressive Era.

"Inspired by the new science of sociology and cultural movements like the social gospel, middle and upper class Americans increasingly engaged in reform movements aimed at uplifting the downtrodden and improving society.

"Women were central to the Progressive Era reforms. In the late nineteenth century, women made great strides in reform movements like Temperance, Sunday Schools, food and drug regulation, women's suffrage, and child-labor laws.

"In a world where women were supposed to be relegated to their own 'separate sphere,' many women joined reform movements wherein they acted as the 'moral compass' of American society. Caring for the weak and voiceless in society was the focus of progressive era reforms. Animal welfare met this category perfectly."

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rats have rights! (cont'd)
Posted by: vasumurti on Dec 29, 2009 7:35 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Replace animal experiments. Testing on animals is not only cruel, its benefit for humans is doubtful.

By John J. Pippin

There are many things wrong with the use of intimidation and violence in the critical debate over animal research. In addition to being anathema in our society, such tactics obscure important issues regarding animal experiments and human health.

I am a cardiologist and a former animal researcher. I stopped experimenting on animals after I came to doubt the medical value of such research. Today, a growing number of physicians, scientists and scientific agencies believe that moving to non-animal research and testing methods is critical to advancing human health.

Numerous reports confirm very poor correlations between animal research results and human results, and the research breakthroughs so optimistically reported in the media almost always fail in humans.

Examples abound. Every one of 197 human trials using 85 HIV/AIDS vaccines tested in animals has failed. More than 150 human stroke trials using treatments successful in animals have failed, as have at least two dozen animal diabetes cures.

Vioxx was tested successfully in eight studies using six animal species, yet this anti-inflammatory medication may have caused the deaths of more Americans than the Vietnam War.

The monoclonal antibody TGN1412 was safe in monkeys at 500 times the dose tested in humans, yet all six British volunteers who received the drug in 2006 nearly died.

Conversely, simple aspirin produces birth defects in at least seven animal species, yet is safe in human pregnancy. When even identical human twins have different disease susceptibilities, how can we think answers will be found in mice or monkeys?

The National Cancer Institute now uses panels of human cells and tissues to test treatments for cancer and HIV/AIDS, and to detect drug toxicities. And the National Research Council now recommends replacing animal toxicity testing with in vitro methods.

I can attest that animal research is inherently cruel. Animal protection laws do not mitigate this reality. Whether the debate involves humane issues or human benefits, the evidence confirms the need to replace animal experiments with more accurate human-specific methods. That's the best way to make progress and improve health.

John J. Pippin is a senior medical and research adviser with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).

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Let us police ourselves' more "Please'
Posted by: Richardsievert on Dec 29, 2009 7:36 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
give love a try we no if someone is up to no good and generaly there is never a cop around when the crime is being committed OK" the people catch far mor criminals than cops anyway' Already they just rely to much on a phone.
They need to make there own arrests if in general it was dune more that girl locked up in a shed would have never been sexually abused for four more years' abused because instead of that lady calling the police that did nothing, Remember?
Would have instead got a Neighbors and taken the guy to jail and freed the girl you parents listen to me one day police will issue you a bracelet and you will die when they push the panic button listen now or forever loos your freedom!
Of "Righteousness and truth the truth'
That i am saying now here eee all.
I am not saying to do away with police so don't get your panties in a knot OK"! I am saying give us more rights that you now have or one day bad cops will take over the land of all"

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Big Pharma, & the rest of the military/industrial complex will not allow a medicinal weed that they
Posted by: JohnTruth2001 on Dec 29, 2009 7:43 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
can't patent, & that anyone can grow!

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DRUGS OF CHOICE IN MILITARY
Posted by: drricklippin on Dec 29, 2009 7:51 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Drugs of choice in military remain clearly and overwhelmingly caffeine, tobacco and alcohol

Dr. Rick Lippin
Southampton,Pa

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» RE: DRUGS OF CHOICE IN MILITARY Posted by: tony_opmoc
» RE: DRUGS OF CHOICE IN MILITARY Posted by: drricklippin
» RE: DRUGS OF CHOICE IN MILITARY Posted by: Richardsievert
» RE: DRUGS OF CHOICE IN MILITARY Posted by: drricklippin

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Gutter bill you stay away from my posts!
Posted by: Richardsievert on Dec 29, 2009 7:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am going to have people check from china and Israel and if there deleted i am telling alternet is a fake sight!

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A good editor is your friend...
Posted by: katib on Dec 29, 2009 8:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Amyltriptomine(sic) is not a valid medication. I believe the medication you are looking for is amitriptyline. What happened to the fine art of proofreading?

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This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.

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Follow the bouncing ball
Posted by: willymack on Dec 29, 2009 8:53 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When I was a kid, you could get into the movie house for a quarter.
That quarter got you a Movietone News short, A comic short film like the Three Stooges, Joe Mc Doaks, or a cartoon or two, then TWO (not one, but TWO) movies.
Sometimes the cartoon would be a sing-along type, wherein you could learn a song and improve your reading skills in the bargain.
Let's play the follow-the- bouncing-ball game for a bit.
Marijuana and other psychoactive drugs generate a LOT of money, and for all the WRONG people. (Bouncy, bouncy).
These people are heartless, thoroughly amoral crooks, posing as solid citizens. (bounceola)
They get laws against use and possession of the stuff they peddle passed, and launder the illegal profits theough crooked banks. (boink!)
They'll fight ANY reform, tooth and nail, while greasing the skids for even more profit once pot and other drugs are legalized. (splat)
So wadda ya learn today, kiddies?

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Hard Choice for a Comfortable Death: Sedation No mention of MJ
Posted by: picket on Dec 29, 2009 9:12 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This was in the New York Times on Sunday 12/27/09. It can be found under most popular articles, main page and under health.
Even though it does not deal expressly with Veterans terminally ill it is applicable. There are 459 comments and the discussion was keeping the dying comfortable, pain free, and not actually being accused of euthanasia.

The Times chooses 13 comments to highlight. #77 is by an MD and he discusses opioids and interactions with commonly prescribed sedatives. # 120 discusses opiates, very interesting comparison and possibly an argument for use of MJ in a medical setting.

Most terminal patients get readmitted to the hospital instead of spending their last weeks at home because families cannot deal with uncontrolled AGITATION that often accompanies death. MJ WOULD HELP !!!

One quote:"If I were in a painful state, unable to get rid of pain, anxious, short of breath, crying out, yelling, slapping, and biting I would beg for palliative sedation".


SORRY, BIG BROTHER DOES NOT ALLOW MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGALLY TO DYING HUMANS IN VETERANS HOSPITALS!!!!!!

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We're wasting our lab rats on pot!
Posted by: Bud on Dec 29, 2009 9:24 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The point is well taken when it comes to cannabis and lab rat testing. I'm damn sure human testing would be more effective vs. the "rat" scenario.

Throwing rats in jail would be impractical, wouldn't ya think?

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Suicide
Posted by: randomhuman on Dec 29, 2009 9:33 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
While this article has good and bad points, I must dispute #9. Though it tries to wriggle out of making any solid claims the point is clear: prescription meds carry a suicide risk, marijuana does not.

I would say that rather than carrying no risk of suicide, a well known side effect of marijuana use (anecdotally as well as within the medical community) is worsening of depression and suicide. Proposing to replace the quantifiable risk of suicide associated with current meds with the unquantifiable risks of marijuana is utterly pointless. And that is what was proposed, despite the claim to the contrary.

Not that I'm down on the idea of medical marijuana or anything. It may be able to do many things for many people, but there's no point in making unjustifiable claims. About the only thing that can be said on this subject is that more research is required.

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» RE: no risk of suicide Posted by: winchelenator
» RE: no risk of suicide Posted by: randomhuman
» Here's an anecdote Posted by: thedevil666
» RE: Here's an anecdote Posted by: randomhuman
» RE: Suicide sucks Posted by: Bud
» RE: Suicide sucks Posted by: randomhuman

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Be careful what you wish for.
Posted by: maxpayne on Dec 29, 2009 9:40 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I cannot picture the US Army and a peaceful plant like pot existing side by side. If more people smoked MJ, the war machine would thankfully wind down but that's what they don't want happening. I still say that we take the industrial benefits first (HR 1866) and get the plant legalized for those purposes. The rest will follow after that.

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medical marijuana
Posted by: vasumurti on Dec 29, 2009 10:40 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Law Judge Francis L. Young wrote on September 8, 1988:

"Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."

After years of suppression by the government, the truth about medical marijuana is finally coming out. Dr. Tod Mikuriya, former director of marijuana research for the entire federal government, wrote in 1996:

"I was hired by the government to provide scientific evidence that marijuana was harmful. As I studied the subject, I began to realize that marijuana was once widely used as a safe and effective medicine. But the government had a different agenda, and I had to resign."

