Miss America, USPS, and the DEA solve our drug problems.

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Pete

Why didn’t we think of this before?

Drug Free America Forever Stamp

‘Drug Free USA Forever’ Stamps Launched By DEA, Postal Service, And Miss America

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14 Responses to Miss America, USPS, and the DEA solve our drug problems.

  1. Servetus says:
    October 30, 2020 at 10:47 pm

    Just because Miss Schrier spoke up about opiate addictions at her 2020 Miss America beauty pageant doesn’t mean the DEA can get away with rebranding itself as an agency capable of preventing or stopping addictions to pain pills.

    DEA negligence allowed pill mills to run free for years. Stopping addictions cold may only become possible with advanced chemotherapy that targets or imitates in some way the mutations in mu opioid receptors in the brain. These addiction therapies won’t come about because of the DEA, an agency noted for obstructing research and with it the legalization of cannabis. Tarnishing the image of Miss America in a schlock promotion for punitive drug enforcement seems downright unpatriotic. Miss America, Camille Schrier, will face the stigma of helping promote marijuana prohibition for the rest of her life.

    The Post Office issues commemorative stamps all the time. They’re bought by stamp collectors who never use them for postage. The Post Office pockets the change, and it’s profitable for collectors and the PO alike. Drug war stamps have been issued by the United Nations for decades with little or no effect on ending drug addiction or the illicit drug business. If postal services really wanted to sell more stamps, they should try a stamp commemorating hemp.

  2. Eridani says:
    October 31, 2020 at 1:35 am

    It’s kinda weird the word “Forever” is crossed out (or looks like it’s crossed out); at first I thought this was a anti-Drug War stamp.

    And the USPS is offering this alongside Woodstock festival and John Lennon stamps. Mixed signals??

    • Pete says:
      October 31, 2020 at 8:52 am

      Whenever the USPS presents pictures of stamps, the word that designates the value is crossed out in the picture (forever, first-class, two-ounce, etc.), to show that the picture is not an actual stamp with value.

      I much prefer the Woodstock ones!

  3. Son of Sam Walton says:
    November 1, 2020 at 8:04 am

    The Irony: some legally mailed cannabis packages and illicit dark web drugs shipped through the mail will no doubt have this stamp.

    How about a Mumbai India/DEA commemorative stamp for 2008. How about a 1961 U.N. Singles Stamp showing poppies being harvested and how about stamps with the logos of drug cartels.

  4. Servetus says:
    November 1, 2020 at 1:35 pm

    Prohibition states still issue marijuana tax stamps that get ignored by consumers or merchants and purchased by collectors:

    https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article91354632.html

    Nebraska has a skull and paraphrenalia on their marijuana tax stamp, image in video at 0:34

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUmoRZ6Nwck&feature=emb_logo

  5. WalStMonky says:
    November 3, 2020 at 10:59 pm

    .
    .

    Let’s welcome New Jersey, Montana and Arizona to the world of reformed cannabis laws. The margins weren’t even close.
    https://www.marijuanamoment.net/live-marijuana-election-results/

    We may get a clean sweep. Adult use is ahead in South Dakota for crying out loud, it’s just too close to call at 52.5-47.5. But SD medicinal cannabis patient protection is also way out in front at 68.59-31.41.

    Mississippi voters ignored the Governor and his prohibitionist stooges and Measure 65 has a commanding lead at 78-22. That’s with less than 10% of the votes counted.
    —————————————————

    PS, if you’re inclined to try buying cannabis stocks because of this I wouldn’t. In fact I’m probably going to sell half of my cannabis stocks tomorrow. “Buy the rumor sell the news” is the correct platitude in this instance.

  6. Oh dear says:
    November 4, 2020 at 11:35 am

    Totally off topic but…

    The pouty lipped man-child says:

    “They are finding Biden votes all over the place — in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So bad for our Country!”

    I have scant time for Biden but at least he’s ready for long pants.

  7. Servetus says:
    November 6, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    Amazonian tea stimulates the formation of new neurons in the brains of mice:

    One of the main natural components of ayahuasca tea is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which promotes neurogenesis –the formation of new neurons — according to research led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).

    In addition to neurons, the infusion used for shamanic purposes also induces the formation of other neural cells such as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

    “This capacity to modulate brain plasticity suggests that it has great therapeutic potential for a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases,” explained José Ángel Morales, a researcher in the UCM and CIBERNED Department of Cellular Biology.

