Keisha Hill, Gleaner Writer

 
Hemp is a commonly used term for high-growing varieties of the cannabis plant and its products, which include fibre, oil, and seed. Hemp and marijuana are both varieties or subspecies of theCannabis sativa plant. Marijuana is simply considered to have a higher tetrahydrocannabinol or THC and cannibinoid content. Cannabinoids are a class of chemicals that activate cell membrane receptors, that is the psychoactive element present in the cannabis plant. The most known of these cannabinoids is THC.
All plants in the cannabis genus can produce the oil, but usually only industrial hemp is used to make hemp oil. Industrial hemp is a hemp variant, which has been cultivated specifically for industrial production, and it has a minimum of the psychoactive substances associated with THC. Hemp oil is typically almost free of THC, and it has no psychoactive properties.
 
Full Article:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20141012/arts/arts1.html#.VDq9U_boUcw.facebook
 
 

VICTORIA HOFF

 
If you, like us, appreciate a good mind-blowing fact, then here’s a humdinger: Did you know that THC—the main psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana—is actually an antioxidant? It’s also an anti-inflammatory (though, given weed’s reputation to dull pain, that might seem more obvious). What this also means is that the cannabis plant has major topical benefits as well.
In other words, get ready, because it’s time to give your skin a contact high.
 
Full Article:
http://www.elle.com/news/beauty-makeup/hemp-facial-diy

by Oscar Pascual in Lifestyle, television

 
Punk rock icon Henry Rollins sheds light on little-known historical facts in his History Channel show, 10 Things You Don’t Know About. This week’s episode tackles the facts behind marijuana.
Rollins explores gems such as the origins of the word “marijuana” and the industrial roots of hemp production, while also visiting grow labs and even the Cannabis Cup.
 
Full Article:
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2014/10/09/tv-party-henry-rollins-shares-10-things-you-dont-know-about-marijuana/

By Paul Armentano

 
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with a history of cannabis use possess increased survival rates compared to non-users, according data published this month in the scientific journal The American Surgeon.
UCLA Medical Center investigators conducted a three-year retrospective review of brain trauma patients. Data from 446 separate cases of similarly injured patients was assessed. Of those patients who tested positive for the presence of marijuana, 97.6 percent survived surgery. By contrast, patients who tested negative for the presence of pot prior to surgery possessed only an 88.5 percent survival rate.
 
Full Article:
http://cannabis.hawaiinewsdaily.com/2014/10/07/marijuana-use-is-associated-with-increased-survival-in-brain-injury-patients/

A PIONEERING cannabis drug developed by British firm GW Pharmaceuticals for treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis has been rejected as not cost-effective.
 

 
 
Full Article:
http://www.cityam.com/1412816336/gw-s-shares-slump-after-nhs-rejects-cannabis-drug-over-cost

David Downs

By Paul Schemm and Smail Bellaoualli, Associated Press

 
Kettama, Morocco – In the rugged Rif mountains, Abdelkhalek Benabdallah strode among towering marijuana plants, checking the buds for the telltale spots of white that indicate they are ready for harvest.
Much of the crop had been picked and left to dry on the roofs of stone-and-wood huts that dot the valley, the heart Morocco’s pot-growing region. Benabdallah says he openly grows the crop, while understanding the risk: “We are regularly subject to blackmail by the gendarmes,” he said as he scythed through stalks and wrapped them into a bundle.
Morocco’s marijuana farmers live in a strange limbo in which the brilliant green fields are left alone, while the growers themselves face constant police harassment. A new draft law may bring some reprieve: It aims to legalize marijuana growing for medical and industrial uses, a radical idea for a Muslim nation. It could alleviate poverty and social unrest, but the proposal faces stiff opposition in this conservative country, as well as the suspicions of farmers themselves, who think politicians can do nothing help them.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/10/07/morocco-mulls-legal-pot-growing-breaking-taboo/21038/

by WENN

 
Rocker Ryan Adams smokes cannabis to help him cope with an inner ear disorder.
The singer/songwriter suffers from Meniere’s disease, which causes debilitating dizzy spells, but he finds relief by puffing weed.
 
Full Article:
http://www.contactmusic.com/story/ryan-adams-uses-cannabis-to-cope-with-health-troubles_4399057

Frank Bouc

 
For states who have not made medical cannabis legal, they do not understand the significant pain endured by fibromyalgia patients. Many patients are shamed and labeled as hypochondriacs, but their pain is real, yet the level of medical response is not. The pain echoing in the muscles can cripple someone’s life, and yet in the nation of the free, millions of people suffer from a condition, where a viable treatment resides. More than five million Americans suffer from this condition, and more than 80 percent of those sufferers are women. Currently, only 23 states, and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana.
 
Full Article:
http://www.viralglobalnews.com/health/cannabis-reduces-pain-from-fibromyalgia-studies-show/18779/