Of all the reasons to legalize marijuana, the most compelling is its medical usage. Marijuana has a wide variety of therapeutic applications, and is frequently helpful in treating the following conditions:

AIDS. Marijuana reduces the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by both the ailment itself and as a side effect of treatment with AZT and other medicines.

Asthma. Several studies have shown that THC acts as a bronchodilator and reverses bronchial constriction. Although conventional bronchodilators work faster than marijuana, THC has been shown to last longer and with considerably less risk.

Arthritis and Other Autoimmune Diseases. In addition to its effectiveness in controlling the pain associated with arthritis, new evidence shows that marijuana is an autoimmune modulator.

Cancer. Marijuana stimulates the appetite and alleviates nausea and vomiting, common side effects of chemotherapy treatment. People undergoing chemotherapy find that smoking marijuana is an anti-nauseant often more effective than mainstream medications.

Chronic Pain. Marijuana alleviates the debilitating, chronic pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries.

Epilepsy. Marijuana is used as an adjunctive medicine to prevent epileptic seizures. Some patients find that they can reduce dosage of other seizure-control medications while using cannabis.

Glaucoma. Marijuana can reduce intraocular pressure, alleviating pain and slowing (and sometimes stopping) the progress of the condition.

Multiple Sclerosis. Marijuana limits the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease, and relieves tremor and unsteady gait.

Muscle Spasm and Spasticity. Medical marijuana has been clinically shown to be effective in relieving these.

Migraine Headaches. Marijuana not only relieves pain, but also inhibits the release of serotonin during attacks.

Paraplegia and Quadriplegia. Many paraplegics and quadriplegics have discovered that cannabis not only relieves their pain better than opiates, but also suppresses their muscle twitches and tremors.

Tobacco kills about 430,700 each year. Alcohol and alcohol-related diseases and injuries kill about 110,000 per year. Secondhand tobacco smoke kills 50,000 every year. Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs kill 7,600 each year. Cocaine kills about 500 yearly alone, and another 2,500 in combination with another drug. Heroin kills about 400 yearly alone, and another 2,500 in combination with another drug. Adverse reactions to prescription drugs total 32,000 per year...marijuana kills no one.

In a Nov. 4, 2002 Time/CNN Poll, 80 percent felt marijuana should be legal only for medicinal purposes. 72 percent felt recreational users should get fines rather than jail time--decriminalization.

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All you need is a little sun, soil and TLC, or a grow-lamp
Posted by: surfreality on Dec 29, 2009 11:34 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yes it's easy to grow. But very difficult to grow well. It takes a lot of talent and patience. That's why it's still relatively expensive even where it's taxed.

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About Two Dozen States Weigh Legalizing Marijuana
Posted by: Sister_Lauren on Dec 29, 2009 11:50 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
About Two Dozen States Weigh Legalizing Marijuana

"In terms of state legislatures, this is far and away the most active year that we've ever seen,"

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Al Kamm
Posted by: alkamm on Dec 29, 2009 3:07 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Weed has downsides, of course, but what medicine doesn't. I'd love to be watching an ad on TV someday that advocated using it and then listed some of the side effects: Caution, you might overeat, find yourself interested in the small, sensual aspects of existence, notice things you never noticed, feel more at one with your environment, drive more carefully, and tend to have a different form of concentration than is required to memorize difficult scientific equations.
Yes, our Puritan culture refuses to accept the possibility that the weed could help a wide variety of ills. David Sedaris noted that smoking weed cured his ADHD and Tourettes. I know a young man who killed himself because of this syndrome and I always wished I could have had the moral right to advise his parents that he try it. Who knows? Until we actually do some research rather than reject the claims out of hand, we're in the dark ages.Booze has it's uses, of course, but we should not limit our medicine to it's not so subtle graces. Those who know both weed and booze may choose one or the other, or both, and they might abuse either, but it should be the choice of their doctor, or, if current trends continue, between them and the grower.
Michael Pollan argues that weed must have had an evolutionary benefit or we wouldn't have the receptors for it (women even have receptors for it in the uterus, suggesting some child birth benefit). Hunter gatherers probably benefited from the change in perception of the environment they hunted and gathered in. It's not a panacea, but nothing really is. But used in a program of conscientious applied mental hygiene, just like toothpaste, it might work.
The Army would probably prefer the PTSD guys just tough it out, but at least they are recognizing the pressure their lives are under after the rigors of combat.

