Open Thread

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Pete

I’m playing the piano for a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins” this weekend, and have a number of visitors in town, so I’m just trying to keep my head above water, but there’s a lot going on in drug policy as well.

You can count on our commenters to be on top of it.

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39 Responses to Open Thread

  1. divadab says:
    April 25, 2015 at 10:37 am

    Bad news for patients in Washington:

    http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/04/24/4258009/inslee-to-sign-bill-changing-medical.html

    Patients who don’t submit to a “voluntary” State patients’ registry restricted to 4 plants! Otherwise, 6!

    A new felony for sharing weed with your friends.

    No grows except by patients.

    Washington State Democrats betray patients with a Republican policy based on ignorance and desire to punish.

    Prohibition Lite. Directly contrary to the will of the citizens of Washington State. Absolutely disgraceful.

  2. NorCalNative says:
    April 25, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    Some numbers to consider.

    5.2 mg CBD and 1.2 mg THC.

    That’s the TOTAL daily dose my 88-year-old father used to treat his Stage IV Prostate Cancer to lower his PSA score from an abnormal 6.7 to a mid-range normal 3.1 in about six weeks of consumption.

    He was using a 4:1 CBD-to-THC ratio full extract Super Critical CO2 cannabis oil suspended in coconut oil and dispensed “under-the-tongue” (sublingual) twice a day.

    A California company called Care By Design makes 8-different fixed ratios of mostly CBD-dominant sublingual full extract cannabis oil sprays.

    Here’s the kicker. It cost my dad $2 per day to treat his cancer. He’s on a handful of other powerful pharmaceutical drugs including an injection that’s used as a form of chemical castration, but the only thing that seems to be working to reverse the course of his cancer is the full extract cannabis oil.

    The take away from this should be that maybe GW Pharmaceuticals’ product Sativex at 1:1 CBD-to-THC is likely to work on prostate cancer and possibly other cancers as well. However, using cannabinoids for primary cancer treatment seems to be decades off if we’re forced to wait on GW or Pig Pharma synthetics.

    Studies have shown that in the case of prostate cancer cells, there is an up-regulation (increase) in the number of endocannabinoid receptor sites. It’s as if the body is begging for outside cannabinoids.

    This last point is important because it illustrates why you wouldn’t want to copy what my dad is doing as far as that small dose.

    When dealing with aggressive cancers you need to react in kind. If the cancer cells are providing more cannabinoid receptor sites then it makes perfect sense to take advantage. That means pushing the dose to the limits of CBD’s biphasic properties as well as pushing the individuals ability to handle the psychoactivity of THC.

    Peace ya’ll, go outside and play!

    • strayan says:
      April 25, 2015 at 7:09 pm

      Pretty sure GW have a patent on using their botanical to treat prostate cancer: http://www.google.com/patents/US20130059018

      • NorCalNative says:
        April 27, 2015 at 10:34 am

        strayan, I’m always searching for good science on cannabinoids, and this patent you link to is a TREASURE.

        You made my month with that link. Thank you.

        It’s odd that GW’s website has a PRODUCT PIPELINE page and there’s no mention of this patent or future prostate cancer studies.

        • Duncan20903 says:
          April 27, 2015 at 7:21 pm

          .
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          Maybe if the regulars here didn’t spit on the ground every time I mention GW Pharm I’d have kept this forum updated. Burying your head in the sand only makes you less aware of what’s going on.

          Quite frankly my opinion is that GW is concentrating all available resources to get Epidiolex approved by the FDA. Is there really anyone who doubts that the FDA doesn’t want the Dravet syndrome children to become poster children for medicinal cannabis? The only way to stop that from happening is to approve their medicine. Here’s a little piece of trivia: The brand name Epidiolex wasn’t trademarked until July 2013. That was only a couple of months before the FDA granted GW orphan drug status for Epidiolex. I’m not saying that it happened but it sure is consistent with the assertion that the FDA proposed Epidiolex to GW rather than vice versa. No conspiracy theory lovers, that doesn’t prove a conspiracy exists beyond a conspiracy of mutual interests. The FDA doesn’t want dying children trotted out for inclusion in the campaign to recognize the valid medicinal utility of whole plant exo-cannabinoid medicines and GW needs an FDA approval to remain a going concern. The FDA wouldn’t have given GW the time of day if it weren’t for those children and the fact that Epidiolex isn’t psychoactive.

