MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR ASTHMA

Asthma is a condition where airways narrow and swell, and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing very difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease which causes constriction of the bronchial tubes, resulting in chest pain and difficulty breathing. Scientific evidence shows that medical marijuana for asthma can be very effective treatment.

Asthma is one of the most ubiquitous chronic inflammatory diseases in the U.S., affecting an estimated 35 million people, and claiming the lives of 4,000 people each year.

For some people, asthma is just a minor nuisance. For others, it is a major health concern that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack. Asthma cannot be cured but its symptoms can be controlled.

TRADITIONAL ASTHMA TREATMENT

Traditional treatment of asthma involves inhaling steroids with anti-inflammatory effect, which dilate bronchial passages and allow for normal breathing to resume. More severe cases require a nebulizer, which changes the treatment from a liquid to a mist, ergo more easily absorbed by the lungs.

Most people who suffer from asthma need two kinds of medications: quick-relief and long-term control medicines. Many patients are reluctant to take any type of medication due to costs or potential side effects.

QUICK-RELIEF MEDICINES FOR ASTHMA
For immediate relief, quick-relief medicines can be taken as soon as symptoms occur. The two types of drugs in this category are:

Short-acting inhaled beta2-agonists
Anticholinergics
Both types of drugs are bronchodilators, meaning that they expand the passageways into the lungs (the bronchi). This allows more air in and out, which improves breathing. They also help clear mucus from the lungs by enabling the mucus to move more freely and get expelled from the body more easily.

If you have exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), also known as exercise-induced asthma, your allergist may recommend that you use these medicines before exercise or other strenuous physical activity.

Quick-relief asthma medicines can stop symptoms, but they do not control the airway inflammation that causes these symptoms. If you find yourself needing quick-relief medicine to treat asthma symptoms more than twice a week, or two or more nights a month, then your asthma is not being controlled efficiently.

asthma inhaler
LONG-TERM CONTROL MEDICINES FOR ASTHMA
Long-term control medicines are taken every day to prevent asthma symptoms and attacks. The types of drugs in this category are:

Antileukotrienes or leukotriene modifiers
Cromolyn sodium and nedocromil
Inhaled corticosteroids
Long-acting inhaled beta2-agonists (always administered with another asthma-related drug)
Methylxanthines
Oral corticosteroids
Immunomodulators

These medications need to be taken every day, even if you do not have symptoms.

 

LONG-TERM CONTROL MEDICINES FOR ASTHMA

The cannabinoids THC and CBN have been proven successful in treating asthma.

Published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, a study shows medical marijuana may have a similar effect on the airways as some traditional asthma medications.

Using samples of human lung tissue, French researchers found that THC could block muscle contractions caused by a signaling molecule called acetylcholine.

THC IN MARIJUANA

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), THC acts much like the cannabinoid chemicals made naturally by the body.

Cannabinoid receptors are concentrated in certain areas of the brain associated with thinking, memory, pleasure, coordination and time perception. THC attaches to these receptors, activates them and affects a person’s memory, pleasure, movements, thinking, concentration, coordination, and sensory and time perception.

THC is one of many compounds found in the resin secreted by glands of the marijuana plant. More of these glands are found around the reproductive organs of the plant than on any other area of the plant. Other compounds unique to marijuana, called cannabinoids, are present in this resin. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, one cannabinoid, CBD, is nonpsychoactive and blocks the high associated with THC.

https://roscia2010.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/cbd-on-the-international-stage-who-committee-delving-into-science-control-status-of-cannabis-compound/

Acetylcholine is responsible for maintaining muscle tone of the airways and also contributes to contractions in asthma attacks. Interestingly, asthma medications block the same molecule but from a slightly different angle. They prevent the acetylcholine from binding to its receptor. THC works proximal to that. It doesn’t have any competitive effect for binding to receptors. It just prevents the acetylcholine from being released.

MARIJUANA FOR ASTHMA TREATMENT

Based on research done by Dr. Donald Tashkin, cannabis-infused edibles and tinctures are the most common cannabinoid asthma treatment. Smoking cannabis is rarely encouraged, due to the carcinogens that still remain when smoking marijuana.

MARIJUANA EDIBLES AND TINCTURES

Marijuana edibles are food items made with cannabis or infused with marijuana oils. Edibles are an alternative to smoking or vaporizing marijuana. Edibles come in many forms including brownies, cookies, candies (including animal or fruit-shaped gummies, suckers and chocolates), and as beverages. Unlike smoking where the effects of marijuana can be felt almost immediately, marijuana edibles can take from 30 minutes to 2 hours to take effect and can last longer than expected.

