Health Knowledge!

Stoned Presidents: U.S Presidents that Smoked Marijuana

Before marijuana prohibition began in the late 1930′s, many people, including some of our nations leaders grew cannabis for a variety of reasons. It’s fairly well known that cannabis has thousands of industrial uses, and has been grown for thousands of years. While simply growing cannabis is far from proof that someone smoked it, there is still evidence showing many would-be U.S Presidents enjoyed it for recreational and medicinal uses. George Washington Washington routinely smoked marijuana to alleviate the pain from his ailing teeth. Washington’s diary recounts his efforts to better cultivate and enhance his crops of marijuana. Thomas Jefferson Jefferson grew cannabis on his plantation and smuggled Chinese hemp seeds to America. He also is believed to have given special smoking blends out as personal gifts which is why he makes the list. James Madison Madison once remarked that hemp gave him insight to create a new and democratic nation. James Monroe Monroe began smoking it as Ambassador to France & continued to the age of 73. Andrew Jackson Jackson has been documented to have smoked cannabis and tobacco cigars along with the troops he led. Zachary Taylor Like Andrew Jackson, Taylor is said to have smoked with his troops in one or more of the many wars he was in. Franklin Pierce Continuing a popular theme of the era, Pierce also smoked with his troops as a general in the Mexican-American War. In a letter to his family, he says cannabis is “about the only good thing” in the war. Abraham Lincoln Quotes (real and fake) about Lincoln enjoying hemp are all over the internet. While some debate if Lincoln sparked up, many resources point to yes. John F. Kennedy Close acquaintances say Kennedy used cannabis regularly to control his back pain (even during his term) and actually planned on legalizing marijuana during his second term. Jimmy Carter Along with his efforts to legalize marijuana, Some say Carter also hosted many marijuana smoke filled events at the White House. This leads most to assume Carter at least tried it at some point in life. George W. Bush Bush publicly refused to answer the marijuana question. He was later caught saying he refused to talk about it “because I don’t want some little kid doing what I tried”. Bill Clinton Clinton famously stated that he smoked but “didn’t inhale”. He has been known to bend the truth every now and then, so he still makes the list. Barack Obama Even though he joked off many American’s wishes to legalize marijuana, Obama has been very open with his own marijuana smoking in the past, once saying “I inhaled frequently. That was the point”. Unfortunately history has forgotten many facts of lesser known presidents like Millard Fillmore, which makes finding evidence of possible marijuana use for some presidents next to impossible. Despite that, 30 percent of the United State’s 44 presidents are believed to have smoked marijuana for recreational and/or medical purposes. While under the average of roughly 40% of people that admit to smoking marijuana, it’s still an interesting fact to keep in mind while debating issues about marijuana use in America.

Ways this herb can help

Juicing RAW Cannabis – Eating RAW Cannabis?

