Introduction to Cannabinoids News For People on the Grow
July – September 2014
Chicago Cannabis Conference Report
National News P5
theamericancultivator.com
Belles Hominey Casserole
Health P8
Issue 2
Introduction to Cannabinoids
Lifestyle P6
Federal Freedom
Editorial P3
HEMP HEMP HOORAY for the USA
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus, quis elente odis eos dia volut pro mos mod quam. By Stacey Theis - Advocate
We the People celebrate and commemorate the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776 by our Founding Fathers, which led to the creation and signing of our US Constitution. On Independence Day here in the United States, we celebrate our Liberties and Freedoms, fought for by America’s first War Veterans, Activists, Freedom Fighters, Politicians, Businessmen and Hempsters! No, that isn’t a typo or is meant to offend, it’s the honest truth! They were not only some of our first U.S. war veterans but they were also indeed, Hempsters. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington both grew hemp on their plantations. Thomas
Jefferson said, “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country!” He went through great risks to smuggle hemp seeds banned in America because he knew of their valuable resources and potential. George Washington, our first U.S. President and Commander-in-Chief, a businessman, American Hero and veteran was not vague about his love of Hemp. He grew hemp and strongly advocated its use and is famously quoted as saying “Make the most of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere!” Benjamin Franklin, a scientist, inventor, businessman and author, was another original Hempster, who owned a Paper Mill and produced paper from hemp pulp. His rough drafts of The Declaration of Independence were drafted on Hemp Paper. Cannabis Hemp was legal tender in America from the mid 1600’s through the
Nam quae nos mod quam que laut as doluptatem eaquiaspel moditae cum il is eum etur sitaect ionemporem.
early 1800’s and you could even pay your taxes with hemp for over 200 years. The United States Census of 1850 counted 8327 “hemp plantations” (minimum 2,000 acres) in just 15 states. There were thousands of farms all over the country growing hemp. It was everywhere and used for everything. In the 1700-1800s, I’m sure the idea that hemp would ever be prohibited to be grown in America, would have seemed as impossible back then, as envisioning a world with no McDonald’s or Starbucks today. There was no way that our Founding Fathers could have predicted the Industrial Revolution and it leading to the prohibition of our resourceful Hemp plant. If time travel were possible and we went back to the 1700’s and told George, Thomas or Ben that the Hemp plant
Mike Engle is not taking his defeat lying down.
Several years ago a neighbor complained about the smell of growing marijuana coming from Engle’s Ypsilanti Township home. The investigation that followed led to charges being filed, and the recent Washtenaw County court decision levied an odd penalty against Engle that could become a precedentsetting case that could lead to charges
in other communities. Calling this a “seminal case,” the Township lauded the victory in news media. The penalty imposed prevents Engle from acting as a caregiver at the residence in the Township for anyone except himself and his partner Deborah; he had previously been registered as a caregiver for several additional patients. The ruling was only the latest in a series of issues for Engle. He has endured three major surgeries in five years and the stress of the raid and investigation sent him to the hospital with a panic attack. “I’m a
This Copy is compliments of
by Amish Parikh, VP of My Compassion
Licensing and Regulatory
patient first,” Engle said, with conviction. Attorneys are hesitant to make an Appeal to a higher court in this case because they fear real precedent could be set. Lower court decisions, like the Engle case, are binding only on the other Courts in their jurisdiction. “The ruling only applies to Washtenaw County,” Engle said, and expressed fear that the Township will target other known caregivers for similar action. Having no lawyer take his case meant he may have to either accept the terms of the verdict or go it alone. “I’m going to try
Affairs uses Administrative Rules to modernize the MMMA rather than going through the Legislative route. Proposed changes are listed below: Definitions have been removed due to duplicates which include: Code, Debilitating medical condition, Department, Enclosed locked facility, Marihuana, Medicaid Health Plan, Medical use, Paraphernalia, Physician, Primary caregiver or caregiver, Public place, Qualifying patient, Registry identification card, Supplemental Security Income, Usable marihuana, Visiting qualifying patient, and Written certification. The rule will be amended to allow a patient to apply for a registry card via an online application. Caregiver Attestation will be expanded and clarified with more requirements to become a caregiver. Caregiver’s will be required to pay for the criminal history record check which will be $25. Flat fee for all new and renewal applications to $60 for 2 years eliminating the need for the reduced fee which was $25 per year. This will make it $30 per year for all new and renewal applications. Renewals will be allowed to be submitted up to 60 days before the expiration date on the registry identification card. Rules are more defined on the termination of a caregiver or a patient and the required documents to be provided. Complaints from individuals concerning a registered caregiver or patient will be instructed to make the complaint to state or local authorities.
continued, PG. 4 see Marijuana ODor
continued, PG. 16 see Lara
continued, PG. 10 see Hemp
Marijuana Odor Case Could Set State Precedent By Rick Thompson - Journalist
LARA uses Admin Rules to Modernize the MMMA
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| The American Cultivator | July - September 2014
Editorial The American Cultivator The American Cultivator 300 E. 4th St, Ste 2 Royal Oak, MI, 48067 734-931-0620 editor@theamericancultivator.com
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Federal Freedom
By Heidi Parikh, Publisher, The American Cultivator
Education is the key to growth and we must extend beyond our own communities if we’re going to end prohibition and advance the cannabis industry in our country once and for all. In order to reach the masses and turn the tides we must not become complacent within our local municipalities and State laws. It is imperative we forge ahead and expand the door of opportunity that is in front of us all, as no one who uses cannabis will truly be free, until we witness major changes in Federal policy. In Michigan, profit on cannabis is a dirty word and in Illinois they have adapted a for profit system where the winning applicants can bank roll, but do they? After investing millions of dollars to become one of the selected growers or dispensers, not to mention all the regulations an owner must follow, one visit from the Federal Government could end it in a heartbeat. I am often asked the question, are dispensaries legal and my answer is always the same, “unfortunately, no.” Until cannabis is legalized or decriminalized at the Federal level, even states like Colorado and Washington are at stake of losing it all. In Michigan there is legislation pending that will allow municipalities to decide for themselves” but does it? Even if Michigan passes legislation allowing provisioning and cultivation on a large scale, each city
will determine whether you can operate or not and even then the Federal Government has the power to shut them down.
In order to reach the masses and turn the tides we must not become complacent within our local municipalities and State laws. Whether you’re for profit or not, until the people in Politics, get on the same page with all 50 States, no one will be free from federal interference or the fear they instill. I can assure you, little will change until the citizens of this country have a better understanding of cannabis. It is then we will sway our rights so far, that the laws of gravity will pull down the walls and we can feel what it’s like to be free.
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National News
July - September | The American Cultivator | infused edibles. Patients cannot otherwise legally consume, or smoke marijuana—the traditionally and universally understood means to its consumption. Governor Cuomo believes the smoking restriction will keep the drug out of the wrong hands, explaining on WCBS 880 it is “oxymoronic that a health department would operate a program allowing smoking”, going on to say, “you don’t need the smoking to get the benefits of the drugs. The legislation…strikes the right balance between our desire to give those suffering from serious diseases access to treatment, and our obligation to guard against threats to public health and safety.”
New York State is a world stage, the precedent speaks volumes.
New York State Compassionate Care Act, Won’t Go Up In Smoke By Michael Telano
New York has joined the progressive American outlook on medicine, as it has officially become the 23rd state to legalize MMJ in the U.S. ….or has it? As of today’s formal signing in New York City, patients with diseases including, AIDS, MS, epilepsy,
and cancer, will have access to treatment options by early 2016, yet state residents, from recreation mongers to the desperately ill remain terribly confused. The common response, “What do you mean, it’s legal but I can’t smoke it?” Under the provisions set by NYS, qualified patients can consume by one of two ways: vaporization of marijuanaderived oils, or by ingestion of marijuana-
The compromise was one of the final measures passed by lawmakers before they adjourned last month, however the rationale behind it is not consistent with the objective—to provide medicine to patients in need. There are pros and cons to nearly every drug or medicine, and there are existing medicinal states such as Michigan, that are prescribing patients with the expectation medicine will be smoked or consumed according to patient’s needs and comforts. Pipes as medical apparatus, supported by doctors. The rhetoric in front of the law reflects a measure that has not been truly made. Under the law, the state will approve and regulate up to five businesses authorized to grow and distribute the drug. The operators could each have up to four dispensaries
Odor continued from Front Page
House of Representatives: DEA, Go Away By Rick Thompson, thecompassionchronicles.com
Federal drug enforcement has not diminished in states where medical or adult use of marijuana is the law, and that’s a problem, according to the US House of Representatives. In May, the House voted to prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to go after medical marijuana operations that are legal under state laws. The change was included as an amendment to a funding proposal called the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Bill that must pass both houses of Congress. “Some people are suffering, and if a doctor feels that he needs to prescribe something to alleviate that suffering, it is immoral for this government to get in the way,” said amendment author Dana Rohrabacher, R- California. The amendment would have halted DEA actions against registered state-legal patients and entities whose marijuana activities did not eclipse the borders of their state, forcing local law enforcement to police their own state- a scenario that seemed to satisfy the nation’s growing
chorus of pro-marijuana voices. Two states have authorized marijuana use for all adults, 23 states have medical marijuana laws and eight others have CBDonly laws. Poll after poll shows that more than 70% of the American public accepts the medicinal use of cannabis and more than 50% would authorize an adult-use policy, if the option was available to them. The House action set a record as the largest pro-marijuana vote ever taken in the US Congress. 219 Representatives said YES to the plan. In Michigan, the Lansing 7, the Duvals and others have been federally prosecuted for marijuana crimes despite their state registration for the production of cannabis. The Amendment would have prevented more Michiganders from being caught in the Catch-22 of dueling state and federal laws. A similar amendment was offered in the United States Senate by Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, after the CJS bill was approved by the Senate Committee that oversees the process. If the Senate version is approved later this year the Congress will work out the differences between the two bills and send the Appropriations Bill- and the pro-pot amendment- to the President for his signature.