Variables that define how long the effects of edibles last depend on the dose, when your last meal was consumed, and/or any medications or alcohol used at the same time.

Tinctures are alcohol extractions of whole cannabis (usually the flowers and trim leaves). The best way to use tinctures is by placing a few drops under the tongue. Dose control is easily achieved; the medicine is rapidly absorbed into the arterial system and is quickly transported throughout the body. Patients just need to use a few drops, wait for the desired medical effects, and either use more or stop as the situation indicates. Tinctures can be flavored to improve taste and are best stored refrigerated in dark bottles.

Dr. Donald Tashkin

Dr. Donald Tashkin, a lung expert and professor of medicine at UCLA, was part of the team that first discovered marijuana’s effect as a bronchodilator. In 1973, his group published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that found airways widen in both healthy and asthmatic individuals after smoking marijuana.

It also succeeded in reversing experimentally induced asthma, in a manner that was comparable to what could be achieved with a standard therapeutic bronchodilator that was widely used at the time. In fact, Dr. Tashkin’s findings led to a number of subsequent studies on delivering THC through an inhaler. But the inhaler route didn’t work because THC was too large of a molecule and caused patients to cough.

When Dr. Tashkin was performing his research, it was before vaporizers were readily available and ‘vape pens’ common place. Vaping is a method of medicating for asthma sufferers.

MARIJUANA VAPORIZING

Vaporizing marijuana is one techniques of inhaling marijuana. It is a method that allows the inhaler to experience the effects of marijuana without putting themselves at risk from the toxins that accompany smoking marijuana – namely carcinogenic tars and gases.

Since the substance being inhaled is vapor, there is no coughing associated with vaporized marijuana. You also don’t need all the extra equipment required for smoking marijuana.

Vaporizers usually take anywhere from about 1 – 5 minutes to heat the air, although there are digital vaporizers, which heat the air or CO2 cannabis oil instantly if you don’t like waiting.

Vaporizers can be a larger piece of equipment to be used in your home or what is commonly known as a Vape Pen, which is a pen like tool used to vaporize medical marijuana oil.

CASE STUDY

There has been no human research on medical marijuana for asthma treatment since the 1970s. These previous studies did show THC to be a temporary bronchodilator, lasting one to two hours after inhalation. THC was shown to be a more effective bronchodilator than isoproterenol, which was the most common prescribed treatment at the time of the 1977 study. Contrastingly, tobacco smoke is well known as a broncho-constrictor.

Recent studies involving cannabinoids and asthma in animal models have revealed that administration of THC and CBN were successful in reducing the presence inflammatory molecules and mucous overproduction. Synthetic cannabinoids have also been effective in reducing coughing and shortness of breath in similar studies.

When it comes to overall lung function, cannabis appears to be more of an asset than a hindrance. In a 20-year study that concluded in 2005, researchers proved that mild to moderate cannabis use actually increased lung volume and air flow in participants. There continues to be a call for further study into the dynamic interaction of inhaled cannabis and the lungs, and the properties of therein.

 

 

 

 

https://medicalmarijuana411.com/asthma/?utm_source=newsletter092117&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydose&utm_content=featuredimage

 

Annunci

Canapa, bio eco e benessere a Marano Vicentino

SUMMANO CANAPA è l’ultimo arrivato nel panorama degli hemp shop, ma con ambizioni da primo:

abbiamo infatti l’intenzione di diventare il canapaio di riferimento per l’alto vicentino. 

Perchè BIO

Perché i cibi che ci nutrono, i vestiti che ci proteggono, i detergenti con cui ci puliamo e i materiali con cui costruiamo le nostre case non devono essere dannosi e pericolosi per la salute. Non basta che un prodotto funzioni, il prodotto deve essere sicuro per noi e per gli altri, quindi il BIO e la canapa con i suoi derivati formano un connubio perfetto.

Perché ECO
Perché negli ultimi duecento anni abbiamo chiesto veramente troppo al nostro pianeta, lo abbiamo sfruttato oltre la capacità di rigenerare le sue risorse ed è arrivato il momento di cambiare il nostro pensiero, il nostro atteggiamento nei confronti degli acquisti e decrescere in maniera intelligente oltre che felice. Il giusto compromesso tra l’etica e le necessità che una vita moderna impone. La canapa in questi ambiti è vincente e Summano Canapa vuole sostenere e promuovere tutti i comportamenti e gli stili di vita che portino a essere ecologici premiando così il recupero, il riuso, l’auto-costruzione e il km zero.

