Marijuana’s surprising vision benefit – Marijuana use by pregnant women has been shown to have a surprising benefit for how their children see moving objects

NZ Newswire

 
A study of children exposed to recreational drugs in the womb has turned up the surprising result that marijuana can improve how they see moving things.
Children exposed to marijuana were 50 per cent better at the global motion task – detecting movement of signal dots against the background “noise” of other dots – than children who weren’t exposed, University of Auckland scientists say.
Their study, which looked at 145 four-and-a-half year olds who were exposed to different combinations of methamphetamine, alcohol, nicotine and marijuana before birth, was published in Nature: Scientific Reports this week.
Most studies have investigated how recreational drugs impair motor and cognitive development in children, but the impact on visual areas of the brain is less well understood, says doctoral researcher Arijit Chakraborty.
The 50 per cent improvement in the global motion task for children exposed to marijuana in the womb was an unexpected result, he said.
It was found that when mothers drank alcohol alone their children’s motion perception was impaired, but when they consumed both marijuana and alcohol there was no effect – “suggesting that the benefits from marijuana cancelled out the harm from alcohol”.
 
Full Article:
http://www.msn.com/en-nz/health/medical/marijuanas-surprising-vision-benefit/ar-BBndWUp
 

Oklahoma medical marijuana advocate to receive humanitarian award

By Russell Mills
Medical Marijuana symbol
 
becoming an advocate for medical marijuana began at home, when he began researching ways to help alleviate his wife’s debilitating migraines.
The more research he did, the more he became convinced that medical marijuana is a moral issue, and when he talks about it his passion is easy to hear.
“Medical marijuana is a human rights issue,” he told KRMG Tuesday. “We have patients that are suffering and dying right here in our own state every day that relief could be brought to by medical marijuana. Cures could be made from medical marijuana to help these people. And the fact that we’re denying the cures to these patients is an abolute human rights issue.”
Many agree, and to them it seems fitting that in December, Caviness will receive a humanitarian award from the Oklahoma Universal Human Rights Alliance.
 
Full Article:
http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/oklahoma-medical-marijuana-advocate-receive-humani/npPyc/

Vermont’s first-ever cannabis craze

By PAUL HELLER For the Times Argus

Provided photo Thaddeus Fairbanks
While promoting the propagation of hemp in 1830s Caledonia County, Erastus Fairbanks and his brother Thaddeus developed an invention that was to create a family fortune, transform the town of St. Johnsbury, and help inaugurate a political dynasty.
Subsequent to promoting the propagation of cannabis sativa, a plant that would, in the next century, be outlawed and classified as a narcotic, Fairbanks was also to become a railroad magnate, founding member of the Republican Party, and governor of the state of Vermont.

 

Full Article:

Field Dispatch: Inside South Dakota’s Grassroots Movement to Legalize Medical Cannabis

By Leafly Staff
New Approach South Dakota cannabis activists at their booth
 
When you’re fighting for cannabis in a conservative state, you take inspiration where you can find it. Last year Melissa Mentele and Joy Beukelman (pictured below), two thirty-something moms living in small South Dakota farm towns, watched the documentary Evergreen, which chronicled the 2012 legalization campaign in Washington State. “We saw a woman–Alison Holcomb–leading the movement,” Mentele recalled. After the credits rolled, Mentele and Beukelman asked each other: Why not us?

Last Monday the two women and their New Approach South Dakota supporters appeared at the Secretary of State’s office in Pierre bearing more than 16,000 voter signatures in favor of a statewide measure legalizing medical marijuana. “We needed 13,871, and we wanted to give ourselves a little leeway,” Mentele said after delivering the signatures.

If the signatures are verified, medical marijuana will be on the South Dakota ballot in November 2016.
 
 
 
Full Article:
https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/field-dispatch-inside-south-dakotas-grassroots-movement-to-legali
 

Cannabis Animal Chews Are Human Tested

Debra Borchardt

 
Many people disagree with testing drugs on animals before giving them to humans, but what about testing drugs on humans before giving them to animals? That’s exactly what is happening with cannabis.
There are several companies that have developed hemp-based products for animals, mostly intended for dogs. The edible products are suggested for a variety of ailments but the majority seem to focus on joint conditions for older dogs, neurological health and calmness.
 