to file an appeal on my own,” he declared. The case is complete with contradictions and conspiracy, all surrounding the issue of the odor. Certain policemen could detect the odor of growing marijuana, yet others could not, Engle related. Certain officers seemed to smell it on some days and not on others. In June of 2012 a Township representative, Bill Ellington, inspected the grow room and found it to be in compliance, Engle said, and at that time there was no odor issue. Engle installed an upgraded filtration system shortly after the initial incident and has neighbors that swear his home is odor-free. Engle’s case is among the first of its kind in Michigan and it will certainly not be the last, although legal eagles and advocates thought they’d seen the end of municipal manipulation where the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) is concerned. The Township cites a tiny footnote hidden within the Michigan Supreme Court’s Opinion in Ter Beek v Wyoming to justify the action against Engle. That case’s outcome in February has been widely seen as preventing local governments from impeding a patient or caregiver’s ability to engage in the medical use of marijuana, but some communities think they have found a loophole in Footnote #9. The Footnote, which composes the last sentence at the bottom of the last page of the Opinion, says:
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statewide. The farmer’s praying for a cashcrop to revitalize our subsidized breadbasket, the mom and pop tobacco/herb accessory manufacturers distributors who hoped for a market to open up the way it had for its countrymen, and the patient who suffers daily and does not prefer either two mandated options, will all sit sidelines. “From this day forward New Yorkers will now have access to the same lifechanging treatment that other patients across the country have had,” said state Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, who sponsored the legislation. “This is an historic victory for the countless health care professionals, physicians, advocates, families and patients.” The legislation disqualifies those patients who feel comfortable consuming actual marijuana as it has been for thousands of years. To some extent this victory is undeniably real, its benefits felt and true—but how American is this, and how much does this benefit our nation as a movement? Should the patient be the only party considered when it comes to his/ her medication? Possession of Marijuana remains a class B misdemeanor in the state of New York. What if you are on your death bed and the only thing between you a bowl of oat meal is a bowl of marijuana? While New York continues to celebrate selfdeluded progress, only a few will medicate, and only the big boys will be dining the dinner table. Those visionaries, artists, and connoisseurs who pioneered and adored a movement will now watch their turbulent efforts meet the fate of commercialization. New York State is a world stage, the precedent speaks volumes. An industry that had the ability to put America back on its feet has now been neatly packaged for the oligarchy. “Ter Beek does not argue, and we do not hold, that the MMMA forecloses all local regulation of marijuana; nor does this case require us to reach whether and to what extent the MMMA might occupy the field of medical marijuana regulation.” Ypsilanti Township, like other communities, is testing the theory that these final words negate the previous 21 pages of Supreme Court Justicewritten legalese, although there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. The City of Wyoming lost the case and had to abandon their Ordinance. The words of Footnote #8 from the Opinion establish that the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act is “inconsistent with and superseded by the MMMA.” Jamie Lowell of Ypsilanti’s 3rd Coast Compassion Center said, “This case follows an emerging pattern where cities cite Footnote 9 to justify ‘business as usual’ and ignore the plain language of the Ter Beek decision.” The solution reached by the Courtdenying Engle the ability to perform caregiving services for others despite the fact that the purported nuisance has already been abated- is inconsistent with the language of the Ter Beek Opinion. “The Ordinance directly conflicts with the MMMA…because it permits registered qualifying patients… to be penalized by the City for engaging in MMMA-compliant medical marijuana use.” Engle is not surprised. “Ypsilanti Township has set out with a purpose, and that is to obviate and destroy the MMMA in their Township,” he opined.
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National News CHICAGO CANNABIS CONFERENCE SETS THE PACE IN ILLINOIS July - September | The American Cultivator |
the opportunity to explore the cannabis industry, listen to patient testimonies and learn from advocates who are leading the way. Unlike other popular cannabis gatherings, such as High Times Cannabis Cup in Denver, the Chicago Cannabis Conference saw an incredible turnout regardless that no actual use of cannabis occurred out of respect for the laws of the state of Illinois. The Chicago Cannabis Conference reached to the heart of medical use which could be seen by those in attendance and even the Chicago PD.
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus, quis elente odis eos dia volut pro mos mod quam. By Andy Clark – Intern, My Compassion
During the weekend of
June 7-8, 2014, Chicago shined brightly as a homing-beacon for education and hope in the cannabis industry at the Chicago Cannabis Conference. This two-day event took over the Navy Pier and attracted thousands of visitors; vendors, legislators and other panels were present to answer any and all questions that visitors had. A big shout-out to Heidi and Amish Parikh for all their great work and the rest of the My Compassion CannaCon Crew who made this event an outstanding success! The Conference began on Saturday with several panels that included: Patient Advocacy, Chronic Conditions, Cannabis Oil Extraction Methods, Cooking with Cannabis as well as legal and regulatory panels. My Compassion invited families
from around the country to talk about how their children have defeated death – by using cannabis oil(s) to treat conditions like cancer and epilepsy. Anyone that was interested in any aspect of the cannabis industry had the opportunity to learn and network with other visitors. What a unique experience it was, especially so seeing that Illinois is a state that is in its beginning stages of implementing regulations for their new medical cannabis law. All of this sounds wonderful and for those that attended the conference they would certainly agree with me – but what was our [My Compassion] intention for hosting such an event as the Chicago Cannabis Conference? The answer is simple: To increase awareness, understanding and public safety about the medical benefits and laws of cannabis in Illinois. Doctors, Scientists, Patients, Entrepreneurs, Students and more had
Education is key but perception is everything. “When I asked the two Chicago Police Officers who were assigned to the conference, what was their thought? One responded with a smile and said “Thank you for bringing this here in such a professional manner, you really surprised us all!” The other officer, who was positioned in the speaker hall, said “I am the Father of four children and before today I did not support medical marijuana but after listening to four hours of patients and doctors I have a different outlook on It.” Said Heidi Parikh, Founder and Executive Director of My Compassion, “This is the reaction we need to get, if we’re ever going to change anything, education is key but perception is everything” says Parikh. Several vendors from across the United States came to this conference to promote their products. My Compassion is incredibly grateful to all of the Sponsors
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and organizations that participated in the Chicago Cannabis Conference, including: HempMeds, Gardening Unlimited, Lush Lighting, Steep Hill Halent and ArcView Investor network. This weekend indefinitely put a new, professional face on medical cannabis which is something My Compassion prides itself on. My Compassion is a 501(c)(3) Federal Non-Profit organization who has the mission of “increasing awareness and understanding through education, information and advocacy of all the medical benefits and healing properties of Cannabis.” The early June Conference in Chicago is an ideal manifestation of all the hard work that My Compassion, and their Student Interns from Student Advocates for a More Responsible Cannabis (SAMRC), knew would benefit the changing tides of medical cannabis both in Illinois and nationally as well.
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus.
Washington State Joins Colorado Illinois passes rules for the In Recreational Sales of Cannabis Compassionate Use of Cannabis Act By JP Geraghty
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus, quis elente odis eos dia volut pro mos mod quam. By Heidi Parikh, Publisher, The American Cultivator
J u ly marked an important date where another state put an end to marijuana prohibition in the U.S. Just in time for Independence Day, Washington State declared their liberties and sold cannabis for recreational purposes to a long line of consumers and history buffs who wanted to be a part of something that has not occurred in over 60 years. Big Cannabis came to town in little bottles where one could purchase a gram for about $30.00 including tax, which is about 35% on the dollar. With those costs in mind it’s not hard to understand why the black market says they’ll continue to supply cannabis underground. The first day of sales in Washington went well, no bad news, problems or overdoses have been reported but
someone spotted by their employer on the news, lost their job. He didn’t seem to mind as he took a stand for something in which he believed and seemed to be happy in spite of being unemployed. The baby boomers were in force! Moms, dads, grandma and grandpa as well, the end to prohibition is near and it won’t be long before another state falls. Just like with medical when the reality sets in that the sky didn’t fall, other states will follow just like dominoes. Sure there’s a lot to fix in this rapidly growing industry, like banking, price gouging and high taxes to name a few but once we get through these growing pains, the cannabis industry should flourish just like Internet and the Automobile. Whether you support medical, recreational or both, one of the most important contributions we can make to ending prohibition in all 50 States, is to show we are responsible with the use of cannabis.