Perché BENESSERE
Perché il benessere è la chiave della felicità: MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANA recitavano gli antichi e la canapa fa appunto questo, cura tanto il corpo quanto lo spirito. Gli integratori per il benessere a base di CBD, il composto NON psicoattivo della canapa è dimostrato scientificamente che abbiano un raggio di azione strepitoso nel trattare una gamma vastissima di disturbi e squilibri metabolici, ma non solo corpo: la canapa con i suoi cannabinoidi oltre ad essere l’enteogeno non allucinogeno più sicuro in circolazione, trova largo impiego nel trattamento di tanti disturbi di natura emotiva dove riesce in maniera molto efficace a portare sollievo.

Quindi il nostro claim BIO ECO & BENESSERE  vuole essere il nostro manifesto di impegno, la sintesi perfetta di quella che vuole essere la nostra mission : vivi bene, vivi felice, vivi libero.

Nel nostro primo punto vendita di Marano vicentino troverai: semi di canapa da collezione; tutto quello che serve per la coltivazione di piante; integratori a base di cannabinoidi; alimenti a base di canapa, bio e a km zero o comunque da filiera conosciuta; vestiti con tessuti a base di canapa e altre fibre naturali da produzione etica; detergenti e cosmetici a base di canapa con ingredienti naturali e ipoallergenici; articoli per fumatori, e tutto il necessario per il consumo dei prodotti della canapa ludica; attrezzature elettroniche per l’assunzione di cannabinoidi a scopo terapeutico; materiali da costruzione in canapa e per la bioedilizia senza compressi; materiale informativo e pubblicazioni inerenti alla uso e la coltivazione della canapa.

Vogliamo essere anche canapa info point e cannabis cultural hub, quindi da noi potranno i nostri clienti consultare libri sull’argomento cannabis e leggere l’intera collezione di Dolce Vita Magazine come se fossimo una biblioteca. Potranno inoltre partecipare a corsi di formazione e Informazione con temi come la coltivazione, l’auto-costruzione, l’auto-produzione e le pratiche di ampliamento della consapevolezza.

Il primo negozio è a Marano Vicentino in via Vittorio Veneto 96. L’inaugurazione è fissata per Lunedì 25 settembre dalle ore 15:30.

 

 

 

 

http://www.dolcevitaonline.it/canapa-bio-eco-e-benessere-a-marano-vicentino/

Canadian Cannabis Companies Now Exporting to Germany

The Land of Ideas (Germany), is getting a creative boost – legal cannabis from overseas.

Canadian cannabis colossus Aurora, based in Alberta, announced their first shipment of the medicine to German markets this week in to help meet the enormous demand for the plant. Earlier this year, German legislators significantly liberalized policies surrounding medical cannabis, giving much greater authority to physicians to prescribe it, as well as allowing federal health insurance to cover its costs.

From the Edmonton Sun:

“The company shipped 50 kilograms of dried cannabis flower from its central Alberta facility in Mountain View County to Germany’s leading medical cannabis distributor Berlin-based Pedanios after receiving an export permit from Health Canada as well as provisional import status from the German Federal Narcotics Bureau.

“Pedanios will distribute the cannabis through a network of more than 1,500 pharmacies across Germany, the company said, but Aurora also hopes to become a top producer and supplier of medical cannabis in other European Union markets.”

As more nations enact federal cannabis legalization laws, medical or adult use, exporting across borders will only increase. Nations that embrace legalization will have a leg up on the competition and will benefit from securing large market shares. Hopefully, the United States will wise up sooner than later as we are letting other nations like Canada advance in a commercial market that the U.S. should dominate. It will be very interesting to see how the international market develops over the years, but it is obvious that the momentum is at the back of reformers working to end the failed policy of prohibition.

Want to know about all the major competitors in the growing German cannabis market? Join the International Business Cannabis Conference in Berlin, Germany, on April 12-13, 2018! Can’t make it to Germany? Events will also be happening in Kauai, Hawaii; San Francisco, California; and Vancouver, British Columbia. Get tickets for all of ICBC’s events online today!

Sorgente: Canadian Cannabis Companies Now Exporting to Germany

Questo bambino è passato da 100 crisi epilettiche giornaliere a zero, grazie alla Cannabis – DolceVita

Si chiama Billy Caldwell, ha 11 anni ed abita in Irlanda del Nord. Soffre di autismo e di attacchi di epilessia, o meglio, ne soffriva, visto che da 300 giorni non ha più avuto alcun attacco, mentre prima ne aveva fino a cento al giorno.

A garantire a Billy questo miglioramento clamoroso ed insperato il trattamento con olio di cannabis, iniziato negli Stati Uniti, ed ora prescrittogli anche nell’ospedale nord-irlandese dove i medici si sono presi la responsabilità di autorizzare i genitori ad importare il farmaco dagli Usa, nonostante il suo status legale in Gran Bretagna sia ancora controverso.

L’olio con il quale Billy si è curato è a base di cannabidiolo (CBD), il principio non psicoattivo della cannabis attualmente al centro di numerose sperimentazioni scientifiche, ed è privo di THC.

La vicenda di Billy, la cui madre ha rilasciato interviste a molte testate e tv nazionali per raccontare la storia del figlio, sta anche contribuendo ad aprire una nuova breccia nello spesso muro del proibizionismo inglese. «La storia di Bill ha dimostrato che la cannabis è un farmaco potente e straordinariamente efficace – ha affermato Norman Lamb, portavoce dei Liberali – non ha alcun senso continuare a negare ai malati l’accesso a questi trattamenti»

Sorgente: Questo bambino è passato da 100 crisi epilettiche giornaliere a zero, grazie alla Cannabis – DolceVita

GERMANY RELAXES RULES ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA – PHARMACIES CAN PRESCRIBE FOR CERTAIN CONDITIONS

PHARMACIES IN GERMANY CAN PRESCRIBE MEDICAL MARIJUANA.

As the German government prepares for to legalize cannabis for medical purposes about a year from now, Germany made a huge step forward. Doctors will soon be able to prescribe medical marijuana to relieve pain or symptoms for Paraplegics and MS patients. Berlin gave the go-ahead to relax rules on therapeutic cannabis use.

“Prescribe” is not normally a term associated with marijuana.

Health Minister Hermann Gröhe presented draft legislation to relax rules on marijuana use for certain patients to the cabinet on Wednesday, May 4th.

Health Minister Hermann Gröhe

“Our goal is that seriously ill patients are treated in the best way possible,” he said.
The move is a “light at the end of the tunnel” for hundreds of chronically ill patients, the German Foundation for Patient Protection said in a statement.

“If parliament endorses the law, these patients will no longer need to wade through a lot of red tape, and illegal private cannabis plantations for medical use will finally be a thing of the past.”
The cabinet gave the go-ahead for patients that have no other treatment options beginning early next year, when pharmacies will sell dried cannabis flower buds and cannabis extracts on prescription. According to the draft bill, health insurance policies will cover the cost.

PRESCRIPTION-ONLY MEDICATION

This is a “huge step in the right direction,” Georg Wurth told DW. The spokesman for the German Cannabis Association estimates that medical marijuana would benefit up to two percent of the population.

Georg Wurth

The government’s “ideological stubbornness” has penalized patients thus far, he said, adding that if marijuana weren’t also a drug, “it would have been permitted for medical purposes in Germany long ago.”

Medical marijuana has few opponents, Wurth said, pointing out that even the government’s drug abuse commissioner, Marlene Mortler, isn’t opposed.

“The limited use of cannabis as medicine is reasonable,” the commissioner said. The government has, however, announced plans for additional research on the effects of medical marijuana on the patients who use it.

According to Wurth, three forms of medical marijuana are available in Germany. There’s Dronabinol (THC), an oily extract pharmacies mix up according to standardized data. Many patients complain of high costs and a reduced effect in comparison to natural marijuana, Wurth says. The mouth spray Sativex, a cannabis extract, is also approved as a botanical drug available by prescription. Wurth argues that patients complain that this, too, is more expensive than marijuana buds, which have only been a legal option to some patients in Germany since 2008.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert issued a reminder that using or growing the drug for recreational purposes remains illegal.

Health Minister Gröhe also warned that the move doesn’t imply a general legalization of cannabis in Germany.

Countries that allow cannabis use for medical purposes include Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic and France; in the US, some states have completely decriminalized cannabis.

THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES

The use of medical marijuana to treat or relieve a symptom, ailment or condition rather than for recreational purposes dates back thousands of years, and is first mentioned in an ancient Chinese text dating back to about 2700 BC.

In Germany, it’s available to patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, Hepatitis C, Morbus Krohn, asthma, arthritis and depression, to name just a few conditions.

They need special approval, and they have to foot the bill. Patients currently have to seek special authorization to use the drugs. According to the government, 647 people in Germany had obtained the necessary permission as of April.

Under the proposed new law, the government plans to set up plantations to grow cannabis under the supervision of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. A cannabis agency then sells the crops to specially-licensed German firms. The law still requires parliamentary approval.

 

 

 

https://medicalmarijuana411.com/germany-relaxes-rules-medical-marijuana-pharmacies-can/?utm_source=newsletter092117&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydose&utm_content=readmore

CBD on the international stage: WHO committee delving into science, control status of cannabis compound

Cannabist Special Report: CBD, TBD — American advocates for hemp and CBD oil hope their pleas to the FDA will have a global ripple effect

 

By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist Staff

Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive cannabis compound touted for its medicinal promise — but marijuana- and hemp-derived extracts rich in CBD and low in intoxicating THC are facing a future yet to be determined.

The Cannabist’s special report “CBD, TBD” explores a regulatory and legal landscape pockmarked by federal-state conflicts, and examines national drug policy, pioneering research efforts and disparate avenues toward the compound’s full legalization. This is the fifth installment in an ongoing series.

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Part I – Forbidden medicine: Caught between a doctor’s CBD advice and federal laws

Part II – How advocates are inspiring congressional action on CBD legalization

Part III – With DEA digging in its heels on “marijuana extracts,” legality of CBD oil on trial in federal courts

Part IV – CBD research is going to the dogs in quest to legitimize pet products

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International health experts are putting a closer eye on how cannabis and its compounds such as cannabidiol should be regulated.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) begins an examination into what level of international controls could be implemented on CBD, advocates for legalization of the cannabis compound have spotted an opportunity. They’ve submitted public comments in droves to extol the potential medicinal properties of CBD — a compound that’s enshrouded by legal and regulatory uncertainty.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration solicited public input on CBD and 16 other drug substances – including ketamine and synthetic opioids — in advance of the 39th meeting of WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD). The committee convenes in Geneva, Switzerland, from Nov. 6 to 10 to review the substances and begin work on potential recommendations to the United Nations Secretary-General.

The November meeting is an early step in a long process that may define how CBD is regarded and controlled internationally.

The United States Hemp Roundtable — the entity behind the saveourcbd.com website, formed to drum up support and written comments — joined several thousand public comments submitted to the FDA. The organization of businesses that make hemp-derived, CBD-rich products claimed that the cannabis compound should not be shepherded solely to the realm of pharmaceuticals.

“The structure and nature of the FDA forces definition into food, drug and supplements and the grey area of all the other products not classified,” Brian Furnish, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s president, wrote in a letter submitted as part of the public comment process. “CBD produced from hemp is not a controlled substance, so it is clearly not a drug. The FDA, with antiquated rules that only benefit pharmaceutical companies, says that CBD is not a supplement.

“That means CBD derived from hemp is food.”

As the public comment period was starting to draw to a close on Wednesday, more than 6,400 comments had been submitted — the vast majority of which were about CBD, according to The Cannabist’s review. More than 1,000 comments were pre-written responses suggested by saveourcbd.com, The Cannabist found.

Whether those comments are heard or acted upon by international experts remains to be seen.

The comments will first be considered by U.S. Health & Human Services, which is expected to provide its input on the 17 substances by filling out a questionnaire on aspects such as medical use, scientific use, current control status, misuse, and cultural or religious use.

However, HHS will hold off on making recommendations of its own until WHO’s determinations are submitted to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs — an action expected early next year, FDA officials disclosed in Federal Register documents.

HHS will then come back for another round of public comments before providing its position on international control of the substances.

Early stage work

WHO’s examination of CBD is a long play that has been years in the making.

At their annual meetings in 2016 and 2015, ECDD members requested further evaluation of the cannabis plant and its components. Last year, the committee set an 18-month timetable to receive additional information and evidence to continue evaluation of cannabis, cannabis extracts and tinctures, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, CBD and THC stereoisomers within the bounds of international drug control policy.

