I really agree with what you have said.

I’m not sure if it is possible to grow an MMJ plant that doesn’t have any THC and only CBD’s, but they are definitely able to take the THC down to a very small level. The Charlotte’s Web Plant has a waiting list in Colorado (the one with high level CBD’s).

Pharmacopeia’s synthetic marijuana is called Marinol. Apparently it lacks in the therapeutic compounds that are found in Cannabis. Here’s a link I found on Marinol vs. Natural Plant http://norml.org/component/zoo/categ...tural-cannabis

I agree with you that profits on current drugs for all kinds of diseases would take a monetary hit, and I’m not sure that you can patent any MMJ . Here is a link I found about Patenting MMJ http://www.theweedblog.com/pharmaceu...cal-marijuana/

They specifically talk about a pharmaceutical company in the UK that’s trying to do just that. Although they are charging outrageous amount of money for their version of what could be potentially grown in your backyard. Heaven forbid we might know what is good for us and try and heal ourselves without specific direction from a pharmaceutical company. It’s a weed for God’s sake. It’s grows naturally.

Anyway, here’s another very interesting video on the subject. A scientific view looking at the chemistry behind MMJ. I saw this years ago and found it fascinating.

Part 1 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh0...nabinoids_tech

Part 2 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh0...n-1-newrelated

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.

The pharmacy industry will do all it can with all their money to stop the production, and use of MJ. They would lose a lot of money if people figured out for themselves how to treat some conditions. It is political, and a way to control the population. Heck our Government won't even work with the med. machine to help reduce the cost of medicines in this country. Can't see them ever giving in to public demand. They will go to the mat with this one...ginnie

Check out this page from gov.uk......

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...dicine-sativex

It's about the changes to UK laws (June 2013) around prescribing and using Sativex. It's declared as the ONLY cannabis-based product allowed to be prescribed medically....license to print money

Bram.

Decades ago the Dupont Corp. lobbied hard to stigmatize and outlaw hemp and was successful. Hemp was what made our "ropes" and it was a product that could not be patented. But Nylon could be and the Duponts invented it.

There are SO MANY uses for hemp. Some places around the U.S. sell all kinds of hemp products. Everything from clothes to lotions. Just FYI to anyone reading this, you can’t get “high” from hemp. It doesn’t have any THC in it, or such small amounts that there would be no euphoric high if you did smoke it.

There are also many ways to use cannabis. It’s ridiculous that it is a class 1 scheduled drug. I mean really? It’s in the same class as heroin , opiates, etc. IMO alcohol is a far more lethal drug, and it’s in the majority of homes in the U.S. I don’t want kids getting their hands on marijuana , but it’s already available to them almost anywhere on the streets and in the schools, etc. It’s a sad truth.

The U.S. declared the war on drugs, and it’s a complete failure. We sent out the message to other countries that if they didn’t follow suit we would not trade with them. I admire the countries that have decided not to let the US make this decision for them anymore. Like Israel; I applauded their efforts to study the effects and benefits of MMJ.

I guess I will go ahead and state the obvious; I use MMJ. I very seldom need any kind of narcotic pain killers. Is it the only drug I need? No. Does it help with my CRPS symptoms? Yes, most definitely. I have access to a CBD syrup that is really helpful. I am so thankful that I live in a state that is more forward thinking than others. I really believe that if we all stand together on the issue, that is when change is possible. I do believe that other states are slowly coming to the same conclusion. There are at least 20 states that have legalized it for medical use. http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/v...ourceID=000881

Oh, and by the way, I’m not a hippy. I don’t celebrate 4/20 on the steps of the capital, or anything like that, but I do privately smile when I see the progress that is taking place in Colorado and in other states around the country.

Anywho, that’s my two cents. Thanks for letting me share and have this conversation here.

Unfortunately. I think you are very right. I wish for a revolution on this topic.

Vrae, you go girl! I'm glad you have access to it and find it helps - that's what we need. Shame you're not a real hippie type though lol...I could have sent you a tie-dye skirt from our local market...

My issue is that I know I could 'get hold of some' as it were, if I asked around enough in the seedy pubs in town....but I would be breaking the law in doing so, risking ridicule for my family, risking my future 'relationship' (that's a joke ) with the NHS, and getting a fine and a criminal record... I also wouldn't know what on earth I was getting - could be low CBD high THC or low THC high CBD. I'd have no idea, and I don't WANT to get buzzed or high, stink my house out or have to buy a bong!

That's the big issue - if they don't legally control some medical form of the drug for those of us who need it for a condition it helps, then we would be forced to try to find that same help illegally and at risk to our health. It's madness.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! Oh I envy you Vrae, I wish the UK had more sense with this. I've heard Sativex isn't even much cop in terms of it's effects - that it's not as good as it could be because the manufacturers aren't using the best 'recipe'. Plus to get your doc to prescribe Sativex, you have to have already tried all the powerful narcotic meds and failed. Well I don't want to put my body, my brain or my family through two years of me on a morphine cocktail. Surely MMJ is kinder to your body than morphine and it's other chums?

Half of me wants to ask my pain specialist for it, half of me worries that I'll be labelled as a drug-seeker because I've even asked about it.....

The world is run by money and big companies who control governments and the laws they put into place. Very rarely do governments do things for the good of their citizens - they do things because they are being paid to, or bribed, or blackmailed; or because it will give them influence over someone/something. It's sad but true the world over. The alternative is a Utopian dream that will never happen while money can get its owners so much power and influence....

BUT....we live in hope

Bram.

Hi Bram, I had to take Morphine for many years. I asked to be taken off the drug. I was sick of it, and living my life around a pill. The doctor who prescribe it said I would have to take it the rest of my life. I declined that invitation.
I have considerable pain. I wish I had this other solution, or at least be able to try it for myself to see if there is any benefit. Don't think it will happen in this state in my life time. ginnie

I'm sorry ginnie, it really does suck I so wish there was a better solution. Pain is dreadful - but sometimes the drug-fogged-faintly-dulled-but-still-there pain is even worse... I've only had morphine once with my CRPS, and that was in hospital right after my operation when my whole knee was screaming. I hated the fog that came with it, and it's not some magic pill that takes away the pain - it just sort of drapes a cloth over the pain. It's still there, but it's harder to think about. But then, it's hard to think about anything at all on the darn stuff...

I don't want morphine now. I cope with my daily 'normal' pain levels ok, and when it's bad I'm just miserable and get through it as best I can. I've given up on the painkillers I have, as they just don't work anymore. I suspect morphine wouldn't work as well as I hope now either, and to be honest, when I desperately need a painkiller to work and it doesn't, it scares me rigid.

Maybe all of us sufferers should move to a country/state that has a sensible attitude to MMJ. Might send a message to the medical community....or perhaps not.

Take care ginnie, and everyone else. Hope today is a better day

Bram.