Legal Cannabis Anniversary in Seattle (Video)

Legal Cannabis Anniversary in Seattle (Video) | Third Monk image 1

Seattle celebrates their legal cannabis anniversary and light up fat doobies in  a tent.

This milestone marks the first time that a city has given a permit for stoners to toke up in a purely festive environment.

Seattle’s legal cannabis anniversary is a solidifying factor en route to country wide legalization; this celebration marks acceptance and integration into american life.

Legalizing Marijuana Party

Stoners Have Better Cognitive Skills Than Non-Tokers (Study)

Stoners Have Better Cognitive Skills Than Non-Tokers (Study) | Third Monk image 4

Industrialhemp - cognitive skills

Despite popular belief, new findings from a team at the University of Minnesota suggest marijuana use at an early age may not be detrimental to cognitive skills.

The study, published March 12 in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, found that college students who used marijuana scored better on tests of processing speed and verbal fluency.

Marijuana users were high functioning, demonstrating comparable IQs to controls and relatively better processing speed. – Research Team

The study compared the performance of 35 non-users with 35 daily marijuana users who began using marijuana before the age of 17.

cognitive skills

Marijuana use during this age span has been most strongly associated with cognitive impairment. – Research Team

All participants were university students between 18-20 years of age, and were told to abstain from using any substances for at least 12 hours before the study.

Interestingly, the two groups showed no significant differences in tests of working memory and verbal learning.

However, contrary to their better performance on other tests, marijuana users scored slightly lower on tests of motivated decision making, engagement and verbal memory.

Overall, the team concludes that the study provides “a comprehensive cognitive profile of college-aged daily marijuana users.” But they also warn that the results suggest a few “discrete” impairments associated with marijuana use.

The researchers say more studies should be conducted to pinpoint underlying factors.

> Marijuana Users Have Better Cognition | Leaf Science

Cannabis Madness – Patients Vs Politicians (Video)

Cannabis Madness - Patients Vs Politicians (Video) | Third Monk

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates the politics of cannabis in Weed 2: Cannabis Madness. 

Gupta takes a look at U.S. federal laws that consider marijuana a drug with no medicinal value and serious scientists who say they’re wrong. It is the politics of cannabis – the politicians vs. the patients.

This is Gupta’s second CNN Special on cannabis, showing the clear proven medical benefits of high CBD marijuana and why marijuana should not be classified as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance by the U.S. Government.

History books may one day draw a parallel between this chapter of medical marijuana and the story of David and Goliath. Playing the role of David’s slingshot, which ultimately brought Goliath to his knees, would be a 2-year-old girl named Vivian Wilson.

She inspired her father to challenge the system in a spectacular way that caused a nation to stop for a moment and take note. – Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Doubling Down on Medical Marijuana

Sanjay-Gupta-Weed-2-grow-op

Jamaica Returning to Ganja Roots By Freeing Cannabis (Video)

Jamaica Returning to Ganja Roots By Freeing Cannabis (Video) | Third Monk image 1

Jamaica’s first medicinal marijuana company, Medicanja, launched at the start of 2014 against a backdrop of reinvigorated debate around ganja law reform among leading policymakers.

The renowned Jamaican scientist Dr. Henry Lowe, a leader in THC studies for medical purposes, is running the company with the University of West Indies and the University of Technology jointly funding the facility. In addition to studying the scientific benefits of marijuana, Dr. Lowe says the company will produce CBD-based medical products, which fall under legally accepted medicinal use of the ganja plant. Lowe says the plant extract can be used to treat psychosis and severe pain, as well as mid-life crises in men.

Screen-Shot-2014-03-10-at-4-15-44-PM_vice_640x360

Jamaica Ganja Tours

Our Government Holds a Patent for Medical Cannabis, Why is it Illegal? – Dr. Gupta

Our Government Holds a Patent for Medical Cannabis, Why is it Illegal? - Dr. Gupta | Third Monk image 4

sanjay-gupta-animal-new-york - Dr. Gupta

It’s been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential.

I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them.

There is emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics override science and patients are caught in the middle.

The Undeniable Medical Value of Cannabis

Dr. Gupta

Since our documentary “Weed” aired in August 2013, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.

I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy.

I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I’ve seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.

I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.

I should add that, although I’ve taken some heat for my reporting on marijuana, it hasn’t been as lonely a position as I expected. Legislators from several states have reached out to me, eager to inform their own positions and asking to show the documentary to their fellow lawmakers.

One place where lawmakers saw a long clip was Georgia, where the state House just passed a medical marijuana bill by a vote of 171-4. Before the legislative session started, most people didn’t think this bill had a chance.

Federal Hypocrites

weed-medicinal-benefits-patent

Along the way, the public has become intensely engaged. Our collective society has paid closer attention to this issue than ever before, and with that increased education, support for medical marijuana has only grown, including in some unexpected places.