“The committee recognized: An increase in the use of cannabis and its components for medical purposes; the emergence of new cannabis-related pharmaceutical preparations for therapeutic use; cannabis has never been subject to a formal pre-review or critical review by the ECDD,” WHO’s Director-General wrote in the Nov. 25, 2016, recommendations letter.

The committee recommended that the pre-reviews be evaluated over the following 18 months.

From there, a determination would be made as to whether the information justifies an “Expert Committee critical review,” officers for the ECDD Secretariat told The Cannabist earlier this year. The pre-review is preliminary and findings would not determine a change in control status, ECDD officials said.

A progress report of that work is scheduled to be given at the upcoming ECDD meeting, along with the pre-review for CBD, meeting agendas show.

The vast majority of the 17 substances under discussion at the ECDD meeting are among WHO’s “Substances Under Surveillance” list, which includes substances that have the “potential to cause public health harm.” The public health risks for many of those substances were disclosed in their descriptions outlined in the ECDD meeting documents and the FDA’s request for public comment.

CBD, however, is not under surveillance and its description in the documents cites potential medical benefit versus potential public harm:

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the active cannabinoids identified in cannabis. CBD has been shown to be beneficial in experimental models of several neurological disorders, including those of seizure and epilepsy. In the United States, CBD-containing products are in human clinical testing in three therapeutic areas, but no such products are approved by FDA for marketing for medical purposes in the United States. CBD is a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA. At the 37th (2015) meeting of the ECDD, the committee requested that the Secretariat prepare relevant documentation to conduct pre-reviews for several substances, including CBD.

 

Research at risk

Closely watching the activity in Geneva this November will be American researchers who lament the restrictive barriers to studying cannabis and components such as CBD.

The compound is on lockdown because of its Schedule I status, said Heike Newman, a senior regulatory manager at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus.

Newman’s job there includes providing assistance to clinical researchers when they need to submit investigational new drug applications to the FDA for further research of an unapproved drug or an approved drug for a different condition.

Nearly three years ago, Newman assisted two of the school’s clinicians with the paperwork and implementation of the first-ever approved Schedule I studies at the University of Colorado-Denver.

The process has been fascinating in that it’s quite pioneering, she said. But being early movers comes with a fair share of ground to break.

To research CBD requires a Schedule I license; to provide CBD for research requires a Schedule I license.

“Once you have the Schedule I license … then the manufacturer probably doesn’t have Schedule I facilities,” she said. “You’re constantly bumping into a problem.”

Cannabidiol is not listed explicitly as a controlled substance in the 1961 United Nations’ Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention.

However, the international body lists the cannabis plant and cannabis resin as Schedule I and Schedule IV substances — the two most-restrictive categories. Cannabis extracts and cannabis tinctures are also listed solely as Schedule I, which does account for therapeutic potential.

Late last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency issued a rule notice about the establishment of a drug code for marijuana extracts. The code addition primarily was an administrative move, DEA officials said, citing it would allow them to better track research requests and comply with the Single Convention treaties.

In the notice and subsequent disclosures and interview, the DEA asserted CBD’s ongoing Schedule I status, spurring fear and confusion among producers and consumers alike and triggering a lawsuit from hemp industry members.

 

 

http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/09/20/cbd-international-law-who-fda-cannabis/88429/

Washington: ecco tutti i risultati ottenuti in tre anni di legalizzazione della cannabis

Era l’otto luglio 2014 quando nello stato di Washington apriva il primo dispensario per la vendita legale di cannabis. Sono passati poco più di tre anni e ora i dispensari sono 508.

Una realtà ormai consolidata che permette di verificare le reali conseguenze di un processo di legalizzazione, a livello economico, sociale e sanitario. Facendo parlare i dati e non le opinioni.

TANTI POSTI DI LAVORO E BEN PAGATI.

In tutto sono 1865 le attività imprenditoriali attive nel settore della cannabis nello stato: dispensari, coltivatori di piante, produttori di estratti o prodotti alimentari a base di cannabis, grossisti, trasportatori. Un settore economico vero e proprio che ogni giorno da lavoro a oltre 6000 persone (erano 6227 a fine 2016, ma i numeri sono in costante ascesa). Seimila individui che grazie alla legalizzazione hanno ottenuto la possibilità di avere un lavoro, oltretutto in genere meglio pagato di quelli in altri settori, con un salario medio che si attesta a 16,45 dollari orari, cinque dollari in più del salario minimo previsto nello stato.

UN GIRO D’AFFARI IN CONTINUA ASCESA.

