Sanjay Gupta: CDB-only legal cannabis is not enough [View all]
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/health/gupta-marijuana-entourage/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Why? Because of the "entourage effect." This is why marijuana in its natural form, not a synthetic, is the best form of the chemicals for medical use - because THC interacts with other cannabinoids to moderate one another (THC/CBD) - and provides two different pathways to activate different endocannabinoid receptors in different parts of the body.
Here is the important point. Mechoulam (the scientist who first identified THC), along with many others, said he believes
all these components of the cannabis plant likely exert some therapeutic effect, more than any single compound alone.
Think of it like this: There are more than 480 natural components found within the cannabis plant, of which 66 have been classified as "cannabinoids." Those are chemicals unique to the plant, including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiols. There are, however, many more, including:
-- Cannabigerols (CBG);
-- Cannabichromenes (CBC);
-- other Cannabidiols (CBD);
-- other Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC);
-- Cannabinol (CBN) and cannabinodiol (CBDL);
-- other cannabinoids (such as cannabicyclol (CBL), cannabielsoin (CBE), cannabitriol (CBT) and other miscellaneous types).
Other constituents of the cannabis plant are: nitrogenous compounds (27 known), amino acids (18), proteins (3), glycoproteins (6), enzymes (2), sugars and related compounds (34), hydrocarbons (50), simple alcohols (7), aldehydes (13), ketones (13), simple acids (21), fatty acids (22), simple esters (12), lactones (1), steroids (11), terpenes (120), non-cannabinoid phenols (25), flavonoids (21), vitamins (1), pigments (2), and other elements (9).
But state legislators want to limit medical marijuana to CDB-only strains.
This link asks if this is good policy - Gupta says no, patients say no, but legislators have alcohol and prison lobbyists to placate, so what's in the best interest of the nation has never constrained the US legislature from enacting stupid, worthless, pandering, hateful laws to limit Americans' freedom - these days - such laws are practically the definition of conservatism that is beholden to god botherers and liquor lobbies (no irony there, eh?)
http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/cbd-only-legislation-good-thing-medical-marijuana
Here's where we get down to it, legislators - what matters to you more? A child whose life could be saved by your legislation to end the loser-initiated and fed "war on drugs," or a private prison corporation relying on you to insure they have greater than 90% occupancy rate - which is achieved by stop/frisk and arrest of healthy African American and Latino men - the ones the prisons want because they're so cheap to house (unlike older career criminals with health problems.)
When you align yourself with neo-slavery - you find you're willing to kill children to make prison CEOs happy.
Any Republican who claims they are "pro-life" can kiss my ass.
Get rid of this bunch of wankers.
The world has changed around them and they're too indebted to crony capitalism and their nanny state prison/industrial complex to recognize they're as useless as a vestigial organ.