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Month: June 2015
Medical Marijuana Smoking Linked to Parasite Prevention
Scientists from Washington State University have suggested that smoking cannabis may have a beneficial effect with regard to the avoidance of intestinal parasite infections, which could explain why the drug has such a long history of recreational use. In a press release by the university, lead researcher Ed Hagen from WSU Vancouver is quoted as saying that it is possible for humans to have developed a taste for the toxic plant not for purely recreational reasons but as a prophylactic against intestinal parasites. The basis for this hypothesis comes from the fact that the body reacts to toxic substances not just through the heightened feeling of pleasure. Toxins also provoke a feeling of nausea and can be lethal to parasites.
Hagen studied the Aka hunter-gatherer community that lives in the Central African Republic and, like the few other remaining such communities, provides valuable insight into human evolution. Archaeologists, anthropologists and scientists often study such communities as a means of gathering insights into early hunter-gatherer societies. It is of course a highly speculative way of studying the past, but it is considered a means of observing human societies detached from modern, westernised traditions and practices.
What Hagen and his team found was that 70% of men in the Aka tribe regularly smoked cannabis. As much as 95% of all Aka men were also infected with helminths (intestinal parasitic worms), but those who smoked cannabis had a lower rate of infection. They were all treated with an antihelminthic drug and after 12 months the researchers found that the rate of secondary helminth infection among the pot smokers was significantly lower than in the rest of the Aka men. What’s more, an earlier study by Hagen found that even those Aka men who smoked a lot of tobacco had a lower rate of helminth infection.
Full Article:
http://www.newhistorian.com/medical-marijuana-smoking-linked-to-parasite-prevention/3936/
North Pole Rejects Proposed Ban On Marijuana Sales
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Santa Claus already has a jolly reputation and soon more of the North Pole’s citizens may earn a jolly reputation of their own, after the city voted to reject a measure that would’ve put the kibosh on medical marijuana dispensaries.
While it’s not exactly “the” North Pole, the Christmas-themed community of North Pole does exist in Alaska, and as such, it has a city council that votes on things like allowing a pot store to open in the Christmas-themed community.
Full Article:
http://consumerist.com/2015/06/02/north-pole-rejects-proposed-ban-on-marijuana-sales/
15 Hemptastic Recipes for National Hemp History Week
The week of June 1st- 7th is a great time for all plant-based eaters and whole foods lovers out there to celebrate—it’s Hemp History Week! Hemp seeds are the epitome of the perfect protein-rich seed, containing all essential amino acids, but that’s not all. Hemp seeds are also one of the most abundant sources of dietary iron, magnesium, and omega-3 fats in a plant-based diet, all in a very small serving. They’re mild, nutty, so easy to use, and to beat all, hemp is also one of the most sustainable plants out there.
Full Article:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/hemp-recipes/
IRS Approves First Church Of Cannabis. What’s Next For Marijuana?
Robert W. Wood
Welcome to the First Church of Cannabis Inc., approved by Indiana’s Secretary of State under its controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Even bigger that state law approval, the church has even been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. Tea Party conservatives evidently had a lot more trouble with their tax exemption applications. The stated intent of the upstart church is “to start a church based on love and understanding with compassion for all.”
Full Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/06/01/irs-approves-first-church-of-cannabis-whats-next-for-marijuana/
