-
New study: weed may promote the growth of brain cells:
"Cannabidiol (CBD), the main non-psychotomimetic component of the plant Cannabis sativa, exerts therapeutically promising effects on human mental health such as inhibition of psychosis, anxiety and depression. However, the mechanistic bases of CBD action are unclear."
Technical research here:
"Unclear" is promising. Meaning about time valid and non-bias/governmental research done by individuals not associated with big-pharma voodoo tactics.
More promising findings:
"Apart from the psychotropic compound Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), evidence suggests that other non-psychotropic phytocannabinoids are also of potential clinical use. This study aimed at elucidating the effect of major non-THC phytocannabinoids on the fate of adult neural stem progenitor cells (NSPCs), which are an essential component of brain function in health as well as in pathology.
That research here:
More promising news on how weed may aid in the prevention of Alzheimer's, stroke victims, people with severe head trauma and certain brain cancers.
Way to go weed.
Leave a comment:
-
And if you would stop smoking it and come up for some fresh air, you'd see how much of a dunce you are...Leave a comment:
-
This is nothing new. Take out the prohibition you take out the crime. As for:
"If defeating cartels is a priority, than the federal government should ease up marijuana by removing it from the Schedule I category of substances with no known medical purpose (a lie) and allow dispensaries in states where marijuana has been legalized to function normally, instead of taxing them to death."
That is an entirely different animal that has it roots deep in America's ridiculous "War On Drugs" and private-prison-for-profit systems. As long as weed remains a Schedule I, the insanity of locking up people for it and destroying their lives will continue.Leave a comment:
-
11 Months After Marijuana Legalization, Here's What's Happening to Mexican Cartels
By Tom McKay December 2, 2014
Legal weed in the United States is undercutting Mexican competition.
With either recreational or medical marijuana legal in more than half of U.S. states, drug cartels south of the border are beginning to find that growing, smuggling and distributing pot is a much less lucrative business.
What's happening: NPR's John Burnett reported from the ground in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, where drug-related crime is so intense that its coverage is now restricted. One farmer told him that business was not going so well:
If the price slumps to $20 a kilogram, Nabor speculates that the Mexican weed market will collapse. The culprit, Burnett says, is much better domestic weed proudly made in America:"Two or three years ago, a kilogram [2.2 pounds] of marijuana was worth $60 to $90," says Nabor, a 24-year-old pot grower ... "But now they're paying us $30 to $40 a kilo. It's a big difference. If the U.S. continues to legalize pot, they'll run us into the ground."
Burnett's findings dovetail an April Washington Post report, which found that drug cartels were instead trying to push cheap heroin after wholesale cannabis prices in Sinaloa crashed from $100 per kilogram five years ago to less than $25. "It's not worth it anymore," longtime marijuana farmer Rodrigo Silla told the Washington Post. "I wish the Americans would stop with this legalization."U.S.-grown marijuana - some of it cultivated in high-tech greenhouses - is three or four times more expensive than Mexican marijuana. [High TImes editor Dan Vinkovetsky] says prices for Mexican weed continue to slide because it's so much weaker. He says American cannabis typically has 10% to 20% THC, the ingredient that makes a person high, whereas the THC content of so-called Mexican brick weed is typically 5% to 8%.
The background: As Mic's Coleen Jose previously reported, Mexican drug cartels remain incredibly dangerous, killing on average 12,896 people per year from 2007 to 2013, making them far deadlier than terrorist group Islamic State.
But there's a very simple explanation for all this violence: The illegal drug trade generates more money on an annual basis than the GDP of many individual countries, and Mexican authorities are relatively weak and corrupt. (The recent massacre of 43 Mexican university students by drug cartels likely happened after police handed them off to the criminals for execution.) Drug prices are very difficult to estimate, since no one is actually keeping track of the market, but marijuana is a major revenue stream for drug cartels. This chart from Information Is Beautiful roughly estimates that a square kilometer of marijuana is worth approximately $47.6 million dollars.
Source: David McCandless
Crushing the weed market and cutting off one of its main sources of revenue is essential to destroying Latin American drug cartels. Cocaine is worth more money, but Mexican cartels may ultimately earn more from weed since they don't have to first buy cocaine in bulk from Colombian suppliers.
Why you should care: Legalization in the U.S. won't be a death blow for cartels, who will shift their efforts to pushing other substances or perhaps other ventures entirely (like human smuggling). Western Mexico's Knights Templar cartel, for example, may make most of its money from illegal mining, logging and extortion.
An astonishing 2012 New York Times profile of the El Chapo Guzman organization documented the cartel's amazing, corporate-style complexity, including staff accountants and armies of independent contractors. Drug cartels are complex, dynamic organizations that shift with the times. They're not going away anytime soon.
