Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-04-16

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Wednesday is Cannabis Science day on the Stash, and coming up after the news, we’re separating the stems of propaganda from the buds of truth with Dr. Mitch Earleywine. Today Dr. Mitch and I discuss the lead contamination found in some German marijuana and the insane idea of treating marijuana “addiction” with lithium.

Cannabis Karri brings us our musical break this hempday humpday with an Asian rapper named Khmer Kid. Based in Los Angeles, Khmer Kid’s anthem “Smoke Weed” will bring you back down from your Tax Day anxiety.

Then we wrap things up with Dale Geiringer, the Executive Director of California NORML. Dale’s got some great news about the fight to protect California’s Prop 215 patients from employment discrimination.

Today’s Sponsors:

• The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation’s medical marijuana clinics in WA, OR, CA, HI, CO, and NV
• Dr. Mitch Earleywine’s Parents Guide to Marijuana
• NORML’s 420 MoneyBomb
  

So welcome to the show, grab your best glass and sit back with your favorite strain… This is your NORML Daily Audio Stash.

Lithium may help kick marijuana habit - UPI.com
SYDNEY, AUSTALIA (UPI) — Australian researchers said lithium, commonly used for bipolar disorder, can help pot smokers kick the habit without withdrawal symptoms.

A research team from Corella Drug Treatment Services and the University of New South Wales prescribed 500 milligrams of lithium twice a day for seven days to 20 people who were longtime, habitual cannabis users, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday. After three months, most of the users were smoking cannabis less often. Many had given up completely, the newspaper said.

Chief investigator Adam Winstock said withdrawal symptoms for heavy pot smokers often include disturbances in mood and sleep, and hostility that can cause them to relapse. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Center estimates that one in 10 people who try marijuana will become dependent on the drug.

That’s funny, every time I listen to Lithium, I want to smoke more marijuana. Now, as to the drug lithium, I’d bet after three months of that you’d be doing a whole host of things less often.

And who’s use of cannabis is causing so much problem that they would risk the known side effects of lithium, which include increased frequency of urination or loss of bladder control; increased thirst; nausea; trembling of hands; acne or skin rash; bloated feeling or pressure in the stomach; muscle twitching; diarrhea; drowsiness; loss of appetite; muscle weakness; vomiting; slurred speech; blurred vision; clumsiness or unsteadiness; confusion; convulsions (seizures); dizziness; fainting; fast or slow heartbeat; irregular pulse; troubled breathing; unusual tiredness or weakness; weight gain; blue color and pain in fingers and toes; coldness of arms and legs; dizziness; eye pain; headache; or noises in the ears.

The good news is that if you experienced the nausea, trembling, twitching, loss of appetite, or headache from the lithium, you could alleviate it with some medical marijuana.