Dr. Sanjay Gupta Explores Politics Of Pot In "Weed 2: Cannabis Madness: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports"

USA Today: Feds Worry That Drug Cartels Are Moving Into Colorado With 400% Increase In Drug Cartel Activity

President Obama’s Passive-Agressive Approach To Drug Policy Is Destroying America

By Alexandra D. Datig 

The National Drug Control Strategy of 2010, signed by the President of the United States, clearly states that the President of the Unite States, Barack Obama was firmly opposed to the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.  But look what a second term as President can bring.  Silence to get more votes in Colorado and Washington State?  Muzzling of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein who was once clearly publicly outspoken against the legalization of marijuana?  Statements like “we need to learn more about medical marijuana” while at the same time shutting down countless marijuana dispensaries all across the nation?  An Attorney General who can’t make up his mind on mandatory minimum sentencing for what he calls “non-violent” drug offenders?    A passive-agressive approach to drug policy perhaps? 

Recently, President of the United States Barack Obama made the following statement.  "If marijuana is fully legalized and at some point folks say, well, ‘We can come up with a negotiated dose of cocaine that we can show is not any more harmful than vodka,’ are we open to that?" Obama wondered. "If somebody says, ‘We've got a finely calibrated dose of meth, it isn't going to kill you or rot your teeth,’ are we O.K. with that?"  Maybe we should begin by asking the various nations the United States has signed drug treaties with?  Does the President even realize that the U.S. is now in violation of several international treaties due to drug decriminalization in various states?  The zero-tolerance approach to drugs in the U.S. has certainly taken its toll on the prohibition of drugs, especially marijuana.  When searching a little deeper, legalization of marijuana would also cost police department’s vast amounts of money because legalization would also change and void asset forfeiture laws.  But then again, we already know the President plans to make up the difference by taxing the rich and aiming for single-payer universal healthcare with Obamacare. 

Off in the distance, somewhere in Northern California, members of a Mexican drug cartel have set up shop on public land to grow marijuana.  Destroying the eco-systems by creating dams to divert water for their crops, they use toxic and dangerous pesticides in the form of “edible” pellets that kill birds and they shoot the deer that like the taste of marijuana leaves.   Even bears are attracted to the site from the scent of food in the grower camp and when they come near, are shot dead.  To pass the time, dead bears and deer become trophies and the growers like taking pictures next to their kill, posing as if he just won a giant stuffed animal at a family carnival.  

They have guns and knives and have no hesitation using them when they spot other drug gangs or cops  in the area.  Gunfire from black market growers has sparked many spot and even wildfires.  When a rival cartel is spotted, drug gangs have also been known to detonate small bombs to smoke each other out. 

Depending on light and growing conditions they stay at the site about 100 days.  That is usually the turn around period it takes for a crop to reach harvest and acceptable drying conditions.  When they are finished, they leave trash and toxic waste behind and the eco-system to fend for itself.  All they care about now is turning the marijuana into fast cash to anyone willing to pay the asking price on the street.  Legalization of marijuana has made things easier for Cartels that have also been caught working with marijuana doctors.  

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the City is fighting to shut down over one thousand marijuana dispensaries because people are abusing medical marijuana laws.  Instead of buying from the cartels and drug gangs, patrons seeking recreational marijuana in California, find him and herself claiming false illness to obtain a doctor’s recommendation to legally obtain marijuana under state but not federal law.   These recreational users would rather lie than buy marijuana from a drug gang and many believe by doing so they are engaging in a noble cause by choosing to buy pot from a regulated lawful source.  The question is, can we truly call these people criminals and lawbreakers knowing the alternative of how drug cartels operate to get drugs onto America’s streets?

Americans have chosen to use marijuana long before the question of drug legalization became a daily topic in the news.  Politically, legalization for recreational use has been before voters for more than 41 years.

According to the latest Gallup poll, 58% of Americans now believe marijuana should be legalized.  Evaluating the risks of introducing marijuana as a recreational drug into the legal market has proven roads would be more dangerous, on-the-job accidents more prevalent and has shown that teenage use dramatically increases.  Do these factors prevent us from stopping drug cartels and drug gangs who push marijuana on citizens that have no clue where the pot he or she is buying came from, or what is in it?

Let’s face it, there are those among us who have decided that at one time or another marijuana will become a recreational habit.  One we can take or leave alone.  I have yet to see a pro-drug group outspoken about drug addiction so that we can curb drug abuse.  That is simply not the intention of the drug lobby and apparently it is also not the intention of President Obama.  

