Facts about medical marijuana

Cannabis was first cultivated in China around 4000 B.C. and the U.S. Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Twelve Americans receive prescribed marijuana from the U.S. government. There are three main types of Marijuana: Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis. Cannabis Sativa grows taller and it gives more of a head high. Indica is a short bushy plant and the high is more muscle relaxing throughout the body. Cannabis Ruderalis grows in colder climates (Eastern Europe and Russia). Skunk is the strong Cannabis Indica hybrid. Interesting fact about marijuana is that marijuana cures/prevents more than 100 diseases including cancer and depression. We advise you to watch following videos:

Jason Como, Pennsylvania Man Accused Of Growing Marijuana, Says He Didn't Know It Was On Church Property

GROVE CITY, Pa. (AP) – A western Pennsylvania man who was arrested and charged with growing marijuana on a church's property says he had no idea who the land belonged to. State police arrested 28-year-old Jason Como last week after the Beloved Disciples Church reported that two suspected marijuana plants were growing on their property in Grove City, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. Como says he's a Christian and that he wouldn't have planted the pot there if he'd known the land belonged to a church. Como also says it was for personal use. Authorities found a small path that led from the plants to the backyard of a nearby home. Como was charged with manufacturing and cultivating a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Federal Regulations Forcing Some In Medical Marijuana Business Back To Street Dealing

As federal regulations tighten on medical marijuana growers and dispensary owners, some may find their best bet for business is to bring the product back to the streets, a reality highlighted in a new report by the Los Angeles Times. "Ricky," a veteran of the pot business, is the subject of the Times article. He claims that federal and local regulations, along with felony drug possession and cultivation charges, have forced him back to the streets where he began dealing drugs as a teenager in the 1970s. He finds certain benefits to operating outside of the often ambiguous legal framework for the medical marijuana industry. Saying he deals only to those with medical clearance, Ricky cites no taxes, no permits and no paperwork as the best way to avoid a potentially troublesome paper trail. New laws and enforcement raids have been especially tough on medical marijuana businesses, while avoiding cracking down on individuals who grow the plant in the privacy of their homes for personal use. Washington saw the DEA close 23 dispensaries in late August. Across the pond, crackdowns on legal pot in the Netherlands, and particularly in Amsterdam, have led to similar results. The illegal market for drugs is gaining popularity there, as foreigners and even Dutch residents avoid registering to use the drug legally at marijuana shops. Stateside, medical marijuana dispensary closures not only affect business owners, but also patients who use the shops as a safe means to obtain their medicine, creating a vacuum that can easily be filled by those who already have the skill set to run a street-level marijuana operation. For Ricky and other street dealers, the only difference from 30 years ago is a broader clientele and a better product. "A huge demand has been created," Ricky tells the Times. "It's back to the underground. Anyone who is smart is just going to take it back to the streets." Prosecutors in California have denied that medical marijuana dispensary closures have forced legitimate patients to illegal sellers. President Obama's and the federal government's war on weed has proven to be of particular concern in California, where sales of the drug generate upwards of $100 million in tax revenue annually. In July, the L.A. City Council voted unanimously to ban all dispensaries, a sweeping move that would shutter 700 shops in the area. The ban has been temporarily suspended thanks to a referendum. Other California cities are also feeling the sting. Notable Oakland shops with clean records like Oaksterdam and Harborside -- the biggest dispensary in America -- are as vulnerable to closure as the hundreds of other pot shops that have shut their doors in the past year.

What has the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said about Medical Marijuana?

The US DEA stated in an Apr. 26, 2005 press release titled "Marijuana: The Myths Are Killing Us": "When 14-year-old Irma Perez of Belmont, California, took a single ecstasy pill one evening last April, she had no idea she would become one of the 26,000 people who die every year from drugs. Irma took ecstasy with two of her 14-year-old friends in her home. Soon after taking the tiny blue pill, Irma complained of feeling awful and said she felt like she was 'going to die.' Instead of seeking medical care, her friends called the 17-year-old dealer who supplied the pills and asked for advice. The friends tried to get Irma to smoke marijuana, but when she couldn't because she was vomiting and lapsing into a coma, they stuffed marijuana leaves into her mouth because, according to news sources, 'they knew that drug is sometimes used to treat cancer patients." Irma Perez died from taking ecstasy, but compounding that tragedy was the deadly decision to use marijuana to 'treat' her instead of making what could have been a lifesaving call to 911. Irma was a victim of our society's stunning misinformation about marijuana-a society that has come to believe that marijuana use is not only an individual's free choice but also is good medicine, a cure-all for a variety of ills."