Archive for Cannabis in History

Corporate Control vs Compassionate Use

By John Novak
Written July 19, 2015

It has been incorrectly argued by large corporate interests that no more than 150 or so varieties of the cannabis plant handled by one or two corporations will be enough for every health condition.

This argument is inaccurate as it clearly lacks the most basic horticultural knowledge of maintaining an expanding, dynamic gene pool.

Access to stabilized varieties, especially heirloom and landrace, provides a large gene pool for horticulturists worldwide.

One real world sad example outside of cannabis is the Cavendish banana. Lack of genetic diversity has placed this kitchen favorite in a precarious position, and the danger posed to its continued existence by disease is well documented.

Patients rely on a large variety of varieties being made available because of the unique properties of each plant’s phytocannabinoids & terpene content.

Not only is each variety different, but each plant is unique.

Over time, the desirable genetic qualities break down and access to a large gene pool is mandatory for the ongoing science of finding variety to condition match for the best possible relief or potential cure.

While stabilized varieties offer the best for medical purposes, the cloning of female plants off a stabilized mother will not stop genetic degradation over time.

New seeds and people to breed them will always be needed to perpetuate the existence of stabilized standards and new varieties.

Even the “small guy” in his own basement, garage or backyard horticulturist makes a contribution to the continued existence of the species.

That is why in the present age we have all the wonderful varieties of flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees and shrubs available for use today.

That is what will be needed alongside “mom & pop” businesses and even the bigger corporations.

More so than most plant consumer groups, cannabis patients need control over who grows their plants and how they do it.

This is critical for those who can’t grow it themselves due to financial, health or residential restrictions.

Those who want more direct control over the varieties and the types of fertilizers and pest control methods need home horticulture, designated providers and the ability to participate in non-commercial, non-regulated collective horticulture with other patients, family and friends.

Having direct interaction and commerce with commercial horticulturists is also helpful in acquiring seeds, plants and low cost, high quality products when no other option is available.

One of the biggest arguments patients and medical cannabis advocates have used in the past to keep home horticulture within local laws is the cost of production.

Patients can grow the plants together or by themselves for less money than what the commercial industry is charging.

This argument is starting to be defeated is some areas, like Canada, that are considering having insurance companies pay the costs so it’s even free or next to nothing and still shut down home horticulture.

We are now left with having to defend ourselves over why we need to save the compassionate use model.

And that is maintaining and expanding the variety of choices to match the personal conditions that current world-wide market makes available.

It is so important to preserve because big corporations can never match that kind of need for everyone.

They’ll be able to work alongside and even take advantage, but never completely monopolize.

It’s just too personalized.

The more the science on the endocannabinoid system and the entourage effect of phytocannabinoids in whole plant therapy and medicine advances, the more it is realized how many conditions cannabis safely and effectively treats.

All adult use, especially the elderly, can be seen as a medical/therapeutic preventative, intended or not, in relation to US Patent #6630507, awarded to the Department of Health and Human Services, which states, “Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.

Even if a person believes they using cannabis for “recreational” purposes, the bottom line is that varieties have different effects on the user.

That is the point of compassionate use: more choice of effects means a greater chance for superior effective relief, cure or prevention of disease.

Using the same math probability of less choice of available varieties means less chance of superior effective relief. .

It is clear to those who look at the math with an unbiased view: a good match is possible at 15000+ choices where limiting that to 5, 6 or even 800 choices insures that some patients will not get superior effective relief, prevention or cure of their disease.

It is already happening in Washington State where medical shops that provide a vast variety in a near free market are being closed down in favor of the over-regulated I-502 “recreational” shops.

Patients are beginning to give anecdotal evidence that they can not find the same variety and find this out for themselves without knowing the math, they are not getting good enough relief.

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, Articles 4 and 28 gives allowances for Industrial, Medical, Horticultural and Scientific uses of cannabis.

With this knowledge in hand, the term “illicit” defies common sense in relationship with the use of cannabis for adult use or a superior and effective relief, prevention or cure, especially when it has never been the direct cause of death in all of recorded history.

This is why the laws must change and the species itself protected from over-regulation and monopolization schemes.

In today’s world of on-demand consumerism, we must not so easily forget the decades, and in many cases thousands of years of history of selective breeding.

There would be no named varieties of flowers, trees, veggies, fruits and herbs that bless our society today if those that came before us had such apathy.

We can not give up on protecting and expanding the vast genetic heritage simply to line the pockets of a few who have no sense of integrity on this issue.