Being sober more than 15 years I can say I have already had my fair share and in my case, it didn’t increase the quality of my life.  Therefore, I don’t use pot or anything else unless I am so ordered by my physician and even then I may not use what is prescribed.  Yet I also know that I am not like everyone else and that people have a right to choose what to put in his or her body.  People have a civil right to want their own experience with marijuana whether it benefits the quality of life or not and they are exercising that right whether we like it or not.  As it stands, the only thing can prevent these choices is the law, which condemns and outcasts drug users, taking away quality of life and liberty.  

It is pretty likely that within the next two years more than half the country will have states with medical marijuana laws.  In other words folks, the train has left the station and there is no point in chasing the train down the tracks trying to reverse the irreversible.  That means the national poll numbers are likely to increase, especially when looking at polling trends of favoritism toward the decriminalization of marijuana in the last ten years.  A tragedy?  Yes, because the movement, like President Obama, is aimless and wants not just to legalize drugs but also to liberalize them.   

Therefore, the question we should be asking is no longer if pot should be legal.  But rather, are we going about legalization in the right way?  Are drug policy advocates selling a reckless agenda and succeeding just to get their foot in their door?  Is America going to keep falling for the same arguments of back-door marijuana legalization by getting states to jump on the bandwagon with medical marijuana laws?   Or are we going to get smart about this issue and figure out a way to get control of it?

Starting at the top with the President of the United States, we are increasingly no longer a nation that wants to get tough on drugs or drug users.  If legalization methods and polling trends continue, it is quite possible that marijuana and even other drugs will be legal for recreational use within the next five to ten years.  Without clarity and leadership from the Commander in Chief, the chaos with conflicting drug laws in America’s communities is only going to continue.  We either find a way to create clear drug policy and create a safe and regulated market or we make the on-going free-fall liberalization of drugs worse.  

Medscape Medical News: FDA Approves Cannabis Extract Study in Pediatric Epilepsy

Sue Hughes - December 12, 2013

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for studies to begin on a medicinal form of marijuana for the treatment of intractable epilepsy in children.

The drug, cannabidiol (Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals) is the largest nonpsychoactive component of the cannabis plant.

The product has also been granted orphan drug status for the treatment of children with Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe syndrome of infantile-onset, genetic, drug-resistant epilepsy.

One of the investigators in the study, Orrin Devinksy, MD, New York University School of Medicine, New York, told Medscape Medical News that this is the first formal study of cannabidiol, although there have been anecdotal reports of "miraculous" benefits with similar products in severe epilepsy.

Many of these reports have been featured as part of media coverage profiling parents lobbying to get access to this treatment for their children.

Dr. Devinksy noted that GW Pharmaceuticals already has approval and is marketing a drug containing 50% cannabidiol and 50% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, a psychoactive ingredient of marijuana) under the brand name Sativex in the United Kingdom, several European countries, Canada, and New Zealand to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS).

It is also being developed to treat neuropathic pain in MS as well as cancer pain.

"The company is now also making pure cannabidiol, which is to be tested in our epilepsy study," he added.

Dramatic Effects in Anecdotal Reports

"We still don't know for sure that it works in epilepsy," he noted.

"There have been very promising results in animal studies. In addition, marijuana growers have developed strains high in cannabidiol and patients are reporting dramatic benefits with these in reducing epileptic seizures, but there is no controlled data to eliminate the placebo effect and bias, which could be enormous."

He explained that placebo response rates are generally higher in pediatric studies because parents appear to be more willing to see benefits in their children.

Dr. Devinksy reported that THC has been shown to be associated with psychiatric disorders and a permanent reduction in short-term memory in children.

"So if you are considering using products containing THC, the benefits would have to outweigh the risks. If a child was having 100 seizures a day, then its use might be justified, but it would not be warranted for milder epilepsy."

He added: "Cannabidiol does not have psychoactive properties and its safety profile seems quite good.

As cannabidiol makes up half the contents of Sativex, which is being taken by many tens of thousands of patients, and we anticipate that cannabidiol will have a better safety profile, we do not expect there to be major safety issues."

He noted that strains of marijuana with cannabidiol-to-THC ratios of 20:1 have been tolerated well and reported to improve cognitive function and behavioral function in children in anecdotal reports.

The initial FDA-approved study of cannabidiol will assess dose tolerability in an open-label design, with blood counts, liver function, and attentiveness all carefully monitored.

Although safety is the primary outcome, frequency of seizures will also be measured.

This first study will take place at 5 sites, with 25 patients at each site, all with epilepsy refractory to current treatment.

Most of the participants will be children with Dravet syndrome, but there will also be some children with other severe forms of epilepsy and some young adults.

"From this study we will select an optimal dose with which to go into a placebo-controlled efficacy trial," Dr. Devinksy commented.

