Search Results: ealth/ (125)

Sharon Letts
Author Sharon Letts at home


By Sharon Letts
The spider-web-like mass in my right breast has me thinking about my mom, the farm she was raised on, DDT, Malathion, Rachel Carson, and Cannabis — in that order.
My mass hasn’t been diagnosed yet. I saw the configuration while peeking over the shoulder of both the mammogram and ultra-sound technicians. I had to peek because for some reason the medical community feels we need some sort of disconnect when it comes to our own health.
I broke an unsaid rule, but in my book, It’s called being proactive.
While I’m waiting for a biopsy, my educated guess after a little research is it’s Lobular Carcinoma. According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, this type of cancer begins in the milk-producing glands of the breast, or lobules, affecting 10 to 15 percent of all women in the U.S. It’s a mass, not a lump, as with the popular Ductal Carcinoma affecting up to 85 percent of women in this country.

Marijuana.com


Advocates Applaud Scientific Advances, Decry Federal Interference in Medical Marijuana States
  
Research currently underway by GW Pharmaceuticals and the University of Buckingham has recently shown that some of the compounds found in marijuana can have a beneficial effect for people suffering from metabolic diseases associated with obesity.
In animal trials, it was discovered that these compounds acted as appetite suppressants, lowered cholesterol, decreased fat buildup, and improved insulin response to sugars. These qualities could be used to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke associated with obesity, as well as aid in weight management programs.
 
GW Pharmaceuticals is already working on a variety of marijuana-based drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, cancer pain, and other conditions. Most other research into the medical properties of marijuana has been stalled in the United States, thanks to the policies of the federal government, which discourages medical marijuana research and will only fund studies looking for dangers of cannabis, as opposed to its benefits.

Potfessor.com

Director of cannabis research center says classification and political controversy are “obstacles to medical progress”
Dr. Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), and two other investigators published a study in the most recent issue of The Open Neurology Journal, which concluded that the Schedule I classification of marijuana is “not tenable.” The study further concluded that, “it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking.”
The study urges additional research, but states that marijuana’s federal classification and its political controversy are “obstacles to medical progress in this area.” The federal classification of marijuana is based on the government’s position that it has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.”

GoLocalProv

The Rhode Island Senate is set to decide on a compromise designed to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to open in the state.

A vote on the legislation has been scheduled for Wednesday, reports The Associated Press. The House is considering a similar bill.
Lawmakers authorized the safe access points so patients in the state’s medicinal cannabis program could have a state-regulated place to get their medication.
But Gov. Lincoln Chafee blocked the three authorized dispensaries from opening last year after the state’s U.S. Attorney threatened they could face criminal prosecution for violating federal drug laws. Marijuana is illegal for any purpose under the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I drug.

Recovery Ways

New survey results released on Wednesday by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation indicate past-month marijuana use — especially heavy use — has increased significantly among U.S. high school students since 2008, even as abuse of prescription drugs has fallen and hard-drug use has remained steady.

That could be positive news — teens are becoming more likely to use a non-toxic herb than deadly pills. But of course, since The Partnership is a cultish anti-drug scare group, these findings are causing them much hand-wringing and drama.

Darren Stone/The Victoria Times Colonist
Owen Smith (center) was the head baker for the Cannabis Buyers’ Club of Canada. He will still have to stand trial on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and unlawful possession of marijuana.

In a huge victory for Canada’s medical marijuana patients, people authorized to use medicinal cannabis can use it in infused edibles and drink it in tea — not just smoke the dried flowers — the B.C. Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

Justice Robert Johnston said the restriction to dried cannabis only in Health Canada’s Medical Access Regulations is unconstitutional, violating Section 7 of the Charter of Rights, reports Louise Dickinson at The Victoria Times Colonist.
“The remedy for this breach is to remove the word ‘dried’ where it appears in the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations and I so order,” Justice Johnston said.

Worth Repeating
By Ron Marczyk, R.N.
Health Education Teacher (Retired)

A new understanding of the neurobiology of cannabis is emerging, namely the “endocannabinoid induced aerobic bliss state,” or simply the endocannabinoid runners’ high.

For users of medical marijuana, a new use for this miracle plant is at hand: its ability to produce “the psychology of exercise motivation.”
“Recent findings show that exercise increases serum concentrations of endocannabinoids, a result suggestive of a new possible explanation for a number of these changes. The cannabinoids produce psychological states that closely parallel several experiences described as being related to the runner’s high. Compared with the opioid analgesics, the analgesia produced by the endocannabinoid system is more consistent with exercise induced analgesia. Activation of the endocannabinoid system also produces sedation, anxiolysis, a sense of wellbeing, reduced attentional capacity, impaired working memory ability, and difficulty in time estimation. This behavioural profile is similar to the psychological experiences reported by long distance runners.” ~ From Endocannabinoids and Exercise / Br J Sports Med. 2004 October

Opposing Views

​SB 409 Moves To House Following Bipartisan 13-11 Vote
In a huge victory for patients and their families, the New Hampshire Senate voted Wednesday to approve New Hampshire’s medical marijuana bill, SB 409, in a 13-11 vote.
 
The bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Jim Forsythe (R-Strafford), thanked his colleagues for their open-mindedness and willingness to take a chance: “I know this was a difficult vote for several of my colleagues, and I applaud them for asking the tough questions that helped us make this a better bill,” Forsythe said.
 
“The intent here has never been to turn New Hampshire into California,” he added. “We’ve worked hard to make sure SB 409 will protect patients and their families without opening to door to abuse, and I’m very pleased that a majority of my colleagues ultimately chose to support this bill.”

Neuro-Blog

​By Bob Starrett
In a year where it would be hard to deny that medical marijuana is a big issue in many states, there is bound to be press coverage and there are bound to be legislators who are influenced by it — whatever it says.
This from the The Baltimore Sun on March 7, 2012: 
In Colorado, it is estimated that only 2 percent of registered medical marijuana users suffer from cancer or AIDS. Medicinal marijuana is often prescribed for psychiatric conditions such as insomnia, anxiety and mood disorders — and often by prescribers who have no specialized training in psychiatric disorders.
What’s wrong with this paragraph, other than that fact that Colorado does not accept insomnia, anxiety and mood disorders as listed conditions for medical marijuana? In fact, petitions to add severe anxiety and clinical depression have been denied by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Global Ganja Report

​Worth Repeating
By Ron Marczyk, R.N.
Health Education Teacher (Retired)

“We conclude that the legalization of medical marijuana leads to an improvement in the psychological well being of young adult males, an improvement that is reflected in fewer suicides.”
                                        
This story didn’t make it past the network news filters, was ignored by the mainstream media, and numerous mental health/suicide prevention organizations would not even comment about it!
Then, 17 days later:
Why would a “good news” marijuana story, like where suicides markedly declined, be ignored by the media?
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