Another milestone was reached in the legalization of medicinal marijuana in Illinois on Tuesday, July 15 after the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, (JCAR), unanimously approved the final regulations for the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program with an 11-0 vote. All committee members were in agreement that patients should have access to the safe and effective beneficial medical treatment that cannabis has been clinically proven to provide. Patients that are suffering from a list of 40 debilitating conditions will be allowed to start applying for the required Registry Identification Card beginning in September. The list of debilitating conditions includes patients that are suffering the effects of cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and Crohn’s Disease. The program guidelines also allow more conditions to be added in the future as research continues to show benefits for new patient types being treated with medicinal cannabis. Patients or their registered caregiver will be allowed to purchase 2.5 ounces every 14 days from one of 60 dispensaries throughout the state. The new law allows for 21 cultivation centers that will supply medicinal cannabis to the dispensaries. The Illinois Department of Public health will start accepting applications from patients or their registered caregiver whose last names begin with A – L during September and October, and M – Z in November and
December. Patients will be required to submit written certification from their doctor. Once the application is approved the permit will cost patients $50.00–$100.00 per year depending on income.
If everything runs smoothly as planned, medicinal cannabis should be available to patients by early 2015. Applications for cultivation centers and dispensaries will start to be accepted and reviewed in September as well. Cultivation centers will have to pay $25,000 to apply for their permit and $200,000 for the licensing fee if they are one of the 21 that are approved by the state. Once the cultivation center receives their license it will take several months to grow the cannabis and have it available for the dispensaries. If everything runs smoothly as planned, medicinal cannabis should be available to patients by early 2015. Estimates for the number of patients that will sign up in Illinois are widely varied from 100,000 to 700,000. The pilot program will run through 2017. Earlier this year Illinois became the 20th state to legalize medicinal marijuana. Now that the rules and regulations have been finalized, Illinois can move forward to supply the medicine that patients have needed for years. The approval on Tuesday also means that patients are encouraged to start having the conversation with their doctor about treatment options with medicinal cannabis.
Health
July - September 2014 | The American Cultivator | July - September | The American Cultivator |
Introduction to Cannabinoids
Research suggests that the endocannabinoid system could play a major role in overall health. Endocannabinoids are naturally produced within the body, but the concept of an endocannabinoid deficiency has been cited as a possible cause of migraines, cancer, fibromyalgia, IBS and more. Not surprisingly, cannabinoids derived from cannabis have exhibited a number of therapeutic benefits. THC and CBD get the most attention from mainstream media outlets, but there are many more cannabinoids found within the cannabis plant, each with their own set of benefits. Cannabigerol (CBG) The cannabis plant’s ability to produce cannabigerolic acid is a large part of what makes it unique. It is typically converted to THC-A, CBD-A, or CBC-A during the plant’s growth cycle, but some strains do retain higher levels of CBG-A. In these cases, it will convert to CBG when exposed to heat. Cannabigerol (CBG) has been classified as a CB-1 receptor antagonist. It is believed to partially counteract the high typically associated with THC. An Italian study published in the May 2013 edition of Biological Psychology suggests that CBG may benefit patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It could also help relieve eye pressure in patients with glaucoma. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Tetrahydrocannabinol was first discovered by Dr. Raphael Mechoulam in 1964. It has long been demonized for the high it produces–it is responsible for the psychotropic (“trippy”) effects typically associated with cannabis. However, THC it has a litany of medical
Talking To Your Doctor About Cannabis
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus, quis elente odis eos dia volut pro mos mod quam. By Heidi Parikh, Publisher, The American Cultivator
Today there are over 21 states that allow the medical use of cannabis with Colorado and Washington passing full legalization. It is imperative for physicians and the healthcare industry to expand their knowledge of a plant their patients are ingesting on a regular basis. If cannabis is improving your health, your physician should know and understand why. Many healthcare providers do not understand that it is perfectly legal to discuss cannabis with their patients and to sign their recommendation forms that allow them protection to use cannabis in Michigan. This is one of the main reasons healthcare professionals lack a clear understanding of the laws and legislation that surround cannabis’
By Drake Dorm – Editor, Medical Jane
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus, quis elente odis eos dia volut pro mos mod quam.
benefits that shouldn’t go unnoticed. It is one of the only cannabinoids that activates both the CB-1 and CB-2 receptors, making it effective in treating an assortment of conditions, including depression, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s disease, PTSD, and cancer. Cannabinol (CBN) When THC is exposed to oxygen for a prolonged period of time, it converts
use for medical purposes, many are concerned to even discuss it, leaving patients in a very difficult, and stressful position. Most patients want to be open with their physicians about their use of cannabis and how it affects them without the fear of rejection or being removed all together from other prescriptions they might be prescribed. Whether you’re Physician is in agreement or not with the emerging use of cannabis, the fact is approximately thirty percent of the public use it, pharmaceutical companies are positioning to dispense it and public opinion indicates the Federal Government will be rescheduling it soon. Physicians who stay abreast on the new and growing technologies of cannabis will be doing their patients a great service by taking a proactive approach continued, PG. 16 see Doctor
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to cannabinol – the cannabinoid that is known to make you sleepy. So, high levels of CBN in dried flowers typically means that batch of cannabis was improperly stored. That being said, CBN can be a great help for people battling insomnia. It also has shown benefits in treating burns, psoriasis, and MRSA when applied in the form of a topical.
Cannabidiol (CBD) Cannabidiol has drastically increased in popularity since Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s Weed documentary aired on CNN last year. The fact that it can mitigate the traditional THC high receives most the attention when discussing CBD, but it too has an impressive list of benefits. CBD operates primarily on the CB-2 receptors. It has showed promise in treating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, nausea, irritable bowel disorder, and various kinds of epilepsy. Past research from Dr. Sean McAllister in California suggests that CBD can also inhibit cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and tumor growth. Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) Tetrahydrocannabivarin is extremely similar to THC as far as its chemical structure is concerned. It too affects both the CB-1 and CB-2 receptors, but THCV acts as an antagonist. High-THCV strains tend to cause more racy, clear-headed effects in comparison to traditional THC strains. They tend to hit you a bit faster as well. As far as health is concerned, researchers suggest that THCV works to suppress appetite–it is being studied as a possible way to help fight obesity. THCV also seems to lower the seizure threshold for people with epilepsy, allowing them to experience less seizures. Cannabichromene (CBC) It ’s of ten forgotten, but cannabichromene has shown to have profound effects. It affects the brain by inhibiting the uptake of anandamide (a cannabinoid produced continued, PG. 17 see Cannabinoids
Helping Hands Full Page COLOR 10 x 15.7
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Health
July - September | The American Cultivator |
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Belles Hominy Casserole
Business & Technology
US CONGRESS DEMANDS MORE MARIJUANA By Rick Thompson, thecompassionchronicles.com
In America, if you want to perform a scientific test with cannabis you need to get it from a DEA-approved marijuana farm- and there’s only one of those on the continent. Due to an increased demand for research into the effects of cannabis on humans, the US Congress has ordered marijuana production to ramp up and for an end to the federal monopoly on cannabis research. 30 Congressmen wrote to the Drug Enforcement Agency demanding a streamlined approval process for marijuana studies and a broader spectrum of authorized research facilities, including Universities. “We write to express our support for increasing scientific research on the therapeutic risks and benefits of marijuana,” the Congressmen wrote. The increase in pot production at the
University of Mississippi federal marijuana farm is intended to satisfy the anticipated need for more research-grade marijuana in 2014 and beyond. That farm is controlled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The letter comes on the heels of a joint report from the Drug Policy Alliance and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies which called out the DEA for suppressing applications for independent research programs. The report criticizes the Agency for overruling its own officials when deciding how marijuana and other drugs should be scheduled. Typically, research into marijuana is reserved for scientists working with the National Institutes of Health- a source of prohibitionist propaganda for decadeswho have received approval for the study from the DEA, the FDA and the Institutional Review Board. By opening up the pool of available scientists to those who are not registered with the NIH, cannabis research
Ingredients: 1-lb bacon, cut up and fried (reserve 3-4 tablespoons of bacon grease) 1 medium to large onion–chopped
1 green pepper – chopped
3 cloves of garlic – minced ¼ cup of flour
2 ¾ cups of hot milk
3 15oz cans of hominy (white or yellow or a combination) 2 4oz cans of green chilies
3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese – divided 1 TBS decarboxylated Kief Salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste Fresh chopped cilantro as garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or grease the sides of a 3 quart glass casserole dish. In a Dutch oven or stock pot, cut up and fry the bacon–reserve for a garnish.* Discard all but 3-4 tablespoons of the bacon grease and then sauté the onion, green pepper and garlic in the bacon grease on medium heat until translucent and tender. Reduce the heat and add the flour. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes. Slowly add the hot milk, stirring constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high and heat until thick and boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the two cans of chilies and hominy. Stir in 2 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Add salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Add decarboxylated Kief. Pour into the casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove the foil, top with the remaining ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and finish under the broiler until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve with bacon and/or cilantro as a garnish. * You can omit the bacon and bacon grease and substitute butter.