But marijuana legalization will severely undercut the value of one of their most profitable products. A 2012 study from the Mexican Competitiveness Institute found that U.S. state legalization would wipe out around 30% of the cartels' marijuana market. Another by the RAND Corporation in 2010 speculated that if American weed pushed out cartel-grown pot, the latter's profits from marijuana could plummet by 85%.
If defeating cartels is a priority, than the federal government should ease up marijuana by removing it from the Schedule I category of substances with no known medical purpose (a lie) and allow dispensaries in states where marijuana has been legalized to function normally, instead of taxing them to death. Or Congress could legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, which would deal a far more effective blow to cartels than piecemeal legalization on a state-by-state basis. Considering most Americans now support marijuana legalization, that day might not be far off. But for the nearly 13,000 people a year murdered by the drug trade in Mexico, it's still not soon enough.Leave a comment:
-
Weed is becoming like microbrews. I can't wait for the huckleberry infused buds to come out. I heard the state of Colorado and the DEA were busting growers in that state. Yeah. Legalize it but bust the suppliers. Oh the tangled webs we weave.Leave a comment:
-
Just in time for Halloween..... Pumpkin Spiced Buds???
Feds Seize 11 Tons of Pumpkin Spiced Marijuana in New York Warehouse
October 23, 2014
By Adam Braunschweiger
Tipped off by a disgruntled forklift operator, federal agents on Wednesday confiscated 11 tons of pumpkin spiced marijuana and $6 million in cash and coupons at a nondescript Manhattan warehouse. Three men and two women, all wearing cracked skull masks and skeleton costumes, were taken into custody without incident.
U.S. authorities said the marijuana was laced with traditional pumpkin spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, along with other natural and artificial flavors, in addition to unspecified sweeteners, thickeners and thinners. The drug haul, intended for distribution at Halloween parties throughout New York City, has a combined medical, emotional and spiritual value of roughly $23 billion, according to Psychology Today magazine.
Taking a page from the Starbucks and Dairy Queen playbooks, marijuana dealers this autumn have scrambled to satisfy customer demand for flavors both novel and traditional. For example, recently confiscated marijuana menus—or “weed lists”—have included flavors such as Fudge Pecan, Bubble Gum, Caramel Apple, Rhubarb-Strawberry, Oreo Oblivion, White Chocolate Mocha Blast, and Creamy-Dreamy Butterfinger Haze.
In late September, U.S. Customs agents in the Gulf of Mexico intercepted a group of smugglers carrying 900 pounds of Triple Fudge Marshmallow-Toffee Xtreme marijuana. Yet many other flavors got through, according to Ralph Wickersham, deputy director of drug interdiction in the Land of Dixie.
“Demand for these flavors of the month is infinite,” he said. “We could deploy the entire U.S. military in an effort to stop the Oreo Caramel Cheesecake Pot trade and still get nowhere. I think we’re coming around to the belief that it’s idiotic (and I mean really, really stupid) to spend all these resources trying to prevent people from getting high off weed, leaning way back in their sofas, and wiping whipped cream from their lips.”Leave a comment:
-
Hagar Fans Eat £4,000 worth of weed in the UK
Sheep munch through £4,000 of cannabis plants dumped in their field
The animals accidental feast on the class B drug at Surrey farm
Uhhhhh.... like baaaaaaaaaaa, maaaaaaaaan!
By Nicola Fifield11:33AM BST 18 Oct 2014
A flock of sheep were left feeling rather woolly-headed after accidentally munching on thousands of pounds worth of cannabis plants.
The animals began stumbling about after getting high on seven bags of the intoxicating plant, which had been dumped in their field.
Police won’t be taking action against the sheep for tucking into their illegal meal, but are determined to catch the “irresponsible” crooks who grew and discarded the class B drug.
The £4,000 hoard of cannabis plants, each about 3ft tall, was found by the flock at the edge of Fanny’s Farm in Merstham, Surrey.
Farm shop manager Nellie Budd said: "My sheep being inquisitive had an interesting feast on it. They weren't quite on their backs with legs in the air but they probably had the munchies.
"They haven't had any other side effects but I'll tell you about the meat next week.
"At first I thought it was someone's hedgerow rubbish. I went down to collect the bags so the sheep weren't eating black plastic.
"When I got there I realised it was a form of herbal cannabis plant. They were very strong in scent."
Investigating officer Detective Constable David Fair said: "It is extremely irresponsible for whoever dumped these illegal plants in this way.
"We are doing all we can to find out how the drugs came to be at the location and who is responsible for growing and discarding the plants."
However, bringing the criminals to justice will be a challenge because the sheep chomped their way through quite a lot of the evidence.Leave a comment:
-
That is entirely possible, since she used a different name on the air than she did as the owner of the cannabis club. Maybe somebody at the TV station was curious why she (as a reporter) couldn't land an interview with the owner, despite having no apparent problems getting access to the business otherwise?Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: