Below is a video of Dr. Christina Sanchez, a molecular biologist at Compultense University in Madrid, Spain, clearly explaining how THC (the main psychoactive constitute of the cannabis plant) completely kills cancer cells.
Cannabinoids refer to any of group of related compounds that include cannabinol and the active constituents of cannabis. They activate cannabinoid receptors in the body. The body itself produces compounds called endocannabinoids and they play a role in many processes within the body that help to create a healthy environment. I think it’s also important to note that cannabis has been shown to treat cancer without any psychoactive effects.
Cannabinoids have been proven to reduce cancer cells as they have a great impact on the rebuilding of the immune system. Although not every strain of cannabis has the same effect, more and more patients are seeing success in cancer reduction in a short period of time by using cannabis. Contrary to popular belief, smoking cannabis does not assist a great deal in treating disease within the body as therapeutic levels cannot be reached through smoking. Creating oil from the plant or eating the plant is the best way to go about getting the necessary ingredients, the cannabinoids.
The world has come a long way with with regards to accepting this plant as a medicine rather than a harmful substance. It’s a plant that could benefit the planet in more ways than one. Cannabis is not something offered in the same regard as chemotherapy, but more people are becoming aware if it, which is why it’s so important to continue to spread information like this. Nobody can really deny the tremendous healing power of this plant.
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Everything you wish you knew about cloning – from G. of Vancouver Island Seed Company.
Cloning is easy enough for anyone to do successfully, guaranteed. The information is everywhere: as close as your local nursery, or at your fingertips on the Internet. The first person to introduce me to the art of making cuttings was my grandmother, though my mother really entrenched the knowledge. My great-grandparents were farmers who earned their living off the land, and to this day I still associate the taste of a fresh-picked strawberry with the few memories I have of Nan and Granddad and the farm. The knowledge they learned while growing up was passed down to the next generation, both by tale and by example. The task my grandmother so impressed me with was simple gardening know-how for her – the ability to take one plant and make many from it. She would cut branches off a plant with a sharp knife, stick it into a solution (hers was made by soaking pieces of willow tree branches in water, a home-made rooting hormone) and, within a week or so, the cuttings would grow roots and become plants themselves. Cannabis growers call this cloning, but regular gardeners call it “taking cuttings”. Hey – asexual reproduction by any other name is still as sweet!Whether you’re a small gardener, large-scale farmer, or marijuana breeder/seed producer, cloning is a great tool to use because of the results: savings, and increased production. Let me state clearly that I’m not saying “clones instead of seeds”, but clones as well as seeds. This is a step-by-step walk through the process.I recommend obtaining a world-class strain by purchasing from fine seed breeders like Vancouver Island Seed Company (VISC) check our sponsors . For this article, we used the original Burmese. Germinate and plant your seeds (hopefully all seeds will germinate) and, when the plants are mature enough (see Photos 1, 2, 3 & 4 Maturity Descriptions), take ten clones from each of the Burmese plants, making sure to mark which plant each clone came from (using letters or numbers to match clones to parents). When the 100 or so clones have visible roots, flip the light regime to flower the plants (12 hours on, 12 hours off). Within a week –at most two – the budding plants will have shown their respective sexes (see Photos 5, 6 & 7 Revealed Sexes). Kill all male clones as soon as they show themselves to eliminate the risk of your crop being pollinated, which means seeded bud. You should now have five large Burmese females in bud with around five more weeks of fattening up before harvest, and 50 guaranteed female clones that need transplanting. These new clones will veg under 18 or 24 hours of light. Just before these 50 are ready to be flipped to bud, you can also clone them, giving you unlimited supply of guaranteed Burmese female cannabis plants.
What You Need
• A fine mist Spray Bottle, which you can purchase at any gardening or hardware store.
• A new and clean Razor Blade. It’s a good idea to have more than one; I recommend purchasing them in bulk from the painting department of your local hardware store. Get the type with only one sharp side to protect your fingers.
• A Humidity Hood (one that includes closable vents is best) (See Photo 8).
• A Waterproof Tray and Tray Insert (you won’t need tray inserts if using Rockwool® as your medium) and these MUST match so buy them as a set (See Photo 9).