Ogni mese nei dispensari dello stato di Washington si vendono circa 90 quintali di infiorescenze di cannabis, ai quali vanno sommati altri circa 13 quintali di estratti di vario tipo. Un giro d’affari complessivo attestato a 1,3 miliardi di dollari all’anno – secondo i dati pubblicati dal Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, l’ente statale che gestisce il mercato della cannabis legale – con entrate per lo stato pari a 314,8 milioni di dollari, grazie alle tasse sulla vendita, fissate ad un aliquota unica del 37% applicata alla vendita al dettaglio. Entrate non certo di poco conto per lo stato, che ha potuto attuare progetti sociali grazie ai proventi della cannabis legale.

I PREZZI AL DETTAGLIO CONTINUANO A DIMINUIRE.

Con la strutturazione del mercato anche il prezzo al quale la cannabis – e tutti i derivati come i prodotti commestibili (che valgono da soli una buona fetta del mercato) – è venduta nei dispensari è costantemente calato, contribuendo a sottrarre il mercato dalle mani della malavita. Nel luglio del 2014 i primi fiori di cannabis legale venivano venduti a prezzi superiori i 20 dollari al grammo, a tre anni di distanza il prezzo medio si attesta a 7,38 dollari. Una costante dinamica di ribasso che secondo gli analisti non si è ancora completata e potrebbe stabilizzarsi a circa 6 dollari per grammo. Un prezzo capace di sconfiggere il mercato illegale residuo – che si concentra nell’offrire prodotti di bassa qualità e basso costo per i consumatori meno abbienti – ed anche una delle ultime obiezioni dei proibizionisti: secondo i quali con le tasse il prezzo della cannabis legale non sarebbe mai stato concorrenziale con quello del mercato nero.

I RAGAZZI FUMANO MENO DI QUANDO ERA ILLEGALE. Ma l’andamento dei prezzi non è l’unico dato a mettere definitivamente in crisi la propaganda proibizionista. Ancor più importante il dato statistico rilevato dal Dipartimento della Salute dello stato, secondo il quale dopo la legalizzazione non si è verificato nemmeno il tanto temuto aumento dei consumi tra i più giovani. Anzi, questo è leggermente diminuito: nel 2010 il 20% dei giovani delle scuole superiori fumava cannabis, una percentuale che nel 2016 è scesa al 17%. L’unica fascia di età dove il consumo è leggermente aumentato è quella degli adulti, evidentemente ora più inclini a concedersi un momento di “ricreazione” con la cannabis legale.

 

 

 

 

http://www.dolcevitaonline.it/washington-ecco-tutti-i-risultati-ottenuti-in-tre-anni-di-legalizzazione-della-cannabis/

Cannabis terapeutica: tre regioni contro il governo. La Puglia minaccia l’autoproduzione

Toscana, Emilia-Romagna e Puglia attaccano il governo denunciando come la produzione di cannabis terapeutica sia insufficiente per garantire l’accesso al farmaco per tutti i cittadini che ne hanno diritto. I tre presidenti delle regioni (rispettivamente Enrico Rossi, Stefano Bonaccini e Michele Emiliano) chiedono al governo di predisporre da subito un aumento della produzione presso quello che, ad oggi, è l’unico centro autorizzato alla produzione di cannabis in Italia, ovvero l’Istituto Farmaceutico Militare di Firenze.

Il ministro della Salute Beatrice Lorenzin e il presidente della Puglia Michele Emiliano

Particolarmente duro il presidente della Puglia Michele Emiliano, che ha lanciato una sorta di ultimatum: «Il governo e il Parlamento diano una risposta in tempi brevi. E non intendo settimane, ma ore. Altrimenti provvediamo da soli.

 

Nonostante l’impegno spasmodico mio e della Asl di Bari, non siamo riusciti a trovare abbastanza farmaci per soddisfare il fabbisogno dei malati

 

Il governatore pugliese ha poi raccontato di aver ricevuto la lettera di un malato di Sla che denunciava come fosse costretto a rivolgersi agli spacciatori visto che non riusciva ad avere la cannabis in modo legale pur avendone diritto: «Questo non solo vuol dire solo che lo Stato non aiuta i propri malati di Sla, o chi ha un tumore o malattie neurologiche, ma anche che favorisce il crimine organizzato», ha concluso.

