:lol:
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legalize it already
- Thread starter ScottySkis
- Start date
:lol:
Who says that ignorance is not bliss? Gail and Dale sing one of the "newer songs" that is a "modern spiritual":
Probably one of the best scenes from Lawrence Welk!
Probably one of the best scenes from Lawrence Welk!
ScottySkis
Well-known member
ScottySkis
Well-known member
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/u...tates-consider-legalizing-marijuana.html?_r=1
y RICK LYMANFEB. 26, 2014
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Katrin Haugh, left, and Carol Thompson, of the Absentee and Petition Office in Anchorage, processed signatures that supported the effort to put marijuana legalization on the ballot. Credit Erik Hill/The Anchorage Daily News, via Associated Press
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A little over a year after Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, more than half the states, including some in the conservative South, are considering decriminalizing the drug or legalizing it for medical or recreational use. That has set up a watershed year in the battle over whether marijuana should be as available as alcohol.
Demonstrating how marijuana is no longer a strictly partisan issue, the two states considered likeliest this year to follow Colorado and Washington in outright legalization of the drug are Oregon, dominated by liberal Democrats, and Alaska, where libertarian Republicans hold sway.
Advocates of more lenient marijuana laws say they intend to maintain the momentum from their successes, heartened by national and statewide polls showing greater public acceptance of legalizing marijuana, President Obama’s recent musings on the discrimdiscriminatory effect of marijuana prosecutions and the release of guidelines by his Treasury Department intended to make it easier for banks to do business with legal marijuana businesses. Photo
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Kevin A. Sabet is the executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is spearheading much of the effort to stop legalization initiatives. Credit Matthew Ryan Williams for The New York Times Their opponents, though, who also see this as a crucial year, are just as keen to slow the legalization drives. They are aided by a wait-and-see attitude among many governors and legislators, who seem wary of pushing ahead too quickly without seeing how the rollout of legal marijuana works in Colorado and Washington.
“We feel that if Oregon or Alaska could be stopped, it would disrupt the whole narrative these groups have that legalization is inevitable,” said Kevin A. Sabet, executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is spearheading much of the effort to stop these initiatives. “We could stop that momentum.”
Despite the drug still being illegal under federal law, the Obama administration has said it will not interfere with the rollout of legal marijuana in the states for several reasons, including whether the state is successful in keeping it out of the hands of minors.
At least 14 states — including Florida, where an initiative has already qualified for the ballot — are considering new medical marijuana laws this year, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports legalization, and 12 states and the District of Columbia are contemplating decriminalization, in which the drug remains illegal, but the penalties are softened or reduced to fines. Medical marijuana use is already legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia.An even larger number of states, at least 17, have seen bills introduced or initiatives begun to legalize the drug for adult use along the lines of alcohol, the same approach used in Colorado and Washington, but most of those efforts are considered unlikely of success this year.
The allure of tax revenues is also becoming a powerful selling point in some states, particularly after Gov. John W. Hickenlooper of Colorado said last week that taxes from legal marijuana sales would be $134 million in the coming fiscal year, much higher than had been predicted when the measure was passed in 2012.
In Rhode Island, which is struggling financially, national and local advocates for legalization say the Colorado news is sure to help legislation introduced in February to legalize the drug.
“Some feel it’s not an appropriate issue for an election year, and others want to wait and see what happens in Colorado,” said State Senator Joshua Miller, a Democrat who is sponsoring the Rhode Island legalization law. “But a lot of other people are very anxious to take the revenue part of this very seriously.”
y RICK LYMANFEB. 26, 2014
Photo
Katrin Haugh, left, and Carol Thompson, of the Absentee and Petition Office in Anchorage, processed signatures that supported the effort to put marijuana legalization on the ballot. Credit Erik Hill/The Anchorage Daily News, via Associated Press
Continue reading the main story Share This Page
- save
- more
Continue reading the main story
A little over a year after Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, more than half the states, including some in the conservative South, are considering decriminalizing the drug or legalizing it for medical or recreational use. That has set up a watershed year in the battle over whether marijuana should be as available as alcohol.
Demonstrating how marijuana is no longer a strictly partisan issue, the two states considered likeliest this year to follow Colorado and Washington in outright legalization of the drug are Oregon, dominated by liberal Democrats, and Alaska, where libertarian Republicans hold sway.
Advocates of more lenient marijuana laws say they intend to maintain the momentum from their successes, heartened by national and statewide polls showing greater public acceptance of legalizing marijuana, President Obama’s recent musings on the discrimdiscriminatory effect of marijuana prosecutions and the release of guidelines by his Treasury Department intended to make it easier for banks to do business with legal marijuana businesses. Photo
Kevin A. Sabet is the executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is spearheading much of the effort to stop legalization initiatives. Credit Matthew Ryan Williams for The New York Times Their opponents, though, who also see this as a crucial year, are just as keen to slow the legalization drives. They are aided by a wait-and-see attitude among many governors and legislators, who seem wary of pushing ahead too quickly without seeing how the rollout of legal marijuana works in Colorado and Washington.
“We feel that if Oregon or Alaska could be stopped, it would disrupt the whole narrative these groups have that legalization is inevitable,” said Kevin A. Sabet, executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is spearheading much of the effort to stop these initiatives. “We could stop that momentum.”
Despite the drug still being illegal under federal law, the Obama administration has said it will not interfere with the rollout of legal marijuana in the states for several reasons, including whether the state is successful in keeping it out of the hands of minors.
At least 14 states — including Florida, where an initiative has already qualified for the ballot — are considering new medical marijuana laws this year, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports legalization, and 12 states and the District of Columbia are contemplating decriminalization, in which the drug remains illegal, but the penalties are softened or reduced to fines. Medical marijuana use is already legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia.An even larger number of states, at least 17, have seen bills introduced or initiatives begun to legalize the drug for adult use along the lines of alcohol, the same approach used in Colorado and Washington, but most of those efforts are considered unlikely of success this year.
The allure of tax revenues is also becoming a powerful selling point in some states, particularly after Gov. John W. Hickenlooper of Colorado said last week that taxes from legal marijuana sales would be $134 million in the coming fiscal year, much higher than had been predicted when the measure was passed in 2012.
In Rhode Island, which is struggling financially, national and local advocates for legalization say the Colorado news is sure to help legislation introduced in February to legalize the drug.
“Some feel it’s not an appropriate issue for an election year, and others want to wait and see what happens in Colorado,” said State Senator Joshua Miller, a Democrat who is sponsoring the Rhode Island legalization law. “But a lot of other people are very anxious to take the revenue part of this very seriously.”
ScottySkis
Well-known member
Opponents of legalization, meanwhile, are mobilizing across the country to slow the momentum, keeping a sharp eye on Colorado for any problems in the rollout of the new law there.
“Legalization almost had to happen in order for people to wake up and realize they don’t want it,” Mr. Sabet said. “In a strange way, we feel legalization in a few states could be a blessing.”
Continue reading the main story
California had been considered a possibility to legalize marijuana this year through a ballot proposition — one to do just that failed in 2010 — but the Drug Policy Alliance, which had been leading the effort, decided this month to wait until 2016.
While much of the recent attention has focused on these legalization efforts, medical marijuana may also cross what its backers consider an important threshold this year — most notably in the South where Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina are among the states considering such laws.
John Morgan, an Orlando lawyer whose firm includes former Gov. Charlie Crist, has spent $3.6 million of his own money to get a medical marijuana initiative on the November ballot in Florida, where a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in November showed that eight in 10 Florida voters support medical marijuana. State law requires 60 percent to pass.
Mr. Morgan insists that his initiative is not intended to help Mr. Crist, a Republican turned Democrat, reclaim the governorship.
Election data, compiled by Just Say Now, a pro-marijuana group, showed hat the percentage of the vote that came from people under 30 increased significantly from 2008 to 2012 in states that had marijuana initiatives. This youth vote, predominantly Democratic, rose to 20 percent from 14 percent in Colorado, and to 22 percent from 10 percent in Washington, both far above the 1 percent rise in the national youth vote.“If it benefits Charlie Crist, it’s certainly an unintended consequence,” Mr. Morgan said.
Mr. Sabet said his conversations with Democratic leaders around the country convince him that there is little enthusiasm for being high-profile on the issue. “For the moment, I think by and large, Democrats are uncomfortable with that,” Mr. Sabet said.
Continue reading the main story Recent Comments
jacrane
40 minutes ago Do we legalize something to save 40,000 prison sentences and cause another say 140,000 to become addicted to a substance. Far more to this...
TrueFreedom
40 minutes ago Let's keep the momentum on this going. Great job team!
David
40 minutes ago The problem with legalizing marijuana is ... oops I lost my train of thought. Need to get a bite to eat.
A narrow majority of Americans — 51 percent — believe marijuana should be legal, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted last week, matching the result in a CBS News poll the previous month. In 1979, when The Times and CBS first asked the question, only 27 percent wanted cannabis legalized.
There were stark differences in the new poll, though. While 72 percent of people under 30 favored legalization, only 29 percent of those over 6agreed. And while about a third of Republicans now favored legalization, this was far below the 60 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independents who did so.In Alaska, sufficient signatures have been collected to get the legalization initiative on the ballot.
“Alaska is a red state, but with a heavy libertarian streak,” said Taylor Bickford, spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska. “The idea of personal freedom and responsibility is uniting Alaskans on both sides of the aisle.”
Under state law, however, the vote will occur during the Aug. 19 primary, not in the general election.
“The support in Alaska is very strong, but how do you poll on an issue like this for a low-turnout primary election?” asked Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. That is why he thinks Oregon really has the better chance this year.
Anthony Johnson, the director of New Approach Oregon, a coalition that is leading the drive there, said advocates are trying to persuade state legislators to put the issue on the November ballot while simultaneously preparing to collect the roughly 88,000 signatures that would be needed to force it onto the ballot if the legislators demur.
“At the moment, I’d say the odds are no better than 50percent that the Legislature will act,” Mr. Johnson said. “But if they don’t, we will just gather the signatures. I am pretty confident we will be able to get them.”Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, a leading advocate for legalizing marijuana, said campaigns were already underway to stage aggressive legalization drives in several states over the next couple of years, including Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and possibly Montana.
“It is certainly important to maintain the momentum,” Mr. Tvert said, “But I don’t think we can look at any one election cycle and see what the future holds. This is going to be a multiyear effort.”
Dalia Sussman contributed reporting.
A version of this article appears in print on February 27, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the
“Legalization almost had to happen in order for people to wake up and realize they don’t want it,” Mr. Sabet said. “In a strange way, we feel legalization in a few states could be a blessing.”
Continue reading the main story
California had been considered a possibility to legalize marijuana this year through a ballot proposition — one to do just that failed in 2010 — but the Drug Policy Alliance, which had been leading the effort, decided this month to wait until 2016.
While much of the recent attention has focused on these legalization efforts, medical marijuana may also cross what its backers consider an important threshold this year — most notably in the South where Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina are among the states considering such laws.
John Morgan, an Orlando lawyer whose firm includes former Gov. Charlie Crist, has spent $3.6 million of his own money to get a medical marijuana initiative on the November ballot in Florida, where a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in November showed that eight in 10 Florida voters support medical marijuana. State law requires 60 percent to pass.
Mr. Morgan insists that his initiative is not intended to help Mr. Crist, a Republican turned Democrat, reclaim the governorship.
Election data, compiled by Just Say Now, a pro-marijuana group, showed hat the percentage of the vote that came from people under 30 increased significantly from 2008 to 2012 in states that had marijuana initiatives. This youth vote, predominantly Democratic, rose to 20 percent from 14 percent in Colorado, and to 22 percent from 10 percent in Washington, both far above the 1 percent rise in the national youth vote.“If it benefits Charlie Crist, it’s certainly an unintended consequence,” Mr. Morgan said.
Mr. Sabet said his conversations with Democratic leaders around the country convince him that there is little enthusiasm for being high-profile on the issue. “For the moment, I think by and large, Democrats are uncomfortable with that,” Mr. Sabet said.
Continue reading the main story Recent Comments
jacrane
40 minutes ago Do we legalize something to save 40,000 prison sentences and cause another say 140,000 to become addicted to a substance. Far more to this...
TrueFreedom
40 minutes ago Let's keep the momentum on this going. Great job team!
David
40 minutes ago The problem with legalizing marijuana is ... oops I lost my train of thought. Need to get a bite to eat.
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- Write a comment
A narrow majority of Americans — 51 percent — believe marijuana should be legal, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted last week, matching the result in a CBS News poll the previous month. In 1979, when The Times and CBS first asked the question, only 27 percent wanted cannabis legalized.
There were stark differences in the new poll, though. While 72 percent of people under 30 favored legalization, only 29 percent of those over 6agreed. And while about a third of Republicans now favored legalization, this was far below the 60 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independents who did so.In Alaska, sufficient signatures have been collected to get the legalization initiative on the ballot.
“Alaska is a red state, but with a heavy libertarian streak,” said Taylor Bickford, spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska. “The idea of personal freedom and responsibility is uniting Alaskans on both sides of the aisle.”
Under state law, however, the vote will occur during the Aug. 19 primary, not in the general election.
“The support in Alaska is very strong, but how do you poll on an issue like this for a low-turnout primary election?” asked Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. That is why he thinks Oregon really has the better chance this year.
Anthony Johnson, the director of New Approach Oregon, a coalition that is leading the drive there, said advocates are trying to persuade state legislators to put the issue on the November ballot while simultaneously preparing to collect the roughly 88,000 signatures that would be needed to force it onto the ballot if the legislators demur.
“At the moment, I’d say the odds are no better than 50percent that the Legislature will act,” Mr. Johnson said. “But if they don’t, we will just gather the signatures. I am pretty confident we will be able to get them.”Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, a leading advocate for legalizing marijuana, said campaigns were already underway to stage aggressive legalization drives in several states over the next couple of years, including Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and possibly Montana.
“It is certainly important to maintain the momentum,” Mr. Tvert said, “But I don’t think we can look at any one election cycle and see what the future holds. This is going to be a multiyear effort.”
Dalia Sussman contributed reporting.
A version of this article appears in print on February 27, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the
ScottySkis
Well-known member
sBlue Dream good MJ really graet MJ
AdironRider
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
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Clearly.
ScottySkis
Well-known member
http://www.change.org/petitions/pre...se-and-the-right-to-cultivate-for-medical-use
Many scientific studies are showing that medical marijuana and its extracts cure cancer and significantly reduce the symptoms of many other illnesses. Despite all of this recent scientific proof each state is forced to rage it's own fight for legalization and access to this medicinal treatment while the federal government does nothing to unite the states by federally allowing patients the freedom of a safer choice. Many families are forced to become "marijuana refugees" and move to other states to access this treatment and save their sick and dying loved ones. We the people, not matter their geographical location, deserve equal access to this medical treatment and since many are too economically disadvantaged or too sick to even consider moving we demand federal law be changed.
To:
President of the United States
U.S. House of Representatives
Provide safe access to medical marijuana for all American citizens by federally legalizing medical marijuana use and the right to cultivate for personal use.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Many scientific studies are showing that medical marijuana and its extracts cure cancer and significantly reduce the symptoms of many other illnesses. Despite all of this recent scientific proof each state is forced to rage it's own fight for legalization and access to this medicinal treatment while the federal government does nothing to unite the states by federally allowing patients the freedom of a safer choice. Many families are forced to become "marijuana refugees" and move to other states to access this treatment and save their sick and dying loved ones. We the people, not matter their geographical location, deserve equal access to this medical treatment and since many are too economically disadvantaged or too sick to even consider moving we demand federal law be changed.
To:
President of the United States
U.S. House of Representatives
Provide safe access to medical marijuana for all American citizens by federally legalizing medical marijuana use and the right to cultivate for personal use.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
ScottySkis
Well-known member
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/f...juana-added-new-york-assembly-budget-proposal
NEW YORK (MainStreet) — New York Assembly Democrats have rolled a bill legalizing medical marijuana into next week's budget proposal.
Democratic Assemblyman Dick Gottfried told Capital the measure would resemble his Compassionate Care Act, to bring an order to dispensing the drug for various maladies.
Still, there are some disparities between Gottfried's original proposal and this one, which is cosponsored by Independent Democrat Diana Savino in the State Senate.
The Assembly plan will stipulate that the excise tax on marijuana will be calculated according to a percentage of the dispensing price, not as a per-found cost. To boot, as part of the budget proposal, more dispensaries would also be able to expedite the process of getting into business.
Related Articles
"We're thrilled to see the Assembly put medical marijuana on the the table for the upcoming budget negotiations," said Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech (TRTC). "Clearly these are lawmakers who see the economic value this industry could provide. We feel this move puts us in a very strong position for passage this year, hopefully making New York the 21st state with a medical cannabis industry. We look forward to participating in that industry."
This measure of course is a large expansion of the limited medical marijuana program proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier in the year. It could be a boon for the various marijuana companies like GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) and Creative Edge Nutrition (FITX) trying to gain market share in the medical marijuana space through emphasis on pharmaceuticals and biotech. "Medical marijuana being included in the Assembly's one house budget is a major step towards opening what may become the second largest medical cannabis industry in the nation," said Evan Nison, co-founder and director at New York Cannabis Alliance and executive director at NORML NJ. "We commend Assemblyman Gottfried and Speaker [Sheldon] Silver on taking this step."
But there are obstacles.
Though New York state Senate Republicans have chilled out their opposition to medical marijuana measures, majority co-leader Dean Skelos did relent in aversion to legalization: he said he would approve non-smoke-based forms of medical marijuana.
"Now we must make sure Senator Skelos and Governor Cuomo listen to the people of New York and agree to include this in the final version of the budget to allow experienced companies like ours to provide safe access to medical quality cannabis," Nison said.
[h=2]Related Articles[/h]
--Written by Ross Kenneth Urken for MainStreet
NEW YORK (MainStreet) — New York Assembly Democrats have rolled a bill legalizing medical marijuana into next week's budget proposal.
Democratic Assemblyman Dick Gottfried told Capital the measure would resemble his Compassionate Care Act, to bring an order to dispensing the drug for various maladies.
Still, there are some disparities between Gottfried's original proposal and this one, which is cosponsored by Independent Democrat Diana Savino in the State Senate.
The Assembly plan will stipulate that the excise tax on marijuana will be calculated according to a percentage of the dispensing price, not as a per-found cost. To boot, as part of the budget proposal, more dispensaries would also be able to expedite the process of getting into business.
Related Articles
- Marijuana Still a Threat Despite Legalization
- Medical Marijuana Added to New York Assembly Budget Proposal
- Does Marijuana Cause Violence?
- Here are the Worst U.S. Cities for Pot Smokers
- Marijuana Buzz in Washington: State Issues Pot License
"We're thrilled to see the Assembly put medical marijuana on the the table for the upcoming budget negotiations," said Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech (TRTC). "Clearly these are lawmakers who see the economic value this industry could provide. We feel this move puts us in a very strong position for passage this year, hopefully making New York the 21st state with a medical cannabis industry. We look forward to participating in that industry."