Pete Carroll, the coach of the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks, said the NFL should explore medical marijuana if it helps players. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hasn’t dismissed the idea, saying that if marijuana is reconsidered by the medical establishment, the league would treat it the same as any other medicine. Goodell also says the NFL is following the science that suggests marijuana may help recovery from concussions.

Recently, I had the chance to tell him that the United States already holds a patent on medical marijuana for that very purpose. Patent No. 6630507: Cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke or trauma.

However, this particular issue still bothers me: How can the government deny the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits? Members of the Food and Drug Administration declined my repeated requests for an interview.

Weed Vs Government Approved Drugs

cannabis-vs-other-drugs-deaths

This past year, President Barack Obama told the New Yorker magazine, “I don’t think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol.” And yet, as alcohol remains available to any adult, the president has not moved to remove marijuana from the list of the most tightly controlled substances in the country.

Since I started my reporting on this topic, I have mostly resisted temptation to inject a subjective moral equivalency into this discussion, such as pitting alcohol against marijuana or reminding you that cocaine and methamphetamine are actually more available than marijuana to patients, physicians and medical researchers: They are Schedule II drugs, with recognized medical uses. Or telling you that on average, a person dies every 19 minutes in this country from a legal prescription drug overdose, while it is virtually unheard-of to die from a marijuana overdose.

> Dr. Gupta: ‘I am doubling down’ on medical marijuana | CNN

Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths (Study)

Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths (Study) | Third Monk image 3

cannabisplant

A study by the University of Colorado Denver and Montana State University shows that laws legalizing Medical Marijuana have resulted in a nearly 9 percent drop in traffic deaths and a 5 percent reduction in beer sales.

The study is the first to examine the relationship between the legalization of Medical Marijuana and traffic deaths.

Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults. – Daniel Rees, Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado Denver, who co-authored the study with D. Mark Anderson, Assistant Professor of Economics at Montana State University.

5640b067-d20b-42e4-a263-ad3ad4554080

We were astounded by how little is known about the effects of legalizing medical marijuana, so we looked into traffic fatalities because there is good data, and the data allow us to test whether alcohol was a factor. – Daniel Rees

Anderson noted that traffic deaths are significant from a policy standpoint:

Traffic fatalities are an important outcome from a policy perspective because they represent the leading cause of death among Americans ages five to 34.

Medical-Marijuana-Traffic

The economists analyzed traffic fatalities nationwide, including the 13 states that legalized medical marijuana between 1990 and 2009. In those states, they found evidence that alcohol consumption by 20- through 29-year-olds went down, resulting in fewer deaths on the road. 

They noted that simulator studies conducted by previous researchers suggest that drivers under the influence of alcohol tend to underestimate how badly their skills are impaired.  They drive faster and take more risks.  In contrast, these studies show that drivers under the influence of marijuana tend to avoid risks.

Our results suggest a direct link between marijuana and alcohol consumption. – D. Mark Anderson

“Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption” can be found here.

cannabis_traffic_light_by_forsakenfashiondoll

> Medicinal Marijuana Reduces Traffic Fatalities | UC Denver

Succesful Stoners With Influence

Succesful Stoners With Influence | Third Monk image 18

snopp-blunt

Public perception of cannabis is changing, it’s time to identify people who have used cannabis and achieved high levels of success or influence.

This list of stoners is based on “power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person’s media profile” – not just on popularity or support for marijuana policy reform.

For more public endorsements of cannabis, check out our list of influential people who actively support decriminalization.

jonstewart-cannabis

Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

Do you know how many movies I wrote when I was high? – The Daily Show

billgates-cannabis

Bill Gates, Microsoft

As for drugs – well, Gates was certainly not unusual there. Marijuana was the pharmaceutical of choice… – Bill Gates Biography

lebronjames-cannabis

Lebron James, NBA Superstar

James also revealed he and his teammates smoked marijuana one night after getting access to a hotel room in Akron. – ESPN

georgeclooney-cannabis

George Clooney, Actor

The owner of a local cannabis café told reporters George Clooney was no stranger there. – The Weed Blog

davidletterman-cannabis

David Letterman, Late Show

I went through one period when I smoked a surprising, a really breath-taking, amount of grass almost every night. – Cannabis Culture

robertdowneyjr-cannabis

Robert Downey Jr, Actor

Robert Downey Jr. said he started smoking weed at age 8. – NBC New York

hughhefner-cannabis

Hugh Hefner, Playboy

Smoking helped put me in touch with the realm of the senses. – Drug Policy

stephencolbert-cannabis

Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report

First, [in high school], I smoked a lot of pot…and that’s how I got to know the people ‘half in’ the society of my high school and we waved at each other over the bong. Then I got to know people by making jokes. – SF Chronicle

