The Medical Cannabis Guidebook. Mel Thomas
strain] has been around now for 10 years, there has been no upswing in schizophrenia. In fact, where people have looked, they haven’t found any evidence linking cannabis use in a population and schizophrenia.”6
In 2012, a report authored by Leweke et al was published with regard to psychosis and schizophrenia and in stark contrast to the official government assertions that cannabis causes schizophrenia, the study found instead that cannabidiol (CBD) enhances anandamide signaling and actually alleviates the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and that CBD was as effective as amisulpride, a standard antipsychotic.7
When Dr. Lester Grinspoon was the Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston, he stated:
“If the brain produces its own cannabinoid-like substances, it doesn’t make much sense that it would produce a substance which is going to damage the brain.8 Indeed, long before it was discovered that there are endogenous cannabinoids, the empirical evidence did not demonstrate that cannabis damaged the brain.”
Pulp fiction.
Another spurious argument put forward by those wishing to keep cannabis illegal is the “gateway” theory. The prohibitionists like to imply that cannabis consumers will go on to become users of hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine. This discredited theory is unsupported by any medical evidence; in fact, researchers have reported that they have found that the gateway theory argument can be better applied to alcohol and tobacco, as these are actually the first drugs that most people experience.9 Cannabis has also been shown to be a useful medication in the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction, and in medical trials it has been shown to reduce the user’s cravings for cocaine. Research published in many peer-reviewed scientific journals indicates that the cannabis plant’s addictive potential is less than that of caffeine.10
This indica-dominant female has developed a purple hue during flowering.
The idea that cannabis is a gateway drug is so erroneous that modern scientific journals rarely bother to publish work on the issue. It is a scientifically established fact that the majority of people who try cannabis do not progress to experimentation with harder drugs and in most cases they do not even go on to use cannabis regularly.11
The third argument put forward to justify cannabis prohibition is even more ridiculous, but nonetheless steadfastly repeated by politicians and prohibitionists alike. When asked about the possibility of legalization, they will claim that cannabis strains are now much stronger than they were in the past, and therefore present a health risk. New strains may well have more cannabinoid content, although many would argue that Thai sticks and Afghani indica strains were just as potent 20 years ago. Irrespective of this, cannabis is medically proven to be safe, regardless of its cannabinoid content. If the cannabis of today is more potent, then the only side effect is that users will become more stoned and more easily remedied by consuming less.
The only recorded side effect of any note is known as “cannabis hyperemesis” and, although non–life threatening, it produces unpleasant and debilitating symptoms in a very small number of people.12 This rare and unusual syndrome is associated with chronic cannabis use and was recently reported in seven case reports of patients from Australia, with a further eight well-documented cases in the United States. It is estimated that there are approximately 750,000 people who regularly use cannabis in Australia and over 17,000,000 users in the U.S., so the occurrence is extremely uncommon.13, 14 Cannabis hyperemesis is characterized by otherwise unexplained recurrent nausea and vomiting, compulsive bathing, abdominal pain and excessive thirst. Ceasing cannabis use results in complete symptomatic recovery. Abstaining totally from cannabis for 30 days before restarting consumption is a remedy for most sufferers, though this condition could be very serious for cancer patients if it struck during a course of cannabis oil treatment.
This portable vaporizer is a great way to administer your medical cannabis.
Cannabis is one of the safest and most effective medications known today, with the potential to treat a wide variety of medical conditions. By the early 19th century, the benefits of medicinal cannabis use had become widely acknowledged in the West, having been brought to France by Napoleon’s army as they returned from Egypt, where cannabis was commonly used for its analgesic and sedative qualities.1 Medical cannabis became universally accepted after extensive research by the Irish physician William O’Shaughnessy, who published a paper in 1843 entitled On the Preparations of the Indian Hemp, or Gunjah, which is noted for having introduced cannabis sativa to European and American medicine.2 O’Shaughnessy experimented with alcoholic tinctures and found this to be an effective way of isolating the major psychoactive component found in cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
From 1890 to 1937, Parke, Davis & Company (now part of the Pfizer Group of Companies) marketed many formulations of medicinal cannabis, including tinctures that were available by the pint or fluid ounce and cannabis tablets that could be bought by the gram.3 It was also possible to purchase powdered extracts, and even pressed flowering tops (dried cannabis buds) for users to make their own preparations. All products and formulations were proudly advertised by the company as “originating from American home-grown cannabis.” Pfizer is now one of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies; in 2009 it made $50 billion profit in annual sales of prescription drugs, many of which replaced cannabis medications.4
Mel Thomas inhaling pure CBD vapor from a vaporizer bag.
Another major manufacturer of cannabis preparations and still a familiar name today is Eli Lilly & Co, who, from 1877 to 1935, manufactured and sold fluid, solid, and powdered extracts, all of which were stated to be manufactured from the flowering tops of the pistillate plants of cannabis sativa.5 Merck and Squibb are also both well-known pharmaceutical manufacturing companies that in the past have sold and marketed cannabis preparations.6 The two companies extensively advertised that they supplied dried flowering tops of the female cannabis plant. In addition, Merck was also a manufacturer and supplier of cannabis fluid extracts, tinctures, pills and cannabis oil made from infused tops.7
Alcohol-based tinctures are still used by pharmaceutical companies today; indeed, Sativex, a cannabinoid-based medicine, is basically a cannabis tincture spray. It has a cannabinoid profile of 51% THC and 49% CBD suspended in alcohol and is produced using organic cannabis, just like the tinctures made by Eli Lilly & Co over 150 years ago.8
A 2008 report by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission concluded that prescription medications easily exceed illegal drugs as a major cause of death.9