This measure of course is a large expansion of the limited medical marijuana program proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier in the year. It could be a boon for the various marijuana companies like GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) and Creative Edge Nutrition (FITX) trying to gain market share in the medical marijuana space through emphasis on pharmaceuticals and biotech. "Medical marijuana being included in the Assembly's one house budget is a major step towards opening what may become the second largest medical cannabis industry in the nation," said Evan Nison, co-founder and director at New York Cannabis Alliance and executive director at NORML NJ. "We commend Assemblyman Gottfried and Speaker [Sheldon] Silver on taking this step."
But there are obstacles.
Though New York state Senate Republicans have chilled out their opposition to medical marijuana measures, majority co-leader Dean Skelos did relent in aversion to legalization: he said he would approve non-smoke-based forms of medical marijuana.
"Now we must make sure Senator Skelos and Governor Cuomo listen to the people of New York and agree to include this in the final version of the budget to allow experienced companies like ours to provide safe access to medical quality cannabis," Nison said.
[h=2]Related Articles[/h]
- Marijuana Still a Threat Despite Legalization
- Medical Marijuana Added to New York Assembly Budget Proposal
- Does Marijuana Cause Violence?
- Here are the Worst U.S. Cities for Pot Smokers
- Marijuana Buzz in Washington: State Issues Pot License
--Written by Ross Kenneth Urken for MainStreet
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/...k-down-on-legal-weed-in-states-that-allow-it/
The GOP trying to further alienate themselves from the voters. It's almost like they're actively trying to lose the next elections. Either way I doubt this goes anywhere.
In the end the boomers are turning out to be the hypocrites their parents labeled them back in the 60's....
The GOP trying to further alienate themselves from the voters. It's almost like they're actively trying to lose the next elections. Either way I doubt this goes anywhere.
In the end the boomers are turning out to be the hypocrites their parents labeled them back in the 60's....
spring_mountain_high
New member
because congress doesn't have anything more important to worry about...what a bunch of clowns
jimk
Well-known member
Did you guys see this article on CNN?
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/03/living/weed-colorado-family-vacation/index.html?hpt=hp_c4
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/03/living/weed-colorado-family-vacation/index.html?hpt=hp_c4
ScottySkis
Well-known member
Medical Marijuana is likely dead in New York******* The state’s medical marijuana bill is likely dead in New York this year according to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. He told reporters in the Capitol last Monday that the medical marijuana bill was effectively dead for the ‘duration of the legislative session’. Silver’s tried to backpedal afterward but advocates think he may be right. The Senate sponsor of the medical marijuana bill Diane Savino of Staten Island and Co sponsor Assembly Member Richard Gottfried took exception to the speaker.
Ninety percent of New York State voters support the legalization of medical marijuana according to a Quinnipiac University poll release in Feb. Savino and allies have been talking up the ‘Compassionate Care Act’ all month. Advocates came to the Capitol last week to lobby lawmakers and people with medical problems testified about there hope to get legal medical marijuana. But the bill kept getting bogged down over political skirmishes. The Senate, which is ruled by a coalition of Republicans and a hand full of breakaway Democrats, has so far not put the measure on the floor due to opposition by some GOP Senators. Advocates report Senator Savino has been trying to use a parliamentary maneuver to try to advance the bill and was attempting an end run around Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos. “More Savino's and less Skelos would be a good thing for our Senate” said Deniece Kinash, coordinator of ‘New York State Committee To Legalize Marijuana’.
The back-story to this drama is worth mentioning. It was Beer, Wine, Cider and Spirits day in Albany. Gov Andrew Cuomo is hosting the state’s second alcohol summit. He has created a one stop shop, making it easier for beer, wine and spirits producers having a single point of government contact for help with licensing and regulations. The governor has also signed legislation over the past couple years to help these businesses grow. The number of NY microbreweries has increased in 2011 from 40 to 93 as of Tuesday. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to assume these alcohol producers don’t want competition from legalize marijuana growers and sellers.
The Senate is ruled by a coalition of Republicans and a hand full of breakaway Democrats. No republican has won statewide office without the backing of the Conservative Party of New York in 30 years. “The Republican think tank is run from New York City by Michael R. Long, who used to run it out of his liquor store, Long's Wine & Liquor in Brooklyn. They successfully blocked same sex marriage for many years, till he was publicly shamed as the REAL opponent. Shame on the Senate Republicans for keeping sick New Yorkers from natural, healing medicine,” said an advocate who ask his name be withheld. “Saying no to medical marijuana because it might hurt liquor sales is a new low for New York Republicans.” It is a dirty shame.Our only chance is to organize a massive protest”, Kinash said. Her organization is planning a marijuana protest rally in Union Square Park on May 3, 2014 at 12:00 noon. It will coincide with the annual New York Cannabis Parade that will be marching down Broadway and arrive at 1:00 P.M. in Union Park. We think everyone fighting for legal marijuana in New York should keep the pressure on Senate Republicans. “Support for State Senator Liz Krueger’s (D-Manhattan) Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) to legalize marijuana like in Colorado and Washington is not dead yet . We must keep hope alive,” she said. (Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy, left, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver speak during the Wine, Beer, Spirits and Cide
Our NY reps suck big time. I think it time to move to CoL.
Ninety percent of New York State voters support the legalization of medical marijuana according to a Quinnipiac University poll release in Feb. Savino and allies have been talking up the ‘Compassionate Care Act’ all month. Advocates came to the Capitol last week to lobby lawmakers and people with medical problems testified about there hope to get legal medical marijuana. But the bill kept getting bogged down over political skirmishes. The Senate, which is ruled by a coalition of Republicans and a hand full of breakaway Democrats, has so far not put the measure on the floor due to opposition by some GOP Senators. Advocates report Senator Savino has been trying to use a parliamentary maneuver to try to advance the bill and was attempting an end run around Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos. “More Savino's and less Skelos would be a good thing for our Senate” said Deniece Kinash, coordinator of ‘New York State Committee To Legalize Marijuana’.
The back-story to this drama is worth mentioning. It was Beer, Wine, Cider and Spirits day in Albany. Gov Andrew Cuomo is hosting the state’s second alcohol summit. He has created a one stop shop, making it easier for beer, wine and spirits producers having a single point of government contact for help with licensing and regulations. The governor has also signed legislation over the past couple years to help these businesses grow. The number of NY microbreweries has increased in 2011 from 40 to 93 as of Tuesday. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to assume these alcohol producers don’t want competition from legalize marijuana growers and sellers.
The Senate is ruled by a coalition of Republicans and a hand full of breakaway Democrats. No republican has won statewide office without the backing of the Conservative Party of New York in 30 years. “The Republican think tank is run from New York City by Michael R. Long, who used to run it out of his liquor store, Long's Wine & Liquor in Brooklyn. They successfully blocked same sex marriage for many years, till he was publicly shamed as the REAL opponent. Shame on the Senate Republicans for keeping sick New Yorkers from natural, healing medicine,” said an advocate who ask his name be withheld. “Saying no to medical marijuana because it might hurt liquor sales is a new low for New York Republicans.” It is a dirty shame.Our only chance is to organize a massive protest”, Kinash said. Her organization is planning a marijuana protest rally in Union Square Park on May 3, 2014 at 12:00 noon. It will coincide with the annual New York Cannabis Parade that will be marching down Broadway and arrive at 1:00 P.M. in Union Park. We think everyone fighting for legal marijuana in New York should keep the pressure on Senate Republicans. “Support for State Senator Liz Krueger’s (D-Manhattan) Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) to legalize marijuana like in Colorado and Washington is not dead yet . We must keep hope alive,” she said. (Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy, left, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver speak during the Wine, Beer, Spirits and Cide
Our NY reps suck big time. I think it time to move to CoL.
ScottySkis
Well-known member
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/marijuana-charlottes-web-colorado/529cc69078c90a724000043e
Charlotte's Web" is the name of one of the most coveted medical marijuana strains, and is being used to treat children with epilepsy. We talk to some of these "marijuana refugees" about this unconventional method and how it is helping to treat them.
No THC in this only CBD which does not get any one high and this is why it is a mircale plant.
http://neurosciencefundamentals.unsw.wikispaces.net/Marijuana+and+Epilepsy
On August 7th 2013, a news article on CNN informs its readers of the journey of a young 6 year old girl named Charlotte Figi (shown in the images below), who has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. Dravet Syndrome is a branch of generalised epilepsy with febrile seizures (GEFS+) that denotes severe myoclonic epilepsy of infants (SMEI). Caused by dysfunction in GABA receptors and sodium and calcium ion channels, it hinders development in conscious mental activity, causes tonic clonic and myoclonic seizures, and ataxia. It is distinguished in its severity and resistance to treatments, and as the name implies, begins in infancy.
Numerous failed treatment attempts led to the parental decision to try a specific strain of marijuana for Charlotte which was tentatively endorsed by two medical practitioners. The particular strain of marijuana which was high in cannabidiol (CBD) was by far the most successful treatment, and was thought of as a potential viable option for others in similar situations. The article discussed scientific and clinical implications of using CBD to treat epilepsy as it contends with current preconceived misconceptions about the unethical use of medicinal marijuana.
CHARLOTTE FIGI'S JOURNEY...
