Parents credit cannabis for toddler’s radiation recovery

by Breanna Roy (KPAX News)

 
MISSOULA – The parents of a Missoula three-year-old say, if they had listened to the doctors, their son would’ve died.
Today Cash Hyde, 3, is cancer-free for a second time and his parents say marijuana is his best medicine.
“Cashy went through 30 rounds of radiation without one nausea or pain medication besides medical cannabis,” Cash’s dad, Mike Hyde said.
When Mike and Kalli Hyde learned Cash’s brain cancer returned in October, doctors told them he had a 30 percent chance of surviving five years. They said reoccurring brain tumors have a rare chance of shrinking, and at best, they could only stop it from metastasizing further.
They Hydes switched Cash to an all-vegan diet, alkaline-adjusted water and cannabis oil. The slowed the tumor’s growth by 55 percent, buying them time to wait for proton radiation.
The radiation shrunk the tumor. Now it’s gone, and Cash is returning to a normal life laughing with his older brother, Colten, and playing with Play-Doh. But it wasn’t easy for the Hydes to get back to this normalcy.
“I’ve had to break state and federal laws just to keep Cashy alive,” Mike Hyde said.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.kaj18.com/news/parents-credit-cannabis-for-toddler-s-radiation-recovery/

Researchers study neuroprotective properties in cannabis


 
With more states opting to legalize the sale of medical marijuana, researchers are taking a closer look at the use of cannabis to treat chronic illnesses.
Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently sat down with the Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham, to find out how it’s being studied.
Dr. Manny: Now from the medical marijuana perspective, as far as the treatment of chronic illnesses, what is it about cannabis that makes it that special?
Medicine Hunter: Well, it seems that there are primarily two things – there’s the THC, that’s what people associated with getting high. And that appears to have a saliatory effect on the eyes in case of glaucoma. For people who are suffering from chemotherapy and can’t eat, it helps to get their appetite back. And we also know that it is a potent pain reliever – and science on that goes back to the 1890s.
But there’s another agent in cannabis that is getting more attention now, and that is called cannabidiol. And this is something that you can swallow by the bucket-full, and it won’t get you high at all. But it appears to have profound nerve-protective and brain-enhancing properties. And interestingly enough, it also induces an anti-anxiety effect.
So this appears to be a very important agent, perhaps useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/20/researchers-study-neuroprotective-properties-in-cannabis/

Most of Arizona’s medical marijuana patients will grow their own


 

No more than 12 plants per patient, please.

No more than 12 plants per patient, please. Credits: Getty Images

About 85 percent of card-carrying medical marijuana patients will grow their own supply until a dispensary system is in place, Will Humble , Arizona’s Director of Human Services told KJZZ in an interview that aired Tuesday March 20.
Patients who live more than 25 miles from a dispensary are permitted to grow up to 12 plants for their personal use, Humble says, but they will be required to re-apply for permission each year when they renew their cards . As more dispensaries open, more patients will be denied permission to grow their own plants.
About 75 percent medical marijuana patients are men, Humble says, which seems to be the case in all states that permit marijuana to be grown, sold, and used for medical purposes. “Our demographic is a little bit older” than other states’, he added. Most patients requested  marijuana to relieve chronic pain caused by illness or injury.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.examiner.com/health-news-in-phoenix/most-of-arizona-s-medical-marijuana-patients-will-grow-their-own

U.S. could use hemp as sustainable resource

by Ethan Gaebel
The petroleum industry is booming. The world thrives on plastic and is powered by gas. But oil is a finite resource — America will run out of it and will need to have something to replace it with before it is depleted. The country needs oil for more than powering cars. Petroleum is essential to creating plastic items, such as computer keys and plastic outlet covers. And there is a renewable way for the country to get all of the plastic society demands — while cleaning the air petroleum has dirtied with hemp.
Hemp is a species of cannabis that does not contain any of the psychoactive chemicals that illicit species of cannabis contain, but its production was made illegal at the same time as marijuana.
But how is cannabis going to replace petroleum? It can be processed to make plastics. The Canadian company Motive Industries is testing a car that has a body made out of a bio-composite plastic made mostly from hemp. The car should be available for sale near the end of this year.
Motive’s president even addressed the fact that the company is getting a leg up on America by telling the CBC, “it’s illegal to grow it in the United States, so it actually gives Canada a bit of a market advantage,” which is very true. While the Canadians get to perfect this bio-composite that can be grown in massive amounts, American engineers are left to work with petroleum plastic, which will eventually no longer be available.
The best part about hemp plastic is, unlike petroleum, its bio-composite materials are biodegradable. BMW has is taking advantage of this by trying to find a way to make more recyclable cars using hemp plastic. In 2006, researchers found that 11.7 percent of total waste is plastic, meaning more than 10 percent of garbage in the world will never decompose. Sure, people can collect bottles and recycle them into benches, pretending they are solving the problem. But they can also just use hemp to make plastic and let the Earth recycle it.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/19451/us-could-use-hemp-as-sustainable-resource

Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Recreational Use? Go vote!