rihanna-cannabis

Rihanna, Singer

Kush rolled, glass full… I prefer the better things! – Daily Mail

johnnydepp-cannabis

Johnny Depp, Actor

I’m not a great pothead or anything like that… but weed is much, much less dangerous than alcohol. – Playboy

oliverstone-cannabis

Oliver Stone, Director

I went to Vietnam, and I was there for a long time. [Using marijuana] made the difference between staying human or, as Michael Douglas said, becoming a beast. – The Raw Story

billmaher-cannabis

Bill Maher, Real Time

Look, I have never made a secret of the fact that I have tried marijuana… About 50,000 times. – Youtube

morganfreeman-cannabis

Morgan Freeman, Actor

Never give up the ganja. – The Guardian

angelinajolie-cannabis

Angelina Jolie, Actress

The one that has the worst effect for me was pot. I felt silly and giggly – I hate feeling like that. – Metro

snoopdogg-cannabis

Snopp Dogg, Rapper

It makes me feel the way I need to feel. – Esquire

mattdamon-cannabis

Matt Damon, Actor

The first time I smoked was at home with my mother and step-father. – Weed Quotes

obama-cannabis

Barack Obama, President

When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point. – Youtube

> Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users | Marijuana Policy Project

Cannabis Prevents Loss of Vision, Blindness (Study)

Cannabis Prevents Loss of Vision, Blindness (Study) | Third Monk image 1

Getting-High-prevents-loss-of-vision

Retinitis Pigmentosa is a genetic eye disease that leads to severe vision loss and blindness. The disease affects 1 in 4,000 people and worsens as cells in the retina, called photoreceptors, die off.

But a study published in Experimental Eye Research shows the chemicals in cannabis, known as cannabinoids, may slow down this retinal degeneration.

Using a synthetic form of THC, the compound responsible for cannabis’ high, researchers at the University of Alicante in Spain were able to prevent vision loss in rats with the disorder.

The data suggests that cannabinoids are potentially useful to delay retinal degeneration in retinitis pigmentosa patients. – Dr. Nicolás Cuenca, Study’s Lead Author.

At the end of 90 days, rats that received treatment performed better on vision tests and had 40% more photoreceptors than untreated rats. THC also seemed to protect a number of other eye structures, including inner layers of the retina.

pre-'98-bubba-kush-helps-with-loss-of-vision

Although encouraging, the results were not much of a surprise.

As the team notes, cannabinoids have shown promise in treating a variety of degenerative disorders, ranging from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to Strokes

They’re even seeing use in other vision related problems, such as Glaucoma.

While the latest study did not look at the mechanisms underlying the benefits of cannabinoids in Retinitis Pigmentosa, the authors conclude that further research is required.

> Marijuana Stops Vision Loss | Smell the Truth

Alcohol vs Cannabis – No Contest (Video)

Alcohol vs Cannabis - No Contest (Video) | Third Monk image 4

oregon-billboard-marijuana-alcohol

 The legalization of marijuana is moving forward and picking up steam when the president openly admits that cannabis is not as dangerous as alcohol.

When faced with these types of questions in front of an informed public, our federal representatives risk looking like jack asses if they let their biases lead to uninformed responses. DEA Chief, Michelle Leonhart, has already been labeled as a jack ass for her inability to admit that cannabis is less dangerous than heroin.

The argument of cannabis vs alcohol is another landslide victory; for anyone keeping score cannabis is safer than alcohol, cigarettes and…oh yea, heroin.

5 Ways Alcohol is More Dangerous Than Cannabis

Ever since Reefer Madness, myths and rumors about the negative health effects of marijuana have crowded out actual scientific evidence about pot.

But new research is telling us that marijuana use is actually much healthier and better for your body than alcohol consumption!

alcohol vs cannabis

alcohol vs marijuana

Medical Marijuana For Kids Instead of Harsh Treatments (Video)

Medical Marijuana For Kids Instead of Harsh Treatments (Video) | Third Monk image 4

cannabis-kids-treatment

Medical marijuana for kids is a touchy subject at the moment because of cannabis’ history as a schedule 1 drug.

Many people are still informing themselves on the topic but those that are experiencing the wonder first hand know that medical marijuana is a viable alternative to harsh treatments.

The evidence speaks for itself and it will only be a matter of time until science echoes what we already know. These Medical Marijuana success stories are now being covered by mainstream media. and although many doctors don’t agree with the treatment some have made a full 180 on the subject like Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Reduction of Seizures From Using Medical Cannabis

Kyung Lah (CNN) reports on a 6-year-old epilepsy patient who has been suffering fewer seizures since taking medical marijuana.

7 Year Old Girl Uses Medical Marijuana to Treat Cancer

A little girl with a rare form of cancer in Oregon uses medical marijuana as part of her treatment.