[h=1]Table of Contents[/h]
1. INTRODUCTION
2. NEUROSCIENTIFIC CONTEXT
2.1. Introduction
2.2 Study 1- (Animal Study)
2.3. Study 2- (Human Study)
3. ANALYSIS
3.1 Quality of the media item
3.1.1 Target Audience
3.1.2 Quality of information
3.2. Social context
3.2.1 Ethics
3.2.2 Marijuana and Law
3.2.3 Stereotypes
4. APPENDIX
5. REFERENCES
6. PLANNING
Final - Sept 23rd 10am
[h=1]2. NEUROSCIENTIFIC CONTEXT[/h]
[h=3]2.1. Introduction[/h]
The marijuana strain (shown in image 1) that was used to treat Charlotte's epilepsy has been shown to be low in delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and high in cannabidiol (CBD). Dravet syndrome, also known as Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI), is a rare and life-threatening form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy. (Hill TD et al., 2013)
Marijuana is a naturally growing plant with the major chemical components include:
Initially, neuroscientists and pharmacologist investigated the molecule THC, with some reports of their anticonvulsant properties that were prevalent through experimentation. However there appears to be a universal consensus among scientific literature that the potential anticonvulsive properties of THC and its isomers could not be implemented into human studies due to it's psychoactivity.
Figure 3 below summarises the effects of marijuana on the normal functioning of different brain regions.
[h=3]2.2 Study 1- (Animal Study)[/h]
STUDY : Cannabidivarin-rich cannabis extracts are anticonvulsant in mouse and rat via a CB1 receptor-independent mechanism.
The experiments described in the above research paper (Hill TD et al., 2013) aim to examine the anticonvulsant profiles of cannabis-derived botanical drug substances (BDS) rich in cannabidivarin (CBDV) which is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis (Hill TD et al., 2013). The function of this chemical compound is to activate cannabinoid CB1 receptors on cells that repress neurotransmitter release in the brain (Pertwee RG,1997). A constituent of this compound is cannabidiol (CBD) which is the primary focus of this study due to its proven medical applications for seizures (Zuardi AW et al., 2012). This can be related to our core text as it aims to further investigate the statement made in the CNN article that “Scientists think the CBD quiets the excessive electrical and chemical activity in the brain that causes seizures” (Young, 2013). Acute seizure models with an in vivo design, meaning the use of animal testing was prevalent (Emelda M, 2011), were carried out in order to investigate the attachment of the different parts of CBDV and BDSs at cannabinoid CB1 receptors. These receptors were examined as they are expressed mainly in the brain's central nervous system, where conditions such as Dravet Syndrome are developed (Cultivator C, 2013).
The anticonvulsant profiles of two CBDV BDSs were assessed in three rodent models of intense seizure. This is a useful design for Charlotte Figi’s case as she was experiencing extremely intense grand mal seizures for up to 4 hours 300 times a week ( Hill TD et al., 2013). The researchers wanted to know if the combination of purified CBDV and CBD produce a synergetic (increased response) or antagonistic (decreased response) to seizure intensity (Tallarida, 2006). This could significantly impact the treatment of epileptic disorders such as Dravet Syndrome as knowing the most effective combination and dose of antiepileptic drugs is essential for sufferers like Charlotte. Static beam and grip-strength tests were conducted in order to objectively quantify the muscular strength and balance of rodents and assess the affect of drugs on muscular degeneration (Hill TD et al., 2013). Binding of CBDV BDSs to cannabinoid CB1 receptors was assessed by employing displacement binding assays which helps to determine the concentration of the test drug that should be administered to epileptic patients like Charlotte.
The results of the supporting study show that both modified (cannabis enriched) and purified (regular) CBDV BDSs had a considerable anticonvulsant affect in the PTZ model (≥100 mg kg-1); the audiogenic seizure model complements this by showing unmodified CBDV BDSs (where the THC and THCV have been removed) also demonstrating strong anticonvulsant activity (≥87 mg kg-1). This tells us that THC and THCV do not have a significant effect on the anticonvulsant activity of BDSs. Negative motor effects of CBDV BDSs were examined on static beam performance which can be explained by the presence of THC and THCV in CBDV BDS. The presence of these compounds was also responsible for displacement of CB1 cannabinoid receptors and the limited affinity for CBDV to bind to these receptors. Even though they did not impact the anticonvulsant affect of the cannabinoid it is still preferable that cannabis strands such as ‘Charlotte’s Web’ contains very little amounts of THC, which it does.
These findings strongly support further clinical development of CBDV BDSs for treatment of epilepsy. This is clearly related to our primary research text as the cannabis strand that Charlotte Figi ingests has also proven to have a significant effect on the duration and severity of her seizures. The supporting text augments the CNN article as it provides evidence that cannabidiol has a very low affinity for CB1 receptors. Finally the Stanley brothers were able to cultivate a cannabis strain with 0.5% THC and 17% CBD (Young, 2013). This low percentage of THC and relatively high percentage of CBD is justified in the supporting article as the anti-convulsant actions of CBD were demonstrated in the multiple experiments listed above; and THC was found to only cause the euphoric affects of the drug and does not provide any medical benefits (Cox, 2012).
[h=3][/h] [h=3][/h] [h=3]2.3. Study 2- (Human Study)[/h]
STUDY: Chronic administration of cannabidiol to healthy volunteers and epileptic patients.
This study by Cunha J M et al. (2013) explores the chronic administration of CBD to both healthy volunteers and epileptic patients. This was an extremely important study as it is one of the few, well established human studies, which implements the promising results which are expressed through the application of CBD in mice and tries to emulate this for human application.
There were two phases of this study. The first phase consisted of 16 healthy volunteers (who were split up into two groups of 8) who underwent a battery of physical and neurological examinations such as EEG's, blood and urine analysis and ECG's which continued in a weekly testing pattern. In the first group, 3 mg/kg of CBD was prescribed daily for 30 days to 8 healthy volunteers.In the second group of 8 healthy volunteers, they received the same number of identical capsules containing glucose as a placebo drug in a double blind setting.
In the second phase of the study there were 15 patients who were diagnosed with secondary generalised epilepsy with temporal focus. These patients were randomly divided into two groups and received (similar to the first study) a double-blind procedure. However the daily dose of CBD or placebo was 200-300 mg. The methodology of testing was the same as the first phase of the study, with the exception of the frequency of clinical and laboratory examinations which were every 15 or 30 days, as the duration of this study was four and a half months.
There is no justification, within this study, for the use of 3 mg/kg or 200-300 mg daily as the correct dosage. A further investigation of this revealed that universal dosages has not been established for human studies which concern the effect of CBD on epilepsy. As a result, this required an analysis of an animal study (Jones NA et al., 2012) in order to establish an understanding for potential CBD doses that could be extrapolated onto humans. Jones NA et al. (2012) determined through their study that all doses of CBD (1 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) decreased the percentage of animals experiencing the most severe tonic/clonic seizures. Therefore the dose of 3 mg/kg or 200-300mg daily can be considered as a reliable dose.
The results for both parts of the study suggest multiple things which are of interests for the purposes of exploring the neuroscientific knowledge which is exhibited in the CNN article. Firstly, this study supports the idea that there was no psychotropic effects of CBD based off of subject testimonies. Furthermore, the results of the neurological and clinical examinations indicated that all patients and volunteers tolerated CBD very well as these tests showed no signs of toxicity. Of the 8 CBD subjects in the second phase of the study, 4 showed considerable improvement in their clinical condition who remained almost convulsive free (which supports the experiences and accounts which are explored in the CNN article in regards to Charlotte's improvement) and 3 other patients demonstrated partial improvement in their clinical condition. CBD was ineffective in 1 patient.
The study concludes that CBD had a beneficial effect in patients suffering from secondary generalised epilepsy with temporal focus who did not benefit from known antiepileptic drugs. A study conducted by Singh R et al. (2001) has concluded that Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (i.e Dravet's Syndrome) is the most severe phenotype in the generalised epilepsy with febrile seizures spectrum. Since Dravet's Syndrome has been classified as a severe type of generalised epilepsy, and selected scientific studies show that CBD has the potential to be used in treating forms of generalised epilepsy, it can be deemed plausible that CBD could be a potential line of treatment for specific epilepsies in the future. However, there have been very few human studies in this area and it is important to note that none of these studies were done on children. In saying this, it would be foolish to ignore the clear parallels between the improvement and experiences of Charlotte's condition and those of the adults in the human study. Ultimately, there is no current concrete scientific evidence to support or advocate the use of CBD as a treatment for Epilepsy or Dravet's Syndrome.
[h=1]3. ANALYSIS[/h]
[h=3]3.1 Quality of the media item[/h] [h=4]3.1.1 Target Audience[/h]
For the general American public, international audiences and those looking for viable options for alternative epilepsy treatments, CNN somewhat seeks to break the negative social stereotypes of marijuana. For example, there is a slide show in the article that increasingly pairs images of marijuana with smiling faces, and conditions a positive view of the treatment drug. Also, the discussion link within the article provides room for comments however, its contributors are readers of CNN. Therefore, there is a limited, biased audience reading this article. It may not give an accurate sample of opinions but at least it acknowledges that this is an important issue as there is room for open minded discussions.
[h=4]3.1.2 Quality of information[/h]
The article is in opposition with its medium: it’s an online article – it has the potential to provide the easiest access to a large list of references, and yet the only links are to their own articles (Spellman, 2013). Keeping the audience so tightly in their network leaves a significant lack of scientific accuracy, and the self-bias limits its ability to give balanced, informed information.