Countering the Federal Government’s prohibition on marijuana, the cannabis industry is rapidly rising from the underground operations that have existed since the late 1930’s. Having been listed as a Schedule I drug on the Federal Government’s Controlled Substances List, marijuana is associated with the worst of the worst types of drugs, as being extremely dangerous and having no medicinal value. Well, that story is crumbling fast. In doing so, it is carving a wide path for cannabis investors and entrepreneurs who are interested in joining the “green rush”. Perhaps it is from the always-on access for the truth about cannabis that is flooding the Internet. It may also be the growing network of concerned individuals and parents who are only seeing positive progress by providing their loved ones with access to an ancient herbal remedy. Whatever the root cause, the public’s perception of the stereotypic “stoner” running a “head-shop” looking to finance their love for the “ganja” has rapidly faded to acceptance. The truth: Cannabis is big business. Every day, the industry is getting larger and is attracting everyone from retail investors to entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on this emerging market. Many of these opportunists are eager to participate in the potential upside. Why is that? I believe it is due to the legal and moral landscape
continued, PG. 17 see Congress
Recently, on a segment with Anderson Cooper on CNN that aired one week into the overall excitement after legal adult cannabis sales had started in Colorado, famed addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky expressed shock about the oftcited figure that 1 in 11 people who ever use cannabis becomes dependent. In a moderated conversation with renowned Columbia psychopharmacologist Dr. Carl Hart, Dr. Drew noted that cannabis dependence is “very uncommon” and stated, “They said 1 in 11; it’s nowhere near that.” By “they” he is likely referring to the establishment, headed up by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the federal drug abuse research institute, and related federal agencies. This figure for cannabis dependence prevalence has been around for some time and is often accepted as objective fact and widely reported. It was even used by Dr. Sanjay Gupta in that famous piece on CNN.com in which he apologized for misleading the public on the harms of cannabis while underplaying and ignoring its medicinal benefits. Dr. Gupta writes matter-of-factly, “We now know that while estimates vary, marijuana leads to dependence in around 9 to 10% of its adult users.” Do we really “now know” this? Where does this figure come from? And how good is the science behind it? Pretty
lousy, it turns out. The origin of this figure is indeed NIDA research first published in a 1994 article in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Researchers sought to use data from a national government-funded survey called the National Comorbidity Survey to estimate the prevalence of drug dependence by drug type. It sounds like a reasonable plan, except that if the measuring stick that you are using is flawed, the measurements will be flawed as well. The survey was based on diagnostic definitions for cannabis dependence that were published in 1987 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (3rd edition, revised) put out by the American Psychiatric Association. This manual has an inherent bias against non-problematic cannabis use and privileges the normalcy of alcohol use. In its introduction to the section “Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders,” it notes: These conditions are here conceptualized as mental disorders, and are therefore to be distinguished from nonpathological psychoactive substance use, such as the moderate imbibing of alcohol.... Later it notes: For example, social drinking frequently causes loquacity, euphoria, and slurred speech; but this should not be considered Intoxication unless maladaptive behavior, such as fighting, impaired judgment, or impaired social or
occupational functioning, results. Note how much effort is put into selectively polishing the appearance of an alcohol user, even one who is slurrrring wordssss!
This figure for cannabis dependence prevalence has been around for some time and is often accepted as objective fact and widely reported. Back to the survey. One hundred fifty-eight professional field staff of the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, after seven days of training in how to conduct structured interviews, carried out the surveys between Sept. 14, 1990, and Feb. 6, 1992. The sample consisted of 8,098 subjects between the ages of 15 and 54, residing across the lower 48 states. Regarding use frequency and pathology, research was conducted “under the assumption that even as few as six occasions might be sufficient for development of drug dependence.” A respondent would get a diagnosis of cannabis dependence if at least three of the following statements regarding their cannabis use applied to them in at least a one-month period: (1) it was taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended
(2) they had persistent desire or one or more unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control use (3) a great deal of time was spent in activities necessary to get the substance, taking the substance, or recovering from its effects (4) experienced frequent intoxication or withdrawal symptoms when expected to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home (5) important social, occupational, or recreational activities given up or reduced because of use (6) continued use despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, psychological, or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by use (7) marked tolerance: need for markedly increased amounts The problem is that these criteria are chock-full of bias that ignore the reality of non-problematic or beneficial cannabis use. In the early ‘90s in the U.S., all cannabis use was seen as illegal, even for medicinal purposes. Cannabis use could be causing problems for a subject more because of its illegality than anything else, and this is not accounted for in the measuring tool. Let’s look at some of these criteria in greater detail. Criterion 3 could be accounted for solely by the fact that cannabis is prohibited and therefore is unavailable for local or home production or distribution, necessitating more time and work to obtain it. Furthermore, if continued, PG. 16 see Bad Science
having been outpaced by the majority of Americans that support legalization. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are now legalized medical marijuana states. Doors are open and there are numerous business opportunities within reach.
The range of potential business opportunities in the cannabis industry is extensive to say the least. The range of potential business opportunities in the cannabis industry is extensive to say the least. Take hemp for example. This is an extremely versatile commodity from which a myriad of as many as 25,000 products can be made including: paper, rope, clothing, ships sails, fuel, building materials, food & supplements and cosmetics, just to name a few. The more American’s learn about the capabilities of hemp alone, the more enamored they become in investing in the cannabis space. Hemp fabric has been traced back 9,000 years and the “founding fathers” of the USA were hemp farmers. “Hemp for Victory” was crucial to winning World War II. Then, as quickly as it came back to the domestic economy it was taken away due to prohibition. Fast forward to today and states are enacting their rights to once again grow this dynamic crop. States that stand up for their rights will
provide American’s with many new business and employment opportunities. On the other side of the cannabis equation, you have the medicinal and recreational operations which involve grow facilities, edibles production and dispensaries. And on top of that, you have the ancillary services that either compliment or are necessities for daily business operations such as: web design and programming, social networking, logistics, point-of-sale solutions, physical and surveillance security services for retail storefronts and inventory, secure cash transport and holding,accounting software, legal and professional services, etc. The cannabis industry has clearly evolved into the mainstream market place. As investments types go, the cannabis industry is much the same as other industries in that one can invest in a company’s stock, lend money directly to a company or actually start your own business. Each has advantages and disadvantages but the first consideration should be to determine what level of participation one desires. The most popular cannabis investment option is stocks, primarily because making an investment is fairly easy, and maintenance of a position doesn’t take a lot of time. Investors should be extremely careful when investing in cannabis stocks, though. Many companies are brand new to the industry, only recently shifting focus to cannabis to take advantage of potential upside of this budding (no pun intended) industry.
Well-qualified or accredited investors may choose to invest by doing a direct placement with a company. The terms “well-qualified” or “accredited” refers to investors that have large blocks of money to invest. Because of the large amounts of capital they bring to the table, they are often able to negotiate favorable terms which improve their return. Companies like The ArcView Group are focused on bringing qualified investors and entrepreneurs together and would be a good start for someone interested in this type of investment. The most difficult way to invest in the cannabis space though, is to start a business. Aside from the normal problems that all businesses have, you can add the regulatory requirements of tracking the cannabis from seed-to-sale, having limited or no access to financial services and, of course, the need for advanced security services and systems. Having so many obstacles to manage easily makes this choice the most challenging. Those who are new to the cannabis industry but would like hands-on information on what it will take to be successful should consider contacting the International Cannabis Association. With legal cannabis sales expected to hit $8 billion in 2018, there is plenty of opportunity for investors to make money. Be careful though, not all business will succeed and not all are legit. However, with some sound due diligence, continued favorable legislation and a little luck, you could be one of the many Americans now turning prohibition into profits.
Lessons Learned From An Ancillary Business Serving The Cannabis Industry
‘9 Percent Of Those Who Use Cannabis Become Dependent’ Is Based On Drug War Diagnostics And Bad Science By Dr. Sunil Kumar Aggarwal
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Investing in the Cannabis Industry: From Prohibition to Profits By Perry Coleman, Freelance Journalist
By Captain Kirk Reid
July - September | The American Cultivator |
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus uam. By Heidi Parikh, Publisher, The American Cultivator
Apeks
Supercritical
star ted as Apek s Fabrication in 2001 by 2 broke college students looking to make some extra money to pay for school. Fast forward 13 years–Apeks Supercritical now has 14 full time employees including 3 degreed engineers and is on track for more than $8M in sales for 2014. Apeks has more than 150 systems installed across the US extracting cannabis oil using CO2. All of this success has not come without challenges. Apeks has experienced the same growth issues that every other startup is faced with – funding, cash flow, finding talented staff, marketing, etc. but they have also experienced some challenges that are unique to the cannabis industry. These challenges highlight not only issues within the industry, but also issues that should be expected by anyone looking to be “hands off” in the new green rush.