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Best Article Of 2009 On The Subject, In My Mind.
Posted by: thymeforhemp on Dec 29, 2009 3:17 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I agree with the host of growing voices that the jig is up, and people need real healing. We're doing what we can, along with growing numbers of other non-ignorants around the world who are doing their part to normalize this outrage (i.e. return from upside down to right-side up before we're all poisoned - ASAP).

http://thymeforhemp.viviti.com | http://not4me.tk

*passes it on*

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Marijuana's effect on hypervigilance and effectiveness in controlling pain.
Posted by: sever55 on Dec 29, 2009 3:42 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am a legally licensed medical marijuana user in washington state. As a kid I almost died a couple of times from blood loss due to accidental injury, typical horsing around type stuff, then as an adolescent moved to a rural area where there were ethnic and religous differences so I was actually assaulted a couple of times actually requiring stitches on one ocassion. As a result I developed a sort of hypervigilance similar to ptsd, although I am sure not nearly as intense, it's more socially awkward or stressfull than crippling.
I first used marijuana as a teen and noticed the effects, I was able to relax, I didn't jump at noises, I didn't crane my neck and look out a window whenever I heard something.. etc. I am assuming it has something to do with the CBD in the marijuana.
Later on I developed a hereditary back condition that was agravated by a couple of car accidents and am now using pain medications, my doctor had attempted to get me to use medications to aid in sleeping and general daily nerve pain such as amitryptiline and neurontin, both of which made me have nightmares and after a few weeks the neurontin starting making me paranoid so I discontinued using both of them.
The sleep I get from marijuana seems very natural, I might have odd dreams but never really disturbing, I don't wake up feeling like I'm still sedated like with other sleep aids, it's nice, I actually feel rested.
As for pain management, marijuana is a great supplement, since opiate medications are highly addictive and you quickly develop a tolerance doctor's try to limit your intake, not to mention they can kill you if you take too many.
currently I really only get enough opiate medication through my doctor for twenty individual doses per month, each only lasting six hours. And I am only ocassionally given any muscle relaxants to avoid addiction and tolerance, which I understand, but which sucks! it sucks to be in pain and it sucks to have muscle spasms, it sucks to toss and turn and wake up over and over again.
Marijuana is the most gentle and effective sleep aid, muscle relaxant and pain reliever I have tried. The only downside is worrying about federal enforcement efforts, or random drug screenings at work, since I have no protection under the law from either of those since it is a state law.
Organizations like NORML (national organization for the reform of marijuana laws), MPP (marijuana policy project), and ASA (americans for safe access) are working through legal and political means to get laws changed so support them if you care about the cause and want medical marijuana in your state, and want federal marijuana regulation to change.
Thank you.

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THE CIA MAKES TOO MUCH $ FROM ILLEGAL DRUGS...
Posted by: goodday on Dec 29, 2009 3:45 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
THE DARK SIDE OF OUR GOVERNMENT (CIA) MAKES TOO MUCH $ FROM DRUGS BEING ILLEGAL, YOU WILL NEVER SEE DRUGS LEGALIZED UNLESS WE REPLACE THOSE IN CHARGE.

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People Never Cease To Amaze Me About How Nice They Are To Their Friends
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 6:31 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
No - I am not talking about teenagers nor people who smoke cannabis - except on occasion...

I am talking about middle class people in the age range of 40-60 - who lose their jobs and their families and their homes...

Now I thought my wife and I were good putting up our friends for a few months when they had lost everything and were sleeping in their cars

...but no

Some of our friends are much more generous than us...

They literally give everything they have to both maintain their friend's self respect...to the absolute limit, such that they are going hungry....

Never underestimate how beautiful people can be to each other

Like - I would give my life for him - cos it is just a temporary thing - and he will get over it...

Subconsciously thinking - well what has happenned to him could happen to me - and maybe he will be there to support me and dig me out of the pit - and give me a home to slowly rebuild myself

Do You REALISE How Good I Feel?

To See Our Friends Helping Each Other In This Way?

Tony

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Sister_Lauren My 18 Year Old Daughter Katy Bought Me a Christmas Present
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 6:59 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
On the packaging it says

Grow Your Own Weed

It keeps growing and growing and growing

Homegrown at its finest

Can Grow Up to 600% its own size

100% Legal

Perfect bud every time

You can't get busted

Have a never ending stash

Not just for medicinal purposes

Doesn't smell like skunk

No hydroponics. No Lights. Just Water

Easy to Grow

So I put the contents of the packaging in a Wine Glass Full of Water on Christmas Day

And The Plastic Cannabis Leaf has Grown 6 Times Bigger and is Crawling Out Of The Glass...

