Think about the following facts:
1. The first species that crawled out of the muck and mire with cannabinoid receptors and production was hundreds of millions of years ago – probably.
2. Cannabis the plant appeared approximately 100,000 years ago – probably.
3. For certain, the plant came a very, very long time after the presence of cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors
4. Only humans can prepare the medication, or ACTIVATE it, although every species will be effected after activation

So, just to make the point, I feel that the cannabis plant and man have a special connection as man is only direct benefactor. In the natural green plant, THC, CBD and the other cannabinoids we love so much, are in their “acid” form. In other words, THC is actually THC-A in the plant and has no currently known effect on brains. It is not active, until the COOH or acid group is removed allowing the THC to now “fit” into our receptors.

Pretty interesting stuff.

We’re in a new era.

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government will now defer to state governments on medical marijuana — a 180-degree reversal of the Bush administration’s anti-democratic policies.

The impact was immediate. On the day of Holder’s announcement, New Mexico announced that it had issued the first license that any state government has ever issued to a medical marijuana producer in any state. That first nonprofit provider will be able to grow and sell medical marijuana to card-carrying patients without being harassed or raided by local, state, or federal law enforcement officials.

Additionally:

Rhode Island is poised to expand its existing medical marijuana law to allow for three nonprofits to dispense medical marijuana to registered patients.
This November, Maine voters will consider a ballot initiative similar to what Rhode Island envisions. MPP’s polling shows the initiative is supported by 66% of likely voters.
The Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota legislatures are debating bills to create new medical marijuana laws that allow for licensed dispensing from day one.
In Arizona, MPP’s campaign committee will be placing a similar proposal on the statewide ballot in November 2010. That initiative is supported by 65% of likely voters.
In California, medical marijuana is dispensed at approximately 400 collectives that are generating approximately $100 million annually in state tax revenues. They operate under a state law that allows their activity but doesn’t provide for state licensing. With federal policy improved and clarified, we expect the California Legislature to pass legislation similar to our Arizona proposal.
To fully appreciate the changes we’re seeing, compare the Obama administration’s policy to the Bush administration’s policy. In the fall of 2001, after executing the first of what would be dozens of medical marijuana dispensary raids over eight years, a spokesperson for Bush’s Justice Department said, “The recent enforcement is indicative that we have not lost our priorities in other areas since September 11. The attorney general and the administration have been very clear: we will be aggressive.”

As the World Trade Center was still literally smoldering and our country was about to launch two foreign wars, the Bush administration was crowing about how it was arresting medical marijuana patients. That policy was not only cruel, but stupid. Good riddance.

Now that the Obama administration has taken the Drug Enforcement Administration out of the business of busting pharmacy-like establishments, MPP will be lobbying the federal government to also do the following:

Congress should remove the federal ban on the District of Columbia enacting a local medical marijuana law. In November 1998, 69% of D.C. voters passed a medical marijuana ballot initiative, but every year since then Congress has attached a rider to its D.C. spending bill that prevents this law from taking effect. Even former Republican Congressman Bob Barr, the author of the federal ban, now supports lifting it — and has lobbied on MPP’s behalf to do exactly that.
The DEA should stop preventing the University of Massachusetts from growing medical marijuana for research purposes. A privately grown, regulated supply of marijuana is a prerequisite to getting marijuana approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a prescription medicine.
The Obama administration should reopen the existing federal program that currently provides medical marijuana to only three patients nationwide but that was closed to new enrollment in 1992. This could be a huge boon to patients in states without medical marijuana laws.
As you can see, it’s an exciting time, with some of the best possibilities for change that I’ve seen since I cofounded MPP 14 years ago. But we’re 100% dependent on supporters like you to help us fund our lobbying efforts … so would you please help us take advantage of this newly receptive political atmosphere by making the most generous donation you can afford today? I personally appreciate anything you can give to help our work.

Thank you,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

So, what is MRSA? It is an increasingly common and at times life threatening staph infection that is resistant to most if not all antibiotics. The most common presentation of MRSA infections are with dermatological infections.

For many, many patients this infection ruins their lives. For others it is an expensive and uncomfortable skin infection that just never goes away.

These guys, studied using various cannabinoids, including THC, CBD and CBN, for their anti-bacterial function. It turns out they have terrific staphylococcus killing power. The cannabinoids work in an unknown manner, but I am certain many more studies will be done.

Another Reference

I recently had a patient who started using a cannabis topical solution for her severe MRSA infection. She has had nearly complete remission.

Quick question:

How many of you have noticed a desire to “clean up stuff” after medicating with Sativa strains? I know there is noone out there who cleans up a lot after some monster kush.

This is also a peculiar “side effect” of moderate to high dose steroids. Interesting.

I anxiously await hearing what solutions Washington comes up with regarding our Health Care nightmare. I realize this is a bit of a different blog, but I did practice Internal Medicine in Santa Monica for 25 years. I also admitted hundreds of patients to the hospital. I have witnessed for many years the extreme waste within the medical system.

Two of my children are in Health Care. One is a third year resident in Anesthesia at UC San Francisco and one is completing her first year of medical school at USC. I was talking with them the other day about their feelings regarding waste in the system. After speaking with them, I decided to bring up a very, very delicate issue. My daughter has become fully aware of this problem in less than one year of her training. I have now seen this for 30 years.

The issue is all about “rationing” care. Rationing simply means giving more care to some and less care to others. Rationing is nothing new to anyone. Nearly everything in our lives is rationed in one way or another. With regard to healthcare, we have elected as a coutry to ration care based upon social and economic status. So, we have over 40 million un-insured and tens of millions more receiving less than standard care.

