Powerful Court Quietly Takes Marijuana Case That Could Shatter Federal Prohibition Laws | Alternet

Powerful Court Quietly Takes Marijuana Case That Could Shatter Federal Prohibition Laws | Alternet.

Growing marijuana is still by far the most-efficient way to produce THC

Amazing Chemicals Invented by Nature, Rebuilt in Lab

By Aaron Rowe

Is marijuana a potential cure for cancer?

  By Tuan C. Nguyen | September 21, 2012, 4:39 AM PDT   An extraordinary discovery may someday give the controversial notion of “medical marijuana” a potent new meaning. Turns out that the recreationally popular cannabis plant contains compounds that could stop and even reverse the growth of various aggressive forms of cancer. The finding, initially reported in 2007, may lead to the development of an effective treatment without toxic side effects. Since the late 80’s, researchers have investigated the possibility that marijuana may possess anti-tumor properties. It began after a biologist in Madrid noticed that exposing brain cancer cells to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical responsible for that sensation of being “high,” caused them to die. Follow-up studies conducted at Harvard University confirmed that injections of THC and other compounds known as “cannabinoids” lead to a positive outcome, both slowing down tumor growth by killing cancer cells while leaving healthy cells virtually unscathed. Now a pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco are hoping to take what has been years of promising research a step further. Dr. Pierre Desprez in collaboration with his research partner Sean McAllister found that the compounds halted the spread of cancer cells by disabling ID-1, a gene shown to be a mechanism for the kind of rapid metastasis common in aggressive types of cancer such as lung and brain cancer. After a series of lab tests using a non-psychoactive chemical extract called Cannabidiol to treat malignant human breast cells in mice, the researchers hope to develop a pill that can demonstrate efficacy in human clinical trials. It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited,” Desprez, told the Huffington Post. “We want to get started with trials as soon as possible.” The researchers hope to develop a safe drug that, at the very least, can be integrated into a patient’s treatment program and help to lessen the toxic effects of conventional therapies such as chemotherapy. Another advantage is that as a non-psychoactive chemical, CBD wont produce any mind-altering effects and, in case you’re wondering, it won’t leave the door open for those who want to inhale it. “We used injections in the animal testing and are also testing pills,”  Desprez  said. “But you could never get enough Cannabidiol for it to be effective just from smoking.”  

Are you down to Earth? Grounding Yourself, electrically | A Cup of Green

by Danielle Renee Lee

Sometimes you just need to ground yourself. What does it mean to be grounded? Am I talking about being less stressed? It is important to relax, but that’s not what I mean. When I mention grounding yourself, it means to be barefoot on the ground outside. Why? To be one with the Earth? Well you can look at it like that and as being electrically connected to the Earth.

Also known as ‘Earthing’, the concept for grounding is the following, “The Earth’s surface contains a limitless number of free electrons that are continually replenished through solar radiation and lightning strikes, your body naturally absorbs these particles when you make physical contact with the ground. In the body, these electrons have an anti-inflammatory effect, reducing the free radical activity that causes inflammation and chronic pain.” Grass, sand, dirt and concrete are all conductive surfaces (wood and vinyl are not). In the cold weather, a concrete basement floor would work (if you can stand it).

Excess positive charges (yes, we have taken this whole ‘be positive’ notion too far *wink*) is associated with many health conditions because it causes too much oxidation. The electrons that you receive from the Earth – which is negatively charged- will help rid your body of free radicals. Substantial research in grounding also proves improvements in your Ph balance and protection from excess EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure.

Check out the video below with great information from Dr. Stephen Sinatra, an integrative cardiologist who prefers to treat heart disease by using the best of both conventional and alternative medicine.

Are you down to Earth? Grounding Yourself, electrically | A Cup of Green.

Kundalini

The kundalini rises from muladhara chakra up a subtle channel at the base of the spine (called Sushumna), and from there to top of the head merging with the sahasrara, or crown chakra. When kundalini Shakti is conceived as a goddess, then, when it rises to the head, it unites itself with the Supreme Being (Lord Shiva). Then the aspirant becomes engrossed in deep meditation and infinite bliss.^[11][12] The arousing of kundalini is said by some to be the one and only way of attaining Divine Wisdom. Self-Realization is said to be equivalent to Divine Wisdom or Gnosis or what amounts to the same thing: self-knowledge.^[13] The awakening of the kundalini shows itself as “awakening of inner knowledge” and brings with itself “pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love.”

