Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 1:58 pm | By: Radical Russ
OK, so it’s a whole two months since we brought this study to your attention on the Stash, but whenever the British press prints something good about cannabis, it’s news to us.
(The Sentinel) A STUDY by North Staffordshire academics has rejected a link between smoking cannabis and an increase in mental illness.
The research found there were no rises in cases of schizophrenia or psychoses diagnosed in the UK over nine years, during which the use of the drug had grown substantially.
From their base at the Harplands Psychiatric Hospital in Hartshill, the four experts reviewed the notes of hundreds of thousands of patients at 183 GP practices throughout the country to look for any changing rate in cases of schizophrenia.
The work had been set up to see if earlier forecasts from other experts had been borne out, that the mental disorder would soar through the growing popularity of cannabis.
[Researchers concluded,] “The casual models linking cannabis with schizophrenia and other psychoses are… not supported by our study.”Hartshill-based Dilys Wood, national co-ordinator of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, said that so far the report had been published in medical journals and would have a far-reaching reaction if it surfaced more widely.
She added: “I believe that if it had found a causal link between cannabis and schizophrenia it would have been all over the press.
“The public needs to know the truth about drugs; not more Government-led propaganda.”
And Alliance press officer Don Barnard said: “It is hard to believe the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith did not know of this very important research when deciding to upgrade cannabis to Class B.”
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 5:21 pm | By: Radical Russ
(BBC News) Researchers looking at the effects of cannabis on bones have found its impact varies dramatically with age.
The study found that while the drug may reduce bone strength in the young, it could protect against osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones, in later life.
The results were uncovered by a team at the University of Edinburgh who compared the drug’s effects on mice.
Osteoporosis affects up to 30% of women and about 12% of men at some point in their lives.
The group found that cannabis can activate a molecule found naturally in the body that is key to the development of osteoporosis.
When the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) comes into contact with cannabis, it has an impact on bone regeneration.
Stuart Ralston, the Arthritis Research Campaign Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Edinburgh, who led the study, said: “This is an exciting step forward, but we must recognise that these are early results and more tests are needed on the effects of cannabis in humans to determine how the effects differ with age in people.”
How many ads have you seen on TV for pharmaceuticals that are meant to help older women stave off osteoporosis? Forget the Boniva, try some Sativa! I’ve always been a big proponent of older ladies smoking weed; it’s just nice to finally have some science to back me up.
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 5:15 pm | By: Radical Russ
(Guardian UK) Release is taking legal action against the British Transport Police (BTP) to determine if the use of sniffer dogs to detect drugs is lawful. If we are successful, the case will require the police to stop using sniffer dogs for this purpose.
The case was sparked by an incident in which Release’s executive director, Sebastian Saville was searched last year by the BTP at Camden Town underground station following a positive indication by a sniffer dog. Saville had no illegal drugs in his possession.
…The use of sniffer dogs to identify people carrying drugs as they make their way through London’s transport system is not only wrong in principle, but it is also ineffective in practice.
Australian research has found that in 74% of searches following an indication by a police dog no drugs were found. No equivalent comprehensive research has been conducted in the UK; however preliminary inquiries via freedom of information requests indicate that the deployment of police dogs here produces similar results. During Operation Shelter, conducted by the British Transport Police during Latitude festival in Ipswich in 2008, only 12% of searches conducted as a result of “tells” by police dogs located illegal drugs.
Sniffer dogs are not about catching drug dealers. The dogs lack the sophistication to distinguish between someone who has been in contact with drugs and someone who’s actually carrying them, let alone to determine what kind of quantity that person is carrying, and what they intend to do with it. Mr Hot Shot Dealer does not travel the tube with his stash. These dogs are not used to protect the public. They cannot be compared to metal detectors or dogs trained to identify bombs or knives, since drugs are not used as a weapon against the public. So the argument that the ends justify the means – used to defend searching thousands of visitors entering a venue on the grounds of protecting the public from an act of violence – cannot apply in the context of personal possession of drugs.
A dog is not an infallible and precise scientific measurement instrument, but police would like you to think they are. Drug K-9’s often alert just to appease their masters who are looking for an excuse to search a suspect without his or her permission. Dan Monnat gave an excellent presentation on this phenomenon at our 2008 Aspen Legal Conference.
Add definitive subtitle hammering home the legitimacy of the scary headline:
A potent form of cannabis can cause healthy people to develop psychotic illnesses, a new British study has proved.
Proved, you hear? Proved! All right, now deliver the lede that tells us marijuana smokers how we’re destined for the mental ward:
The results appear to confirm a link between psychosis and skunk cannabis, which now accounts for 80 per cent of street seizures of the drug.