Medicine needs a bailout just like the rest of the country. It has been overspending resources and very poorly allocating valuable resources. We have to begin to choose as a country how we spread our resources. Medicine is like everything else. So, the question is, are we happy with what we have? If not, we have to begin changing how we  spend our assets of money, equipment, personel, hospitals, vaccines, bypass surgery, joint replacements, etc.

When there were inadequate number of kidneys for transplant, committees decided who got the kidneys. The same happened with bone marrow transplants. Now there are inadequate resources available in nearly every area. We must change our rationing position. I believe we need to look at end of life spending on truly hopeless cases. We spend 95% of the Medicare dollars in the last several years of life. Perhaps this should be looked at?

We all realize what I am referring to and it is so painful. On the other hand, do we really want to keep our ICU hospital beds full and neglect basic vaccines and preventive care for young and productive individuals? No other country in the world gives out unlimited care to everyone; we certainly don’t either.

Where should the resources go?

DOSAGE: take two tablets every six hours for joint pain.

SIDE EFFECTS: This drug may cause joint pain, nausea, head-ache, or shortness of breath. You may also experience muscle aches, rapid heartbeat, and ringing in the ears. If you feel faint, call your doctor. Do not consume alcohol while taking this pill; likewise, avoid red meat, shellfish, and vegetables. O.K. foods: flounder. Under no circumstances eat yak. Men can expect painful urination while sitting, especially if the penis is caught between the toilet seat and the bowl. Projectile vomiting is common in thirty per cent of users-sorry, fifty per cent. If you undergo disorienting nausea accompanied by migraine and raspy breathing, double the dosage. Leg cramps are to be expected; one knee-buckler per day is normal. Bowel movements may become frequent-in fact, every ten minutes. If bowel movements become greater than twelve per hour, consult your doctor, or any doctor, or just anyone who will speak to you. You may find yourself becoming lost or vague; this would be a good time to write a screenplay. Do not pilot a plane, unless you are among the ten per cent of users who experience “spontaneous test-pilot knowledge.” If your hair begins to smell like burning tires, move away from any buildings or populated areas, and apply tincture of iodine to the head until you no longer hear what could be taken for a “countdown.” May cause stigmata in Mexicans. If a fungus starts to grow between your eyebrows, call the Guinness Book of World Records. May induce a tendency to compulsively repeat the phrase “no can do.” This drug may cause visions of the Virgin Mary to appear in treetops. If this happens, open a souvenir shop. There may be an overwhelming impulse to shout out during a Catholic Mass, “I’m gonna w*p you wid da ugly stick!” You may feel a powerful sense of impending doom; this is because you are about to die. Men may experience impotence, but only during intercourse. Otherwise, a powerful erection will accompany your daily “walking-around time.” Do not take this product if you are uneasy with lockjaw. Do not be near a ringing telephone that works at 900 MHz or you will be very dead, very fast. We are assuming you have had chicken pox. You also may experience a growing dissatisfaction with life along with a deep sense of melancholy-join the club! Do not be concerned if you arouse a few ticks from a Geiger counter. You might want to get a one-month trial subscription to Extreme Fighting. The hook shape of the pill will often cause it to become caught in the larynx. To remove, jam a finger down your throat while a friend holds your nose to prevent the pill from lodging in a nasal passage. Then throw yourself stomach first on the back portion of a chair. The expulsion of air should eject the pill out of the mouth, unless it goes into a sinus cavity, or the brain. WARNING: This drug may shorten your intestines by twenty-one feet. Has been known to cause birth defects in the user retroactively. Passing in front of TV may cause the screen to moiré. Women often feel a loss of libido, including a whole octave lowering of the voice, an increase in ankle hair, and perhaps the lowering of a testicle. If this happens, women should write a detailed description of their last three sexual encounters and mail it to me, Bob, Trailer Six, Fancyland Trailer Park, Encino, CA. Or E-mail me at hot-guy.com. Discontinue use immediately if you feel that your teeth are receiving radio broadcasts. You may experience “lumpy back” syndrome, but we are actively seeking a cure. Bloated fingertips on the heart-side hand are common. When finished with the dosage, be sure to allow plenty of “quiet time” in order to retrain the eye to move off stationary objects. Flotation devices at sea will become pointless, as the user of this drug will develop a stone-like body density; therefore, if thrown overboard, contact your doctor. (This product may contain one or more of the following: bungee cord, plankton, rubber, crack cocaine, pork bladders, aromatic oils, gunpowder, corn husk, glue, bee pollen, dung, English muffin, poached eggs, ham, Hollandaise sauce, crushed saxophone reeds.) Sensations of levitation are illusory, as is the sensation of having a “phantom” third arm. Users may experience certain inversions of language. Acceptable: “Hi, are how you?” Unacceptable: “The rain in Sprain slays blainly on the phsssst.” Twenty minutes after taking the pills, you will feel an insatiable craving to take another dose. AVOID THIS WITH ALL YOUR POWER. It is advisable to have a friend handcuff you to a large kitchen appliance, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT WILL NOT FIT THROUGH THE DOORWAY TO WHERE THE PILLS ARE. You should also be out of reach of any weapon-like utensil with which you could threaten friends or family, who should also be briefed to not give you the pills, no matter how much you sweet-talk them.

Consider two facts:

1. The city of LA is broke

2. The city of LA is not always on the best terms with the Medical Cannabis Community regarding “standards”

So, how about if we setup a committee to consider the following:

Standards for the dispensing of Medical Cannabis are jointly (pun intended) determined in a non “partisan” manner. To help ensure this, a city cannabis tax might be introduced within the dispensary system. A portion of this money would be to create standards which might become national standards. The balance and the lion’s share would go directly to the city of LA.

Thoughts?