Issue 1: Banking. Even though Apeks does not directly handle marijuana plant material, the majority of their revenue comes from sources that do. In late 2013 this resulted in their bank account being closed. Interestingly enough, the bank never called out cannabis as the reason for closing the account, rather structuring – i.e. money laundering. The majority of their clients only have cash and didn’t generally have bank accounts. When coupled with the fact that Apeks is based out of Ohio, getting paid was a real headache. Apeks solved this by opening a bank account with a national bank that had branches all over the west coast, and directed their customers to pay them by depositing their payments directly into their bank account. Unfortunately, lots of cash being deposited all over the country from many sources looked too much like structuring, so the bank closed the account. All was not lost – other national banks are getting on board with the emerging cannabis industry but they are getting their piece of the action in the process. Apeks’ current bank charges a 3% fee for cash deposits! Issue 2: Constantly changing regulations. As every state seems to go through its own maturing process for the cannabis industry, state regulators are faced with a multitude of challenges that all have the same goal; create a medical/ recreational marijuana program that meets the desires of the voters but doesn’t violate Federal policy. Most new states with newly legal marijuana programs are trying to learn from the early adopters, but
tailoring the program to meet the specific needs of the state can be challenging. In most states, the regulators are not trained in every area of cannabis production, processing, testing, distribution, etc. and thus are left “flying blind” to create laws
These challenges highlight not only issues within the industry, but also issues that should be expected by anyone looking to be “hands off” in the new green rush. that meet the goals. This has resulted in a constantly changing regulation landscape for the entire industry. The problem is magnified in an ancillary business that sells to every state. Unfortunately there isn’t a quick fix for this problem, but taking the opportunity to participate in every regulation planning meeting possible has helped Apeks minimize the impact on their business. As a side note: the local Fire Departments appear to be getting the job of inspecting cannabis processing facilities and are thus the ones who often have to use their best judgment when it comes to interpreting the regulations. Developing a good relationship with the local Fire Departments has also
been helpful to minimize the impact of changing regulations. Issue 3: Information black hole – “in God we trust, all others bring data”. There is a huge shortage of credible information on all aspects of cannabis, particularly in the area of oil extraction and post processing. The internet has plenty to offer, however much of it is contradictory and doesn’t have much, if any, data to back it up. For Apeks, this problem is compounded by the fact that their headquarters is in a state where cannabis is still illegal, so testing and data creation is a huge challenge. Fortunately Apeks has a large customer base and has several clients who perform testing and data collection on a regular basis. This information database has helped propel Apeks as the thought leader in the extraction industry. The issues listed above are not specific to Apeks, they are representative of issues faced by the entire cannabis industry. Ancillary businesses certainly carry less risk compared to businesses that handle marijuana plant material directly, but they also bring new challenges that otherwise wouldn’t be seen in a more traditional industry. Andy Joseph is the President of Apeks Supercritical, an Ohio based manufacturer of fully automated subcritical and supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) botanical oil extraction systems. Apeks has been designing and manufacturing botanical oil extraction equipment since 2001 and introduced patent pending Valveless continued, PG. 17 see Lessons
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July - September 2014 | The American Cultivator |
| The American Cultivator | July - September 2014
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HEMP HIstory Timeline
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HEMP HEMP HOORAY continued from Front Page
would be lied about, criminalized and forbidden to be grown in the U.S., they would have mocked and laughed at the idea that such nonsense could happen to our Hemp plant and the American people. They would not understand, especially after all the blood, sweat and tears and careful thought to ensure something like Cannabis Prohibition would never happen here in America! I’m sure it would be hard for them to believe what happened in America in the 1930’s and how Prohibition of Hemp has plagued our people and contaminated Freedom and Liberty in this country since! At some point, our past Hempsters in our military and government have been outnumbered by gangsters. Today, as I’m preparing to head to Washington DC for the 45th Annual Smoke In, I imagine our Founding Fathers would be as full of renewed hope and celebration as I am this Independence Day. Over 70 years after Prohibition of a seed that our first American Hero’s so fondly advocated for, is finally ending. We are doing it! Yes, we still have plenty to do while ending
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Prohibition but we are doing it with such momentum. The same heart and soul that fought for our freedoms and liberties by people at the birth of this great Nation, are alive, strong and continuing the hope of Freedom today as we continue our journey. We have leaders, fighters, advocates and businessmen and women of similar heart and courage relentlessly teaching, learning, shouting and fighting for the seeds our Founding Fathers sowed so long ago.
It will not be long before this country will be free to explore the thousands of products hemp is used for. In 2008, seventy years after Marijuana Prohibition started, Michigan was only the 13th State to end Cannabis Prohibition with their Medical Marijuana legislation. Just four years later we now have 22 Medical Marijuana states. Colorado and Washington
are leading the way towards legal regulated Cannabis Freedom. In January of this year, the U.S. passed the Farm Bill which allows hemp production for research purposes in ten states that already had passed hemp legislation; California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. In the 1930’s, my Great Great Grandfather farmed hemp on our family farm in Rock Castle County, KY. In the 1990’s, that same family farm in Rock Castle County was the murder scene of my Uncle Gary (Shepherd) when Kentucky’s State Police found his 13 Medical Marijuana plants growing out of the same ground and sniper killed him in front of his wife and 4 year son, Jacob. This past May researchers, business people, advocates, including Gary’s joined together on a farm in Rock Castle County to celebrate the planting of the first agriculture hemp seeds in the state of Kentucky, since WW2. Every day there is more truth being discovered and revealed to the public regarding Cannabis and Hemp and new legislation being introduced and passed. The magnificent properties and benefits
of this plant are becoming more apparent every day. Many of you reading this are well aware that we have not seen anything yet when it comes to what the Cannabis Hemp plant can produce. There is still much to do to end prohibition but the momentum and progress we are making is super exciting. It will not be to long before this country will be free to explore the thousands of products hemp is used for. Henry Ford’s dreams of automobiles made of and ran on hemp fuel will finally come true. Hemp will be the solution to the environmental damage issues our current industries cause us today. Most importantly there will come a time that farming Cannabis Hemp will not get you arrested or destroy your life and family. This Independence Day, I took time to honor and celebrate all American heroes that have been working so hard to restore the Liberties and Freedoms we once had with Cannabis and Hemp. From our Founding Fathers to all the advocates especially the Hempsters, Thank you for envisioning a world that was better than before where hemp is a major part of our lives and future.
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For The USA! Items Hemp
Can Produce:
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• Clothes • Books • Shoes • Bedding • Soaps • Lotions • Shampoo • Cosmetics • Jewelry • Multiple Beverage Items • Multiple Food Items • Musical Instruments • Yarn • Fiber • Bike frames • Plywood • Paper • Concrete • Insulation • Sealants • Paint
• Oil • Jet fuel • Bio-fuel • Printing inks • Plastics • Carpeting • Bird Seed • Animal Feed • Erosion Control • Gun Powder • Canvas • Rope • Mulch • Salves • Asphalt • Fuel additives • Wicks • Furniture • Sails • Nutritional Supplements • Medicine
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Business & Technology
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The Importance And Relevancy Of Testing Cannabis By Steep Hill Halent
It is important that cannabis is tested for not only potency, but also for contaminants, such as mold, fungus, and pesticides, as well. More and more patients are demanding testing. Many patients have suppressed immune systems that make them particularly susceptible to many common contaminants. Most are interested in medicine to treat specific ailments or side effects from other treatments they receive. POTENCY AND CANNABINOIDS: Potency and cannabinoid testing provides patients with important information to aid in selecting the product that best suits their needs. Cannabinoids are compounds found in varying amounts in different strains of cannabis that can have differing medicinal benefits. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),
cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), THC acid (THCA), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), and cannabigerol (CBG) are just a few of the many cannabinoids tested for by Steep Hill Halent (SHH). Studies have found that differing levels of these compounds will determine how effective a particular cannabis strain is for treating a patient’s specific symptoms. [1 ]However, now dispensaries are marketing untested cannabis extracts and tinctures which were recommended by doctors for many different complaints including pain, cough and asthma, and as a sedative agent, which in some cases may result in erratic and unpredictable individual responses. By knowing not only that the product is safe, but also what its cannabinoid make up is, doctors and patients will be able to make informed decisions and dispensaries will be more informed and will be able to ensure their patients that the medicine is effective, safe and a well-tolerated treatment.
July - September 2014 | The American Cultivator | July - September | The American Cultivator |
PESTICIDES & OTHER CONTAMINANTS: Because of the current and past legal status for growers of cannabis, there is little known about the sources, growing and curing conditions, or pesticide use for medicine available for purchase. While many growers and dispensaries take care to provide a safe, effective product, there are numerous reports of the presence of pesticides and molds in purchased medicine. The current legal landscape subjects patients to the ethics and whims of people they largely do not know and may never be able to contact. The only solution at present to ensure the safety and efficacy of cannabis medicine is reliable testing. It can be argued that testing by laboratories owned or closely affiliated with specific growers or dispensaries might not have the interest of the patients as their top priority. For this reason, independently owned and operated laboratories are the best solution. At present, only a very small fraction of medicinal cannabis is tested. It could be argued that, since testing is not yet mandatory, producers and dispensaries could self-select to make sure that “suspicious” samples not be submitted for testing. Thus, it is impossible to accurately estimate the number of tainted samples being sold. For patients, we highly recommend only using cannabis that is: Tested by an independent laboratory; Ask the name of the laboratory. Check that they did, in fact, test that sample. Some sellers are thought to be generating false test reports without ever having actually tested the cannabis. Tested for pesticides; make sure that they test for pesticides known to be used in the cannabis industry. Abamectin is one particularly hazardous substance that is not approved for use on edibles in the U.S., but, nevertheless, as an effective miticide, is sometimes used by unscrupulous growers in danger of losing a crop to mites. Others include bifenazate and bifenthrin.
