by TheJointBlog

 
In a bipartisan, unanimous decision, California’s Senate has approved Senate Bill 566, a measure to legalize hemp. The proposal now heads to the State’s House, where its passage would put it to the governor for final consideration.
 
Full Article:
http://thejointblog.com/california-senate-unanimously-approves-hemp-legalization/

Angela Bacca

 
I usually do not want to talk about having Crohn’s Disease. It is just a reality I have lived with for nine years, but never exactly dinner table discussion or an amusing anecdote shared with friends over drinks. It has been not just a major inconvenience in my life; it has altered its course significantly. The subject is emotionally difficult to explain. It’s personal. For lack of a better word, unpleasant.
I feel compelled to share now, although I don’t really want to, because a new study has proven smoked marijuana has a near 100% success rate in putting Crohn’s Disease into remission. I am sick of everyone making jokes about my involvement in the marijuana legalization movement; I’m sick of having to stay quiet about what I do around family or in public for fear or upsetting someone’s delicate sensibilities about “drugs” like marijuana. Let me tell you a thing or two about drugs, marijuana and Crohn’s Disease. It’s not a joke and it is not about “getting high” for me.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2013/05/15/marijuana-put-my-crohns-disease-into-remission-and-its-not-a-joke/

Dr. Doug

 
Medical marijuana for dogs and cats is one thing. But medical marijuana for horses!? Yes, its true and its not a new concept in veterinary medicine. Cannabis has been used as a medical remedy for horses across the globe and the sands of time. From the ancient Greeks to modern-day farriers and horse owners, marijuana has been widely employed to successfully address a range of medical problems. There are numerous historical references to cannabis being used for sedation and as an adjunct to anesthesia in equine medicine.
 
Full Article:
http://www.vetguru.com/2013/05/31/cavalry-cannabis-medical-marijuana-for-horses/

ERIC LINEBACK
 
LEGALIZING the cultivation of hemp is one of the most important social- and economic-justice issues of our times.
The United States remains the only advanced nation in the world which allows the importation and sale of hemp raw materials and finished goods, but bans its farmers from growing the crop.
With American consumers now spending over $500 million annually on hemp products, our farmers are tired of being left out — they want the option to grow hemp.
On May 13, the Vermont Legislature passed S.157, the Hemp Bill, which will allow Vermont farmers to plant hemp as early as this year by simplifying existing law and making it effective upon passage without waiting for a change in federal policy.
The bill now goes to Gov. Peter Shumlin, whom we expect will sign it into law.
 
Full Article:
http://www.commonsnews.org/site/site05/story.php?articleno=7655&page=1#.Ua_rhOfOlLq

Andy Parks

File image of Tony Bower.Jay Cronan
 
MEDICAL cannabis advocate Tony Bower is out of jail after serving only six weeks of a 12-month sentence after an appeal was upheld in the NSW District Court yesterday.
Mr Bower was charged with possession of about 200 cannabis plants he was growing to produce a cannabis tincture.
He distributes the tincture free of charge to people with a wide range of chronic medical conditions.
 
Full Article:
http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/cannabis-activist-tony-bower-released-winning-appe/1895250/

By Melissa Etheridge, Special to CNN

 
My friends have always told me that rock stardom was wasted on me.
To them it seemed that being a rock star was a free ticket to debauchery. It was sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and I was only taking advantage of two. Drugs were not a part of my rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. I wasn’t even much of a drinker. I have never thrown up from being over intoxicated.
What kind of rock star is that? I had certainly encountered drugs during the ’80s, mostly cocaine, but nothing about grinding my teeth and rambling on about myself appealed to me. During the ’90s, I smoked an occasional joint. Those were usually fun social occasions. My work was a drug-free zone.
Then in 2004, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The chemotherapy that was prescribed was called “dose dense”: a harsher, stronger chemo than the usual because I had the benefit of not having to work during the treatment. My close friends told me that, as an alternative, medical marijuana was a natural way to help with the excruciating side effects of chemo.
It worked. The entire experience changed my life. It opened my mind to a new way of thinking about my body, my health and the future.
This herb, this weed that is so strong it grows wild by the side of the road, has always been with us. In ancient times it was highly regarded and has even been found in tombs. It has even been put forth from some biblical scholars that Jesus may have used cannabis oil to heal.
 