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Rooting Hormone, which you can make yourself, but I recommend purchasing a commercially available one such as Wilson’s Roots® or Olivia’s® from any gardening shop or most hardware stores; I use the Root’s Gel® for better coating.• Rooting Medium. I use Rockwool® (found at most hydroponic shops) for clones to be used in hydroponics systems, and I use Sunshine Mix #4® (can be located at most garden shops) for clones to be used in soil or soilless mediums. Many other mediums will work just as well. |
• A pH Tester and pH adjusters (Up and Down). You can purchase an expensive meter or you can use the inexpensive drop kits such as the one made by General Hydroponics. (See Photo 11 pH Tester Drop) You can find pH testers and adjusters at a variety of shops including hydroponic shops, garden centers, pet stores and pool supply shops.
• A two-light fluorescent fixture fitted with plant friendly tubes. This allows you to create a separate “grow chamber” in a closet, or on a shelf. This is not absolutely necessary – I will often just place the clones off to one side of my vegetative room, like many growers do – but it is reco mmended. I also suggest using a supplement such as SuperThrive (www.superthrive.com) to add to the rooting medium, especially if using Rockwool.
The situation for the small gardener is as good as it looks, and for the commercial grower it gets even better. Similar to the home grower, the recommendation is to purchase then germinate and plant some seeds; only this time, as soon as it is possible to make one or two clones from the growing plants, do so. Once again make sure to carefully mark the clones with the plant they came from. Keep all of the plants in the vegetative stage to increase in size as the clones develop roots. As soon as roots are visible, place them into a 12-hour-on/12-off light cycle to induce budding and determine the sex of the plant; again, kill all the males. You now have five large female plants. Let these be your mother plants, revert to the 18/6 or 24-hour vegetative cycle and continue cloning from them. All of the clones you make are guaranteed female and you can make hundreds from these mother plants.
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2. This seedling will soon be able to be cloned.As a breeder and seed producer, I live and breathe clones. I have made more clones than the number of days that I’ve lived! I guarantee the results of my breeding stock by making sure that I have an exact copy of both parents before flipping to bud. Every time that a particular seed stock is low I make more clones from the mothers and fathers, and we’re on the way to yet another exact breeding. This is extremely important when producing F1 crosses (first generation). For example, by cloning males and females of the strains Burmese and Fucking Incredible, I ensure that every time I breed 420 (Burmese crossed with Fucking Incredible), the result is guaranteed to be exactly the same. |
Remember, if I were to breed a 420 male with a 420 female, it would be an F2 cross (second generation) and the characteristics would vary. For guaranteed stable results, F1 cloning is the only answer, and is all that we at VISC do with our seeds. (If you are not a seed breeder like myself, you will not need to keep males around.)
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3. Cloneable seedlingsThey are many ways to clone and a variety of equipment that you can spend a few– or hundreds of – dollars on. My grandmother’s method didn’t cost a cent, unless you count the expense of the sharp knife or the jar; and on the other side of the spectrum, I have seen cloning setups that involve heat mats, temperature and humidity control, and even self-contained mini hydroponic units that cost the operator hundreds of dollars. I use a method that has a minimum cost factor and most of the equipment can be used over and over again, one I will explain to you in terms that are easy to follow and apply. |
So we have our list of equipment needed on page 34. Let’s get started. I assume that you have access to a healthy female marijuana plant and a supply of clean water, so we have everything we need to make clones. I assumed everyone who grows knows the pH levels of their nutrient solution is as important as the strength of their fertilizer; however, it turns out that many people haven’t learned important information. Make sure you have pH testers and adjusters in your garden!
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4. Very cloneableI reuse all my equipment except the inserts and the razor blades. Your equipment should all be clean and sterile. If not, use a mixture of one-part household bleach to four-parts tap water to spray equipment after washing it, then rinse with water. |
The first step is to prepare the mother for the process. It is important to ensure that the mother plant is healthy, in the vegetative stage of life, and that nitrogen levels are low. Ensure this by holding off fertilizing with anything at all for five or six days prior to the procedure and spraying her leaves with plain water the day before. By not fertilizing the plant you’re reducing the amount of nutrients stored in her leaves, and by spraying her with water, you’re leeching the immediately available nitrogen from her. If a clone has excess nitrogen stored in the leaves, it will use up its energy trying to continue to grow vegetation instead of developing roots. I will also spray the mother down moments before actually cutting clones from her.