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Tested for mycotoxins; Mycotoxins are among the most toxic substances known. They are byproducts of some molds and fungi and can remain even after the molds/fungi die off. The most important for cannabis are ochratoxin and the four aflatoxins: B1, B2, G1, and G2. THE PROCESS OF TESTING: SHH uses state-of-the-art methods to test medicinal cannabis products for potency and contamination by microbes and toxins. The results from SHH are superior in many respects because they give significantly more information than virtually all of our competitors. SHH subjects cannabis samples to liquid chromatography (LC) to identify cannabinoids (potency agents), pesticides, and mycotoxins (toxic byproducts from certain fungi and molds that may be present even if the fungi and molds themselves are undetectable). Some form of chromatography is necessary to separate all of the otherwise similar compounds to allow their individual identification and quantitation. There are three common methods for this. One is thin layer chromatography (TLC). While very inexpensive to set up and use, TLC does not give much information about the wide range of different compounds in the medicine and the accuracy of the amounts determined is very dependent on conditions that are often beyond the control of the analyst. Additionally, the compounds needed to carry out the separation and subsequent visualization of the results can be very toxic. Gas chromatography (GC) is another method commonly used, but, because a fundamental step in the beginning of this analysis uses high heat to vaporize the sample, most of the compounds actually present in the medicine are decomposed and not detected. As a consequence, to date, testing labs using this method only report THC, CBD, and CBN content, and continued, PG. 17 see Testing
Cultivating Local Medical Cannabis Systems Is The Way Forward By Dr. Sunil Kumar Aggarwal
The message that the public receives from the American federal government — specifically the DEA — when it’s petitioned to recognize marijuana’s utility as a medicinal agent is that it cannot do so because marijuana lacks approval from the Food and Drug Administration for any indication. Nevermind scores of other botanicals are routinely used in standard mainstream medical practice such as aloe vera, saw palmetto, tea tree oil, Witchhazel (main ingredient in Tuck’s pads), etc., without having achieved FDA-approval for any condition. Many doctors and patients prefer to use such medicinal plants for their superior side effect profile, low cost, and efficacy, and nobody is raising a huge fuss over this. A number of years ago, however, the DEA decided to allow industrial, massproduced, highly standardized marijuana produced by a British pharmaceutical company to be brought into the United States for a series of large clinical trials with the goal of getting the highly standardized marijuana product FDAapproved for interstate marketing. Since the company, GW Pharmaceuticals, has already won approvals from the national drug agencies of over 20 other countries, it is very likely that they would be able to do so in the U.S. With the company’s stock now being traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange, it is clear that the company’s
fortunes and size, like the cannabis plants in their English greenhouses, are growing taller day-by-day. What is interesting about this is that the DEA and former American Drug Czar office staffers who have been hired to tout the company have revealed a very core fact about what types of marijuana cultivation and utilization for medicinal purposes will be endorsed, supported, and financially rewarded and what types will be opposed, stymied, and criminally prosecuted. In this age of global warming and economic deprivation, what is being fostered by the DEA is the old industrial model of medicine: mass production, standardization, and monopoly production, allowing only a handful of employees of a single company the privilege to privately cultivate cumulatively thousands upon thousands of marijuana-cannabis plants, the starting seeds for which were obtained from a rich Dutch seedbank which had collected deposits from around the world. The company’s R&D program has brought a liquid carbon dioxide wholeplant extraction made from two cannabis strains, one high in THC and the other high in CBD, to American states that lack any kind of medical marijuana laws and allowed select patients with severe pain due to cancer the chance to utilize this marijuana when enrolled as part of a research study. The results of their studies do indeed show, in large, multicenter, randomized placebocontrolled trials — exactly the kind that DEA says do not exist — that marijuana works. At the same time, as more and more
states attempt to move forward with establishing their own local systems of cannabis production for medical purposes — systems that have the potential to create local self-sufficiency for producing and supplying cannabis at reasonable cost and even empowering patients to be able to produce their own medicine through gardening — the response from the DEA and DOJ is selective arrests, raids, intimidation, and asset forfeiture, resulting in increasingly restrictive laws, many of which now disallow patient cultivation and unfairly restrict eligible patient populations.
Why is the federal government not fostering local medicinal cannabis systems, and instead choosing to support the top-down, one-supplier model? Moreover, these laws allow no opportunities to support research and development to further improve cannabis medicines, mainly because of federal restrictions. They do, however, give some patients needed relief, many of whom cannot and should not have to wait indefinitely for the federal solution to “the medical marijuana problem.” Some apologists for the federal control model suggest that patients who have shown clear benefit from locally produced medical cannabis, such as those with
severe neurological disorders documented by Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN, be switched to some future pharmaceuticalized cannabis or to a federal supply of cannabis, such as from the federal farm in Mississippi, which supplies only four patients today who are grandfathered into a now-closed program. In other words, these apologists would tamper with a locally developed solution that is clearly successfully working for patients in order to preserve centralized control of cannabis production. Why is the federal government not fostering local medicinal cannabis systems, and instead choosing to support the top-down, one-supplier model? Following the recommendations of the American Herbal Products Associations, we need to be decentralizing medical cannabis. This is the only way to ensure that most who need it will be able to access it at a reasonable cost and that discovery and innovation can be optimized. There is nothing inherently amiss with cannabisbased pharmaceutical production, but the operation of such industry and its eventual product approval should not be allowed to exclude or impede general medicinal access to the class of organic botanicals from which such preparations are ultimately derived. If people understood that this decision to allow only ‘the few’ to legitimately produce cannabis rather than ‘the many’ was being made on their behalf, perhaps they would be compelled to stand up for a right that is essential for all: to farm and cultivate members of the Plant Kingdom in your locality.
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Lifestyle
July - September | The American Cultivator |
Captain Kirk and the Cheesecake Enterprise
Occabori aectecum simus et volo tenimus uam. By Heidi Parikh, Publisher, The American Cultivator
In our pursuit of pain mitigation, ache salvation, and simple munchies satiation we tend toward the sweet tooth in medical marijuana communities. As we all sang as children it still rings true as an adult that just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. The secret to making a good edible I suspect is doing the opposite of what I do and actually make it taste good. To me a good edible is akin to a Picasso; it’s a work of art and none are so lovingly crafted as those from Michigan’s own Captain Kirk. A powerful attraction can develop from just one bite of his Key Lime cheesecake, as the story goes. So much so in fact that it was chosen as the 2011 Detroit High Time Medical Cup 1st place winner for the edibles category.
Captain Kirk’s edibles have become a name synonymous with unparalleled flavor and quality in Michigan. Winning not only the 2011 cup, Captain Kirk also won first place in 2012 Seattle High Times Medical Cup, and least I mention the numerous other cups across Michigan State. This prodigious streak has garnered quite a following from prominent cannabis activists such as the first Cheesecake recipient, Ed Rosenthal, to Paul Stanford, founder of THCF (The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation). They have even reached the legendary. As the story goes, Paul Stanford had given his first cheesecake to Willie Nelson himself and a love blossomed. Now, whenever given the chance, Willie jumps at the chance. Just recently on July 13th in Sterling Heights Michigan Willie Nelson was joined by Alison Krauss and Union Station on what was dubbed the “family tour”. It had been a while since Mr. Nelson had a bite of tangy dank-ness, so Paul whipped up a surprise. He contacted Captain Kirk to let him know about Willie coming to town and let him know he would have two passes waiting for him at the door, and to have Cheesecake in hand. When Mr. Kirk arrived he was greeted with all access passes; a golden ticket to the other realm known as back stage. It wasn’t until he entered did he realize that they were also front row center! Don’t worry; they were for him and not the cheesecake. Directly after the show Captain Kirk made his way backstage, shielded by the powerful golden ticket he entered and gave Willie his now third Key Lime cheesecake. To me the reason I wrote is neither the Cheesecake nor Willie Nelson. It’s the chat continued, PG. 17 see Captain
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How Much Amotivation Can Marijuana Really Cause? By Ed. R. Cook Author
There is a common stereotype that the use of marijuana makes a person lazy and unproductive. I say that it is more about a person’s predisposition. If you’re lazy and irresponsible before using marijuana, you will probably be lazy and irresponsible after using it. If you’re bright and ambitious, marijuana use will likely amplify those attributes. Let me cite some examples. Recently the Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon tested positive for marijuana use, and is now facing a possible year long suspension. I should also mention that he led all NFL receivers in yardage in 2013. I’d say that this is hardly unproductive. Mr. Gordon probably uses marijuana, in part to help cope with the physical damage of his work much in the same way that I use it to cope with my osteoarthritis. The brilliant Paul McCartney of Beatles fame was once busted trying to enter Japan with some marijuana. Baseball’s two time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincicum was once busted at the height of his career in his home state of Washington before they voted to legalize. Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps was famously pictured using a marijuana device. I will say that these people are hardly lazy and unproductive. Television, alcohol, and now social media cause far more unproductivity than marijuana. On the other side of this, I will tell a story of one time when I was speaking at a Multiple Sclerosis meeting. While most
people in the room were curious and supportive, there was one lady who was very angry and asked me to speak of the impairment and lack of motivation that marijuana causes. She said that her son just sits in her basement all day and does nothing but smoke pot. I tried to let her down easy but told her that it’s not the marijuana plant that is causing her son problems, it’s him. There is some other root cause that he is just not motivated to
If you’re lazy and irresponsible before using marijuana, you will probably be lazy and irresponsible after using it. If you’re bright and ambitious, marijuana use will likely amplify those attributes. get out of her basement with or without marijuana. Most people would get bored no matter the circumstances. Besides, it’s her basement. Why doesn’t she take action to get him out of there. It’s an easy stereotype for the prohibitionist to use terms like donut eating stoner, or lazy slacker. I say that there are plenty of examples of highly accomplished, highly productive successful people who use marijuana for a variety of reasons with no amotivational effects.