There’s no shortage of controversy surrounding the use of medical marijuana. Despite the copious amount of scientifically-backed data gathered over decades, if not centuries, which show that cannabis has tremendous therapeutic potential, many lawmakers remain hesitant to approve its use. Regardless, a growing number of dedicated researchers continue to investigate new therapeutic applications for juicing or eating raw cannabis. For some people, it still remains difficult to distinguish between the plant’s medicinal and recreational uses. Inhaling the plant’s vapors gets you high, even when that isn’t the primary reason why its being consumed. It’s not just anti-cannabis critics who have a problem with this issue. Many of the people who consume raw cannabis with a doctor’s recommendation have no interest in getting high. For them, the plant is a safe and natural method of relieving constant pain and constant discomfort, and it’s euphoric and thought befuddling qualities are seen as (unwanted) side effects. Research is now showing benefits from eating or juicing raw cannabis. One term that is regularly used in conjunction with cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the ingredient in marijuana that produces the “high”. Cannabis does contain another beneficial chemical compound called Cannabidiol (CBD) which has been proven medically to help relieve inflammation, convulsions, nausea, as well as inhibit cancer cell growth. Raw cannabis contains THCA and CBDA, ineffective alkaloids. They must be heated to produce THC and CBD, which in turn produces the “high.” This is the reason for smoking or vaporizing. By eating or juicing raw cannabis in its natural state, there is no “high” to speak of. Drinking fresh-squeezed cannabis juice (similar to wheat grass juice) or eating raw cannabis as a leafy green vegetable is fast becoming a preferred means of consumption for individuals in search health benefits without losing their heads in the clouds. I personally have not tried this but please let me know your thoughts on this as it is a very interesting topic gaining popularity for a wide variety of health giving properties. -Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN, DABFM 6/19/12 Follow up from Dr. G: I would like to share with everyone an interesting and informative message I received from Jeffrey C. Raber, Ph.D. (thewercshop.com). Please read below: When you consume “raw” cannabis, that is cannabis which has not been heated, you are consuming the cannabinoid acids. THCA and/or CBDA. If you have a strain that is dominant in CBD, then the raw form is delivering CBDA. If you have a high THC strain, then this raw form will deliver THCA. Look up tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or cannabidiolic acid. Those are the A forms of the molecules you are consuming. Almost all varieties today contain large amounts of THCA which when heated provides THC. By volume (it is reported by weight actually), there is next to no CBDA or CBD in virtually all of the strains currently available. NOT ALL STRAINS ARE THE SAME! EVEN THE SAME NAMES ARE MOST OFTEN NOT THE SAME (mis-named, different grower = different method = different end product)! Over-generalization of this marvelous plant is what is diminishing its stock and ruining the value it has to offer. We’ve done thousands of strain tests and have in-house expertise directly from The Netherlands, we are the most informed laboratory of professional scientists in the US, you can rest assured my comments are correct. Only about 2% of the strain products available today have CBD above 1 wt% in them. It is RARE! And most likely almost none of it exists in non-medical states today. Juicing is working because it provides the cannabinoid acids, which are potent anti-inflammatory compounds that help regulate the endocannabinoid system in ways not fully understood just yet. When you juice properly, you consume almost no THC or CBD, it is all THCA and CBDA! That is why you don’t receive any psychoactive effects. Juicing improperly may lead to heating the solution and causing THC to form. The only way to know exactly what you have, strain or juice wise, is to have it tested by a reliable and accurate lab (and not all of the “labs” today operate in that faction either unfortunately). Only through accurate information dissemination, more thorough understanding and improved patient care will we be able to fully free this marvelous plant! We all have to do our part! Dr. Courtney, who we maintain an excellent relationship with, is a true pioneer in the fashion and we should all aim to support him and his efforts in every way we can. Let’s be sure to get the right information out there to everyone!

New Study, Leading Researcher: Federal Marijuana Classification Not Tenable

Director of cannabis research center says classification and political controversy are "obstacles to medical progress" Dr. Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), and two other investigators published a study in the most recent issue of The Open Neurology Journal, which concluded that the Schedule I classification of marijuana is "not tenable." The study further concluded that, "it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking." The study urges additional research, but states that marijuana's federal classification and its political controversy are "obstacles to medical progress in this area." The federal classification of marijuana is based on the government's position that it has "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States."

Cash-Only Marijuana: California Dispensaries Being Forced To Refuse Credit Cards

To most people, the idea of charging a dime bag on your Visa might sound like a half-baked scheme from Pineapple Express, but new pressure from the federal government is set to make medical marijuana a cash-only business in California. SF Weekly's "The Snitch" blog reports that merchant service providers -- the middle men that process credit card transactions between vendors and companies like Visa and Mastercard -- are being strong-armed into refusing payments from pot dispensaries starting this month. Stephen DeAngelo, executive director of the Harborside Health Center, a marijuana dispensary in Oakland, Calif., told the East Bay Express the push from the credit card companies is likely the result of pressure from the U.S. Treasury Department. The new policy would be consistent with a wider federal crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, which has included high-profile raids, including one in Oakland that seized more than $1 million in cannabis in April. While some Bay Area dispensaries have always been cash-only, some are concerned that the new rules may marginalize low-income consumers, or heighten the risk associated with procuring medical marijuana. "A medical marijuana customer is now a guaranteed cash-carrying target for petty criminals," SF Weekly wrote. California is not the only state that allows patients to purchase medical marijuana, but it has been the center of recent controversy about the drug's legality. In October of last year, a California appeals court struck down a permit system used by the city of Long Beach to control pot distributers. While reprieves were initially granted to 18 collectives, the Long Beach City Council voted down a crucial extension, a move that could doom the city's legal pot industry, according to the Contra Costa Times.

Medical Marijuana Costs Can Be Deducted From Income For Food Stamp Eligibility In Oregon