Cannabis Patients Turn Out to Say NO to LCB, DOH & DOR Recommendations

Something like 800+ patients turned out in Lacey back on November 13th to let the 3 state agencies tasked by the legislators to change RCW 69.51a know exactly what they felt:  Changes to our Medical Cannabis Laws are unwelcome and signal the people are far ahead of politicians and bureaucrats when it comes to this issue.

Elected officials should take note that their jobs will be at risk by going against the will of the people.

One of the most incredible parts is in the beginning when the woman from the Department of Health tells the LCB and the crowd that they know nothing about the medical qualities of cannabis, yet want to set medical standards for patients. The first laws for medical cannabis use in this state passed in 1979 and they still don’t know anything about it speaks volumes, especially when not a single person in their work group is a medical doctor.

Full video of the hearing from TVW.org

Video from KIRO Channel 7

 

Kaya from the Cannabis Action Coalition tells it like it is

 

MMJ Draft Recommendations 10-21-13 (1) by 420leaks

See more documents from the “MMJ Work Group” here

Read more about this secret group and their plans to end medical HERE

Top five comments in emails received by subject matter to the LCB on these recommendations:

Continue to allow medical marijuana patients and care givers to grow medical marijuana at home: 362

The medical marijuana law in statute should remain unchanged: 237

Continue to allow for collective gardens, access points or medical dispensaries: 226

The draft medical marijuana recommendations for possession amounts are too small: 126

There should not be a single integrated system for medical and recreational marijuana: 96

State of Washington vs William Kurtz: Huge Win for Medical Cannabis in Washington State

By John Novak

The Washington State Supreme Court announced on Thursday, September 19th, 2013 of it’s 5-4 decision to allow people that choose cannabis to present a common law medical necessity defense along with the protections of the medical cannabis act.

This means that a new trial will have to begin if prosecutors on the case want any chance of a conviction on William Kurtz, a wheelchair bound medical cannabis patient with multiple sclerosis.  This was a huge win for the defense as it is extremely unlikely any jury would convict him at this point under the terms of this ruling.

He was originally found guilty in the 2010 trial, but only because the court stripped him of his right to assert medical defenses to the jury.

The decision was a huge win for patients in many ways and here is my opinion of it.  Read it for yourself and tell me if you disagree.

  • It was recognized that medical patients and their providers under the Medical Cannabis Act (RCW 69.51a) who are in compliance with the regulations have full criminal arrest, prosecution and asset forfeiture protection.
  • A state search warrant can not be issued based on cannabis without evidence that the person is outside of the regulations of the Medical Cannabis Act.
  • Patients with a legitimate medical condition can assert a Common Law Medical Necessity defense if they have a legitimate medical condition and are outside of the regulations of the Medical Cannabis Act, similar to how patients under the Medical Cannabis Act were for years only protected by a very weak affirmative defense, meaning you will have to prove it in court.
  • The Common Law Medical Necessity defense is found to be consistent with constitutional, federal and state laws.
  • The State of Washington by vote of the people, by statutes passed by our state Legislators and by the Courts all find that cannabis does, in fact, have medical value, and it’s continued placement as a Schedule One Controlled Substance is only to satisfy politics, not reality.
  • That the benefits of personal cannabis cultivation for its legitimate medical use of cannabis outweighs all perceived harms to society.
  • The Common Law Medical Defense can be used for a much larger variety of medical uses than the small number protected under the Medical Cannabis Act. PTSD is the first that comes to mind.
  • That ANY attempt to remove these rights from patients or placing financial barriers on access by Legislators and Law Enforcement will now be easily seen as purely political and financially motivated, not based in Humanitarian Compassion, a principle foundation upon which these laws exist.

In theory, this makes Washington State the world leader in medical cannabis laws designed to protect patients from arrest and prosecution without forcing people into a registered database, treating us like sex offenders.  Every state with a patient registry has been compromised and used to target individuals, even those in compliance with state laws.

Thank you, William Kurtz and his legal representatives. And most especially, thank you, Washington State Supreme Court for your historic 5-4 decision.  It is a big step in the right direction.

We as patients must not let the state take us back in time and force large numbers of people or their providers to be dragged though the court system for growing their own medicine as nature intended.

State vs Kurtz Appeal 09192013 by 420leaks

The Re-emerging Legal Cannabis Market: It’s Not as New as You Might Think

Researched by John Novak

People are saying that there has never been a commercial market for cannabis in the USA.  Washington State and Colorado are claiming to be the first in the world to bring this plant to market.

I don’t know why they keep saying this because it just is not true.  You have to go back a bit in time, but not that far to see that growing cannabis for it’s drug value and the ability to sell it retail is not new.