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Lifestyle
July - September | The American Cultivator |
Millennials and Marijuana By Ian Elliott
Cannabis is not an enemy of this nation. The absurdity of a War on Drugs, particularly when cannabis is included in the list of ‘drugs’, has become more and more apparent as we observe the anticlimactic aftermath of legalization in Colorado and Washington. The world is simply not going to fall apart over this, which would have to be clear and evident for a dissenter of cannabis policy reform to salvage any amount of hope at this time. Although I don’t personally believe that any generation, as a whole, bought into the Reefer Madness, I do see a correlation between the establishment of my generation into the social sphere and the sudden push for reform we have seen over the last decade. It will take the entire country’s support to complete what was started in the 60’s, but with a population that now surpasses that of the Baby Boomers, the Millennials have potential to make drastic changes to the contour of our social, economic and political sphere in ways that past generations could not have done. I believe we have surpassed the turning point and I hope this brief synopsis of my own generation’s perspective on this issue will give you hope as well, that cannabis legalization, re-scheduling, and research is a bright and imminent future. My generation is stubborn. Years of pampering and entitlement left the millennial generation with high expectations for quality of life and a low tolerance for game playing. Just because
a label reads medicine or food or pleasure, doesn’t necessarily mean we will believe it. We also have a head strong sense of pride when it comes to what we expect from our products. Conditioned from birth to believe that we live in the greatest country on earth, my generation was set up to expect that we should have the greatest products on earth as well. While partially effective and extremely dangerous pharmaceuticals may have appeased the public for decades, the expectation of ‘The Best’ prompts my generation to bow out of this game. We know from experience- from college parties and post-exam migraine relief- that marijuana is more effective than pharmaceuticals and easier on the body than alcohol. We want the best of the best from our medicine and will defund any medical industry which doesn’t match our idea of health. Watching countless friends and family members fall to opiate abuse, often leading to heroin addiction, the Millennials naturally adopted the mindset that cannabis makes sense as a safer alternative. If the largest medical industry in the world can’t adjust to our needs as fastpaced and health-conscious consumers, then we will opt out for something better. My generation is inventive. We create new definitions and standards which match our needs to the world around us, demanding change in the system not in our desires. Much of the debate that remains in regards to legalizing cannabis surrounds the separation of recreational and medical use. The Millennials scoff at this notion entirely. We believe that if preliminary research and our own anecdotal evidence are correct, then a plant that has preventative medical
qualities, can treat and cure disease, can be incorporated as part of a healthy diet, and can be used as a safe recreational alternative to alcohol is neither recreational nor medical at all, it is just nutritious. And if an economic and social system cannot tolerate labeling this wonderful plant as such, then we will drastically alter that system until it can. The unsustainable and often ineffective pharmaceutical industry in our country for example, has created a path to addiction and financial ruin for millions of Americans. Millennials were taught to be open-minded to technology and advances in science which would
Why is the federal government not fostering local medicinal cannabis systems, and instead choosing to support the top-down, one-supplier model? solve these problems, not create them. We were told as children that the cure for cancer might be in some distant ocean or rainforest and to the disdain of Big Pharma, somewhere between watching TV and taking out the trash, the Millennial generation stumbled upon the Wonder Drug in our own backyards. Now, we can’t help but question why the medical industries’ and our own idea of health don’t align. In our eyes, any institution that can readily deny patients with cancer and other debilitating diseases access to something that could potentially save their lives no longer serves the purpose it was created to, which is to help people
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live healthier. Any time an industry fails to meet a certain degree of expected improvement in efficiency and human impact, an alternative industry emerges as a contrast. Medical cannabis is just that kind of industry and because of this, my generation has an unwavering vested interest in furthering cannabis policy reform as a means to begin the dismantling and social extradition of those corporate institutions we deem as irresponsible and outdated. My generation is aware, now more than ever, of what needs to happen in shaping the future of our planet. The Millennial monster was awoken by a world of rent and taxes and debt, an intentionally neglected segment of our pampered past. Burdened by an insulting sum of student loans, the entitled Millennials have been forced to open their eyes to the grim reality of our current situation- and show no pity for those who have led us here. While cannabis policy reform may seem like an insignificant social change issue, Millennials see it as the linchpin issue in a series of reforms to come. We are aware of the unsustainable and irresponsible practices of generation’s past and can use cannabis reform as a platform from which to enact future widespread change. This is mainly because the ridiculous hypocrisy surrounding cannabis prohibition and stigmatization that prevents policy change resulting gives us the unique opportunity to look the Federal Government in the eye and say, “You were just wrong”. Cannabis is so stigmatized in our country that reform demands an extreme amount of questioning from citizens. Once cannabis reform happens, we know this questioning will transform into the continued, PG. 17 see Millennials
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July - September 2014 | The American Cultivator |
| The American Cultivator | July - September 2014
LARA continued from Front Page Withdrawal rule added which will allow for a patient or a primary caregiver to voluntarily withdraw from the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program. Petition Panel has updated term lengths from 2 years to 4 years with the ability to serve 2 terms and 1 partial term. Addition of conditions will require current medical, factual and evidence based data with a summary of evidence of the use of marihuana effecting the medical condition and articles published in peerreviewed scientific journals. The proposed changes are to help the Department reduce the cost of extra staff time, denial mistakes, and complaints from applicants stating it is taking too long. The online process will reduce the number of incomplete applications, processing errors, and application process efficiency. The review panel will also be streamlined allowing for more
Mellennials continued from page 14 one question we’ve been waiting for: “If we were wrong about cannabis, what else needs to be addressed?” Our generation will be positioned to address pressing concerns such as climate change, GMO’s and public education, because we have now learned to question the accepted norm. After cannabis, the sky is the limit. This leads me to conclude, quite confidently, that if legalizing cannabis is an evil in our society today, then it is by definition a necessary evil, with the potential to rescue us from a destructive path of irresponsible economic and social practices by challenging the problem head-on.
2013 was the Year of the Bud and I think we can safely say this is in part because the Millennial generation, now rooted into the voting and work pool, is the cannabis generation. We have corporate America to
in depth public input and reporting recommendations to the panel. Impact studies state the Department of Technology, Management and Budget will see all costs for developing an online system added as a budget item for MMP’s ongoing operation. Rural impact studies state residents in rural areas with slower speeds to Internet service may complain about needing to submit applications online. Other impact studies currently include 88% of the 150,360 patient and caregivers pay the $100 fee and 12% pay the reduced fee of $25 per year. With the overall reduced fee of $60 for 2 years all applicants will be able to afford the cost of participating in the program. On behalf of patients who are looking for speedy processing and may not have time to wait due to chronic conditions such as cancer, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis these are progressive changes for the MMP. For more info please visit: http://www7.dleg.state.mi.us/ orr/Files/ORR/1303_2013-105LR_orrdraft.pdf thank for this who, through their pacification of our generation, created a wave of youth that expected more from the system than the system could produce. We were taught to believe the world was a certain way- to believe we were entitled and special- in order to convince us that we deserved to consume more and more of their product. The Society, in an attempt to reap a profit, stifled our creativity and query, only to create a monster dissatisfied with the product being sold. There are a lot of things that need changing in our world, including access to safe medicine and a better understanding of what health truly is. After cannabis, what could be next? Once the Millennial monster has fully awoken, we can rest assured one thing: its path will create nothing but new opportunity and hope for generations to come. Here’s to youth, Here’s to change, Here’s to cannabis.