Under Oregon state law, some food stamp recipients are permitted to deduct their medical marijuana costs from their income in calculating their eligibility for the federal program. The provision allows seniors and those who qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance to deduct medical costs such as prescription drugs when submitting income information to determine if they qualify for food stamps. Medical marijuana, still illegal at the federal level, has been grouped in this larger category since the state legalized it back in 1998. "Medical marijuana gets treated just like any other prescription drug," Gene Evans, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, told the Oregonian. Included in these available deductions are fees for obtaining a state-issued medical marijuana card, expenses incurred while cultivating marijuana and the costs of purchasing it from a third-party grower. In Oregon, some benefits also appear to go both ways. According to an Oregon Department of Public Health pamphlet on medical marijuana, applicants for growsites can receive a reduced fee if they provide documentation that they are currently enrolled in the food stamp program. Reduced rates for medical marijuana registry cards are available for food stamp recipients in other states as well. According to the Oregonian, Maine and New Mexico both have similar language regarding the deduction of medical marijuana expenses, but an inquiry by the newspaper found the federal government unreceptive to the state practice. "No state may deduct the cost of any substance considered illegal under federal law, including medical marijuana," the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote in response to the Oregonian. "Although there may be state or local laws that permit the cultivation, prescription, and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes, such activity is not permitted under federal law." Evans said most food stamp recipients are unaware of the rules regarding medical marijuana deductions, and though there is some overlap between the two pools, the practice is used only infrequently. According to the Oregonian, however, their report made enough of a stir to prompt state officials to plan discussions with federal food stamp administrators concerning the law.

Medical Marijuana Update

National On Monday, the Open Neurology Journal published a review of several recent clinical trials assessing the safety of medical marijuana that found marijuana's current placement as a Schedule I controlled substance with no medical value in not scientifically justified. "Based on evidence currently available, the Schedule I classification is not tenable; it is not accurate that marijuana has no medical use, or that information on safety is lacking," the authors wrote. The lead author is Dr. Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. The review and its conclusions directly contradict the stance of the DEA and FDA. California Last Wednesday, the state Supreme Court declined to review a lower court decision that okayed the city of Los Angeles shutting down a Culver City dispensary. The city had used nuisance abatement measures to shut down the Organica dispensary, and the store had appealed, arguing that it was protected by state law allowing collectives. LA city attorneys lauded the decision as vindicating their stance "dispensing and selling marijuana…remains illegal." Medical marijuana advocates beg to differ, and all are waiting on the Supreme Court to settle the issue when it decides another dispensary case later this year. Last Thursday, Fresno banned outdoor grows within the city limits. The city council voted unanimously for the ban, which was recommended by Police Chief Jerry Dyer, who said outgrows promote violence in the city. A temporary ban had been in place since January. Under the new rule, cultivating the drug in an enclosed and secure structure, and in compliance with state marijuana law, is permitted. Also last Thursday, a Santa Fe Springs councilman pleaded guilty in federal court to soliciting a bribe from a would-be medical marijuana dispensary operator. Councilman Joseph Serrano copped to the offense, then resigned his seat later that same day. Last Friday, Rancho Mirage ordered a dispensary to close after city officials became aware of it when "residents in the area complained of smelling marijuana." The city is already being sued by two other dispensaries that have been forced out of business by the city's moratorium on dispensaries. Also last Friday, a Sacramento ballot initiative signature-gathering effort came up short. Sponsored by the Committee for Safe Patient Access to Regulated Cannabis (CSPARC), the initiative sought to provide safe, regulated access for patients in the county. They needed 42,300 signatures by Monday and only had 25,000. While the measure will now not qualify for the November ballot, it could still qualify for a later election if it gets the necessary signatures by July 23. On Monday, a state appeals court ruled that LA County's ban on dispensaries is illegal. "[… T]he County's complete ban on all 'medical marijuana dispensaries,' including collectives and cooperatives authorized under Health and Safety Code section 11362.775, conflicts with, and is thus preempted by, California's medical marijuana laws," wrote Judge P.J. Mallano in the unanimous decision handed down by the California Court of Appeals (2nd District) . The case is County of Los Angeles v. Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective, et al. The ruling is being seen as a major blow to arguments made in defense of the legality of dispensary bans. Also on Monday, medical marijuana growers sued Yuba County over its new nuisance ordinance for marijuana cultivation. The lawsuit charges that the ordinance adopted by supervisors in May is overly restrictive and runs afoul of state law. Next week, the growers will file a request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ordinance from being enforced. The county's ordinance placed limits on the number of plants, the amount of ground the plants could be grown on, and the types of parcels where they could be grown. But the complaint states the ordinance doesn't address collectives, where one person might grow several plants on behalf of others, beyond the six-mature-plant limit stipulated in the ordinance. Also on Monday, San Leandro put its plan to ban dispensaries on hold in the wake of the state appeals court ruling County of Los Angeles vs. Alternative Medical Cannabis Collective earlier the same day. That ruling invalidated LA County's ban on dispensaries. San Leandro has a temporary moratorium in place and had planned to make it permanent. That moratorium expires September 30. On Wednesday, activists reported that a raid was underway at a Sacramento dispensary. The action, apparently undertaken by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office was aimed at the First Amendment dispensary inside the Farmer's Market.