Add some related bullet points to raise the reefer madness levels to eleven:
Skunk smokers 18 times more likely to be psychotic
One spliff can mean lifelong mental illness
Mental health charity calls for cannabis study
Don’t worry, by this time few people will notice this little devil in the details:
Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in King’s College London made the discovery after running tests on 22 healthy men, aged in their late 20s. They injected them with THC – a major component of skunk cannabis which has been blamed for increasing psychosis among heavy users.
Whoa, hold on! You injected people with straight THC and you’re using that to prove cannabis use can cause psychosis in healthy people?!? I could have saved you the research. Straight THC is highly psychoactive and without other cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavinoids found in herbal cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol metabolizes in the blood into another form of THC that is even more psychoactive!
Oddly enough, while the British worry about this deadly psychotic skunk weed that has risen to (gasp!) 14% THC, their Dutch neighbors won’t even approve of medical marijuana unless it is between 13%-18% THC. Here in America, we approve of a 100% THC, no-other-cannabinoid pill called dronabinol (Marinol) which I will tell you from experience will cause a more profound negative psychological reaction than even the finest 60% THC hash I’ve encountered.
Even the researchers cautioned against making the “Skunk causes psychosis” claim, which, of course, the UK media is required to bury around paragraph eleven:
Dr Morrison said the findings offered “additional evidence that can elicit temporary psychotic-like effects in some people”, but stopped short of suggesting they proved a direct link between psychosis and THC.
He said: “Much more research is needed to clarify if skunk is actually more harmful than traditional cannabis.” More work needed to be carried out on the beneficial effects of CBD in balancing the damaging results of THC.
British reefer madness – just like American reefer madness, except bobbies bust into your flat to arrest you for skunk cannabis, instead of cops busting into your apartment to arrest you for kind marijuana.
Six Scotland Yard officers have been suspended over allegations of “waterboarding” drug suspects.
The men are said to have pushed the suspects’ heads repeatedly into buckets or bowls of water in a bid to force them to reveal the locations of drugs.
The accusations suggest they were simulating the notorious “waterboard” torture techniques employed against al Qaeda suspects by CIA staff.
The incidents are said to have taken place at the homes of four young men arrested on suspicion of drug offences at properties in North London in November
(via UK TimesOnline) The part of the inquiry focusing on alleged police brutality has been taken over by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It is examining the conduct of six officers connected to drug raids in November in which four men and a woman were arrested at addresses in Enfield and Tottenham. Police said they found a large amount of cannabis and the suspects were charged with importation of a Class C drug. The case was abandoned four months later when the Crown Prosecution Service said it would not have been in the public interest to proceed. It is understood that the trial, by revealing the torture claims, would have compromised the criminal investigation into the six officers.
They shoot us, arrest us by the hundreds of thousands, imprison us, entrap us, deny us health care and access to college, and in the UK, they treat us like terrorists just to find another kilo. We are the most hunted minority in the world and have to endure every sadistic thing the immoral minority can think of.
Despite all that, I can still get an eighth anytime day or night.
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Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 2:39 pm | By: Radical Russ
I love reading the British news. Such odd little differences between American and British English, like “legalization” vs. “legalisation”, what we call a “truck” they call a “lorry”, and what we call a “marijuana grow house” they call a “cannabis factory”.
Twenty-nine forces said they had uncovered more of the drug being grown, including Gwent which detected no factories in 2004 but 151 last year.
The largest force in the UK, London’s Metropolitan Police, reported an increase from 206 to 654, while West Midlands saw a rise from 174 to 672.
New guidance has been drawn up by the National Policing Improvement Agency to tackle the burgeoning problem of cannabis cultivation.
A national cannabis coordinator has also been appointed to share information and best practice between forces, a Home Office spokesman said.
See what I mean? What they call a “national cannabis coordinator” we call a “drug czar”.
Words are important. “Cannabis factory” conjures “industrial”, “dirty”, “high volume”, “manufacturing”, and “business”. A “marijuana grow house” isn’t as scary. It’s a house where marijuana grows. “Houses” belong in neighborhoods, even if the house is being misused. “Factories” don’t belong in neighborhoods and can only be used for business.
Reefer Madness is a universal language, it just has different dialects from country to country.
Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 12:13 pm | By: Radical Russ
Watch the UK’s latest ‘Talk to Frank’ cannabis ad, where “Simon” is just a typical young male Briton about to light up a joint. He’s happy, because he knows his “Giggles”, “Munchies”, “Happy”, “Dr. Chill”, and “Talkative” personalities will emerge from smoking the reefer. But he really doesn’t want to invite in “Memory Loss”, “Panic Attacks”, “Paranoia, “Pukey”, and “Lazy”. This ad also reminds the viewer that cannabis has been recently upgraded to a scary Class B drug.
I’m waiting for the UK ad with “Pip”, the young male Briton about to quaff a Guiness Stout. Bring on “Happy”, “Outgoing”, “Obnoxious”, “Weepy”, “Confrontational”, “Violent”, “Pukey”, “Mr. Auto Crash”, “Addicted”, “Unconscious”, and “Cirrhosis”.
Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 12:03 pm | By: Radical Russ
Spice, as it is known on the street and in school playgrounds, has already been banned by at least four European nations including the Netherlands, where smoking small amounts of cannabis is tolerated.
Spice contains JWH-018, a synthetic psychoactive substance which gives what the Royal Society of Chemistry has described as a “marijuana-like high”.
JWH-018, a cannabinoid receptor, was created by an American academic purely for research purposes in 1995.
Last month Christian Steup from THC Pharm, a German company that makes legal painkillers from cannabis, detected JWH-018 in several packets of Spice, according to the RSC’s Chemistry World magazine.
He said the substance was four to five times more potent than tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive substance in cannabis.
Organic chemist John W Huffman, who discovered the compound and lent his name to it, said he did not think it was toxic but admitted that he did not know.
Oh no! There is a new synthetic pot that’s claimed to be 4 to 5 times stronger than the deadly skunk, which itself has been claimed to be 7 to 400 times stronger than regular old marijuana! And since regular old marijuana is considered to be a Schedule I drug, the most dangerous category of drugs that have no medical purporse, like PCP, LSD, and heroin, then this “Spice” must be super-duper dangerous!
Right. Nowhere in the article does anyone point out any known toxicity or proven dangers of JWH-018, but there is a speculation that since cannabis has those terrible links to depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis, that use of “Spice” will lead to an epidemic of mental health issues.
Except that these supposed links from cannabis to depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis are wildly overblown and mostly non-existent and that JWH-018 is not chemically similar to THC, so it’s a stretch to speculate that they would affect the mind similarly.
That said, we’ve done decades of research on THC and next to nothing on JWH-018. I wouldn’t recommend being the beta tester for any new untested synthetic chemical. Let’s let the unbiased scientists study this “Spice” and until we know the facts, stick to nature.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 4:51 pm | By: Radical Russ
The reclassification of cannabis as a Class B drug has come into effect in England and Wales amid complaints the new laws are “illogical”.
Plans to introduce a “three strikes” system for cannabis possession start with a warning, then an £80 spot fine for a second offence. Scotland and Northern Ireland have opted out of this penalties arrangement for England and Wales, retaining the former system for class B drugs.
Only when a third offence is committed, will the person be liable to arrest and prosecution.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith decided to reclassify cannabis despite an Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ review – commissioned by Gordon Brown – saying it should remain Class C.
Ms Smith said stronger “skunk” varieties account for 80% of the cannabis seized on the streets, and that the drug is nearly three times stronger than in 1995.
The advisory council’s report, Cannabis: Classification and Public Health, described the drug as a “significant public health issue”.
But it said it should still remain a Class C drug, saying the risks were not as serious as those of Class B substances such as amphetamines and barbiturates.
Britain and America are so much alike when it comes to marijuana policy. Both have commissioned independent reviews of cannabis policy, both have had these reviews recommend decriminalization, both have ignored the scientists and the pollsters and the doctors and the people in continuing to punish people for their responsible use of cannabis.
RevRayGreen: MASS TWEET THIS -@ChuckGrassley Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer sadness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
RevRayGreen: @ChuckGrassley http://bit.ly/55Ejsi Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer madness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
SneakerPimp: one last thing Puff puff pass to any one who wants it
SneakerPimp: i wanna here about the imminent MiniSpof sounds like time for some
SneakerPimp: im estatic and excited for NSL today.
SneakerPimp: mountain time wake n bake
SneakerPimp: oh yea also wake n bake
SneakerPimp: its central im high as a kite everybody
SneakerPimp: ill grab that WUD
WakeUpDead: @Russ, I dont think that wireless is going to work out for the show, it was choppy and studdered just like last week. Hardline may be the only way. Puff [...]
WakeUpDead: A MINI Spof, Lock up your Weed, in 18 years that is. Really Man congrats! Greatest days of my life when my kids were born, hell yeh, great news [...]
BenJaMin: Late night Stash!!!
SneakerPimp: heres a bong rip for spof
RevRayGreen: errr test over....
RevRayGreen: on hold..
RevRayGreen: @RR I'll try and lob a call to you.....
SneakerPimp: where is the first field of cannabis gonna be?
SneakerPimp: !
Radical Russ: Breaking News: MrSpof's wife's water just broke! A MiniSpof is imminent!
SneakerPimp: oh russ its not my fault that i dont understand choppy word:stoned:
SneakerPimp: @Mrspof congratulations tell us all about it tommrow
Radical Russ: OK, test over. Sorry. Only needed a half hour. Be back tomorrow afternoon.
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
UK media finally covering the study showing no link between marijuana and schizophrenia
sounds like time for some 
mountain time wake n bake 
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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