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Bad Science continued from page 8 cannabis is being used medicinally or therapeutically, it could certainly be the case that “it was taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended” (criterion 1), or that it could lead to a “need for markedly increased amounts” (criterion 7). Often, individuals “discover” the therapeutic benefits of cannabis after initially intending to be consume it sparingly under an environment of prohibition. Once this therapeutic discovery is made, more cannabis will be needed than was previously intended. Moreover, one may go to greater lengths to obtain it, similar to the lengths that people may go to in order to obtain any good medicine, even if the medicinal benefit is palliative rather than curative, or complementary rather than central. Given the environment of prohibition and the importance of the consumption to the maintenance of one’s health, the time and effort involved in procurement may cut into time that could be used for doing other activities, such as those enumerated in criterion 5. Certainly, given
Doctor continued from page 6 on the new advancements in medicine with cannabis and hemp products. Today there are many different forms of cannabis products, such as juicing, topical rubs, infused food items, tinctures and oils, patients use these for different purposes depending on the condition their treating. Physicians are more receptive when introduced to these old but forgotten ways of ingesting cannabis so always make sure to start there, as more evidence is required to convince them that smoking cannabis is not bad for your health like cigarettes are. With cannabis in the news every
the prevalence of employment drug testing and legal consequences related to being caught with cannabis, it would not be surprising that cannabis use, by virtue of its illegality alone, could cause “a persistent or recurrent social ... problem” (criterion 6) or lead to giving up “important ... occupational ... activities” (criterion 5). Because all of this was summarily ignored, subjects who were not cannabisdependent were likely counted as such, and it is not surprising that they arrived at an inflated figure of 9.1 percent (plus or minus 0.7 percent), or approximately 1 in 11 people, for the prevalence of cannabis dependency among self-identified cannabis users. The latter figure is itself problematic given that it’s illegal behavior that you may not want to tell a stranger about, even if they are a surveyor. This causes an artificially low denominator, which would also hike up the figure. That’s why this idea that 9 percent of cannabis users become dependent is based on bad science and is way over the mark. As Dr. Drew says, “it’s nowhere near that.” Now let’s see how long this false factoid continues to be repeated in the media echo chamber. day, social media sharing stories about children being cured, Dr. Sanjay Guptas CNN special on epilepsy and just recently the DEA telling the FDA to allow more research, the topic should be as easy to start as talking apple pie. So the next time you visit your Doctor strike a conversation about something you have learned. If their open to discussing, talk with them more, if they’re not sure, offer valid facts, if their closed minded and unwilling to talk about cannabis, you might want to find a Doctor that will. You can also contact a professional organization such as My Compassion, who provides the necessary education with onsite presentations at most Doctors offices.
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Testing continued from page 12 the accuracy of these results is in question because some of the original compounds in the sample decompose and form more of these three compounds. The efficiency of this transformation depends on the temperature and even the flow characteristics in the injector, so it is not possible to know what amounts were in the original sample using GC.[2] The type of chromatography used by SHH is called liquid chromatography (LC). In liquid chromatography, the plant material is dissolved in liquid solvents and separated while still in the liquid. Thus, the compounds are never exposed to any heat and the analysis reveals the true content of all of the compound present in the original sample. In the plant and unheated extracts, the most prevalent cannabinoids, by far, are in the “acid” form.[3] This is what the plant produces. “Acid” here refers to a specific, rather fragile chemical moiety attached to a part of each molecule produced. The presence of this “acid” group changes the way the chemicals react with living systems in significant ways. For example, D9-THC Acid (THC-A) is the most prevalent compound produced by the plants. When heated, some (but not all) of the THC-A loses its acid group and is transformed into D9-THC. Some of the THC-A decomposes into other active compounds and some decomposes into ineffective byproducts. Ingestion of THC-A has a very different effect on humans than does the ingestion of D9-THC. “MS patients using Cannabis preparations other than by smoking or that contain low THC content claim positive health effects and fewer side effects.”[4] Unheated cannabis (with lots of THC-A, but little THC) also has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties not observed for heated cannabis (with lots of THC, but very little THC-A). THC is the compound thought to provide therapeutic benefits in the relief of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer and its treatments, stimulation of appetite in AIDS patients and patients with anorexia and wasting syndromes, analgesia, muscle relaxation, but is also responsible for anxiety and panic attacks, increased heart rate, and changes in blood pressure.[5] Patients with different maladies should be able to choose medicine that is specific for the treatment they prefer. Without the right testing, that is impossible. In addition to LC analysis, SHH screens
raw cannabis and water extractions for microbial contaminants to ensure the safety of medical cannabis by identifying the type and level of microorganisms present in the medicine. Mold and bacteria have been a regulatory focus in most medical and legal cannabis states. Most states have establish tolerance limits for microbiological contamination in cannabis. Molds are ubiquitous and small amounts are found in almost every sample. However, patients with existing health problems should not be exposed to medicines that contain large amounts. Exposure to high levels of microorganisms such as molds and bacteria are known to cause health problems and can be particularly dangerous to patients that have existing medical problems. Medicines that contain bacteria should be destroyed. For solvent concentrates, SHH uses gas chromatography/mass spectrometry along with a headspace autosampler to quantitate N-butane and other residual solvents in cannabis concentrates. Our methodology and instrumentation are the most advanced used in the cannabis industry today. Methyl butane, isobutane, isopropanol, ethanol, and acetone are the five most common solvents found in cannabis concentrates. UNDERSTANDING RESULTS: An example of a cannabinoid and terpenoid profile (percent of compound in sample) for a particular sample is shown below. In this and the vast majority of unheated samples THC-A and other “acid” forms of the cannabinoids are the compounds most prevalent in the plant material before heating. These decompose upon heating, as would be the case for the more common gas chromatography method of analysis used by many cannabis testing labs. As a result, most testing labs only report THC, CBD, and CBN quantities in their samples. However, according to David W. Pate, Ph.D., M.Sc., Senior Technical Officer, HortaPharm BV (botany and chemistry of cannabis), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, “As CBD and possibly other cannabinoids
may add or subtract from the primary THC effects, and have effects themselves, their presence should also be accounted.” FIGURE 1: Cannabinoid and terpenoid profile. SHH currently tests for the fifteen most important cannabinoids and eight terpenoids (with more added as we develop internal standards) using a low temperature liquid chromatography method. The vast majority of compounds detected are the acid forms, which decompose upon heating, as would be the case for the more common gas chromatography method. Our results currently report the fifteen of the most important cannabinoids and eight terpenoids. This list will soon be expanding. We also test for dozens of possible pesticides, including all of the pesticides most commonly used by cannabis growers. Since methods used by growers are not currently standardized or regulated, we test for a large number of less common pesticides that many other labs do not. FOOTNOTES: [1] “Non-psychotropic plant cannabinoids: new therapeutic opportunities from an ancient herb.” A.A. Izzo, et al.; Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Vol 30 No.10 (2009) 515-527. [2] “Isolation of D9-THCA-A from hemp and analytical aspects concerning the determination of D9-THC in cannabis products.” F. E. Dussy, et al.; Forensic Science International, Vol 149 (2005) 3–10. [3] “Chemical ecology of cannabis.” D.W. Pate; Journal of the International Hemp Association Vol 2 No 29 (1994):32 –37. [4] “Unheated Cannabis sativa extracts and its major compound THC-acid have potential immuno-modulating properties not mediated by CB1 and CB2 receptor coupled pathways.” K.C.M. Verhoeckx et al.; International Immunopharmacology, Vol 6 (2006) 656–665. [5] “Adverse effects of cannabis on health: an update of the literature since 1996.” H. Kalant; Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology amd Biological Psychiatry; Vol 28(No. 5) ( 2004) 849– 863.
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Cannabinoids
continued from page 6
by our body with similar effects to THC), allowing the anandamide to stay in the bloodstream longer. CBC is believed to inhibit the growth of cancer, inhibit pain, and inflammation. It may also stimulate bone growth, according to Steep Hill Halent Labs. As you can see, there is much more to the cannabis plant than THC and CBD. There are over 60 cannabinoids found within cannabis–to think that any one compound is more effective than the entire plant would be a misinformed position at best. For information about cannabinoids, medical marijuana and more, please visit www.MedicalJane.com
Congress
continued from page 8
in America can progress at the rates seen in other countries like Israel, Australia, France and Spain. American researchers all be using the same cannabis, produced at the same farm under the same guidelines, which itself causes a flaw in the research process. Different strains create different effects on the human body, and by forcing all researchers to ignore the marijuana plant’s wondrous variety the DEA can still accomplish their goal of limiting research discoveries and stifle a full exploration of the Cannabis plant.
Captain
continued from page 14
I had with Mr. Kirk, the humbleness in his demeanor and the depth of his passion and skill. A long chat revealed a man with convictions dedicated to helping the sick and as someone deserving of every award he baked for. If you ever get a chance, and you are a MMMP card holder, I encourage you to look for Captain Kirk’s Edibles at Ann Arbor Collective and at Depot town Dispensary in Ypsilanti.
Lessons
continued from page 9
Expansion Technology in 2012. Apeks has more than 150 CO2 extraction systems installed in 18 states across the United States and internationally. Andy is a US Navy veteran and earned his BS and MS degrees in Welding Engineering from the Ohio State University.
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| The American Cultivator | July - September 2014
July - September 2014 | The American Cultivator |
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