Los Angeles Times: Reefer-tax madness

[Welcome to the Stash the prolific MrSpof, who will be dishing out some of that Fresh Stash right here on the Main Page.  This is an experiment that may end at any time, but I really want to expand the Stash, on a model somewhat like "DailyKos", where there will be additional front page contributors.  I will maintain editorial control.  If you want on the Main Page, show your stuff on the Fresh Stash.  Don't solicit me for Main Page; if I spot you from thirty-to-fifty or so words, quality links, and persistance, I'll contact you. -- "R"R]

It is almost beyond dispute that the federal laws are unjustified by science or common sense. Under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no medical use and cannot be prescribed by a physician. The many medical uses of marijuana are well documented, and it is not nearly as addictive or intoxicating as less-restricted Schedule 2 drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Moreover, the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, can be sold in pill form as a Schedule 3 drug. So what makes the plant so dangerous?

via Editorial: Reefer-tax madness – Los Angeles Times

It is quite refreshing to see a major media source like the LA Times bringing up one of the things that frustrates me the most about the War on US Citizens. Why is marijuana a Class 1 drug with ‘no medicinal value’ if the The United States of America, as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services holds US Patent 6630507 titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants”?

The patent claims that “Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”

via Digital Journal US Government Holds Patent For Medical Marijuana, Shows Hypocrisy