    • Windy says:
      April 26, 2015 at 3:14 am

      Tommy Chong treated his prostate cancer using a similar oil mix, which I believe had a higher ratio of THC, but used it as a suppository, he’s cured.

  3. thelbert says:
    April 25, 2015 at 4:42 pm

    Q: why are almost all lawyers buried twelve feet deep? A: deep down they’re not bad people. http://tinyurl.com/mxynrw5

  4. primus says:
    April 25, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    Q: why don’t sharks eat lawyers? A: Professional courtesy.

  5. Irie says:
    April 25, 2015 at 8:41 pm

    The question asked is “With so much public support for Legal Marijuana, who is keeping it illegal” Great video, its what we all know, just to throw more numbers at you! Happy viewing! https://www.facebook.com/NowThisNews/videos/818498504906942/?pnref=story

    Oh and another thing, I have to get in on the joke telling as well….What is the difference between a catfish and a lawyer? A: One is a slimy, scum-sucking scavenger, and the other is a fish!

  6. Servetus says:
    April 25, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    A new neural structure has been discovered in the human brain that activates as part of the withdrawal symptoms from nicotine:

    21 April 2015 — “We identified a novel circuit in the brain that becomes active during nicotine withdrawal, specifically increasing anxiety,” said principal investigator Andrew Tapper, PhD , associate professor of psychiatry. “Increased anxiety is a prominent nicotine withdrawal symptom that contributes to relapse in smokers attempting to quit.”

    The study yielded several discoveries about interconnected brain mechanisms that induce anxiety during nicotine withdrawal–and possible ways to derail these mechanisms in order to treat, or even prevent the especially troublesome symptom.

    The study demonstrates that addiction is a complex phenomenon. It’s not restricted to a single process such that dopamine sent to the brain’s pleasure centers becomes the sole agent in an addiction, as NIDA’s Nora Volkow would seem to have everyone believe.

  7. primus says:
    April 25, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    What do you call a lawyer buried up to his neck in sand? Not enough sand.

  8. thelbert says:
    April 25, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    here’s some news from the land of overwatered lawns: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/weed-water-california-pot-not-problem

    • DdC says:
      April 27, 2015 at 5:52 pm

      Drought in California, Oregon & Washington too!
      Not from pot…
      ☛ California’s 100-year drought is CYCLICAL
      ☛ regulations have actually left Big Ag relatively untouched
      ☛ It takes 90 gallons of water to produce one tiny container of Greek yogurt.
      ☛ Starbucks Wasting More Than 6 Million Gallons of Water a Day
      ☛ Each innocent-looking almond robs the land of an entire gallon of water.
      ☛ Exported cow feed, “forages” use more water per acre than almonds
      ☛ Laws and the politicians who make them.
      ☛ Nestle continues to bottle 400 million gallons a year

  9. primus says:
    April 25, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    Two surgeons were discussing what profession they prefer to operate on. The first surgeon says he prefers accountants, because everything is neat and organized, and if anything is missing there is a notation about it. The second surgeon agreed, however he stated a preference for operating on lawyers due to them being simpler patients; there is no heart, no guts and the asshole and the mouth are interchangeable.

  10. Servetus says:
    April 26, 2015 at 9:07 am

    Philadelphia’s narcotics squad is being decimated by corruption charges. A whistleblower speaks out:

    Former Philly cop Jeffrey Walker held little back Tuesday as he confessed to the jurors about his disgraceful past. He let them know about how he and his fellow officers set people up, planted drugs, stole money, lied on reports, and violently assaulted people — too many times to count.

    Corruption appears endemic to police organizations. The only truly effective way to stem such troubling activities is to eliminate the more obvious opportunities for corruption. In the United States and many other countries, no greater opportunity for police corruption exists than that found in drug enforcement.

    • jean valjean says:
      April 26, 2015 at 11:42 am

      Jeez….I hope this case is getting a wider audience than I can find…. this is exactly what is wrong with the drug war…. It inevitably leads to totally corrupted law enforcement.
      Was this a decider in the career choices of many long term narco-entrepreneurs like Michele I wonder? Also, her pension rate should be a publicly available document.

  11. DdC says:
    April 26, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    Indonesia gives 72-hour notice for executions

    Mexico brothers lose final death sentence appeal in Malaysia

    Obama to Get “Fast Track” for Trade Pacts

    Of our roughly 142 trading partners, every one assesses a VAT on imports. We have no such thing. This is all just fine with the multinationals. The same people who crafted our sucker policy framework for international trade are writing the rules for TPP. Would you expect anything in the trade policy to benefit labor in general at the expense of the multinationals? They have such power now that they don’t even bother to hide it any more. They can rub our noses in it without any fear of retribution.