 
On the legalization side we have Robert Corry, a Colorado-based attorney specializing in criminal defense and civil rights. He has defended more medical marijuana criminal cases than any other attorney in Colorado and is the only attorney to win multiple acquittals for defendants facing medical marijuana charges.
On the anti-legalization side we have Bob Enyart, a talk radio host on Colorado-based KGOV radio and a pastor at Denver Bible Church who is outspoken about his belief that marijuana should remain illegal with exception for prescription-based medical use.
Vote on how you feel about the issue below. Read Corry and Enyart’s statements and then vote on who makes a better argument about the topic. And as always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Let the great debate begin!
 
Read complete article and vote here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/should-marijuana-be-legal_n_1365036.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics
 

Housing on a new, green high

Simon Johanson

TWO eco-friendly houses are rising from the ground in suburban Melbourne built from a plant normally associated with 1960s hippie heaven: hemp.
In an Australian-mainland first, the walls of the semi-detached homes in trendy inner-city Northcote will be made from the cannabis-based building product Hempcrete, pioneered by a Queensland company for its carbon-neutral properties.
The eight-star green rated homes are the inspiration of two medical practitioners, a father and daughter team who will live side by side with their three generations in the one construction.

Along with the hemp walls, the architect-designed homes will have a solid rammed-earth dividing wall, double-glazed windows, underground water tanks and grey-water recycling, as well as solar panels for electricity, hot water and hydronic heating.

Michelle Leadston and her father, Bill, bought the large block in Northcote three years ago intent on building two sustainable homes for their families to live in.
”I’ve always said I’m going to look after my parents when they get old,” she said. ”This was the most convenient option. The babysitter’s next door. And it’s not too close. There’s a big wall in between.”
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.businessday.com.au/business/property/housing-on-a-new-green-high-20120318-1vdr0.html

Sir Richard Branson Asks for a Joint at the White House

Anthony Papa

Sir Richard Branson went to the White House this week to attend a state dinner. It’s reported that when he got a chance to speak to President Obama he asked him if he could have a spliff (joint).
He was only joking but it was a gentle way of reminding Obama that the issue of marijuana — which the president has avoided — is an important one.
Branson told this story at the offices of The Atlanticmagazine, where he recently joined Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann and spoke about the need for greater momentum and political debate to end the failed drug war on Thursday at a forum organized by The Atlantic.
In the past year, Branson has stepped out as a prominent supporter of drug policy reform. His involvement with the Global Commission on Drug Policy electrified the international media and brought a new level of attention to the growing movement to end the 40-year-old war on drugs. The Global Commission is comprised of Branson, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Paul Volcker, the former heads of state of Brazil, Colombia, Greece, Mexico and Switzerland, and several other distinguished world leaders.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-papa/richard-branson-white-house_b_1354446.html

Marijuana could help US Navy Veteran

Robert says that medical marijuana could help his neuropathic pain.
 
Robert Jackson is a native Arkansan, and he’s one of the many people whose life would be made liveable with medical marijuana. Born in 1975, he grew up in Jacksonville and served with the Navy Seebees for 8 years. His tour of service ended in 2002 with the construction of a fleet hospital on Guantanamo Bay.
A year later, while doing landscaping work with a tree crew, an entire 10,000 pound storage shed collapsed on top of him; OSHA later declared the structure unsound. After a Bobcat removed the debris pinning him down he was in the hospital for two months recovering from a destroyed L1 vertebrae.
With his broken back, Robert is now 100% disabled, wheelchair bound, and engulfed in neuropathic pain 24 hours a day. The traditional narcotics prescribed to him caused painful constipation and stole his appetite. In desperation Robert turned to something that he remembered had calmed him in his youth—marijuana.
The effect was profound. The marijuana eased Robert’s cramps, helped him to keep food down, and allowed him to stop taking the drugs that were causing him so much discomfort on top of his chronic pain.
http://arcompassion.org/patient-stories/marijuana-could-help-us-navy-veteran

Should We Deny Ill People on Probation Access to Medicine?

Posted by Ezekiel Edwards, Criminal Law Reform Project & Emma Andersson, Criminal Law Reform Project
 
In 2000, Colorado voters approved an amendment  to their state constitution that allows patients suffering from conditions like cancer, glaucoma and HIV/AIDS to use medical marijuana when a doctor has advised them to do so. The amendment to the Colorado constitution provides that these patients “may engage in the medical use of marijuana” and that they will have an affirmative defense against state criminal charges relating to their use of medical marijuana.
Nonetheless, the Colorado Court of Appeals held recently that patients with debilitating medical conditions cannot use the medicine they need if they are on probation. The rule applies no matter how sick a patient is or what type of offense led to the sentence of probation. For example, the decision will prevent a cancer patient from using marijuana as medicine if she is on probation for forging a check. Punishing probationers by uniformly denying them access tothe medicine they need is irrational as a matter of policy and undermines the goal of Colorado’s medical marijuana law to provide relief for Coloradans with debilitating health problems.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/should-we-deny-ill-people-probation-access-medicine