While the author does maintain some scientific accuracy through jargon (e.g. “myoclonus”, “ketones”), it fails to accurately explain a lot of the terms,so scientific content is not the focus of the article. For example, “ketones” do not “suppress seizures” - the mechanisms are actually unknown, and even have in vitro evidence against them (Thio LL et al., 2000). The conversational tone implies that the author is not writing for an audience with a good depth of understanding, so this use of jargon would be to add credibility, and not information. This credibility serves to make marijuana sound more medical, and take it further away from its social stereotypes, and therefore excuse the use of the drug at Charlotte’s young age.
The author effectively shifts negative social views of marijuana, also by listing many failed treatments and tests, and thus building sympathy towards the controversial age and drug choice, however he does so at the expense of presenting doctors as incompetent ("Doctors were stumped"). For example, Charlotte’s mother is quoted “At 2, she really started to decline cognitively," Paige said. "Whether it was the medicines or the seizures, it was happening”, suggesting it was the treatments that also caused it, whereas cognitive decline is actually part of Dravet’s syndrome (Thio LL et al., 2000). The lack of journal references in addition with the accusations of ineptitude ("My thought now is, why were we the ones that had to go out and find this cure? This natural cure? How come a doctor didn't know about this? How come they didn't make me aware of this?") creates an overall negative tone towards the medical community, and reveals a large communication gap between research developments and the general public.
While there is a positive bias towards using marijuana as a medical treatment for children (using “marijuana” to provide credible scientific connotations), there is a caution towards its legalisation (a change to “pot” to call forth the negative stereotypes as seen in the image below) (Spellman, 2013).
[h=3][/h] [h=3]3.2. Social context[/h]
[h=4]3.2.1 Ethics [/h]
The media article alludes to the ethics by debating the issue of the use of drugs at a very young age. The author justifies the use of medicinal marijuana as having a more positive effect in treatment and its advantages make the age issue less problematic. This means that the concern with age is outweighed by the benefit of marijuana use on epilepsy. Also, this medicinal use goes against medical profession. The article thus has no definitive stance on the issues of age and drugs as it discusses both sides of the argument. This provides mixed views and helps inform this ethical issue to the audience.
The ethics of marijuana is debated because the use of this drug to treat illnesses has both good and bad consequences which should be considered before it can be legalized. The positive effect of marijuana can be seen in the prescribed article as it is successful in treating patients with epilepsy. The effect of legalizing marijuana use is associated with its medicinal use to ease the pain in the illness. The downside to this use is the potential harm it can cause and can be viewed as persuading its illegal use. This issue involves questioning whether the only way to provide successful relief for epilepsy is to use marijuana. Also, whether the potential medicinal use of this drug outweighs the harmful consequences that can arise. (Clark, PA et al., 2000). The patient must have the right to explore all the treatments possible. However, the use of this drug has not yet been legalized and can lead to people resorting to black- market purchasing of this drug (Clark, PA et al., 2000). Thus, the risks associated with the abuse of marijuana are important as it can be fatal. Although, the fight against the debilitating effects that chronic illnesses have on a person has more of an impact on the general public.
[h=4]3.2.2 Marijuana and Law[/h]
The use of medicinal marijuana to treat illnesses has been debated but not yet permitted in Australia (Wodak, 2013). The National Drug Strategy Household Survey of 2010 depicts that it is the most common illicit drug to be used in Australia (Legislative Council, 2013). The medicinal advantage of relieving symptoms of illness such as epilepsy is also conflicted with the increase reliance of this drug that the patient may develop (Wodak, 2013), (Fitzgerald, 2013). Thus prohibiting this drug prohibits it benefits for medicinal use. It has also been recommended for marijuana to be legalized for medicinal use only to patients with terminal illnesses.
[h=4]3.2.3 Stereotypes[/h]
The main stereotype that is common in society and seen in this article is the influence of parents giving marijuana to their child with epilepsy. The parents of the epileptic child, care more about the healing of their child than the actual notion of them becoming "stoned" (as seen in image 2 above). They find that the use of marijuana is a strategy to cope with the effects of epilepsy (Mail Online, 2013), (Zouves, 2012). This stereotype can also be viewed as self-serving of the parent to ultimately improve the quality of their life by curing their child. It is a difficult decision made based on the conflict determining if the harms of the seizures outweigh the effects of marijuana. Current research in this field depicts that the medicinal and prolonged use of marijuana to treat epilepsy have significant detrimental effects to humans, especially children. These include affecting attention, memory and cognitive executive decisions (Zouves, 2012). Thus, administering the child with medicinal drugs, especially at a young age (6 years in media article) can have developmental problems in the future.
The prescribed article battled these stereotypes by alluding that the treatment with marijuana will involve using its extracted oils rather than smoking it. This will eliminate the health dangers of the actual act of smoking it. It also explains that the marijuana strain that will be used to help treat Charlotte’s condition will be low in the psychoactive chemicals (e.g. TCH) that cause her to get “drugged/ a high” and will be abundant in advantageous medicinal compounds (e.g. CBD). Within this article, the risks of marijuana are also assessed. It can be concluded that these risks were much smaller in comparison to the major brain damage that Charlotte had already suffered prior from her epilepsy. Marijuana as a medicinal treatment was used as a last resort after all other options failed. Obtaining consent from two doctors for the medicinal use of marijuana and testing the new drug strain were the strategies used stressing that this process was legal.
[h=1]4. APPENDIX [/h] The core text that our assignment focused on was the CNN article ‘Marijuana stops child’s severe seizures’ by Saundra Young. The CNN website was accessed through a Google search; subsequently epilepsy was typed into the CNN article search engine which produced 199 results, from which our core text was chosen. Numerous other articles were viewed but deemed not as interesting or scientifically relevant in keeping with the requirements of the assignment. The CNN article was shortlisted amongst five other online media items and was eventually chosen through numerous group discussions and meetings as it was published recently, is scientifically accurate, understandable to the general public and aims to abolish stereotypes and bridge the gap between science and society.
Once we had chosen our core text various search tools were used to research the accuracy/quality of the scientific information throughout the article, its bias/appropriateness to the target audience, the scientific/social context within which it was written and other related/contrasting media pieces. Each group member was allocated a specific task. When researching the article’s bias or forced direction, links to related articles and videos from the CNN article were explored as CNN did not provide any other credible references. Aside from this, multiple Google searches were conducted to gather reliable and valid information from websites primarily focusing on and informing our judgements on the accuracy/quality of scientific information and the social/scientific context of our online media item. Finally, when assessing the quality of information, a significant portion of this was determining whether it is in accord with accepted current understanding of neuroscience. Therefore numerous research articles were reviewed by using search tools via the UNSW library website such as ‘SearchFirst,’ ‘A-Z e-Journals,’ ‘Find Databases,’ and the ‘Catalogue.’ Through these search tools many journals such as ‘Seizure’ and ‘The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics’ were examined via online databases of scientific literature and studies for example PubMed, Google Scholar and Wiley Online Library.
Our group felt that the students who reviewed our wiki page overall were quite positive in their review. There were numerous strong points noted as well as a few congruent weak points that we later tried to rectify with the help of the general and specific constructive criticism given. Our peers suggested the primary strengths of the wiki page were the thorough explanation of the major components of the cannabis strain, the critical analysis of the article, the inclusion of a comprehensive human and animal study, and the ‘Quality of Information’ section. The weak points included not explaining epilepsy and particularly Dravet Syndrome in much detail, the social context was too broad and not related back to the focus of the article, more of an Australian perspective and there were no figures or charts. We thought all of these points were valid and in order to improve our wiki page and eliminate these weak points we were able to address these concerns in the following way: Under ‘Social Context,’ a discussion of possible future strategies that can allow treatment in Australia as well as how stereotypes can be abolished was suggested by a reviewer. Shortening this section was also suggested, thus the content of this section was assessed by our group and it was decided that cutting down this section is more appropriate as we have already surpassed the word limit. In addition, more tables and graphs will be added to break up the text as well as more information on epilepsy and Dravet Syndrome. We were unable to include tables or graphs for the human study as it was published in the 1940's so there were none available. Finally, the inconsistent sizing of the headings that were brought to our attention will be fixed; along with all the references under each paragraph being deleted as having all of them at the bottom of the wiki page will reduce clutter and ensure a better flow to the article.
[h=1]5. REFERENCES[/h]
[h=3]6. PLANNING[/h]
Topic: Marijuana and Epilepsy
Members:
Media Piece:
Marijuana and Epilepsy CNN Article
Great topic - should be very interesting. Lots of interesting science and ethical issues.
Approved
Task Allocations/Jobs:
Nataliya:
- Intro
- Accuracy/Bias/Appropriateness to Target Audience
Ananthan:
- Scientific Context (/knowledge)
- Quality of scientific info
Cartia:
- Social Context (/knowledge) -ethics, media stereotypes
- Editing
Rian:
- Related/Contrasting Media Pieces/References
- Quality of scientific info
Meetings (Tuesdays and Thursdays- 30 minutes each)
Wednesday August 7th - 40min
Tuesday August 20th - 30 min
Thursday August 22nd- 30 min
Tuesday August 27th - 30min
Thursday August 29th - 30min
Our Deadlines
Thurs 22nd - Rough bullet points for meeting
Thurs 29th - Rough draft for each section
Sept 4th - Editing deadline
Deadlines for Draft Submission of Assignment:
Introduction- Nat and cartia
Neuroscientific Introduction- Ananthan
Analysis of paper (human) study # 1 - Annathan
Analysis of paper (mice) study # 2- Rian
Neuroscientific Conclusion- Ananthan
Analysis for the quality of Media Item:
- Target audience- Nat
- Stereotypes- Cartia
- Quality of information in article- Nat and Cartia
- Ethics- Cartia
Appendix/Referencing- Rian
Official Deadlines
Draft - Sept 9th 10am
Review Comments - Sept 16th 10am
[h=6]Final - Sept 23rd 10am[/h]
Currently there is very limited scientific evidence in regards to the role of CBD epilepsy. There have been a few studies which investigate the potential use of CBD as an antiepileptic drug. Through our dissection of scientific literature we have broken down the research into two studies which explore the role of CBD on mice and humans respectively. The animal study investigates current anticonvulsant properties of CBD, whereas the scientific literature regarding the clinical applications of CBD on epilepsy in human studies is quite limited. Both studies endeavour to encapsulate a holistic understanding of the current body of scientific knowledge regarding the scientific and clinical implications of CBD to epilepsy. This has resulted in the in depth exploration of these scientific studies with the incorporation of previous scientific literature/knowledge in the area. Constant links and parallels are drawn between these research papers and their implications for an unbiased understanding of the neuroscientific content in the CNN article.
