Michigan Charity Receives Google Grant For Medical Cannabis Advocacy


google grant michigan compassion medical marijuana
 
Royal Oak, MI – Michigan Compassion is pleased to announce it has received a $240,000  Google Grant from Google Corporation. The grant is an in-kind, AdWords advertising allowance and other premium Google products and support that will continue for the life of the organization. Michigan Compassion will use the grant to promote its medical cannabis awareness initiatives. The 2013 initiative is based on the organization’s philosophy: “We must increase awareness to increase acceptance.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.theweedblog.com/michigan-charity-receives-google-grant-for-medical-cannabis-advocacy/

How Black Kids With Sickle Cell Anemia Get Screwed By The War On Drugs


How Black Kids With Sickle Cell Anemia Get Screwed By The War On Drugs.
 
During my pediatric rotation in nursing school, there was a young boy, about 12-years-old, whom I’ll refer to as Zackary, who suffered from sickle cell anemia. He was African American, lived in the inner city, loved football and basketball and his favorite subject in school was science. He was just a regular kid who wanted to do regular kid stuff.
But instead, he was already addicted to opiates at age 12.
If you’re not familiar with sickle cell anemia, it’s an incredibly painful disease caused by misshapen red blood cells, and it primarily affects those of African descent. The treatment consists of lots and lots of opioid pain killers and a possible bone marrow transplant.
Zackary was hooked up to a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, which is a pump programmed to allow Zackary to administer prescribed amounts of morphine to himself by pressing a button, otherwise known as a morphine drip.
Now, the machine was programmed so he couldn’t overdose, and it was stressed over and over to me in nursing school that “opioid analgesics are not addictive when used properly”.
But I couldn’t help feeling that we, as a health care community, were letting this 12-year-old boy down, as I watched him desperately push that red button over and over and over again.
Several of the other nursing students and I tried to distract him from the pain by asking him questions about himself and trying to get him to talk about things he liked. His favorite team was the Jets. He didn’t have a girlfriend, yet. Then, he screamed in pain until he passed out. His oxygen saturation level was low, and his respirations were slow from the amount of morphine he’d taken.
I went home angry, imagining what this poor kid had to look forward to as an African American from the inner city already addicted to morphine at age 12. It’s a legitimate treatment for him, but it still carries a stigma. But the worst part he had to look forward to, are the side effects of long-term opioid use: constipation, nausea, vomiting, itching, possible bowel impaction and something called “tardive dyskinesia” which are creepy-looking involuntary movements of facial muscles. Not a side-effect a pre-teen boy wants to acquire, as he’s looking forward to becoming a teenager and dating some day.
I thought, if Zackary was lucky, he might find cannabis, and not have to deal with those side effects. Or, perhaps, that wouldn’t be such a lucky thing after all, as the worst side effect of cannabis use is getting arrested. Black kids on morphine and cannabis grow up to be arrested in disproportionate numbers to their White counterparts, after all.
A study conducted by the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2010 showed the use of cannabinoids (a synthetic compound based on marijuana derivatives, but also more easily available in the actual cannabis plant) alleviated pain just as effectively, if not better, than the use of opioids in those with sickle cell anemia.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2013/06/20/how-black-kids-with-sickle-cell-anemia-get-screwed-by-the-war-on-drugs/

Lab Testing Reveals EnviroTextile’s Hemp Fabric Stops the Spread of Staph Bacteria

Rampant staph infections continue to cost lives unnecessarily. One powerful weapon to fight this scourge is being successfully deployed by China’s military: industrial hemp. Staph is spread by direct contact and by touching items that are contaminated such as towels, sheets, privacy curtains, and clothing. As noted by the San Francisco Chronicle, “It is estimated that each year 2 million Americans become infected during hospital stays, and at least 90,000 of them die. MRSA (an antibiotic resistant strain of staph) is a leading cause of hospital-borne infections.” One of the most important recent discoveries is hemp’s ability to kill surface bacteria, while cotton, polyester, and polyethelene allow it to remain on their surfaces for up to months at a time.
Full Article:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1316241

Marijuana: Introducing Canna-Rave, “the first ever all-cannabis rave”