Full Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/opinion/etheridge-marijuana/index.html

by Brandon Krenzler

 
A faraway place and an unimaginable path– this is what cancer is to a young parent. It is always an unexpected diagnosis regardless of family history or past exposures. Words do not matter anymore; nothing does, not after you hear that terrible word come from a pediatrician’s mouth, “cancer.”  All you hear next is the dull throb of your pounding heart and the room-silencing ringing of denial in your ears. I am writing this on a two-year-old child’s birthday. This two-year-old is suffering from a form of childhood cancer known as a Wilms’ Tumor. His name is Abel McBride.
I had the chance to talk with Abel’s mother Danielle McBride about their journey through childhood cancer and the unique path they have chosen for their child. Abel’s father Andy could not be present. Andy has to remain back home in Pilot Rock, a small town in Eastern Oregon to take care of their six-year-old son, John, and continue working his job.
Abel was diagnosed on March 17th, 2013, with stage two Wilm’s Tumor (nephroblastoma), which in his case was a very large tumor that completely overtook his right kidney. Complications during surgery led to his tumor rupturing during removal, which ultimately boosted him to a stage three diagnosis. This is his story.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2013/06/danielle-mcbride-i-chose-cannabis-to-save-my-child/

By Yvonne Wingett SanchezThe Republic | azcentral.com
 
In a very different kind of Memorial Day deal, a Phoenix business celebrated its grand opening by giving veterans deep discounts.
On medical marijuana.
Phoenix Relief Center, a medical-marijuana dispensary tucked into a shopping center at 35th and Southern avenues, sold marijuana to former servicemen and -women at a discount — 20 percent off — and gave away free pot cigarettes to treat illnesses and pain. Dozens of veterans with cancer, chronic pain and other illnesses have since flocked to the center for one-eighth-ounce bags of Tokyo OG, Hawaii Five-0 and other strains of marijuana.
 
Full Article:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20130529aiming-legitimacymedical-pot-dispensaries-strive-mainstream-acceptance.html

A committee of the Health Ministry decided, Monday, to approve the use of cannabis – the active ingredient in marijuana – as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome.
The decision was based on the results of studies on using the drug to treat these diseases, against the backdrop of the renewal of the struggle by patients who are not eligible for treatment. The recommendations will be passed to the professional staff to determined how they are implemented among physicians who treat these patients.
 
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/269608#.Ua2a2tLOlLp

New York–(ENEWSPF)–June 3, 2013.

Earlier today, the New York State Assembly passed the Compassionate Care Act (A.6357/Gottfried) by a vote of 95 to 38.  The bill, which would create one the most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs in the country, would alleviate the suffering of thousands of seriously ill New Yorkers by allowing the use of marijuana to treat debilitating, lifethreatening illnesses under a doctor’s supervision.

The Compassionate Care Act – A.6357 (Gottfried) / S. 4406 (Savino) – would allow practitioners to talk to their patients about medical marijuana and certify those with serious, debilitating illnesses, so that they may have access to a small amount of medical marijuana to relieve their symptoms.
“New Yorkers living with cancer, multiple scleroses, HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses have waited long enough,” said Gabriel Sayegh, State Director of DPA’s New York Policy Office.  “This is a simple matter of compassion.  This is the fourth time the State Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill. Now it’s long past time for the State Senate to act. The science is clear. The moral and ethical needs are obvious. The only thing holding this up is the Senate.  Listen to the science, to healthcare practitioners, and to the vast majority of New Yorkers who support this proposal.  It’s time for the Senate to pass the Compassionate Care Act.”
 
Full Article:
http://enewspf.com/latest-news/health-and-fitness/43709-new-york-state-assembly-passes-bill-to-allow-medicinal-use-of-marijuana-in-new-york-state.html