    The study, published in Translational Psychiatry, a Nature Research journal, reports the results of four years of in vitro and in vivo experimentation on mice, demonstrating that these exhibit “a greater cognitive capacity when treated with this substance,” according to José Antonio López, a researcher in the Faculty of Psychology at the UCM and co-author of the study. […]

    The DMT in ayahuasca tea binds to a type-2A serotonergic brain receptor, which enhances its hallucinogenic effect. In this study, the receptor was changed to a sigma type receptor that does not have this effect, thus “greatly facilitating its future administration to patients.”

    In neurodegenerative diseases, it is the death of certain types of neuron that causes the symptoms of pathologies such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Although humans have the capacity to generate new neuronal cells, this depends on several factors and is not always possible.

    “The challenge is to activate our dormant capacity to form neurons and thus replace the neurons that die as a result of the disease. This study shows that DMT is capable of activating neural stem cells and forming new neurons,” concluded Morales. […]

    AAAS Public Research News Release: An Amazonian tea stimulates the formation of new neurons

    Related Journal Article: N,N-dimethyltryptamine compound found in the hallucinogenic tea ayahuasca regulates adult neurogenesis in vitro and in vivoTranslational Psychiatry (2020)10:33

  8. Servetus says:
    November 15, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    Women are using Cannabis for treating gynecological conditions:

    November 10, 2020 — …Women who self-medicate with cannabis do so to relieve chronic pelvic pain, menstrual cramps, and pain associated with gynecological cancer or medical procedures such as abortion. “A larger proportion of women who reported ever using cannabis were willing to use cannabis to treat conditions commonly seen in gynecological practices compared to never-users (91.6% vs. 64.6%),” states Leo Han, MD, MPH, and coauthors, from Oregon Health & Science University. This difference was statistically significant.

    “Coinciding with the increased perception of cannabis safety is the increased national recognition of the dangers of opioid pain medications,” says the authors. […]

    Journal of Women’s Health Research News Release: Cannabis to Treat Gynecological Conditions

    Related Journal Article: Gender Differences in Medical Cannabis Use: Symptoms Treated, Physician Support for Use, and Prescription Medication Discontinuation

  9. Servetus says:
    November 16, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    Cannabidiol (CBD) analogues prove useful in dermatology:

    16-Nov-2020 — …In spite of its successful sales, we still do not know how cannabidiol acts upon different skin cells in order to unleash its antioxidants. A collaborative partnership with the University of Cordoba and the University of Dundee demonstrated for the first time that cannabidiol induces the expression of heme oxygenase 1, an enzyme with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, in the main cells on the top layer of the skin, called keratinocytes. This is done by reducing or silencing the protein that suppresses it, known as BACH1.

    “Once we described the whole working mechanism, we have continued our partnership, making modifications to the cannabidiol molecule in order to try to improve its properties that fight against skin diseases”, explains Immunology Professor Eduardo Muñoz, who is in charge of the BIO-304 “Immunopharmacology and Molecular Virology” research group at the University of Cordoba.

    Hence, the international research team designed new molecules that, besides inhibiting the BACH1 protein, activate the NRF2 protein. This protein controls the way that certain genes are expressed. These specific genes help to protect cells against oxidative stress such as HMOX1, the one that encodes heme oxygenase 1, but also many others that work independently from BACH1.

    So, the newly designed molecules that are derived from cannabidiol have double antioxidant activity: on the one hand, they supress BACH1 and with it, they induce the expression of heme oxygenase 1 and on the other, they activate NRF2, which also induces the expression of heme oxygenase 1, in addition to other antioxidant genes. “When combining the inhibition of BACH1 with the activation of NRF2, the result is a very potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory response and better therapeutic effects”, says Eduardo Muñoz.

    This action mechanism is very interesting for skin disease treatments such as atopic dermatitis and epidermolysis bullosa, a very rare disease on which there is little research. What is more, this molecule has great potential to be used in cosmetics due to its antioxidant properties. […]

    Universidad D Cordoba Research Press Release: NEW MOLECULES DERIVED FROM CANNABIDIOL ARE DESIGNED WITH MORE POTENT ANTIOXIDANTS

    Related Journal Article: Isomeric O-methyl cannabidiolquinones with dual BACH1/NRF2 activity

  10. Servetus says:
    November 17, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    Pure CBD is equal to or less effective than CBD oils against cancer cells:

    17-NOV-2020 — Cannabidiol (CBD) oils are equally or less effective at inhibiting the growth of certain cancer cells compared to pure CBD, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The results of their recent study indicate that future research into the clinical applications of cannabinoids should include an analysis of whether the pure cannabinoid compound or intact plant material is more effective at achieving the therapeutic effect.