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5. Sexed Female CloneOnce the mother has been prepared, we need to prepare the medium. Start by pH adjusting a bucket of water that has had SuperThrive® added to it (1 drop per liter or quart of H2O) to reach a pH of 6.5 to 6.6, a simple procedure which will only take moments – just follow the instructions on the side of the pH test indicator. Note: DO NOT add any nutrients to this water! |
If using #4 Mix®, keep adding the pH-adjusted water, mixing thoroughly until it is evenly wet and nearly saturated; you can squeeze water out of the soil at this stage. Next, fill the tray inserts with the wet #4 Mix® and pack down with medium pressure. Plants need to be able to grow through the soil, but the soil holds the clone upright until it develops roots so it needs to be packed tightly enough to hold the clone in place. Let the filled inserts stand for a few minutes to drain off extra water, then place the insert into the waterproof tray. Next, poke holes in the soil with a toothpick or similarly shaped object just a little wider that the stem of the clones to be cut – do not make the holes deep enough to touch the bottom of the tray, as we want the clone must be surrounded by soil.
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6. Sexed male clone.If using the Rockwool® method, adjust the pH to 6.3 and use enough water to submerge the Rockwool® in the waterproof tray. Lightly push and squeeze the Rockwool® to ensure that the liquid has flowed through all of the material and become completely saturated. Next, elevate one end of the tray and drain off the excess water. In most cases, Rockwool® comes with holes already made for you, but sometimes you will have to make your own as the holes are generic and may be too wide for the size of your clones. Some manufactures recommend soaking the Rockwool® overnight in water with a pH level as low as 5.5. My personal pH level choice of 6.5 works extremely well, so I’ve seen both methods be effective. |
7. Young male seedlings.Fill your spray bottle with the clean water adjusted to pH 6.6. You’ll need it constantly, starting now. Spray down your mother with this water, wash your hands one more time, break out a clean razor blade, open up your container of rooting hormone and you’re ready to go. It works best for the clones if they are made away from bright lights and wind; reduce as much environmental stress as possible to maximize your success rate. I expect around 95% success, but that wasn’t always the case. As a rule of thumb I recommend you make twice as many clones as needed the first few times. More is not always better, and it is possible to overcrowd a grow room with plants to the detriment of all. Keep what you need and dispose of the rest. |
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8. Clones under humidity hood.Select branches that have a couple of leaf nodes (See Photo 10 Branch Selection) and are 10 to 15cm (4 to 6 inches) tall. Using the razor blade, trim off the bottom leaf node or two, then lightly scrape one side of the stem 1cm below to 1cm above the leaf nodes and nick the opposite edge of the stem with the razor blade around five or six times. You’re ready to cut your clone. Make sure that the rooting hormone is within easy reach because once you’ve cut the clone it is imperative you get it into the rooting hormone immediately. If you leave the cut exposed to air, you risk developing an air embolism in the stem, which will cause your clone to die (similar to air injected into your bloodstream – not good)! |
9. Trays with Rockwool® and Mix4®Ready? With one hand, hold the branch above the “cut-line”, then cut the clone at a 45° angle just below the leaf node where you’ve already removed the leaves (See Photos 11, 12 & 13 Creating the Clone). IMMEDIATELY place the cut end into the rooting hormone and slightly stir it around making sure that the cut, scrape and nicks are all covered with hormone. (See Photo 14 Rooting Hormone) Let sit in the rooting hormone for around 20 seconds, and then gently grasp the clone and place into the rooting medium holes you created earlier. (See Photos 15 & 16 Placing the Clone) If you are using the #4 Mix®, gently pack the medium around the stem of the clone so it stands freely. Once you’ve made six or so clones, use your spray bottle to mist the clones–drying out will kill them at this stage. Continue to prepare, cut and place clones until all the holes in your medium are filled, spraying them with the bottle around every sixth clone placed. Then spray them one last time before you place the humidity hood over the tray. Make sure the hood fits properly as the humidity must be kept above 70% or the clones will suffer. |
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10. A suitable branch.You now have a tray full of clones, which need to be in darkness for 12 hours to allow them to adjust from the shock. Then, place the tray of clones under the fluorescent lights (on for 24 hours a day), or into a corner of your vegetative grow room (18 hours on/6 off, of course) – at least four feet away from the light and away from fans. Remove the hood every 12 hours and mist with your spray bottle; at the same time lightly breathe onto the clones to supply them with a fresh batch of CO2, then replace the hood securely. Clones root best between 20 and 30° Celsius (70° to 85° F), and quickest if the air is slightly cooler than their root medium. Avoid intense light or airflow at this time; this is where a temperature regulated heating pad can be used, which is helpful but not necessary. Being too hot will kill clones just as easily as being too cold, and direct wind will cause the humidity levels to drop too quickly. Make sure the trays are in an area where the temperature is relatively constant and away from wind. |