    Lawmakers Unveil Secretly Negotiated Deal To Fast-Track Free Trade

    Obama’s Arms Race Fuels Mexican Drug War

  12. free radical says:
    April 26, 2015 at 6:32 pm

    It’s slowly sinking in that leonhart is gone. Forced to resign due to prostitution scandals, rather than gross incompetence, failure to answer the simplest of questions. That outrage has been well expressed already. That it was 7+ years too late is another outrage that has been expressed.

    Another occurs to me: why is no one held to account for appointing this simpleton, or for confirming her? Looking at you, Obama and congress!

    If she is responsible for scandals she allowed to go unpunished, and she is, then surely her higher-ups, Holder and Obama should stand to account for letting her reign of incompetence and coverups, and even open rebellion, last this long.

    • primus says:
      April 26, 2015 at 8:45 pm

      By doing nothing, Obama and Holder have confirmed that her actions were exactly what they wanted–never mind what they said.

    • B. Snow says:
      April 27, 2015 at 10:27 am

      Neither Holder nor Obama went out of their way to appoint Madame L. over someone else.

      She worked her way up and was the Acting Director, Interim Acting Director, and other similar positions over the years.

      She was also one of the few higher ranking female LEO’s or ‘administration officials’ in that gov. “sector” (the proper/precise catch-all term alludes me ATM)…

      Point being, from a political sense/view = they couldn’t exactly – “get rid of her” without some serious gnashing of teeth.

      And to be fair = Look at just how badly she had to fuckup at doing her job – before being put in the position of “having decided to retire”/resign from it!

      Read the various reports – some say fired, others say resigned or retired, others split hairs even further along the lines of – *she’ll be retiring in the near future*…
      Which, I suspect was related to whenever congress finally vote to let Lynch become the new AG… Who has made very “qualified remarks” (as in carefully phrased) on marijuana legalization… Specifically, about “being in favor of it” or whatever.

      But the same day they moved to approve her and Holder gave his “Free Eric Holder” bands away in that speech – it was almost immediately followed by talk about further efforts to deal with ‘Criminal Justice Reform’.

      (Note: Holder hinted/talked around the edges on this in his buh-bye speech. As to what he expected his successor to do about the issue/problem.)

      And, the next day (if that long) there was more talk about Lynch’s expected *shifting priorities*, which could/might be another incremental “baby step” OR a “giant leap”.

      I’m confident that they’ll all be talking around the edges of this = they can’t *get soft on drugs*, but they are scrambling like crazy to “repair the damaged relationship between the police and the citizenry” – and I think those on the couch KNOW what that’s gonna require.

      And as long as the general public wants to stop seeing the cops harassing & killing people over traffic stops, or things like videos of them beating/shooting people that run/flee the cops (for a variety of reasons = like being behind on child support, or having a pocket full of weed, whatever.)
      Then, I expect people to finally “evolve” on marijuana – begrudgingly and with some obvious holdouts like Kev-Kev… I’m hopeful that they’ll “cowbo up” and be willing to say okay decades of failed policy IS proof that ‘zero tolerance’ or any other Authoritarian drug laws are a bad idea.

      Despite all the cries of ‘immoral weed smoking hippies’ and “think of the chitlins”, from the “Family Values Voters” of thr 90’s and present day social conservatives.

      As long as people are afraid to call the police = because they might find some weed or other drugs “in plain sight”, Or after being searched and/or *patted-down for drugs/weapons* in their own homes, this shit will go on.

      People not calling the police during a break-in = Because they might’ve left their bong out, or are worried that the cops will think they’re the robber rather than the resident… Well, lets just say – that shit can’t just continue to go on, aka “The Dude Will Not Abide!”

      And, fortunately in this day increasingly ‘The Dude’ is becoming ‘The Everyman’ – and Yeah it is sad that we had to wait for a generational shift to get here – but I’ll take it.

      I’m gonna watch this fucker (aka Joe Biden), finish swearing Loretta Lynch into the office of the AG.