    The researchers evaluated whether CBD oils were better than pure CBD at inhibiting the growth of different cancer cell lines. They studied brain, skin and colorectal cancers — using two cell lines for each cancer type — and found that pure CBD was able to reduce cell viability in three of the six cell lines tested and that the effect was cell line specific and not specific to select cancers. None of the CBD oils tested were able to reduce viability to a greater extent than pure CBD.

    Prior research found that CBD or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can reduce cancer cell viability in some cancer cell models. Proponents of medical marijuana argue that there is an additive effect between the various compounds in the plant material that increases its therapeutic efficacy compared to individual, pure cannabinoid compounds. Kent Vrana, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, said the study did not support this concept, known as the “entourage” effect.

    “Based on our results, we recommend that specific investigations on the entourage effect be carried out when determining the therapeutic uses of medical marijuana and other cannabinoid products,” Vrana said. […]

    Penn State Research News Public Release: Certain CBD oils no better than pure CBD at inhibiting certain cancer cell lines

    Related Journal Article: Cannabidiol (CBD) Oil Does Not Display an Entourage Effect in Reducing Cancer Cell Viability in vitro

    • NorCalNative says:
      November 21, 2020 at 11:49 am

      The idea that single molecule, or “pure” CBD is superior to whole plant CBD, as this study suggests, goes against what I’ve been taught.

      This is where it gets weird. CANCER. Why would someone use ONLY CBD for cancer? Prohibition?

      And, why would you choose hemp derived CBD oil with less than 0.3% THC. The study didn’t use tested dispensary CBD oil, they used 3 undisclosed OTC CBD oils.

      I really question the reason for bypassing dispensary-quality CBD oil. Oils that commonly vary between 3:1 to 1:3 ratios.

      So is this study looking for cancer treatments or just trying to muck up talk of an entourage effect? Also, 3 examples of oil hardly represent the variety of cannabis strains available.

  11. Servetus says:
    November 24, 2020 at 10:47 am

    UC San Diego researchers revealed how plants defend themselves from herbivore attacks (consumption). The information may prove useful one day for eliminating the use of chemical herbicides in the production of cannabis and other agricultural products:

    November 23, 2020 — Animals such as humans, cows and insects are heterotrophs that derive their energy either directly or indirectly through the consumption of autotrophs, such as photosynthetic plants. This basic foundation shapes biological interactions across planet Earth. More than 30 years ago plant biologists came to understand that plants can sense an attack from herbivorous animals in a way that is distinct from damage caused by hail storms or falling tree branches.

    Similar to how human immune defenses counter an attack from viruses, plants have been shown to respond to danger from plant-eating animals through an intricate immune system of receptors. Using a method of pinpointing genetic variants, called forward genetics, research led by Adam Steinbrenner, Alisa Huffaker and Eric Schmelz of UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences enabled discovery the inceptin receptor, termed INR, in bean plants. The receptor detects conserved plant protein fragments accidently released as digestive products during caterpillar munching, thereby enabling plant recognition of attack.

    “INR represents the first documented mechanism of a plant cell surface receptor responsible for perceiving animals,” said Schmelz, whose work was accomplished by deconstructing and leveraging the active evolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores. “Our work provides some of the earliest defined mechanistic insights into the question of how plants recognize different attacking herbivores and activate immunity to animals. It is a fundamental question in biology that has been pursued for 30 years.”

    Beyond beans, the finding raises interest in using INR, and potentially other receptors that remain to be discovered, as a way to boost defenses in essential agricultural crops. […]

    UC San Diego Press Release: Researchers Reveal Switch Used in Plant Defense Against Animal Attack:
    Decades of pursuit uncovers receptor, the product of an evolutionary arms race for survival, used by plants to sense herbivores

    Related Journal Article: A receptor-like protein mediates plant immune responses to herbivore-associated molecular patterns

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