Charlotte's Web" is the name of one of the most coveted medical marijuana strains, and is being used to treat children with epilepsy. We talk to some of these "marijuana refugees" about this unconventional method and how it is helping to treat them.
No THC in this only CBD which does not get any one high and this is why it is a mircale plant.
http://neurosciencefundamentals.unsw.wikispaces.net/Marijuana+and+Epilepsy
On August 7th 2013, a news article on CNN informs its readers of the journey of a young 6 year old girl named Charlotte Figi (shown in the images below), who has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. Dravet Syndrome is a branch of generalised epilepsy with febrile seizures (GEFS+) that denotes severe myoclonic epilepsy of infants (SMEI). Caused by dysfunction in GABA receptors and sodium and calcium ion channels, it hinders development in conscious mental activity, causes tonic clonic and myoclonic seizures, and ataxia. It is distinguished in its severity and resistance to treatments, and as the name implies, begins in infancy.
Numerous failed treatment attempts led to the parental decision to try a specific strain of marijuana for Charlotte which was tentatively endorsed by two medical practitioners. The particular strain of marijuana which was high in cannabidiol (CBD) was by far the most successful treatment, and was thought of as a potential viable option for others in similar situations. The article discussed scientific and clinical implications of using CBD to treat epilepsy as it contends with current preconceived misconceptions about the unethical use of medicinal marijuana.
CHARLOTTE FIGI'S JOURNEY...
1. INTRODUCTION
2. NEUROSCIENTIFIC CONTEXT
2.1. Introduction
2.2 Study 1- (Animal Study)
2.3. Study 2- (Human Study)
3. ANALYSIS
3.1 Quality of the media item
3.1.1 Target Audience
3.1.2 Quality of information
3.2. Social context
3.2.1 Ethics
3.2.2 Marijuana and Law
3.2.3 Stereotypes
4. APPENDIX
5. REFERENCES
6. PLANNING
Final - Sept 23rd 10am
[h=1]2. NEUROSCIENTIFIC CONTEXT[/h]
[h=3]2.1. Introduction[/h]
The marijuana strain (shown in image 1) that was used to treat Charlotte's epilepsy has been shown to be low in delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and high in cannabidiol (CBD). Dravet syndrome, also known as Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI), is a rare and life-threatening form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy. (Hill TD et al., 2013)
|
| Image 1: Marijuana strain |
Marijuana is a naturally growing plant with the major chemical components include:
- delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)- Primary psychoactive constituent of marijuana (Figure 1)
- cannabidiol (CBD)- Primary non psychoactive constituent of marijuana (Figure 2)
Initially, neuroscientists and pharmacologist investigated the molecule THC, with some reports of their anticonvulsant properties that were prevalent through experimentation. However there appears to be a universal consensus among scientific literature that the potential anticonvulsive properties of THC and its isomers could not be implemented into human studies due to it's psychoactivity.
Figure 3 below summarises the effects of marijuana on the normal functioning of different brain regions.
|
| Figure 3: The effects of THC on the brain |
[h=3]2.2 Study 1- (Animal Study)[/h]
STUDY : Cannabidivarin-rich cannabis extracts are anticonvulsant in mouse and rat via a CB1 receptor-independent mechanism.
The experiments described in the above research paper (Hill TD et al., 2013) aim to examine the anticonvulsant profiles of cannabis-derived botanical drug substances (BDS) rich in cannabidivarin (CBDV) which is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis (Hill TD et al., 2013). The function of this chemical compound is to activate cannabinoid CB1 receptors on cells that repress neurotransmitter release in the brain (Pertwee RG,1997). A constituent of this compound is cannabidiol (CBD) which is the primary focus of this study due to its proven medical applications for seizures (Zuardi AW et al., 2012). This can be related to our core text as it aims to further investigate the statement made in the CNN article that “Scientists think the CBD quiets the excessive electrical and chemical activity in the brain that causes seizures” (Young, 2013). Acute seizure models with an in vivo design, meaning the use of animal testing was prevalent (Emelda M, 2011), were carried out in order to investigate the attachment of the different parts of CBDV and BDSs at cannabinoid CB1 receptors. These receptors were examined as they are expressed mainly in the brain's central nervous system, where conditions such as Dravet Syndrome are developed (Cultivator C, 2013).
The anticonvulsant profiles of two CBDV BDSs were assessed in three rodent models of intense seizure. This is a useful design for Charlotte Figi’s case as she was experiencing extremely intense grand mal seizures for up to 4 hours 300 times a week ( Hill TD et al., 2013). The researchers wanted to know if the combination of purified CBDV and CBD produce a synergetic (increased response) or antagonistic (decreased response) to seizure intensity (Tallarida, 2006). This could significantly impact the treatment of epileptic disorders such as Dravet Syndrome as knowing the most effective combination and dose of antiepileptic drugs is essential for sufferers like Charlotte. Static beam and grip-strength tests were conducted in order to objectively quantify the muscular strength and balance of rodents and assess the affect of drugs on muscular degeneration (Hill TD et al., 2013). Binding of CBDV BDSs to cannabinoid CB1 receptors was assessed by employing displacement binding assays which helps to determine the concentration of the test drug that should be administered to epileptic patients like Charlotte.
The results of the supporting study show that both modified (cannabis enriched) and purified (regular) CBDV BDSs had a considerable anticonvulsant affect in the PTZ model (≥100 mg kg-1); the audiogenic seizure model complements this by showing unmodified CBDV BDSs (where the THC and THCV have been removed) also demonstrating strong anticonvulsant activity (≥87 mg kg-1). This tells us that THC and THCV do not have a significant effect on the anticonvulsant activity of BDSs. Negative motor effects of CBDV BDSs were examined on static beam performance which can be explained by the presence of THC and THCV in CBDV BDS. The presence of these compounds was also responsible for displacement of CB1 cannabinoid receptors and the limited affinity for CBDV to bind to these receptors. Even though they did not impact the anticonvulsant affect of the cannabinoid it is still preferable that cannabis strands such as ‘Charlotte’s Web’ contains very little amounts of THC, which it does.
These findings strongly support further clinical development of CBDV BDSs for treatment of epilepsy. This is clearly related to our primary research text as the cannabis strand that Charlotte Figi ingests has also proven to have a significant effect on the duration and severity of her seizures. The supporting text augments the CNN article as it provides evidence that cannabidiol has a very low affinity for CB1 receptors. Finally the Stanley brothers were able to cultivate a cannabis strain with 0.5% THC and 17% CBD (Young, 2013). This low percentage of THC and relatively high percentage of CBD is justified in the supporting article as the anti-convulsant actions of CBD were demonstrated in the multiple experiments listed above; and THC was found to only cause the euphoric affects of the drug and does not provide any medical benefits (Cox, 2012).
[h=3][/h] [h=3][/h] [h=3]2.3. Study 2- (Human Study)[/h]
STUDY: Chronic administration of cannabidiol to healthy volunteers and epileptic patients.
This study by Cunha J M et al. (2013) explores the chronic administration of CBD to both healthy volunteers and epileptic patients. This was an extremely important study as it is one of the few, well established human studies, which implements the promising results which are expressed through the application of CBD in mice and tries to emulate this for human application.
There were two phases of this study. The first phase consisted of 16 healthy volunteers (who were split up into two groups of 8) who underwent a battery of physical and neurological examinations such as EEG's, blood and urine analysis and ECG's which continued in a weekly testing pattern. In the first group, 3 mg/kg of CBD was prescribed daily for 30 days to 8 healthy volunteers.In the second group of 8 healthy volunteers, they received the same number of identical capsules containing glucose as a placebo drug in a double blind setting.
In the second phase of the study there were 15 patients who were diagnosed with secondary generalised epilepsy with temporal focus. These patients were randomly divided into two groups and received (similar to the first study) a double-blind procedure. However the daily dose of CBD or placebo was 200-300 mg. The methodology of testing was the same as the first phase of the study, with the exception of the frequency of clinical and laboratory examinations which were every 15 or 30 days, as the duration of this study was four and a half months.
There is no justification, within this study, for the use of 3 mg/kg or 200-300 mg daily as the correct dosage. A further investigation of this revealed that universal dosages has not been established for human studies which concern the effect of CBD on epilepsy. As a result, this required an analysis of an animal study (Jones NA et al., 2012) in order to establish an understanding for potential CBD doses that could be extrapolated onto humans. Jones NA et al. (2012) determined through their study that all doses of CBD (1 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) decreased the percentage of animals experiencing the most severe tonic/clonic seizures. Therefore the dose of 3 mg/kg or 200-300mg daily can be considered as a reliable dose.