He added: "We have been inundated with applicants. We will largely select from patients who have been in our practice for a long time, but we will also take some other very severe cases."

The study will start in January, with initial results available after 2 to 3 months.

Source:  www.medscape.com

The Obama Administration is Responsible for Teaching a Generation how to Lie so they would abuse Marijuana

By Alexandra D. Datig

After a lengthily wait of more than eight months, it was only a few days ago the White House finally announced that the Department of Justice would not seek legal interference with Colorado and Washington State’s recreational marijuana laws.  Of course not.  Interference with the will of voters would be dictatorial and unconstitutional, yet not interfering with prevention is barbaric and stupid! 

I do wonder, at what point the Obama Administration is going to fess up to the realty that they have been going along with teaching a generation of young people and adults how to lie about marijuana use by calling recreational use "medicine."  That is how we got legalized recreational use in Colorado and Washington State in the first place!  The Department of Justice and the White House refuses to see the hazards of caving in to the pressure of the drug lobby and their the red herring called medical marijuana.   But let’s face it, the damage has been done and it is irreversible. 

For the sake of social truth and mental health, can we please stop making liars out of recreational marijuana users who lie and claim a false illness in order to obtain a doctors recommendation so he or she can get high on pot?  I can’t take this ridiculous charade anymore!   Why do we have to be so duplicitous about this issue?  It's like the blind leading the blind!  What’s wrong with just telling it like it is? Win or lose.  The entire country is being manipulated into believing that it is perfectly fine to obtain marijuana by lying about an illness for at least 90% of users who do not have a serious illness!  Kids are watching and adults are downplaying the reality that lying about drug use is somehow okay. 

Legalizers may still be shown the door and will lose elections, but they would be better served if they just were honest about their intentions.  “Marijuana is better than alcohol” does not validate the dishonest so-called medical aspects of obtaining marijuana.  Making liars out of our young people in order to push a political agenda is cruel and oppressive.

There are several sides to the argument of marijuana.  Some have purpose, some do not.  One:  Yes, there should be medical marijuana for people who need it who are critically ill.  Two:  No, marijuana should not be sold out of dispensaries to sick people.  It should be made available through pharmaceutical methods that are laboratory tested and safe.  Three:  If people would rather go home and light up a doobie at the end of the day, instead of having a glass of wine or a beer then SAY IT AND STOP LYING!  What kind of an example is our government to our young people by condoning this outrageous lie?  When people get addicted to pot and have to go to treatment, the first thing they have to do is come clean with him or herself about lying to obtain a doctor’s recommendation to get medical marijuana?  And then they will realize the reason they thought it was okay to use marijuana was because their government caved in to legalization advocates and political donors like George Soros, running a pay-for-play game at the cost of our citizens health and prosperity.  Worst of all it was a scam built on a lie designed to fool a generation of young people.  If this is not an abject failure of leadership and transparency, then what is? 

The Hill: White House: Obama Not Ready to Back Legalized Marijuana

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that President Obama does not "at this point advocate a change" in how marijuana is classified, despite believing that targeting individual pot smokers was "not the best allocation for federal law enforcement resources."

"The priority in terms of the dedication of law enforcement resources should be targeted toward our drug kingpins, drug traffickers and others who perpetrate violence in the conduct of the drug trade," Earnest told reporters.  The statement comes as Colorado and Washington await word on how the Justice Department will respond to passage of laws in each state that legalize the sale of marijuana. The practice is banned under the federal Controlled Substances Act.  

It also follows a column earlier this month from CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, who apologized for dismissing the medicinal benefits of the drug. Gupta was widely reported as under consideration for nomination as surgeon general after President Obama's election in 2008, before ultimately removing his name from consideration.  “We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that,” Gupta wrote.

Earnest said he was not sure whether Obama would be willing to take administrative steps to make it easier to conduct medical tests of marijuana.  "I'm not exactly sure steps are required or what changes could be implemented into the law to have an impact on marijuana research," he said.  But the White House spokesman wryly acknowledged that the subject garnered lots of interest.  "For some reason I have the sneaking suspicion that this is going to draw me all kinds of traffic on Twitter," Earnest quipped.

Source:  www.thehill.com 

Medical Marijuana: Where the Discussion Collides

By Alexandra D. Datig

I have often said there is a place for medical marijuana if a pharmaceutical approach can be found that is safe and effective.  I have also  never been against aiding the dying or those who suffer from debilitating illnesses and are desperate to find relief for his or her pain.  For some reason, however, when I speak in support of that argument, I feel like I am baited into a different discussion. 

My friend Roger Morgan, founder of the Take Back AmericaCampaign, explained in a correspondence earlier today, that in the late 1970’s the term "medical marijuana" was coined by Keith Stroup, founder of NORML, as a red herring to give marijuana a good name as a first step towards full legalization.