11. Cut off the leaves.Within a week to ten days your clones will develop roots and will soon be ready to transplant. It should not surprise you to see the clones’ leaves go light green or even yellow as they use up the nutrients stored within the leaves. If any leaves die or develop fungus, carefully trim them off during one of your spraying sessions. It is best to leave your clones alone (except for spraying or necessary trimming), especially for the first week – just like newborn kittens or puppies. You do not need to check for roots at this stage; it will be obvious to you if the clones are thriving or dying. Those that aren’t going to make it will wilt and wither, so pull them out – they could grow fungus, which may |
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12. Scrape and nick the stem.spread to your healthy clones. Continue to spray the clones twice a day until you see growth, or peek under the rooting medium to check for roots after ten days or so. You may also note top roots that have formed above the medium if the humidity levels have been ideal (See Photo 17 Top Roots).Once a clone has roots protruding out the bottom they are ready to be transplanted (See Photos 18 & 19 Bottom Roots). It is often the case when cloning different strains that some will develop roots more quickly than others. When this happens, I use the adjustable vents on the top of the humidity hoods to bring a small amount of fresh air into the hoods, which allows the rooted clones to grow healthy yet keeps in enough humidity for the clones still trying to develop roots. Once rooted, clones are “officially” plants and can feed through their roots. Start using your favorite vegetative fertilizer at 1/4-strength, then slowly increase the strength until you transplant – which should |
13. Cut the clone.happen soon! Once transplanted, your clone can be budded immediately or allowed to grow to the desired size for your situation. The quickest I have ever been able to transplant has been four days, and the longest time has been three weeks. However, the average time that I transplant is around two weeks after I cut the clones. (See Photos 20, 21 & 22 Transplanting)As I have stated before, cloning is easy. Give it a try and see! This is a technique that has been used for hundreds of years, and the next generations of growers will find the information invaluable– |
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14. Place into rooting hormone. |
15. Place clone in Mix4®. |
16. Place clone in Rockwool®. |
17. Top roots. |
18. Bottom roots in Mix4® |
19. Bottom roots in Rockwool® |
20. Transplanting Clone. |
21. Clone in beer cup. |
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1. Too many plants. We forget that marijuana grows tall but also wide. If you do not know how many check this:
read more
2. Let the plant grow too much. Indoor we decide when to change the photoperiod, from vegetating to flowering state and we forget to consider that marijuana just before flowering gives a stretch in which according to the variety may double in size. Indoor let the plant in vegetative state till less than 1 meter tall.
3. No pH control. In large pot is necessary but in small pots as those we use indoor it is imperative to get the most out of the plant. read more
4. To not use extractor fan or Intractor. Marijuana needs movement and continuous renewal of fresh air to feed, grow well without pests and especially to produce big buds.
5.To never observe the plant with natural light. The grow lights sometimes deceive us and make the plants look better than what they are. The different shades of green on the leafs make us understand if the plant needs more or less nutrients and if it has pests.
6. Excess fertilizer. Some growers begin to fertilize too early or up to harvest time and other use 2 or 3 products together that serve for the same purpose. It is much harder to correct an ” over-fertilization ” than a lack of it.
7. Setting the light to far away from the plant. Lift the focus of the light gradually as the plant grows. Keep it at 45cm from the top depending on the type of light you are using. Otherwise the plant will start to stretch too fast and the light will not reach the lower branches. read more about light
8. No light pollution monitoring. Sometimes the room is not light proof, lights comes in from outside and goes out from the inside in you must avoid it.
9. Not renew the bulbs. If the light bulb is old it will not produce the same luminosity. It is good to change the bulb at least one time a year.
10. To tell people. You can and will be extremely proud of your accomplishments as you successfully harvest your homegrown marijuana. KEEP YOUR SECRET.
Enhance your crop to work on it easily. Keep the indoor clean. Time the light to suit your schedule and attend your plants. Invest in quality tools and equipment and set an irrigation system, it is worth it.
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Does Marijuana help fibromyalgia?
A 2010 study from McGill University in Montreal found that marijuana can help chronic pain patients who are not getting sufficient pain relief from traditional pain treatment methods. According to the study, the drug was used to help sufferers of painful conditions fall asleep more easily and sleep more soundly, both highly beneficial for those suffering from fibromyalgia. Subjects found the drug to actually be more effective than amitriptyline, a popular sleep medication, with fewer side effects.