The results for both parts of the study suggest multiple things which are of interests for the purposes of exploring the neuroscientific knowledge which is exhibited in the CNN article. Firstly, this study supports the idea that there was no psychotropic effects of CBD based off of subject testimonies. Furthermore, the results of the neurological and clinical examinations indicated that all patients and volunteers tolerated CBD very well as these tests showed no signs of toxicity. Of the 8 CBD subjects in the second phase of the study, 4 showed considerable improvement in their clinical condition who remained almost convulsive free (which supports the experiences and accounts which are explored in the CNN article in regards to Charlotte's improvement) and 3 other patients demonstrated partial improvement in their clinical condition. CBD was ineffective in 1 patient.
The study concludes that CBD had a beneficial effect in patients suffering from secondary generalised epilepsy with temporal focus who did not benefit from known antiepileptic drugs. A study conducted by Singh R et al. (2001) has concluded that Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (i.e Dravet's Syndrome) is the most severe phenotype in the generalised epilepsy with febrile seizures spectrum. Since Dravet's Syndrome has been classified as a severe type of generalised epilepsy, and selected scientific studies show that CBD has the potential to be used in treating forms of generalised epilepsy, it can be deemed plausible that CBD could be a potential line of treatment for specific epilepsies in the future. However, there have been very few human studies in this area and it is important to note that none of these studies were done on children. In saying this, it would be foolish to ignore the clear parallels between the improvement and experiences of Charlotte's condition and those of the adults in the human study. Ultimately, there is no current concrete scientific evidence to support or advocate the use of CBD as a treatment for Epilepsy or Dravet's Syndrome.
[h=1]3. ANALYSIS[/h]
[h=3]3.1 Quality of the media item[/h] [h=4]3.1.1 Target Audience[/h]
For the general American public, international audiences and those looking for viable options for alternative epilepsy treatments, CNN somewhat seeks to break the negative social stereotypes of marijuana. For example, there is a slide show in the article that increasingly pairs images of marijuana with smiling faces, and conditions a positive view of the treatment drug. Also, the discussion link within the article provides room for comments however, its contributors are readers of CNN. Therefore, there is a limited, biased audience reading this article. It may not give an accurate sample of opinions but at least it acknowledges that this is an important issue as there is room for open minded discussions.
[h=4]3.1.2 Quality of information[/h]
The article is in opposition with its medium: it’s an online article – it has the potential to provide the easiest access to a large list of references, and yet the only links are to their own articles (Spellman, 2013). Keeping the audience so tightly in their network leaves a significant lack of scientific accuracy, and the self-bias limits its ability to give balanced, informed information.
While the author does maintain some scientific accuracy through jargon (e.g. “myoclonus”, “ketones”), it fails to accurately explain a lot of the terms,so scientific content is not the focus of the article. For example, “ketones” do not “suppress seizures” - the mechanisms are actually unknown, and even have in vitro evidence against them (Thio LL et al., 2000). The conversational tone implies that the author is not writing for an audience with a good depth of understanding, so this use of jargon would be to add credibility, and not information. This credibility serves to make marijuana sound more medical, and take it further away from its social stereotypes, and therefore excuse the use of the drug at Charlotte’s young age.
The author effectively shifts negative social views of marijuana, also by listing many failed treatments and tests, and thus building sympathy towards the controversial age and drug choice, however he does so at the expense of presenting doctors as incompetent ("Doctors were stumped"). For example, Charlotte’s mother is quoted “At 2, she really started to decline cognitively," Paige said. "Whether it was the medicines or the seizures, it was happening”, suggesting it was the treatments that also caused it, whereas cognitive decline is actually part of Dravet’s syndrome (Thio LL et al., 2000). The lack of journal references in addition with the accusations of ineptitude ("My thought now is, why were we the ones that had to go out and find this cure? This natural cure? How come a doctor didn't know about this? How come they didn't make me aware of this?") creates an overall negative tone towards the medical community, and reveals a large communication gap between research developments and the general public.
While there is a positive bias towards using marijuana as a medical treatment for children (using “marijuana” to provide credible scientific connotations), there is a caution towards its legalisation (a change to “pot” to call forth the negative stereotypes as seen in the image below) (Spellman, 2013).
|
| Image 2: The stereotypes of marijuana use |
[h=4]3.2.1 Ethics [/h]
The media article alludes to the ethics by debating the issue of the use of drugs at a very young age. The author justifies the use of medicinal marijuana as having a more positive effect in treatment and its advantages make the age issue less problematic. This means that the concern with age is outweighed by the benefit of marijuana use on epilepsy. Also, this medicinal use goes against medical profession. The article thus has no definitive stance on the issues of age and drugs as it discusses both sides of the argument. This provides mixed views and helps inform this ethical issue to the audience.
The ethics of marijuana is debated because the use of this drug to treat illnesses has both good and bad consequences which should be considered before it can be legalized. The positive effect of marijuana can be seen in the prescribed article as it is successful in treating patients with epilepsy. The effect of legalizing marijuana use is associated with its medicinal use to ease the pain in the illness. The downside to this use is the potential harm it can cause and can be viewed as persuading its illegal use. This issue involves questioning whether the only way to provide successful relief for epilepsy is to use marijuana. Also, whether the potential medicinal use of this drug outweighs the harmful consequences that can arise. (Clark, PA et al., 2000). The patient must have the right to explore all the treatments possible. However, the use of this drug has not yet been legalized and can lead to people resorting to black- market purchasing of this drug (Clark, PA et al., 2000). Thus, the risks associated with the abuse of marijuana are important as it can be fatal. Although, the fight against the debilitating effects that chronic illnesses have on a person has more of an impact on the general public.
[h=4]3.2.2 Marijuana and Law[/h]
The use of medicinal marijuana to treat illnesses has been debated but not yet permitted in Australia (Wodak, 2013). The National Drug Strategy Household Survey of 2010 depicts that it is the most common illicit drug to be used in Australia (Legislative Council, 2013). The medicinal advantage of relieving symptoms of illness such as epilepsy is also conflicted with the increase reliance of this drug that the patient may develop (Wodak, 2013), (Fitzgerald, 2013). Thus prohibiting this drug prohibits it benefits for medicinal use. It has also been recommended for marijuana to be legalized for medicinal use only to patients with terminal illnesses.
[h=4]3.2.3 Stereotypes[/h]
The main stereotype that is common in society and seen in this article is the influence of parents giving marijuana to their child with epilepsy. The parents of the epileptic child, care more about the healing of their child than the actual notion of them becoming "stoned" (as seen in image 2 above). They find that the use of marijuana is a strategy to cope with the effects of epilepsy (Mail Online, 2013), (Zouves, 2012). This stereotype can also be viewed as self-serving of the parent to ultimately improve the quality of their life by curing their child. It is a difficult decision made based on the conflict determining if the harms of the seizures outweigh the effects of marijuana. Current research in this field depicts that the medicinal and prolonged use of marijuana to treat epilepsy have significant detrimental effects to humans, especially children. These include affecting attention, memory and cognitive executive decisions (Zouves, 2012). Thus, administering the child with medicinal drugs, especially at a young age (6 years in media article) can have developmental problems in the future.
The prescribed article battled these stereotypes by alluding that the treatment with marijuana will involve using its extracted oils rather than smoking it. This will eliminate the health dangers of the actual act of smoking it. It also explains that the marijuana strain that will be used to help treat Charlotte’s condition will be low in the psychoactive chemicals (e.g. TCH) that cause her to get “drugged/ a high” and will be abundant in advantageous medicinal compounds (e.g. CBD). Within this article, the risks of marijuana are also assessed. It can be concluded that these risks were much smaller in comparison to the major brain damage that Charlotte had already suffered prior from her epilepsy. Marijuana as a medicinal treatment was used as a last resort after all other options failed. Obtaining consent from two doctors for the medicinal use of marijuana and testing the new drug strain were the strategies used stressing that this process was legal.
[h=1]4. APPENDIX [/h] The core text that our assignment focused on was the CNN article ‘Marijuana stops child’s severe seizures’ by Saundra Young. The CNN website was accessed through a Google search; subsequently epilepsy was typed into the CNN article search engine which produced 199 results, from which our core text was chosen. Numerous other articles were viewed but deemed not as interesting or scientifically relevant in keeping with the requirements of the assignment. The CNN article was shortlisted amongst five other online media items and was eventually chosen through numerous group discussions and meetings as it was published recently, is scientifically accurate, understandable to the general public and aims to abolish stereotypes and bridge the gap between science and society.
Once we had chosen our core text various search tools were used to research the accuracy/quality of the scientific information throughout the article, its bias/appropriateness to the target audience, the scientific/social context within which it was written and other related/contrasting media pieces. Each group member was allocated a specific task. When researching the article’s bias or forced direction, links to related articles and videos from the CNN article were explored as CNN did not provide any other credible references. Aside from this, multiple Google searches were conducted to gather reliable and valid information from websites primarily focusing on and informing our judgements on the accuracy/quality of scientific information and the social/scientific context of our online media item. Finally, when assessing the quality of information, a significant portion of this was determining whether it is in accord with accepted current understanding of neuroscience. Therefore numerous research articles were reviewed by using search tools via the UNSW library website such as ‘SearchFirst,’ ‘A-Z e-Journals,’ ‘Find Databases,’ and the ‘Catalogue.’ Through these search tools many journals such as ‘Seizure’ and ‘The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics’ were examined via online databases of scientific literature and studies for example PubMed, Google Scholar and Wiley Online Library.