Medical Marijuana Used To Treat Autism In Children

Parents decide to use cannabis to treat their autistic son.

Medical Marijuana for kids

Cannabis Vs Tobacco – A Timeline of Changing Attitudes

Cannabis Vs Tobacco - A Timeline of Changing Attitudes | Third Monk image 8

Cannabis is becoming a bigger part of mainstream culture, with more states legalizing the drug for medical use. Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana, and other states like Alaska and California have signaled they will consider expanded legalization too.

Take a look back at the divergent paths cannabis, and tobacco have taken in public policy and pop culture.

cannabis-tobacco-timeline-1 cannabis-tobacco-timeline-2 tobacco-timeline-3 tobacco-timeline-4 tobacco-timeline-5 tobacco-timeline-6 tobacco-timeline-7 tobacco-timeline-8 tobacco-timeline-9 tobacco-timeline-10
Marijuana and tobacco: How times have changed | USA Today

Research on Psychedelics Should Be Wide Open – Scientific American

Research on Psychedelics Should Be Wide Open - Scientific American | Third Monk image 2

shrooms-illegal

Cannabis, LSD, psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”), MDMA (the “ecstasy” drug) and other psychedelic drugs all have significant potential medical uses, as illustrated in the limited research organizations like the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Science (MAPS) have facilitated over the years.

But the war on drugs and resulting classification of those psychoactive substances as Schedule I—meaning with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration—has caused a national research blockade and left that medical potential largely untapped.

The editors of Scientific American—the 168-year-old magazine to which scientists like Albert Einstein have contributed—called for an end to the “national ban” on psychoactive drug research, noting that LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and cannabis all “had their origins in the medical pharmacopeia.”

More than 1,000 scientific publications chronicled the uses of LSD for psychotherapy during the mid-’60s, and MDMA similarly complemented talk therapy through the ‘70s.

Cannabis has logged thousands of years as a medicament for diseases and conditions ranging from malaria to rheumatism. – Scientific American

Scientific American lamented the fact that since the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 declared these psychoactive drugs void of any medical use by categorizing them as Schedule I substances—and three United Nations treaties extend similar restrictions to much of the world—a catch-22 has arisen:

Federal research on these drugs is banned because they have no accepted medical use, but researchers cannot explore their therapeutic potential because they are banned. – Scientific American

High Barriers to Psychedelic Research

psychedelic-exp

While the stigma that comes from Schedule I placement of these substances makes scientific research clearance and fundraising difficult, research itself is not prohibited. Scientific American’s assertion that there is a “research ban” is innacurate. For example, MAPS has been performing FDA-approved studies on psychoactive substances for years.

Brad Burge, the director of communications and marketing from MAPS said there is not an explicit ban on cannabis research either, “though there are laws in place that make doing research to make marijuana into a prescription medicine impossible, so far.”

The few privately funded studies that have looked at these compounds have yielded tantalizing hints that some of these ideas merit consideration.

Yet doing this research through standard channels … requires traversing a daunting bureaucratic labyrinth that can dissuade even the most committed investigator. – Scientific American

As a result, some psychologists are left wondering “whether MDMA can help with intractable post-traumatic stress disorder [as work with combat veterans has shown], whether LSD or psilocybin can provide relief for cluster headaches or obsessive compulsive disorder and whether the particular docking receptors on brain cells that many psychedelics latch onto are critical sites for regulating conscious states that go awry in schizophrenia and depression,” the article notes.

Additionally, while doctors in 20 states (and counting) can recommend medical marijuana, researchers aren’t allowed to properly study its effects. Scientific American notes that this leaves “unanswered the question of whether the drug might help treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, nausea, sleep apnea, multiple sclerosis and a host of other conditions.”

Consciousness and Freedom

Star-Gazing

Like many researchers, therapists and drug policy activists have been saying for decades, it is time to allow scientific researchers to do their jobs and find out what these substances can actually do—and in order for that to happen, the U.S. needs to reschedule these substances and effectively lift its research blockade.

As the Scientific American article concludes, the endless obstructions to research caused by current scheduling have meant a research standstill for Schedule I drugs:

This is a shame. … If some of the obstacles to research can be overcome, it may be possible to finally detach research on psychoactive chemicals from the hyperbolic rhetoric that is a legacy of the war on drugs.

Only then will it be possible to judge whether LSD, ecstasy, marijuana and other highly regulated compounds—subjected to the gauntlet of clinical testing for safety and efficacy—can actually yield effective new treatments for devastating psychiatric illnesses. – Scientific American

The more trusted publications like Scientific American come out and call for change, the closer we will be to medical research and scientific facts that liberate us from the medical Dark Ages when it comes to psychoactive drugs.

Major Scientific Publication Calls on U.S. to Open Doors to Psychedelic Research | AlterNet