TheJointBlog.com’s Weekly Cannabis Podcast – October 11th, 2015

October 12, 2015October 11, 2015

Welcome to TheJointBlog.com’s Weekly Cannabis Podcast!

Today’s episode features an interview with Karen Paull, who has directed, produced, written and starred in over 30 plays and musicals, and Wendy Robbins, co-inventor of The Tingler head massager who is also an Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker. Together, the two run The Marijuana Show, the first-ever reality show about investing in cannabis that reaches 50 million viewers through syndication on outlets such as Comcast and DirecTV!

You can listen to today’s episode below:

New Side-Effect of Washington’s Marijuana Law: Youth Possession Now a Felony

September 18, 2015

By Associated Press

A prosecutor in southeastern Washington has charged three teens with felonies for marijuana possession, saying a new law demands the higher level of offense.

The Lewiston Tribune in Idaho reports (http://goo.gl/g8Xhpl) three teens ages 14, 15 and 17 have been charged in nearby Asotin County, Wash., with felonies that could net them up to five years in prison.

The offense was previously a misdemeanor with a maximum 90-day jail sentence.

64 Studies That Show Cannabis Can Treat Various Cancers

August 25, 2015August 16, 2015

Cannabis, and the cannabinoid compounds found within it, has been shown through a large amount of scientific, peer-reviewed research to be effective at treating a wide variety of cancers, ranging from brain cancer to colon cancer. Below is a list of over 60 studies that demonstrate the vast anti-cancer properties of cannabis.

Studies showing cannabis may combat brain cancer:

Cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits the proliferation and invasion in U87-MG and T98G glioma cells. Study published in the Public Library of Science journal in October 2013.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can kill cancer cells by causing them to self-digest. Study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in September 2013.

New Study Counters Cannabis “Gateway” Theory

July 13, 2015July 11, 2015

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay

Marijuana may not be the “gateway drug” some believe it to be, a new study contends.

Instead, teens smoke pot for very specific reasons, and it is those reasons that appear to prompt their decision to try other drugs, researchers report.

For example, kids who use marijuana because they are bored are more likely to also use cocaine, while kids using pot to achieve insight or understanding are more likely to try magic mushrooms, according to findings published recently in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Bipartisan Federal Bill to Reschedule Cannabis Introduced

April 16, 2015April 16, 2015

Representatives Morgan Griffitth (R-Virginia) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) filed federal legislation this week that would reschedule cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD).

Specifically, the Compassionate Access Act would “reschedule marijuana from its current position as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, which asserts the drug has no medical use and limits the ability of researchers to study the drug’s safety and effectiveness as a treatment”. This would “allow the states to provide appropriate access to patients needing these legitimate, medical treatments under the supervision of their physician”.

According to a press release, the proposal is supported by the Epilepsy Foundation, the American Academy of Neurology, and Americans for Safe Access.

New Metastudy Finds Evidence that Cannabis is a Safe, Effective Treatment for Chronic Pain

March 23, 2015

A new metastudy of numerous randomized controlled trials has found that cannabis is a safe, effective treatment for chronic pain. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, and was published online Monday by the National Institute of Health.

The study, conducted by researchers at Pharmacology Dalhousie University‘s Departments of Anesthesiology in Canada, was an “updated systematic review of randomized controlled trials examining cannabinoids in the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews reporting on health care outcomes”, according to the study’s abstract.

What is a Cannabis Plant? A Breakdown of the Anatomy and Functionality of Cannabis

February 25, 2015February 25, 2015

By Robert Bergman, ILoveGrowingMarijuana.com

The Plant Kingdom is the foundation of almost every single ecosystem on the face of the Earth. Without plants, there would be no animals— no insects, mammals, or birds. No humans. Animals (humans included), depend on plants for food. Plants, however, are not held down by the same restrictions. They transmute their food through the process of photosynthesis, requiring only water, C02, and sunlight. Plants of the Cannabis genus are no exception. But what characteristics identify cannabis? How do the mechanisms of photosynthesis function within the plant itself? These questions are simple but significant. In order to properly grow marijuana, we must first understand how it works, down to each constituent part.

In this quick educational summary, we will break the Cannabis plant down into five parts:

New Study Finds Cannabis Use Associated With Lower Body Mass Index, Lower Insulin Resistance

March 21, 2015February 16, 2015

A new study published in the journal Obesity, and published online by the National Institute of Health, has found that cannabis use is associated with a lower body mass index (BMI), which results in lower insulin resistance.

For the study, researchers set out to “ascertain the relationship between cannabis use, obesity, and insulin resistance” by analyzing “786 Inuit adults from the Nunavik Inuit Health Survey”. Information on cannabis use was obtained “from a self-completed, confidential questionnaire”, and “fasting blood glucose and insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) served as surrogate markers of insulin resistance.” In addition, analysis of “covariance and multivariate logistic regression ascertained relationships between cannabis use and outcomes.”

TheJointBlog.com’s Election Podcast

September 21, 2015November 2, 2014

Welcome to TheJointBlog.com’s 2014 election podcast, featuring an interview with Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

November 2nd, 2014:

Report: Legalizing Cannabis Would Create A $35 Billion Industry In The U.S.

October 27, 2014October 24, 2014

A new report released by GreenWave Advisers has detailed a calculated prediction about the future of the legal cannabis industry – and the numbers are huge.

According to the report, if cannabis was legalized on a federal level in the United States by the year 2020, the recreational and medical market combined in all 50 states would be valued at around $35 billion annually.

The analysis concludes that change in federal law is expected, due to the continued efforts of lawmakers pushing various pieces of legislation to ease current laws, the benefits of medical cannabis becoming better understood, the positive economic impact becoming more recognized and according to the report, the most important factor: public support in favor of legalization is growing.