  13. Thinking Clearly says:
    April 26, 2015 at 8:58 pm

    Bill Repealing Federal Pot Prohibition Has Bipartisan Backing
    http://tinyurl.com/q8o6wsz

    … “Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) reintroduced his Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, a very short bill that makes the federal ban on cannabis inapplicable to people acting in compliance with state law. That simple approach essentially repeals marijuana prohibition at the national level, limiting the federal government’s role to assisting states that continue to ban the drug.”…

    “…”Unlike other bills that address only some aspects of the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws,” says the Marijuana Policy Project’s Dan Riffle, “this bill resolves the issue entirely by letting states determine their own policies. It’s the strongest federal legislation introduced to date, and it’s the bill most likely to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress.”…

    • B. Snow says:
      April 27, 2015 at 10:38 am

      This is some wonderful news to read, ain’t it? (Hopefully they can get it thru!), And while I’d read it already & nearly mentioned it in my rant above – it’s really bettter in that concise post/form thanks!

  14. Thinking Clearly says:
    April 26, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    In the shadow of the DARE program comes another government program to get ’em while they’re young.

    The NSA made a coloring book for kids
    http://tinyurl.com/mes6ryc

    Isn’t it about time the US government stopped bypassing parents in their creation of our dystopian future? The DEA and ONDCP playbook needs to be burned, not copied by other branches of the government. The fad of government indoctrination for impressionable youth went out of style on 10 October 1945. http://tinyurl.com/ha3j5

    Pandering to children is desperate indeed. I do not think our tax dollars were meant for this.

    • jean valjean says:
      April 27, 2015 at 1:45 am

      “Pester power”….they copied it from the advertising industry…

      • Duncan20903 says:
        April 27, 2015 at 7:53 pm

        .
        .

        The truth is that the only part of “the children” that the self serving prohibitionist parasites and their sycophants care about protecting is their value as political pawns and as a spice to make their hysterical rhetoric even more hysterical.

  15. DdC says:
    April 27, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    Marijuana Is Not, Repeat Not, a Gateway Drug

    RESEARCH CANNABIS FOR PTSD!!

    Petition · DEA: · Change.org
    Allow Medical Marijuana Research for Treating Veterans with PTSD

    KEVIN SABET RESPONDS TO WEED 3
    Unfortunately, CNN is highlighting a few stories to portray marijuana as a miracle drug, when in reality it is a drug that can result serious, long-term consequences, like schizophrenia.

    OUR RESPONSE TO PROJECT SAM via @Change

  16. DdC says:
    April 27, 2015 at 6:21 pm

    What HBO’s Pickup of a Pot-Focused Web Comedy Says About the Future of Television
    The pay cable network has ordered six episodes of High Maintenance, about a Brooklyn pot dealer.

    Marijuana and the Poverty of ‘Rational Basis’ Review
    Why a federal judge’s decision against reclassifying cannabis was inevitable

    LSD led me into having no fear of death, because you’ve been there, done that, and it ain’t so bad. Matter of fact, it’s wonderful.
    — Larry Hagman, star of “Dallas” and “I Dream of Jeannie”

  17. Duncan20903 says:
    April 27, 2015 at 8:01 pm

    .
    .

    This one faces mandatory inclusion in the “never let the facts get in the way of disseminating an effective piece of hysterical rhetoric” category:

    Toxicology report released following Keystone “marijuana” suicide

    Summit County Coroner Regan Wood released Goodman’s toxicology results in April, showing Goodman tested positive for THC with a blood concentration of 3.1 nanograms per milliliter.

    —————————————————-

    “He was the happiest guy in the world. He had everything going for him,” Goodman’s cousin, Caleb Fowler, told CBS4 Denver in March.

    Goodman’s mother, Kim, blamed edibles he reportedly consumed earlier that day for his death.

    “It was 100 percent the drugs,” she said. “It was completely because of the drugs — he had consumed so much of it.”

    • Duncan20903 says:
      April 27, 2015 at 9:21 pm

      .
      .

      Does anyone else recall a teenager in Colorado who committed suicide and the ONDCP did everything that they could think of to make that event and the fact that his father blamed it on cannabis public knowledge? Unfortunately for them they went too far and some of the people on our side of the table discovered that Dad had Junior drug tested for the 6 months previous to his suicide. It meant that there wasn’t even a picogram of inert cannabinoids in Junior’s body. Wasn’t that in 2006 with John Walters on the trumpet? On Election Day 2006 Colorado voters rejected Initiative 44 by a margin of 59-41. Wow, how times have changed.
      http://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Marijuana_Possession,_Initiative_44_%282006%29

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