What The Fuck Do I Do With It Now....???

A female friend gave a similar toy to a male friend of mine a few years ago...

It was titled Grow Your Own Girlfriend

And he did -

What do we do NEXT?

Tony

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You See I Finally Understand Johnny And I Have Completely Fallen In Love With Him
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 7:23 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
My Son and My Wife and I Smashed The Lock To Fuck Of His House on Christmas Day...

We got him back into his home with the least damage...

Now Johnny is getting close to 60 years old -and apart from his house which really is a cobweb job - which his cats have cleaned up a bit

He also has inherited this flat from his Mum and Dad

Johnny is a completely Brilliant Original Musician and Needs a Woman to Look After Him (Several Have Tried - He is Actually Incredibly Good Looking)

But He has kept the only financial resource he has - completely open for him to come back...

He doesn't fancy him in a sexual way....

Its just that his mate is a completely Brilliant Guitarist

He was charging him £150 a month on a flat that is easily worth £500 a month

And Johnny has just left it vacant for months hoping he will come back

Johnny has no money whatsoever - so far as I can tell - he just owns the house and the flat

He is getting really thin

So when he comes round our house - like on Boxing Day - 2 hours late for the Meal

We keep piling it on...

Such people are incredibly rare

They are called MUSICIANS

Tony

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And So When We All Got Chucked Out Of The Posh Expensive Pub
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 7:49 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We were invited by The Landlord to come in For AN after hours drink - just knock on the door - and I will let you in

And right there on the bar...

Live downloaded from The Internet

Was everyone in the Pub

Watching Themselves

He wrote the script

It was a bit like my daughter and her teenage friends do with their film scripts

Except us old cunts didn't fuck about EDITING ours and Just Stuck it out

Just as It is

(English Only - Americans and Russians Wouldn't Understand - or If They Did - They Would Just Piss Themselves LAUGHING - well I did)

Tony

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Nearly Every Politician And People In The Media Industry Have Got Their Heads Stuck Up Their Arse
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 8:15 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Now of course I am aware of it...

But my daughter does a little bit more...

Every opportunity she discovers or finds...whilst at University...

She gets her head in there as an Extra

Now you think this may be a little silly...

But maybe she just wants to have a serious part in the film script that her friend is writing at film school...

Well actually they all do it and practice it mainly in our home and garden

I am forever finding fake blood and marmite that they didn't completely clean up - whilst we were away

I just keep thinking what could they possibly do with the Marmite

And then I saw The Royle Family

Tony

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this makes so much sence as combat stress is a nightmare...
Posted by: Bearzerker on Dec 29, 2009 8:25 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...that pot would be uniquely suited to address!

why do politicals seem hell bent on interferring in medical needs of people...

Ive always advocated legalization in order to end the blackmarket and the problems associated with it, but the medicinal and religious needs that eminates from this plant reinforces a larger audience then the one i advocate... and as such only reinforces the absurdity of prohibition!

Can we please legalize this plant now!

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Warriour On The Edge of Time
Posted by: tony_opmoc on Dec 29, 2009 9:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How the Fuck Do You Spell Worrier?

The Following Link Will Hopefully Show

Hawkwind - Worrier on The Edge of The Time...

And Yes We have been to all The Festivals - even Nik's - but only Dave invited us to his wedding

HAWKWIND - Warrior On The Edge Of Time - Assault & Battery, The Golden Void

Tony

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» trippy link n/m Posted by: 2dogarage

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Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Brittany Murphy
Posted by: 2dogarage on Dec 29, 2009 9:30 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...all 3 recently deceased from overdoses of prescription drugs.

Marijuana has never killed anyone.

It is highly alkaline and doesn't just overcome nausea and wasting in cancer and AIDS patients but alkalizes the system to restore the body's disease fighting ideal pH.

Big pharma in cahoots with the AMA is a multi-billion dollar industry, never mind the covert government's triple-whammy guns-drugs-money raison d'etre ...

It's called "control". How does it feel not being in it?

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» I know, I know Posted by: 2dogarage

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war needs drugged soldiers.
Posted by: richholland on Dec 29, 2009 9:40 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
during the colonial wars officers were smoking opium.
first world war war the english loved the drug: over the wall" cocainedrank.
The dutch government made billions by selling coke and opium.

vietnam smoking hashiesh was obligatory.

