Vrae, you are a mine of fascinating videos and information on this subject - thank you so much!
I consider this argument in a similar way to that of euthanasia (I know they are very different subjects...) People want to talk rationally about euthanasia - other people panic at the mere mention of it and speak of it as a 'crime' or 'a license to kill the old and disabiled'. The discussion gets nowhere because the media blow up the scary stuff and any reasoned argument is lost. The same thing happens with MMJ - we want it discussed rationally and scientifically, but all the media can see (no doubt prompted by those with a vested interest in it NOT being developed) is the 60's, pot smoking lazy wasted hippies, and psychological damage from THC.
It seems so simple to me - the US and others have to stop producing strains of the plant that are very high in THC, and concentrate on generating plants with minimal THC and as much of the active substance as possible. I thought the 'Charlotte's Web' plant idea was fascinating - and though it's great that those brothers have produced it and are helping give people access, they are still the ones selectively breeding plants with higher and higher levels of THC. Those high-THC plants are known to create big social problems (adding to the negative issues stopping medical research), and they know that but are obviously making considerable cash from selling their products in legalized states.
It always comes down to money....
so so sad, when you think of the possibilities that most medics (at the moment) are so reluctant to investigate....
I hope things change - and fast. I want to know whether MMJ really might help us, and if it can, I want it to be available safely from my doctors in a prescribable way. Or....I quite like the idea of being able to just get it safely and legally myself
....but....I don't want the streets filled with teenagers with weed-induced problems because it's available to just anyone....OMG it's complicated!
Oh well. I'll keep reading and hoping and mailing my MP
Bram.