LGBT History Month

October Is LGBT History Month!

Love, Understanding, Peace and Beautiful Life

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65189513@N07/6816727896/

Icon Search

Search the entire LGBT History Month database of 186 Icons —from 2006 to 2011—by Icon name or by more than 200 tags including Academy Award, Athlete, African-American,  Author, Composer,  Entrepreneur, Germany, Lesbian, Politics, Transgender and Washington, D.C.

How It Works

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources. http://www.youtube.com/user/equalityforum soure: http://lgbthistorymonth.com/

Whoops-a-daisy: 'Significant' outdoor bust in Lethbridge history wasn't weed

 

Michael Platt

Yesterday at 8:55 PM

Can you tell the difference? Find out below the story. — It’s blooming embarrassing, is what it is. The best part: police still won’t admit the plants they seized in what was supposedly the biggest outdoor marijuana bust in Lethbridge history are plain old flowers — daisies, to be precise. All police will concede at this point is the 1,624 plants torn from a suburban Lethbridge garden on July 30 isn’t marijuana, as first claimed after a phalanx of police marched in and starting plucking. “This is a significant bust, given the size of this operation,” is how a senior officer put it at the time, while proudly displaying garbage bags full of the dastardly daises. That same officer, Staff Sergeant Wes Houston, now admits the plant haul was a mistake. “In any investigation, police count public safety as our top priority — our decision to seize the plants was made with the best information we had at the time,” said Houston, leader of CFSEU-Lethbridge. Police were certainly convinced they had a huge haul of pot — and this was not the opinion of some lone rookie, frisky at the prospect of a big drug raid. This was the judgment of veteran officers from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team — supposedly the best drug squad this province has to offer. So many badges, and apparently, so little clue — at least when it comes to the difference between daisies and dope. It’d be pure comedy if not for the damage the dubious raid may have caused. There’s the garden. These plants, called Montauk daisies, have been growing in Ryan Thomas Rockman’s yard for the past decade, and the once lush yard, tended by the avid gardener, is now trashed. And speaking of trashed, there’s the 41-year-old grandfather’s reputation. Rockman freely admits smoking pot to alleviate back pain, and says he’s applied to the federal government for a medicinal marijuana licence. But there’s a vast gap between possessing marijuana for personal use and growing huge crops of the stuff for the sake of trafficking. Rockman is still facing four charges connected to 1.5 pounds of marijuana and 6.3 grams of resin allegedly found in his home, but that’s a small-time bust by any law enforcement definition. It was the 1,624 plants that got cops excited, and it’s the 1,624 plants that made Rockman sound like a big league dealer. “They muddied my name pretty good,” Rockman told reporters shortly after the big bust. “The whole situation makes me want to hang my head and cry.” It’s especially sad when Rockman kept telling police that the plants they’d torn from his yard were daises — this wasn’t some ruse that caught police off guard. At first glance, and certainly to an untrained eye, the daisies do look a little like weed. Tamara Cartwright-Poulits, director of the Southern Alberta Cannabis Club, knows Rockman, and at one point, she had the very same daises growing in her yard. “To be fair, they do look very similar. You have to look close to see the difference,” said Cartwright-Poulits. She lists a number of obvious clues — the number and shape of the leaves being the most obvious — but she says it’s one thing for an average person to be fooled, another for a seasoned drug cop. “This just shows they are totally uneducated about marijuana, and when you’re dealing with law enforcement officers, that’s unacceptable,” said Cartwright-Poulits. “To me, this looks like they were scrambling for the big bust, hoping for a big headline.” She’s harsh, as you’d expect from someone dedicated to making marijuana legal. But her criticism about police being easily duped by a common garden plant has the sting of truth — and if the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team isn’t asking tough questions, they should be. A major drug trafficker growing his crop outdoors in a backyard? That alone should have raised red flags — and when the target of the bust tells you the plants are daisies, it’s worth checking with a horticulturist before putting out a province-wide press release. It’s a funny story, and one that’s bound to make the rounds as an example of sloppy police work — but long-term damage to the reputation of Alberta’s crack drug squad is no laughing matter. Instead of catching criminals red-handed, this case has police red faced. Whoops-a-daisy, indeed. michael.platt@sunmedia.ca