Marihuana is for fun not to give McWeed CEO billions.

Alternet is working for WALLSTREET.
The only cure for PSTD is====
working for a good future, health care, house, wife kids.
see"wirtschaftwunder Germany; 1960

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» RE: war needs drugged soldiers. Posted by: 2dogarage

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why? because the CIA is too invested in opium, coke, heroin & pot smuggling?
Posted by: BlueBerry PickN on Dec 30, 2009 10:49 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
wouldn't wanna get in the way of the red-herring War on Drugs that funds the CIA & CIA staff, now would we??

let the vets rot, the CIA is ON THE JOB, baby!


perspective, people.


Perspective.

The Jeff Farias Show: streams FREE & LIVE Mon-Fri, 6-9pmEDT

FREE podcast

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YouTube - History of Marijuana
Posted by: techcafe on Dec 30, 2009 3:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Grass: The History of Marijuana

narrated by Woody Harrelson

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» RE: YouTube - History of Marijuana Posted by: stacyhinjosa

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YouTube - History of Marijuana
Posted by: techcafe on Dec 30, 2009 3:24 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Documentary about the History of Marijuana,
narrated by Woody Harrelson

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» RE: YouTube - History of Marijuana Posted by: stacyhinjosa

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general jcs
Posted by: generaljcs on Dec 30, 2009 4:43 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
being a nurse both in the U.S.A.F and as a civilian pot has been the best thing for me being a 100% DAV because i started haveing seizures while active. only in my sleep though the nightmares suck, they tell you not to get attached to your patients in med school, eaiser said then done. Seen to many young men pass way before their time, I have a medicann card showed the VA they couldnt say shit get your RX people only thing i can sugg. Then you can grow your own

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it all boils down to $$$$
Posted by: yankee2 on Dec 31, 2009 11:56 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Know why the VA and especially the pharmas would much rather give you 10 exotic psychoactive chemicals than marijuana? It has nothing, or perhaps I should say virtually nothing to do with efficacy. What is central to understanding is profit. Not only do 10 pharmaceuticals make the corporations a LOT of $$$$, but pot gets them nothing. It even seems likely to cut into their current business. That's why pot is ANATHEMA to the corporate drug industry : it threatens their multi-trillion dollar annual sales. That's why we will continue to pay through the nose for drugs that don't work well, and which even do a lot of harm, and we will be denied the single drug that relieves many of the objectionable symptoms, without the serious side-effects, and without the high cost. Hell, we can even grow our own for almost nothing!

God, the Capitalists hate that!

What we need is to have a revolution as far as marijuana is concerned. All we need is sane policy, because any sane policy would find no legitimate reason to continue to deny Americans the benefit of free and open access to legal marijuana.

The question is, will Corporatist government and industry ever permit this oh-so-useful herb to ever compete with private corporate profit interests? If the recent campaign for health care reform is any indication...

We have to work hard and never stop - until we succeed.

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Right on Penny...
Posted by: brother51 on Jan 3, 2010 6:24 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
letting the vets speak for themselves about the the medical quagmire they find themselves in with multiple meds and multiple side effects while an effective and apparently safe alternative treatment goes unexplored. Didn't one of our nation's founders call for the same common sense that you advocate in this piece? Thanks for bringing this to light.

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.
Posted by: stacyhinjosa on Jan 7, 2010 1:24 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is ridiculous that cannabis is still illegal. I think by 2014 we will see legal weed. There is practically no risk to health. The government needs to wise up. Using a vaporizer , smoking weed is harmless.

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heard this sadful
Posted by: wetwe on Jan 11, 2010 5:02 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I TOLD you over and over again the truth about the a-hole... NOW at last you finally see it.
Bet you're wishing you didn't stab you’ in the back NOW, huh?
MKV Converter for Mac\MKV to WMV MAC\MKV to PSP MAC\MKV to iPod MAC\MKV to Xbox MAC\MKV to iPhone MAC\MKV to Apple TV MAC

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Cheap cigarettes
Posted by: onjoy on Jan 12, 2010 2:31 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hello, i've found a website to buy cigarettes online and wanted to share it with you. Good quality and my order arrived in time. Cheers

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conglomerates
Posted by: DavidSleep on Jan 19, 2010 2:51 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

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ask
Posted by: DavidSleep on Jan 21, 2010 11:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
 
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