Next came a 2011 study published in PLoS One, the peer-reviewed journal put out by the Public Library of Science. The study found that patients had a significant reduction of pain and stiffness, enhanced relaxation and increased quality of life and feelings of well-being.
There is, however, no proof that marijuana had an effect on fibromyalgia itself. Those who use the drug use it for symptom management – to help with sleep or decrease pain levels, but not to actually reduce the progression of the condition or change its course.
Marijuana as medicine
Marijuana that is used for medicine is divided into two general families. They are referred to as indicas and sativas.There are hybrids that are described as a percentage indica and a precentage sativa.
Indica strains tend to be sleepier and are better for nighttime, however, indicas are also more effective for deep pain. Medicine produced from cannabis indica plants have higher CBD and lower THC counts therefore a pure indica strain will produce a heavier, sleepy type of high.
The best is to change your strains up often. If you find you are becoming tolerant to one strain and you have another lying around, try mixing them, sometimes it can overcome the tolerance to an individual strain. You can make tea or butter and then cookies, bread, brownies, etc.
THE TOP 4 MARIJUANA STRAINS FOR TREATING FIBROMYALGIA
BLACK JACK: This is an excellent sativa dominate strain. great for depression and nausea.THC 16.64% CBC .07% CBD .24% CBG 1.69% CBN .19% read more
GRAPE APE: Grape like smell and taste with a hint of skunk. Works for stress relief, nervousness, and chronic pain. THC 16.64% CBC .07% CBD .24% CBG 1.69% CBN .19% read more
AK47 x BLUEBERRY AUTO : This hybrid has the sativa punch of AK with the pain relieving qualities of Blueberry THC 15.69% CBC .02% CBD .36% CBG 0% CBN .54% read more
BLUE DREAM: This hybrid is great for relaxing and daytime pain relief. Light smooth blueberry and spice taste. THC 18.46% CBC .04% CBD .31% CBG 0% CBN .28% read more
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It’s almost too taboo to discuss: pregnant women smoking marijuana. It’s a dirty little secret for women, particularly during the harrowing first trimester, who turn to cannabis for relief from nausea and stress.
Pregnant women in Jamaica use marijuana regularly to relieve nausea, as well as to relieve stress and depression, often in the form of a tea or tonic.
In the late 1960s, grad student Melanie Dreher was chosen by her professors to perform an ethnographic study on marijuana use in Jamaica to observe and document its usage and its consequences among pregnant women.
Dreher studied 24 Jamaican infants exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 infants that were not exposed. Her work evolved into the book Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science and Sociology, part of which included her field studies.
Most North American studies have shown marijuana use can cause birth defects and developmental problems. Those studies did not isolate marijuana use, however, lumping cannabis with more destructive substances ranging from alcohol and tobacco to meth and heroin.
In Jamaica, Dreher found a culture that policed its own ganja intake and considers its use spiritual. For the herb’s impact when used during pregnancy, she handed over reports utilizing the Brazelton Scale, the highly recognized neonatal behavioral assessment that evaluates behavior.
The profile identifies the baby’s strengths, adaptive responses and possible vulnerabilities. The researchers continued to evaluate the children from the study up to 5 years old. The results showed no negative impact on the children, on the contrary they seemed to excel.
Plenty of people did not like that answer, particularly her funders, the National Institute on Drug Abuse. They did not continue to flip the bill for the study and did not readily release its results.
“March of Dimes was supportive,” Dreher says. “But it was clear that NIDA was not interested in continuing to fund a study that didn’t produce negative results. I was told not to resubmit. We missed an opportunity to follow the study through adolescence and through adulthood.”
Now dean of nursing at Rush University with degrees in nursing, anthropology and philosophy, plus a Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University, Dreher did not have experience with marijuana before she shipped off for Jamaica.
The now-marijuana advocate says that Raphael Mechoulam, the first person to isolate THC, should win a Pulitzer. Still, she understands that medical professionals shy from doing anything that might damage any support of their professionalism, despite marijuana’s proven medicinal effects, particularly for pregnant women.
