Search Results: abrams (12)

A new report published in the medical journal Neurology proves what thousands of multiple sclerosis patients already know: cannabis can help considerably alleviate some of the symptoms of MS. And actually, that’s exactly what Dr. Pushpa Narayanaswami, lead researcher on the report, says got him interested in the plant in the first place. The report is meant to be a guideline for physicians with patients seeking alternative treatments.

Alfie420_2006/Photobucket

By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent

I think it’s essential at Thanksgiving that we remember what’s important and yes, what we are thankful for, as we lay out our fat pants in anticipation for a day of complete stuffage. Before we begin the mental preparation needed for enduring the forced march that is Uncle Bill and the onslaught of his incredibly misguided and alcohol-scented opinions, before it gets crazy, this is what I’m thankful for. 
I’m thankful that every day, marijuana becomes more accepted.
I’m thankful for the people who celebrate 4/20 as a holiday. It is a flame for the rest of the world to smell.

The Daily Chronic

Audiotape of October 4 teleconference briefing with researchers, legal counsel and lawsuit plaintiff now available
For the first time in nearly 20 years, a United States Court of Appeals is set to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medicinal value: Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration.
This historic case will force a federal court to finally review the scientific evidence regarding the therapeutic efficacy of marijuana.

Los Angeles Cannabis Clubs

A historic, 12-year experiment in medical marijuana research which brought new science to the debate on the place of cannabis in medicine has found that the herb offers broad benefits for pain control from injuries, HIV, strokes and other conditions.

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research — established and funded to the tune of $8.7 million by the California Legislature to answer the question of whether marijuana has any therapeutic value — has now all but completed the most comprehensive studies into pot’s effectiveness ever conducted in the United States, reports Peter Hecht at the Sacramento Bee.

In the late 1970s, Robert “The Tuna” Platshorn was a marijuana smuggler and leader of South Florida’s notorious “Black Tuna” gang.
Now, after spending 30 years in prison, Platshorn, 70, is a book author (Black Tuna Diaries), subject of a documentary film (Square Grouper) — and an activist working to make medical marijuana legal in the Sunshine State.
The goal of The Silver Tour, according to Platshorn, is to educate and inform seniors on the benefits and exciting discoveries in the medical cannabis field, and to encourage activism for legalization and create demand for safe access to medical marijuana.

KATV

​Two workers who tested positive for marijuana after being injured in an explosion after they tried to use a blow torch to open a 55-gallon drum that had contained flammable liquid were rightly denied workers’ compensation, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday.

In a split decision, the court upheld a state Workers’ Compensation Commission ruling against Matthew Edmisten and Greg Prock in a case resulting from a November 2007 accident, reports John Lyon at the Arkansas News Bureau.
Three dissenting judges said there was no evidence that the accident occurred because of marijuana use.

Lance Draizin
Robert Platshorn, left, speaks on The Silver Tour while longtime federal medical marijuana patient Irvin Rosenfeld looks on

​We’ve pointed out before that one Florida man —  legendary former pitchman and marijuana smuggler Robert Platshorn — may hold the key to cannabis legalization in the United States. The reason we say that is that skilled pitchman Platshorn has proven he can sway senior audiences to support medical marijuana, and most of us are aware, seniors vote in heavier numbers than any other age group.

Platshorn, through the Silver Tour, brings the truth about marijuana to senior citizens in Florida and nationwide, and one of the biggest events yet on that tour will take place on January 29 in Boyton Beach, Fla.
The show, “Learn the Real Facts About Medical Marijuana,” will be free and all ages are welcome. It will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 29, at the Temple Shaarei Shalom in Boynton Beach.

UCSF
Hector Vizoso, RN, left, and Donald Abrams, MD, prepare a cannabis vaporizer for inpatient use at San Francisco General Hospital & Trauma Center’s Clinical Research Center.

​A medical study suggests patients with chronic pain could experience more relief if their doctors added cannabinoids — the main ingredients in cannabis or medical marijuana — to an opiates-only treatment. The findings, from a small-scale study at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), also suggest that a combined therapy could result in reduced opiate dosages.

More than 76 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. That’s more people than have diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined, according to the National Centers for Health Statistics.

Graphic: NORML Stash Blog
Fuck censorship.

​​In March, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a component agency of the National Institutes of Health, acknowledged the medicinal benefits of marijuana in its online treatment database. But the information only stayed up a few days, before it was scrubbed from the site.

Now, newly obtained documents reveal not only how NCI database contributors arrived at their March 17 summary of marijuana’s medical uses, but also the furious politicking that went into quickly scrubbing that summary of information regarding the potential tumor-fighting effects of cannabis, reports Kyle Daly at the Washington Independent.
Phil Mocek, a civil liberties activist with the Seattle-based Cannabis Defense Coalition, obtained the documents as a result of a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request he filed in March after reading coverage of the NCI’s action. Mocek has made some of the hundreds of pages of at-times heated email exchanges and summary alterations available on MuckRock, a website devoted to FOIA requests and government documents.

Photo: Geobent
The study’s results won’t come as a surprise to these Seattle medical marijuana activists, pictured here marching on May 2, 2009.

​Sure, you may think it’s pretty well-established that marijuana gives you the munchies. But it isn’t official until rigorous double-blind medical studies prove it, and now that’s happened as well.

A new Canadian study from the University of Alberta has found that small doses of an active ingredient in cannabis, THC, boost the appetites of terminal cancer patients, reports the Los Angeles Times.
There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence concerning pot and hunger, and researcher Prof. Wendy Wismer said she realizes that. But she defended her pilot study as being the first to be conducted under strict controls, and as such, the results are a valuable tool for researchers.
People with advanced cancer said food tasted better when they took THC compared with placebo sugar pills, the study showed, CBC News reports. Cancer patients commonly report decreased appetite and changes in their senses of taste and smell that can lead to weight loss and decreased survival. Thus marijuana-induced munchies can save lives by making food taste and smell better.
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