Full Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/debraborchardt/2015/11/16/281/

Under the Radar: Medicating in a Prohibition State

By

 
For a comparatively small number of U.S. citizens, accessing cannabis can be as simple as walking down the street to a recreational or medical dispensary and purchasing enough high-quality cannabis to last until they decide to go back and get more — no questions asked.
Yet, for anyone who doesn’t live in a state where marijuana is legal for recreational use or permitted for medical use, it’s a precarious and potentially dangerous game where the rules change depending on where it’s played.
Though the law prohibits possessing even the slightest amount of marijuana on your person –  let alone consuming it ­– there are still many who risk breaking the law in order to enjoy it. But, why would someone willingly put themselves in danger of being sent to jail just to smoke a little weed?
Well, for some, it’s the only thing that allows them to get out of bed in the morning.
 
Full Article:
http://cannabisnowmagazine.com/current-events/legal/under-the-radar-medicating-in-a-prohibition-state

Students with life-threatening medical conditions can now legally take medical marijuana in New Jersey schools

Andre Mitchell

Reuters –Vendors openly sell marijuana plants and by-products during the ‘Weed the People’ event to celebrate the legalisation of recreational use of marijuana in Portland, Oregon, on July 3, 2015.

Students in New Jersey with developmental disabilities can now take their doses of medical marijuana in schools, as long as they have proper prescriptions and aid from their educators.
This is now possible after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently signed a new law allowing medical marijuana use in schools—the first of its kind in the United States.
 
Full Article:
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/students.with.life.threatening.medical.conditions.can.now.legally.take.medical.marijuana.in.new.jersey.schools/70633.htm

Army Vet Faces Felony For Helping Other Veterans Treat PTSD With Cannabis

Cannabis plant
 

A US Army veteran came home to face the struggle of PTSD. To combat its symptoms, he turned to various drugs, some of which he nearly overdosed to death on. Eventually, he found one that worked – marijuana.

Now, Sean Kiernan and his wife are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to felony charges relating to growing marijuana for the treatment of veterans with PTSD.
 

http://sputniknews.com/us/20151114/1030120488/army-vet-faces-felony-for-helping-other-veterans-treat-ptsd-with-cannabis.html

Veterans drop hundreds of empty pill bottles in front of the White House

By Perry Stein

 
A couple dozen servicemen and women marched to the White House this Veterans Day and dumped a large box of empty pill containers, calling on the president and other federal officials to make medical marijuana accessible to veterans.
“Here’s what the over-medication of our veterans looks like,” they said as they spilled the canisters onto the floor. “We don’t want it.”
 
Full Article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/11/11/veterans-drop-hundreds-of-empty-pill-bottles-in-front-of-the-white-house/

‘Pot Over Pills’ Protesters Camp Out For Veterans Day


<span class='image-component__caption' itemprop="caption">"Pot Over Pills" protesters are pushing medical marijuana as an option for treating veterans with PTSD.</span>
PHILIP LEWIS“Pot Over Pills” protesters are pushing medical marijuana as an option for treating veterans with PTSD.
 
Jose Martinez, who said he served in Afghanistan and lost his arm in 2012, traveled from California to participate in the protest. Martinez, 26, said that once he got back, opiate pills sent him into a period of depression.
“I went from being this statue, this amazing person that was unbeatable to … [being] wheelchair-bound for life. I hated everybody, I didn’t want to be around anybody,” Martinez said. “Opiate pills just induced me into all that. I started getting more and more depressed.”
According to its website, the VA currently provides two forms of cognitive behavioral therapy to veterans with PTSD to help them understand their trauma and have less fear of their traumatic memories.
A recent study in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs suggested marijuana was effective for reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms. Patients in the study reported 75 percent reduction in PTSD symptoms when smoking marijuana, though researchers said the issue needs a closer look.
 
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pot-over-pills-protesters_5643912ae4b045bf3ded698a