Dr. Melanie Dreher’s study isn’t the first time Jamaican ganja smoking was subjected to a scientific study. One of the most exhausting studies is Ganja in Jamaica—A Medical Anthropological Study of Chronic Marijuana Use by Vera Rubin and Lambros Comitas, published in 1975. Unfortunately for the National Institute of Mental Health’s Center for Studies of Narcotic and Drug Abuse, the medical anthropological study concluded:
Despite its illegality, ganja use is pervasive, and duration and frequency are very high; it is smoked over a longer period in heavier quantities with greater THC potency than in the U.S. without deleterious social or psychological consequences [our emphasis]
Source:http://karmajello.com/universe/science/cannabis-effects-pregnant-women-study.html#_
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The spanish councillor, Beatriz Rodriguez says she has the support of the mayor and hers colleagues the in City Government, while the Socialist Party calls forcefulness.
Beatriz Rodríguez, the PP councillor in the town of Campazas, Leon (Spain), who was arrested with a kilo of marijuana, refuses to resign. The PSOE criticize to the provincial leadership their lack of forcefulness in this case and demand the resignation of the mayor.
The Mayor “was in tears …”
Beatriz Rodriguez said she feels supported by his colleagues in government of Campazas and she does not consider to present a resignation. Speaking to Radio León (SER), the Councillor assured that the Mayor PP) Manuel Ramos Fernández, ” was in tears when he found out what was happening to me.”
Arrested with her boyfriend in control of the Civil Guard
The councillor was arrested by the Civil Guard for an alleged crime of drug trafficking and against public health on 18 November 2013, after being stopped with her boyfriend in a routine car travelling check, Jose Antonio Gallego Blanco, also PP councillor in the City of Gusendos the Oteros. The two councillors had marijuana, valued at about 3,000€, divided into several plastic bags and cartons, also in the boot of the car were useful tools for handling and weighing the drug were found.
Vice-President woman of the Association of Municipalities in León.
León Popular Party has opened a disciplinary proceedings against the two councillors. Beatriz Rodríguez Castañeda is also the vice president of the Federation of Municipalities of Southern Leon.
The president of the federation, Jose Jimenez, from the PP party, said “the first thing is to listen to the explanations of the councilllor” and maintains that since the provincial party leadership no one has contacted them to inform them of the situation of Beatriz Rodriguez.
Councillor believes that her case is “oversized”
Meanwhile, the Councilwoman defends remembering that she has not been yet condemned by the justice and “the matter has been oversized it.” As she confirmed, no one has called her from the provincial leadership and she knew from the press that “they sought to open me up a file”.
source: http://www.elplural.com/2013/11/25/la-concejala-del-pp-detenida-con-un-kilo-de-marihuana-no-dimitira/
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I would like to share with you
a few words about my last Cannabis
growing experience:
Since long ago i had this seeds that i wanted to test feminized seeds. ACE Seeds Zamadelica.
As a Cannabis Seeds Retailer i need to know the products i am selling.
and i need to do a lot of testing .
so i started to germinate them with great expectations..
i see the little root, ready to be potted .
few days later i see they start to brake open out of the soil straight up to the sky.
i love nature so much and they were so cute that i had to touch one .
and this what happened !
i tell you the true ,i was so angry with myself that i wanted to slap me in the face !
what to do now? i thought :”just trow it away she is dead “.
i had second thoughts about it and what i did is putting what was left of my plant
under the light, closer than normal, I overwater it.
3 days later …..
I did realize then that cannabis plants are
very strong survivers and reached to the conclusion
“Never trow away a cannabis plant” .
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Legalizing marijuana would more than double the potential market for the drug, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Results show that 26% of Americans say they would buy marijuana at least on rare occasions if it was legal in their state, compared to 9 percent who said they buy it at least on rare occasions now. The percentage who said they would buy marijuana often, jumped from 1 percent who do so now to 4 percent who would buy if it was legal.
When asked about their buying frequency, 18% of respondents said they would buy marijuana more often than they do now if it was legal. That includes 16 % who said they never buy marijuana now but would, at least on rare occasions, if it was legal to do so.
Respondents under age 30 were most likely to say both that they would buy marijuana if it was legal (35%) and that they do so now (16%). But even among those 65 and older — almost none of whom said they ever buy marijuana now — 9% said they would buy it at least occasionally if it was legal.
Marijuana would be unlikely to squeeze other legal drugs of choice out of the market for Americans, though. To start with, there are more potential buyers for both alcohol and tobacco products, than for marijuana products. Overall, 81 percent of respondents said they have used alcohol in the past and 61% have used cigarettes, but only 41% have tried marijuana. Another 11 percent said they would consider trying it if it was legal.
Among those who have tried alcohol in the past and would at least consider trying marijuana, 43% said that they would still buy alcohol more often and only 23% said they would buy marijuana more often if it was legal.