A great source of historical information is at http://antiquecannabisbook.com/

Here’s more proof directly from t:he US Department of Agriculture where it is obvious they are not talking about industrial hemp!

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Farmers’ Bulletin No. 663
Drug Plants Under Cultivation
Washington, D.C.
Issued June, 1915
Revised April, 1927
U.S. Government Printing Office: 1929

 By W. W. Stockberger, Senior Physiologist in Charge, Drug, Poisonous, and Oil Plants, Bureau of Plant Industry

From the section titled, “THE CULTIVATION AND HANDLING OF DRUG PLANTS”, pp. 16-17.

 CANNABIS

 The drug cannabis (Cannabis sativa) consists of the dried flowering tops of the female plants. The plant grows well over a considerable portion of the United States, but the production of the active principle is believed to be favored by a warm climate. For drug purposes, therefore, this crop appears to be adapted to the Southern rather than to the Northern States.

Cannabis is propagated from seeds, which should be planted in the spring as soon as conditions are suitable, in well-prepared sandy or clayey loam, at a depth of about an inch in rows 5 or 6 feet apart. The seeds may be dropped every 2 or 3 inches in the row or planted in hills about a foot apart in the row, 6 to 10 seeds being dropped into each hill. Two or three pounds of seed per acre should give a good stand. About half the seeds will produce male plants, which must be removed before their flowers mature, otherwise, the female plants will set seed, thereby diminishing their value as a drug. The male plants can be recognized with certainty only by the presence of stamens in their flowers.

Ordinary stable or barnyard manure plowed in deeply is better for use as a fertilizer than commercial preparations and may be safely applied at the rate of 20 tons per acre. Good results may be obtained, however, with commercial fertilizers, such as are used for truck crops and potatoes, when cultivated in between the rows at the rate of 500 or 600 pounds per acre.

When the female plants reach maturity a sticky resin forms on the heavy, compact flower clusters, and harvesting may then be begun. The tops of the plants comprising the flower clusters are cut and carefully dried in the shade to preserve the green color as far as possible. Drying can best be done, especially in damp weather, by the use of artificial heat, not to exceed 140° F.

For several years cannabis of standard (U.S.P.) quality has been grown on a commercial scale in this country, chiefly in South Carolina and Virginia. After the flowering tops are harvested they are thoroughly dried under cover, then worked over by hand, and all the stems and large foliage leaves removed. This process gives a drug of high quality but greatly reduces the net or marketable yield per acre, which usually ranges from 350 to 400 pounds. Some growers do not remove the stems and leaves, thus increasing the acreage yield but reducing the market value of their product. The quality of cannabis can be determined only by special laboratory tests, which most dealers are not equipped to make; and consequently, they are usually unwilling to pay growers as high prices as they would if the low-grade cannabis were kept off the market.

The market price in January, 1927, for domestic cannabis (U.S.P.) was 23 to 33 cents a pound.

The National Cancer Institute also reports the following on their webpage at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page3

History

Cannabis use for medicinal purposes dates back at least 3,000 years.[1-5] It was introduced into Western medicine in the 1840s by W.B. O’Shaughnessy, a surgeon who learned of its medicinal properties while working in India for the British East Indies Company. Its use was promoted for reported analgesic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and anticonvulsant effects.

In 1937, the U.S. Treasury Department introduced the Marihuana Tax Act. This Act imposed a levy of $1 per ounce for medicinal use of Cannabis and $100 per ounce for recreational use. Physicians in the United States were the principal opponents of the Act. The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed the Act because physicians were required to pay a special tax for prescribing Cannabis, use special order forms to procure it, and keep special records concerning its professional use. In addition, the AMA believed that objective evidence that Cannabis was harmful was lacking and that passage of the Act would impede further research into its medicinal worth.[6] In 1942, Cannabis was removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia because of persistent concerns about its potential to cause harm.[2,3]

In 1951, Congress passed the Boggs Act, which for the first time, included Cannabis with narcotic drugs. In 1970, with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug. Drugs in this category are distinguished as having no accepted medicinal use. Other Schedule I substances include heroin, LSD, mescaline, methaqualone, and gamma-hydroxybutyrate.

Despite its designation as having no medicinal use, Cannabis was distributed to patients by the U.S. government on a case-by-case basis under the Compassionate Use Investigational New Drug program established in 1978. Distribution of Cannabis through this program was discontinued in 1992.[1-4] Although federal law prohibits the use of Cannabis, the table below lists the localities that permit its use for certain medical conditions.