Although the FDA’s scheduling process list marijuana as a schedule one drug, seen as having no medicinal value, this may not necessarily be the case.  Over the past decade, we have learned that there are in fact medical properties in marijuana that do show promise in children that use CBD, also called cannabidiol, for a variety of central nervous system disorders.   CBDs are the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, meaning they do not cause the user to get high.  

According to my friend Roger Morgan who is a world-renowned drug prevention expert, marijuana is comprised of 483 chemicals that turn into 2,000 when smoked, and 61 cannabinoids.  Of the 61 cannabinoids, only one isolated cannabinoid, appears to have medicinal value.  The problem is with the other 60, and their chemicals, which are known to cause brain damage, mental illness, birth defects, addiction and myriad of health problems.  

GW Pharmaceuticals created a medical grade marijuana known as Sativex based on the science of CBD research, which was approved by the United Kingdom version of the FDA and is available in England by prescription.  Sativex, which is an oil-based, mint flavored oral spray, has yet to pass the scrutiny test with the FDA because marijuana’s efficacy is unreliable thus far and does not meet the standards of the FDA.  On the flip side, while Sativex is going through the FDA’s clinical trails, marijuana profiteers and unethical marijuana doctors are making millions off of crude, toxin exposed, highly potent and untested as well as unregulated so-called medical marijuana because it is seen by many as a free for all to get high.  Ironically, none of these snake oil salesmen can tell an inexperienced user which strain or which THC potency is the right one to use.  The question is, what will this experiment of public fraud eventually cost in terms of long-term health consequences and harms?

I think we’re far away from being able to find common ground on what is reasonable and most of all what is safe when evaluating the arguments about marijuana.  We also know that marijuana advocates aren’t wasting any time and have engineered a deliberately misleading clash in their dialogue by promoting recreational use through the guise of medicine.  One example of this was Montell Williams who was recently on Piers Morgan.  If the medical marijuana establishment has done one thing in terms of educating the public about marijuana, it has sent the message that medical marijuana is the back door for marijuana abuse through contrived non-medical purposes.  As for the research on CBDs, I agree with my friend Roger Morgan who says hopefully research should never stop trying to perfect it for whatever therapeutic value it may have.

The Advocate: LSU Professor Finds Link between Anxiety, Marijuana Addiction

BY ELLYN COUVILLION

ecouvillion@theadvocate.com

August 12, 2013

More than 4.5 million people in the U.S. are addicted to marijuana, and LSU professor Julia Buckner says her research shows that if you have social anxiety, you are seven times more likely to join those ranks.

According to a 2010 survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Hospitals, the number of people addicted to marijuana is almost as large as the number of people who struggle with addiction to all other illicit substances combined. A subset of those pot smokers also struggle with anxiety disorders like social anxiety.

“People with anxiety disorders have much, much higher rates (of addiction) than you would expect,” said Buckner who is also director of the university’s Anxiety and Addictive Behaviors Clinic.

Through new research she launched this summer, Buckner hopes to develop treatment that both addresses marijuana addiction and helps people manage anxiety of all types.

“We’re not judging the fact that they use (but looking at) what about their (marijuana) use is causing them problems and how can we help them avoid that,” Buckner said.

She’s looking for participants for the study who are between the ages of 18 and 65, experience daily anxiety and want to quit smoking pot. All participation in the study is confidential and protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the study incorporates cognitive behavior to find new, better ways to deal with anxiety-causing situations.

The participants meet in small groups of four to five people several times a week for up to 12 weeks. The meetings are led by two graduate students under Buckner’s supervision.

“It’s been very positive so far,” Buckner said.

Among the things the groups look at are what are called “false safety aids” — activities people do to feel “safe,” but that actually maintain their anxiety.

“We look at marijuana use as a false safety aid,” said Buckner, whose colleague in the research is Michael Zvolensky, of the University of Houston, an expert on the relationship between anxiety and substance abuse.

The researchers are also consulting with Kathleen Carroll, a professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.

Addiction to marijuana can disrupt a person’s life in many ways.

“It interferes with people going to work,” said Buckner. “They don’t have the motivation to go to work or to go to class.”

The addiction can cause problems with partners, family members and friends.

People addicted to pot are “smoking instead of doing other activities they used to enjoy,” Buckner said.

Buckner and her colleagues are writing a treatment manual, with the goal of publishing it.

To learn more about the study at LSU, contact the LSU Anxiety and Addictive Behaviors Clinic at (225) 578-5778 or email aabc@lsu.edu.

Source:  www.theadvocate.com