Our group felt that the students who reviewed our wiki page overall were quite positive in their review. There were numerous strong points noted as well as a few congruent weak points that we later tried to rectify with the help of the general and specific constructive criticism given. Our peers suggested the primary strengths of the wiki page were the thorough explanation of the major components of the cannabis strain, the critical analysis of the article, the inclusion of a comprehensive human and animal study, and the ‘Quality of Information’ section. The weak points included not explaining epilepsy and particularly Dravet Syndrome in much detail, the social context was too broad and not related back to the focus of the article, more of an Australian perspective and there were no figures or charts. We thought all of these points were valid and in order to improve our wiki page and eliminate these weak points we were able to address these concerns in the following way: Under ‘Social Context,’ a discussion of possible future strategies that can allow treatment in Australia as well as how stereotypes can be abolished was suggested by a reviewer. Shortening this section was also suggested, thus the content of this section was assessed by our group and it was decided that cutting down this section is more appropriate as we have already surpassed the word limit. In addition, more tables and graphs will be added to break up the text as well as more information on epilepsy and Dravet Syndrome. We were unable to include tables or graphs for the human study as it was published in the 1940's so there were none available. Finally, the inconsistent sizing of the headings that were brought to our attention will be fixed; along with all the references under each paragraph being deleted as having all of them at the bottom of the wiki page will reduce clutter and ensure a better flow to the article.
[h=1]5. REFERENCES[/h]
- Hill, T D., et al. "Cannabidivarin-rich cannabis extracts are anticonvulsant in mouse and rat via a CB1 receptor-independent mechanism." PubMed (2013): Web. 3 Sept. 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23902406.
- Pertwee, R G. "Pharmacology of cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors." PubMed 74.2 (1997): 129-180. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9336020>.
- Zuardi, A W. "A critical review of the antipsychotic effects of cannabidiol: 30 years of a translational investigation." PubMed 18.32 (2012): 5131-5140. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22716160>.
- Young, Saundra. "Marijuana stops child's severe seizures." CNN. Cable News Network, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana>.
- Emelda, M. "Difference Between In Vivo and In Vitro." DifferenceBetween.net. N.p., 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-in-vivo-and-in-vitro/>.
- Cultivator, Campo. "Dravet Syndrome and the 20:1 cannabis treatment – Searching for the CBD, part II." Growers Guide to Cannabis. N.p., 2013. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <http://growersguidetocannabis.com/dravet-syndrome-and-the-201-cbd-cannabis-treatment/>.
- Tallarida, Ronald J., et al. "An Overview of Drug Combination Analysis with Isobolograms." The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 319.1 (2006): 1-7. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. <http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/319/1/1.full>.
- Cox, Lauren. "What is THC?." livescience. TechMedia Network, 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. <http://www.livescience.com/24553-what-is-thc.html>.
- "What is Dravet Syndrome?." Dravet Syndrom Foundation. silver creative group, 2013. Web. 30 Aug. 2013. <http://www.dravetfoundation.org/dravet-syndrome/what-is-dravet-syndrome>.
- Cunha, J M., et al. "Chronic administration of cannabidiol to healthy volunteers and epileptic patients." PubMed 21.3 (1980): 175-185. Web. 30 Aug. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7413719>.
- Singh, R., et al. "Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy: Extended Spectrum of GEFS+?" Epilepsia 42.7 (2001): 837-844. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1528-1157.2001.042007837.x/abstract>.
- Jones, N A., et al. "Cannabidiol exerts anti-convulsant effects in animal models of temporal lobe." Seizure 21 (2012): 344-352. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. <http://www.cannlabs.com/papers/CBD Seizures.pdf>.
- Spellman, Jim. "Pot activists divided over new cannabis club." CNN. Cental News Network, 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. <http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/01/us/colorado-marijuana-club/index.html>.
- Thio, L L., et al. "Ketone bodies do not directly alter excitatory or inhibitory hippocampal synaptic transmission." PubMed 54.2 (2000): 325-331. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10668691>.
- Wodak, Alex. "Legalising medicinal cannabis is a leap forward for compassion ." The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group, 16 May 2013. Web. 2 Sept. 2013. <http://theconversation.com/legalising-medicinal-cannabis-is-a-leap-forward-for-compassion-14297>.
- "The use of cannabis for." Legislative Council. N.p., 15 May 2013. Web. 2 Sept. 2013. <http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Pr...The use of cannnabis for medical purposes.pdf>.
- Fitzgerald, Ross. "Time to get real on cannabis use ." The Australian. N.p., 18 May 2013. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opi...-on-cannabis-use/story-e6frg6zo-1226645144660>.
- "Medical marijuana provides 'miraculous' results for 6-year-old California boy with rare form of epilepsy that prevented him from walking, sleeping and eating." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 11 Aug. 2013. Web. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ar-old-California-boy-rare-form-epilepsy.html>.
- Zouves, Natasha. "Ryan’s Story: Medical Marijuana And Autism." Neon Tommy. USC Annenberg, 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/01/ryan-s-story-medical-marijuana-and-autism>.
- Clark, Peter A., et al. "The Ethics of Medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions vs. Medical Necessity." Journal of Public Health Policy 21.1 (2000): 40-60. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3343473?uid=3737536&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102591391991>.
- Figure 3:http://headsup.scholastic.com/articles/endocannabinoid Web. 1 Sept. 2013.
- Image 1: http://benswann.com/breaking-did-the-federal-government-just-legalize-marijuana/ Web. 3 Sept. 2013.
[h=3]6. PLANNING[/h]
Topic: Marijuana and Epilepsy
Members:
| Ananthan Ambikairajah | z3415376 |
| Cartia Dagher | z3418629 |
| Nataliya Daniel | z3418703 |
| Rian Wollstein | z3415960 |
Media Piece:
Marijuana and Epilepsy CNN Article
Great topic - should be very interesting. Lots of interesting science and ethical issues.
Approved
Task Allocations/Jobs:
Nataliya:
- Intro
- Accuracy/Bias/Appropriateness to Target Audience
Ananthan:
- Scientific Context (/knowledge)
- Quality of scientific info
Cartia:
- Social Context (/knowledge) -ethics, media stereotypes
- Editing
Rian:
- Related/Contrasting Media Pieces/References
- Quality of scientific info
Meetings (Tuesdays and Thursdays- 30 minutes each)
Wednesday August 7th - 40min
Tuesday August 20th - 30 min
Thursday August 22nd- 30 min
Tuesday August 27th - 30min
Thursday August 29th - 30min
Our Deadlines
Thurs 22nd - Rough bullet points for meeting
Thurs 29th - Rough draft for each section
Sept 4th - Editing deadline
Deadlines for Draft Submission of Assignment:
Introduction- Nat and cartia
Neuroscientific Introduction- Ananthan
Analysis of paper (human) study # 1 - Annathan
Analysis of paper (mice) study # 2- Rian
Neuroscientific Conclusion- Ananthan
Analysis for the quality of Media Item:
- Target audience- Nat
- Stereotypes- Cartia
- Quality of information in article- Nat and Cartia
- Ethics- Cartia
Appendix/Referencing- Rian
Official Deadlines
Draft - Sept 9th 10am
Review Comments - Sept 16th 10am
[h=6]Final - Sept 23rd 10am[/h]
Currently there is very limited scientific evidence in regards to the role of CBD epilepsy. There have been a few studies which investigate the potential use of CBD as an antiepileptic drug. Through our dissection of scientific literature we have broken down the research into two studies which explore the role of CBD on mice and humans respectively. The animal study investigates current anticonvulsant properties of CBD, whereas the scientific literature regarding the clinical applications of CBD on epilepsy in human studies is quite limited. Both studies endeavour to encapsulate a holistic understanding of the current body of scientific knowledge regarding the scientific and clinical implications of CBD to epilepsy. This has resulted in the in depth exploration of these scientific studies with the incorporation of previous scientific literature/knowledge in the area. Constant links and parallels are drawn between these research papers and their implications for an unbiased understanding of the neuroscientific content in the CNN article.
legalskier
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"Here's Why Every Pot Smoker Should Move To Massachusetts Right Now
Smoking marijuana is many, many times more likely to get you arrested in some states than in others, according to a new study by the information resource and community Addiction Treatment."
Story: www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/marijuana-enforcement-_n_5161119.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013
Tragic story reported this a.m. by WNYC about how medical marijuana might have saved the life of a baby girl:
"Parents Risking Prison to Get Their Kids Medical Marijuana"
Listen: www.wnyc.org/story/why-parents-are-bringing-marijuana-nj-illegally-their-sick-children/
Smoking marijuana is many, many times more likely to get you arrested in some states than in others, according to a new study by the information resource and community Addiction Treatment."
Story: www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/marijuana-enforcement-_n_5161119.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013
Tragic story reported this a.m. by WNYC about how medical marijuana might have saved the life of a baby girl:
"Parents Risking Prison to Get Their Kids Medical Marijuana"
Listen: www.wnyc.org/story/why-parents-are-bringing-marijuana-nj-illegally-their-sick-children/
legalskier
New member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2008
- Messages
- 3,052
- Points
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[h=1]Here's Everything You Need To Know About Why We Celebrate Weed On 4/20[/h]
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/what-is-420_n_5173646.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/what-is-420_n_5173646.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013
ScottySkis
Well-known member
Happy 420 day soon it be legal i feel it coming. 48 more states to go. I have think positve in this matter i could go nuts if ididnt. It alsi is great for MS patients and cancer patients..Getting dtoned on MJ is not comparable to being drilunk at allFYI.
ScottySkis
Well-known member
It needs to be legal so i can look for another job and not have to quit my mircale plant. 420 rally May 3 at noon.Union Squar park in NYC i think i might go.3
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