Sono passati tre anni da quando il ministero della Salute ha avviato la coltivazione sperimentazione della cannabis a uso medico allo Stabilimento chimico farmaceutico militare di Firenze.

https://roscia2010.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/autoproduzione-unica-soluzione/comment-page-1/

Ma i lotti della cannabis, denominata FM2, prodotta non sono sufficienti. A maggio è stato annunciato che verrà triplicata la produzione, passando dai 100 ai 300 chili l’anno, ma ancora non è chiaro se da parte dello stato sono stati resi disponibili i fondi per l’ampliamento delle serre e del personale necessario per la coltivazione.

Inoltre un altro grosso scoglio all’accesso per i pazienti è stato messo direttamente dalla ministra Lorenzin che nei mesi scorsi ha imposto alla Farmacie di vendere la cannabis terapeutica italiana al prezzo massimo di 9 euro al grammo, senza però adeguare anche il prezzo con il quale essa viene distribuita dal produttore, generando così una filiera che i farmacisti denunciano come economicamente insostenibile, obbligandoli a operare in perdita, fattore che sta spingendo molte farmacie a non distribuire più la cannabis.

Ora arriva la presa di posizione pubblica dei tre governatori a certificare il fallimento della gestione della produzione da parte del ministero della Salute e di tutto il governo, mentre la nuova legge sulla cannabis terapeutica in discussione al Parlamento si rifiuta ancora una volta di permettere ai malati il diritto all’autoproduzione della cannabis, unico strumento che potrebbe garantire un vero accesso universale alle cure.

 

http://www.dolcevitaonline.it/cannabis-tre-regioni-contro-il-governo-la-puglia-minaccia-lautoproduzione/

DR. MARK WARE DISCUSSES CANNABIS AS MEDICINE

 

Transcript: I first became familiar with about 10 years ago, when I beginning to explore the area of medical cannabis research, writing up grants, doing interviews with patients and beginning to explore this. I became aware that there was this conference being held at I think at the University of Iowa the first one, I didn’t have any funding to get there. So I called them up and I said, is there a video link up, is there some way I can dial into this to watch it from Montreal where I was based. I was able to speak to McGill, and they lent me a room, a video screen and a projector. I watched the whole thing sitting a room, there were three or four of us sitting this room and watched the whole congress. I was amazed in the level of science, and the stories, the patient involvement. What I really liked was the patient involvement.

Even today when I gave my talk, I ask the room how many people were patients in the room, and over half the room was patients. Most of the talks that I do, are working with the physicians and scientists. Its really rewarding to speak to patients, meet them afterward and interact and see the level of interest they have in getting that knowledge.

I respect the work Al and Mary are doing to keep that patient presence alive through all of this. I think its motivated by the fact that the very first patient, who told me that he used cannabis for medical purposes, looked me in the eye and told me that. It struck me, and I thought wow, OK, and I believed him. I as I said earlier its still something where I believe strongly, that we have to listen to that voice. I think for a long time the medical profession has preached, this is what we think is right for you. Here we have for various reasons, political, legal, whatever, a position where patients have come forward saying, this is working for me. Hearing those voices, hearing that, knowing there is a bit of a barrier to the science, but knowing that it is overcome able, we can do it.

That motivates me. And knowing at the end of the day, a patient who has struggled with their physician, struggled with their family members, because they perceive this is drug abuse, or a substance they are worried about. If they feel somehow legitimized by the fact there are doctors and scientists who are studying this, and feel that it is a potentially useful therapy. If they feel reassured, if the family says OK, well maybe its OK, and then I think we have done a good service.

For more on the video series, here are links to part one and two:

Dr. Mark Ware Discusses Cannabis As Medicine Part One
Dr. Mark Ware Discusses Cannabis As Medicine Part Two

Dr. Mark A. Ware MBBS MRCP (UK) is a family physician and Associate Professor in Family Medicine and Anesthesia at McGill University. He is the Director of Clinical Research of the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit at the McGill University Health Centre, co-Director of the Quebec Pain Research Network, and Executive Director of the non-profit Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids. He practices pain medicine at the Montreal General Hospital.

In the past 10 years Dr. Ware has given numerous lectures across Canada on pain to health care practitioners and the public. He teaches pain medicine and integrative medicine to medical students at McGill and was recently appointed as a McGill Teaching Scholar to coordinate pain education in the medical school curriculum.

Dr. Ware’’s primary research interests are in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of medicines derived from cannabis (cannabinoids), population-based studies of the impact of pain on the population, and complementary therapies in pain and symptom management.

 

 

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