'REEFER MADNESS' SLOWING CANCER RESEARCH

Meanwhile, the DEA Declares Cannabis Has No Medical
Value.

Public health researchers say the federal government is slowing the
search for cures to breast, colon, prostate, and brain cancer, as well
as Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's, and HIV because the research
involves pot.

That's the takeaway from the 21st annual symposium of the
International Cannabinoid Research Society, held in St. Charles,
Illinois July 5-10. Researchers stacked the program with talks not
only about cannabis' palliative properties but also its curative
efficacy. The event, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, was held the same week the DEA reiterated its stance that
marijuana has no accepted medical use.

"It was really interesting. At the same time the DEA was publicly
declaring that cannabis has no medical value I was surrounded by the
most brilliant minds in the world talking about nothing but the
medical value of cannabinoids," said Amanda Reiman, who holds a Ph.D
from UC Berkeley's School of Social Welfare, where she is also a
lecturer, and who presented a poster at the symposium. "The
frustration on the part of the researchers was something you could
feel in the air."

Reiman researches medical cannabis dispensaries as community health
providers and the use of cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and
other drugs. It's a topic of key interest to both the International
Cannabinoid Research Society and the National Institute on Drug Abuse
because -- unlike almost every other drug -- the National Institute on
Drug Abuse can completely restrict researchers' access to cannabis,
citing the plant's danger to society.

That means safe, effective treatments that stem from pot are being
held up. Take the case of Sativex -- the marijuana-based mouth spray
made by GW Pharmaceuticals in Europe helps patients with multiple
sclerosis and is very safe, but sufferers won't see it in the United
States any time soon because it contains cannabinoids.

According to the abstracts of the International Cannabinoid Research
Society symposium, researchers have found that the molecules in pot
can reverse cancer growth: "Mechanisms of the anti-cancer effects of
cannabidiol and other non-psychotropic cannabinoids on human prostate
carcinoma" reads one abstract title; "Cannabidiol inhibits
glioblastoma dispersal and expression of stem cells markers in
patient-derived primary cultures" reads another. There are at least a
seven such papers this year.

The molecule in pot called cannabidiol, or CBD, has been shown to
reduce anxiety and halt the progression of HIV in monkeys, as well as
treat Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis, according to
International Cannabinoid Research Society abstracts. Cannabinoid
researchers are investigating using pot molecules to treat head and
neck squamous cell carcinomas.

These researchers aren't allowed to progress past animal studies, and
cannot get their hands on the plant, Reiman said. It's driving them
crazy.

Since the conference was sponsored by the drug warriors at the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, "There was a lot of pushback from
researchers in terms of restricting access to these cannabinoids,
especially CBD, which is not psychoactive," said Reiman. "There's
opportunities to cure diseases like cancer, but also
neuro-degenerative diseases and HIV."

However, "A lot of NIDA's mission is to discover the harms associated
with drugs of abuse [though not alcohol] and to prevent people from
using drugs and to help people who are using them to stop them.

"Nowhere in that mission is it to discover potentially therapeutic
benefits for illicit drugs, and that's why cannabis research falls
into the crack," she said.

It's unfortunate, because weed may birth the all-star "smart drugs" of
the 21st century. The molecules in weed stimulate a sort of
intra-cellular Internet called the "endocannabinoid system."
Discovered in the Nineties, the endocannabinoid system runs throughout
the bodies of mammals, with a large amount of receptors in the nervous
system in the head and gut.

Scientists think pot molecules like CBD can help facilitate cellular
communication, helping cells send signals like "turn off the
inflammation" and "my neighbor is a tumor, kill him!"

"Cannabis seeks out disregulation, like the growth of a tumor, and
addresses that problem without interrupting the rest of the body,"
Reiman said.

While federal officials achieve new levels of hypocrisy, perhaps one
million US medical marijuana patients have pushed past the politicians
into vigilante medicine, as it were. They're not coming back, no
matter what the federal government does.

"They can't put the whole plant medical cannabis genie back in the
bottle," Reiman said. "They just have to recognize that it's there."

Seeds and Stems

The West Coast's largest dispensary, Harborside Health Center, is the
subject of something called a "docu-soap" to be aired by the Discovery
Channel, Entertainment Weekly has reported. Nancy Daniels, executive
vice president at Discovery Channel, said: "Like Gold Rush or
Deadliest Catch, these are guys pursuing their own version of the
American Dream." ... The International Cannabis and Hemp Expo coming
to downtown Oakland Labor Day weekend will not permit on-site
distribution of medical cannabis, organizers want to clarify. VIP
package holders can pick up a box of goodies that includes cannabis
samples before the event, and attendees may medicate on-site with a
valid doctor's recommendation. But, just to be clear, there will be no
on-site distribution of medical cannabis.