Those who had tried cigarettes and would at least consider trying marijuana were somewhat more likely to say that they would buy marijuana rather than cigarettes if both were legal, by a 37% to 31% margin. Eighteen percent of all respondents have used tobacco products but would never consider trying marijuana, while only 9% would at least consider trying marijuana even though they have never used tobacco products.
Respondents to the poll were divided in how they predicted legalizing marijuana would affect its cost. Twenty-nine percent said they thought the price would increase if it was legal, 25% said they thought it would decrease, and 15% said they would expect the price to remain about the same.
The HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted Oct. 19-20 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance.
read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/pot-poll_n_4179029.html
The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling.
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Chronic pain is among the conditions that can be effectively treated with medical marijuana. This is particularly good news for sufferers since both patients and doctors become frustrated with the usual chronic pain treatment, which is often either opioids or a combination of medications, many of which are prescribed to treat the side effects of another.
Doctors are fearful of creating dependency since many pain management medications are highly addictive. This fear often makes patients who have legitimate pain feel that they are perceived as drug seekers and junkies. Medical marijuana, a non-addictive but effective alternative, could be the solution that both patients and doctors are seeking.
What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is not like acute pain. Acute pain is the body’s way of telling someone to seek immediate treatment for an injury. Instead, chronic pain is a nagging — sometimes excruciatingly nagging — pain that lasts for months and even years with varying degrees of severity. Often, chronic pain is associated with a previous injury, but it can also be headache pain, arthritis, cancer, and even pain without a readily identifiable source.
Chronic pain frequently causes psychological pain, exacerbating the problem. The anxiety and depression associated with chronic pain reduces the body’s innate production of painkillers. At the same time, the psychological fallout from chronic pain causes the body to produce substances that increase its ability to feel pain. Fortunately, according to the Montreal Gazette, cannabis has been used to treat both pain and its accompanying psychological baggage of anxiety and depression since about 3,000 BC.
What is Medical Marijuana?
Medical marijuana refers to the medical use of the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), found in Cannabis sativa, to address medical issues. For example, glaucoma patients use medical marijuana to reduce the pressure in their eyes.
Medical marijuana can be smoked, cooked into recipes, vaporized or applied to the skin. However, only 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of medical marijuana. Furthermore, even in places where local laws allow the use of the drug, federal law prohibits it. While the current federal policy is not to prosecute medical marijuana users, a policy is not a law. This policy could change with the climate of public opinion.
How Does Medical Marijuana Alleviate Chronic Pain?
THC has long been considered an analgesic, and a recent clinical trial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal confirms this designation. Even in the United States, the American Medical Association (AMA) initially objected to the 1937 legislation that made cannabis illegal.
Several studies confirm that THC relieves pain. However, exactly how this is accomplished is still being researched. A recent Oxford University study observed participants by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an acute pain inducer, and THC tablets. The resultant MRI scans indicated that THC alleviates pain by impacting the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a part of the brain that governs the emotions associated with pain.
Other studies have concluded that medical marijuana is particularly effective on chronic neuropathic pain. Effectiveness on this type of pain is particularly important because neuropathic pain often does not respond well to opioids. In addition, continued use of opioids to control pain is obviously less than ideal. Most illuminating for chronic pain patients, a University of California San Francisco (UCSF) study concluded that using medical marijuana in combination with the typical opioid treatment reduced the amount of opioids necessary to control pain.
Medical marijuana appears to address pain because peripheral nerves are particularly sensitive to the cannabinoid THC. In fact, medical marijuana’s pain relieving properties are on par with codeine’s. This may be because the body’s own cannabinoid system complements the pain relief brought by THC.
Although large-scale studies have not been conducted due to marijuana’s legal standing, preliminary small-scale studies and studies on laboratory animals seem to confirm the accepted medical uses of Cannabis sativa from 3,000 BC until 1937. Marijuana may, in fact, be the natural solution to chronic pain treatment.
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Marijuana butter is the backbone of many edible marijuana endeavors. Learn how to make marijuana butter, and you will be very popular. There are SEVERAL ways to make marijuana butter, and this article is by no means the ONLY way to do it. However, this is the marijuana butter recipe that I have refined over the years, and anyone who knows me knows how strong Johnny Green’s marijuana butter is. If TWB readers have a solid marijuana butter method, feel free to post it in the comments so that others can try it out!