Cancer Patient Busted For Medical Marijuana Possession, Found Not Guilty Of Felony Charges

File - In this May 5, 2011, shows a unidentified man smoking medical marijuana. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) From The Colorado Independent's Scot Kersgaard: It’s been 14 months since the police swarmed Bob Crouse‘s Colorado Springs House, confiscated his personal medical marijuana garden and brought a felony charge against him for possession with intent to distribute. Friday an El Paso County jury found the leukemia patient not guilty. Crouse swore to his innocence all along, saying he had a fairly major grow operation only because he needed as many as 75 plants in order to ensure a steady supply of phoenix tears, which are created by boiling about a pound of marijuana at a time, turning it into about an ounce of slushy oil, which is then taken in doses of about a gram a day. Many cancer patients swear by the process, but the only way most can afford a steady supply is by growing their own. “Buying it was not an option,” Crouse told The Colorado Independent last year. “I was just trying to grow the quantity of medicine I needed to medicate myself. I never had any intent to distribute,” Crouse said then. “They think I was part of an underground network, but I think I was within my rights. They thought I was a criminal. I tell you it was real intimidating when they showed up with eight or 10 agents. I’m a 63-year-old leukemia patient fighting for the right to fight for my life.” State law allows medical marijuana patients to possess up to two ounces of marijuana or three mature plants, but also says a person may possess as much marijuana as is medically necessary. Since Crouse possessed substantially more marijuana than two ounces or three plants, he exercised what is called an “affirmative defense,” essentially saying that while he possessed more marijuana than statute allows, he did not possess more than is medically necessary and therefore did not possess more than is allowed under the constitution. He said prosecutors did not want to allow him to use the affirmative defense, but that the judge ruled in his favor on that point. “Throughout the trial, the judge (Timothy Schultz) was fighting for my right to defend myself. He said I had the ability to run my affirmative defense and I am grateful that the jury was able to follow along through the maze of laws,” he said. After his acquittal, Crouse got more good news — he was able to move back into his Green Mountain Falls home, from which he had been evacuated as a precaution because of nearby wildfires. “I’m an innocent man, and I’m no longer homeless. The fire was very unsettling. I am so grateful for how the community has come together. Everyone has done such an outstanding job,” he said of firefighters and community members who helped each other during a difficult time. Crouse added that the emotions he was feeling about the fire and about being able to go home trumped the emotions of winning his trial. When his plants were confiscated in May 2011, Crouse said it was also his therapy that was taken from him, his peace of mind. “You can lose yourself in a little garden. When I was in there working with my plants I would forget all about what was going on inside my body,” he recalls. “I was beating it,” he says of the cancer. “The effect medical marijuana had on me, on my life, was huge. I felt like I was being healed. I could feel it working in my body. “A cancer patient has to hope if he is going to make it,” Crouse says. “The medical marijuana gave me hope. Stress makes cancer worse. Everyday I try to eliminate stress from my life. I am fortunate to have a relationship with God. I am a man of faith. I have a strong faith in my creator. I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning without that faith. “This is a journey I didn’t choose,” Crouse said. “If I wasn’t sick I wouldn’t be using marijuana and I wouldn’t be facing incarceration,” he said before the acquittal. Bob Melamede, Ph.D, president of Cannabis Science testified at the trial that cannabis can cure some cancers. Crouse said he was thrilled that Melamede was able to testify about the healing properties of marijuana. Timothy Tipton, who is certified as a cannabis expert in several Colorado jurisdictions testified in this trial as an expert witness. He said after the trial that Colorado district attorneys need to show a little more respect to medical marijuana patients. “Once again a jury has recognized that Colorado’s constitution guarantees patients the right to possess as much medicine as they need,” he said. Noting that both prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys were paid with tax dollars, he said DAs need to “stop wasting time and money on cases like this. We are very disappointed that (El Paso County DA) Dan May didn’t take a different approach.” As it has been more than a year since Crouse’s plants were confiscated by police, Tipton said returning them to Crouse would be pointless but that Crouse could consider civil litigation in order to receive compensation for his lost medicine. Crouse said he would, in fact, seek payment from the county. “Not only are my plants probably dead but my medicine has probably been ruined. If they can’t give me back my medicine, they need to give me the value of my medicine.” He estimated the value of his lost plants to be “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” He said he hopes his acquittal will give May and other prosecutors pause before they file charges against other patients. “I hope it makes a difference in how patients are treated,” he said. “They need to understand that they were wrong. We need to know as patients that we are not going to have bombs thrown at us. I see the fear in patients’ eyes,” he said. The El Paso County District Attorney’s office did not return a call seeking comment