By Wax Jones
canna.rave.jpg
 
Coming this weekend: A rave featuring heavy bass, lasers, strobes and…marijuana?
Yes, you read that right — not ecstasy or another club drug, but good, old-fashioned marijuana.
Pot isn’t usually associated with raves, but after this weekend, some rave-goers may think otherwise. That’s because on Saturday, Hashman Events is hosting “Canna Rave!, described as “The first ever all-cannabis rave.”
The pot-themed event, scheduled from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Fanbass Studios, 3050 East 43rd Street in Denver, is trying to capitalize on rave culture that is, well, all the rave right now. But instead of a bunch of sixteen-year-olds in their underwear running around trying to find “Molly,” there will be a group of 21-and-over stoners (unless you’re younger and have a red card) burning green and munching down while listening to dance music.
 
Full Article:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2013/06/marijuana_canna_rave_cannabis_rave.php

California Medical Marijuana Patient Finally Released from Federal Prison

By Sam Sabzehzar
Ashley, now 19, has been supporting her father throughout his federal legal battles ever since they began, when she was only 8 years old.
Ashley, now 19, has been supporting her father throughout his federal legal battles ever since they began, when she was only 8 years old. (Photo credit: MedicalMarijuana411.com)
 
Bryan Epis was arrested in California in 1997 after approved the voters approved medical cannabis. His daughter has stood by him this whole time, and after his release from a federal prison this week, Ashley, now 19, was there to celebrate with her father.

For those who believe the federal government when they say that no one is going to jail for medical marijuana, we invite you to meet Bryan Epis.

Bryan began growing medical marijuana in 1997, just one year after California voters approved the plant.
That same year Bryan’s legal battles with the federal justice department also began, when his daughter Ashley was just 8 years old.
Today, Bryan walks out of a federal prison in Long Beach, California where he was serving a 10-year sentence for growing marijuana in a state where it is legal to do so.
 
Full Article:
http://medicalmarijuana411.com/mmj411_v3/california-medical-marijuana-patient-finally-released-from-federal-prison/

Marijuana Advocate Rolling His Way To The White House

A local man says he is “rolling to the White House.”
Curtis Kyle left from his home in Taylor on Friday and hopes to make it to Washington D.C. to talk with lawmakers about legalizing marijuana.
“I’m rolling my wheelchair to Washington D.C. from my home in Taylor, I’m hoping to get to the White House by the Fourth of July,” Kyle told WWJ’s Newsradio 950′s Brian Larsen.
 
Full Article:
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/06/17/marijuana-advocate-rolling-his-way-to-the-white-house/

Could Marijuana Be a Miracle Drug for Diabetics?

Good news for marijuana enthusiasts: A pair of studies this week revealed that the drug’s active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may lower the risk of both diabetes and bladder cancer. Moreover, for people who already have diabetes, regular use of marijuana appeared to help manage their condition, by lowering their fasting insulin and insulin resistance levels. It also appeared to raise levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol.
Full Article:
http://www.neagle.com/article/20130616/NEWS/306169985#axzz2Wbbyp5Gq

Smoking Pot Eases Tremors in Parkinson’s

By Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

 
Smoking cannabis appeared to reduce tremor and pain and improve sleep among Parkinson’s disease patients, researchers from Israel reported here.
Overall, patients’ scores on the standard Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) averaged 33 before they smoked cannabis in the laboratory and averaged 24 after 30 minutes (P<0.01), Ruth Djaldetti, MD, of Tel Aviv University Israel, reported at her poster presentation at the International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders.
“We not only saw improvement in tremor in these patients, but also in rigidity and in bradykinesia,” Djaldetti told MedPage Today.
 
Full Article:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/MDS/39933

Cannabis Cures Cancer Without Poison

Stasia Bliss
cannabis oil and Cancer cures
 
Isn’t it strange that doctors can legally administer poison in the form of chemotherapy and radiation as well as numerous toxic pharmaceuticals and yet one of nature’s medicines- found to greatly assist cancer patients- which can be prepared by any common person without harmful side effects, is illegal and can send a person to prison for its possession?  There are numerous studies, now spanning the globe, revealing the miraculous healing properties of cannabis oil and its ability to cure cancers and other ailments without poisoning the body.
 
Full Article:
http://guardianlv.com/2013/06/cannabis-cures-cancer-without-poison/