I personally make my marijuana butter out of clippings/trim from my friend’s harvests. You can use crushed up marijuana nugs or shake, but I have found this marijuana butter recipe to be as strong as anything out there, so I don’t see the point in using marijuana that I can smoke when I can use marijuana leaves that other people were going to throw away. I use the leaves, not the stems. Stems have far less cannabinoid oil than the water and sugar leaves. Of course, if you want to throw stems in, there’s no reason not to – it’s up to you.
I don’t know how to cook or bake, but I am definitely a science nerd. I once consulted my community college chemistry professor about this marijuana butter recipe, and he pointed out that it’s essentially a chemical reaction. He instructed that we are bonding the oil from the butter with the oil from the marijuana. The more oil you can bond, the stronger the final product. Some things to keep in mind when performing a chemical reaction are surface area, duration, intensity, and the use of a catalyst (in this case heat).
I start the process by preparing the clippings/trim. I get all the debri and stems out of the mixture to where all that is left is the sugar and water leaves. Throughout the years, I have found that running the clip/trim through a food processor is the best way to ‘mulch up’ the clip/trim. This is where surface area comes into play.
If you boil a full marijuana leaf, only the outside of the leaf is being reacted upon. But if you turn that same leaf into something as fine as sand, there is more surface area on each little piece of marijuana flake, which unlocks more oil from it. I have used a blender and other means to try to mulch up the marijuana leaves, but a food processor allows you to push the leaves through the blade more efficiently. I can mulch up a huge bag of marijuana trim in no time flat, whether the leaves are dry or fresh.
The next thing to do is fill your pots with the mulch. Whatever size pot you use, fill it about a third of the way with the mulch. That’s what I like about this recipe – it allows you to make marijuana butter out of whatever you can get your hands on. If it’s a small batch of trim, use a small pot. If it’s a good harvest and there’s lots of trim, use multiple pots. Either way, whatever you are using, fill it one third of the way with mulch. From there add sticks of butter and water at a 1/4 ratio, meaning for every stick of butter (4 oz) you add in, put in 16 oz of water. Do this until the entire mixture is filling 2/3 of the container. You don’t want to fill it up all the way, because when it starts boiling it will boil over, and the situation gets serious, trust me!
Now that you have a big pot of floating marijuana flakes and sticks of butter, it’s time to introduce the heat. I like to turn the burner up all the way, and monitor things, stirring as needed. This allows the mixture to get as hot as possible, which is one of the things I talked about with my college professor. Some people will say you need to bring your mixture to a low boil, such as in a crock pot, and let it go for a long, long time (an entire day in some cases). I boil mine as hot as I can get it, then lowering the burner down to about half to 3/4 after things get going. I boil it until about half of the water evaporates from the violent boiling (about 1-1.5 hours). I then add more water until the water level is back to where it was when I started. I will repeat that once or twice. I will put my quicker method up against other people’s slow boil method any day of the week – time tested, veteran approved.
After about three to four hours, there will be a lot of oil floating on top of the mixture. That’s when you know you’re done (if time allows). From there I strain the mixture through a flat strainer that is placed on top of the container that will ultimately go into the fridge. After the water has passed through the strainer, there is a pile of mulch on the strainer. In the past, I would press the mulch up against the strainer to get the rest of the liquid out. I thought I got most, if not all of the valuable oily liquid from the mulch.
However, one day curiosity got the best of me and I decided to put on some gloves and squeeze the mulch that was left, by hand, to see how much was oily liquid was left after the initial spatula press. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s A LOT more oil left in the mulch, and angry looking oil at that. I can squeeze down a ball of drained mulch from the size of a grapefruit to the size of a plum. All of that is liquidy goodness, and some of the most potent stuff on the planet.
After all the liquid is drained into the container, you will instantly see the oil (on top) separate from the water (on the bottom). Place the container in the fridge overnight. When you wake up the next morning, the oil will have become a solid chunk of marijuana butter. Be careful when taking it out of the container. I’ve had the nasty underwater spill all over my kitchen before, which was not fun to clean up!
Store the marijuana butter in the fridge, but monitor it for mold every couple of days. It should last a couple weeks at least if it’s stored properly in the fridge and moisture is removed from the butter. If you want to avoid the mold problem altogether, put the butter in the fridge. It makes it a little harder to bake and cook with because you have to de-thaw it, but it lasts a lot longer. That’s it!
Now that you know how to make marijuana butter, use it in cookies, brownies, frosting, BBQ, or just about anything!
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