Dakta and the Daktory – Stuff

He calls himself Dakta Green.

(see Dakta in the House, Western Leader, Auckland)

The 59-year-old has been jailed in California and New Zealand for cultivating cannabis but has no plans to change his ways. Dakta is a strong activist for law reform surrounding the drug and has been pushing for its legalisation since 1999.

He’s even set up a cannabis club in a New Lynn warehouse known as the Daktory. Dakta says marijuana use is widespread and causes less harm in the community than alcohol.”

(… the MildGreens are founding member/contributors to the Daktory, and supporters of the Daktavist Vision.)

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Cannabis Science Patient Focused

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (Marketwire) — 07/23/09 — Cannabis Science Inc. (OTCBB: CBIS), an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company, is pleased that today’s Wall Street Journal article on the booming medical cannabis industry in California notes the role of Cannabis Science Inc.

Commenting on why Cannabis Science was mentioned in the article, Richard Cowan, chief financial officer of Cannabis Science Inc., said, “Although the company is beginning the FDA approval process for its products, we believe that the inclusion of Cannabis Science Inc. in an article about the struggle to get medical cannabis to patients is further evidence that we are a patient oriented company, whose business strategy does not depend on a continuation of marijuana prohibition.”

Although the company is not involved in the state’s gray market, the article notes, “A pot activist named Richard Cowan has opened what he envisions as an investment bank for pot-related businesses, called General Marijuana (General Marijuana.com). Mr. Cowan is also chief financial officer of Cannabis Science Inc., which is trying to market a pot lozenge for nonsmokers.” Please click http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124829403893673335.html to read the article in full.

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Cannabis Science CEO, Dr. Robert J. Melamede, observed, “This article is further demonstration of the huge need for FDA approved medical cannabis products.”

Earlier this week, Cannabis Science reported that Dr. Melamede had spoken at a hearing in Denver in opposition to an attempt to undermine a voter-approved constitutional amendment that would have made it much more difficult for patients to get affordable medical marijuana.

Cannabis Science Inc. is at the forefront of medical marijuana research and development. The company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce, and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. It is dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

Blair Anderson
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com

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Hanson’s Marijuana Addiction/Cessation Research

The plural of anecdote is data.

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There is anecdote that shows some folk have difficulty they attribute to giving up pot. There is data evidencing folk do not have a difficulty ‘in times of no pot’. Most of the symptoms in the case of the former are consistent with destabilised endocannabinoid homeostasis. Indeed if they didn’t happen in some people I would be surprised. Cardio/Vascular/Neuro/temp all consistent. They inform us of how important a biological source of exo-cannabinoids may be to ameliorating/alleviating other conditions. As to describing these as withdrawal caused by cannabis that is another matter. It may be, and i speculate, that some or all of these conditions pre-existed the cessation and are now revealed, and that the cannabis users ‘acuity, insight and sensitivity’ to altered stated of conscience also colours the research. I have no doubt that these experiences are real and described accurately. That is a far call from understanding what is actually happening.

see
http://brainblogger.com/2009/06/15/marijuana-withdrawal-syndrome/#comment-551844

However, given the replies to others by D. Hanson, I suspect he already knows this. He may well, I suspect fully understand that valid epidemiological research is impossible under the ‘set’ of a prohibition paradigm. But one has to begin somewhere. I applaude Dirk’s work but also understand why others would label it BS.

Cannabis: Your Milage May Vary

Perhaps Warning – Cannabis: Your Milage May Vary should be the label on legal pot.

NZ has introduced and passed the legislative model for (sale of) recreational psychoactive substances that includes accurate labeling. I might argue the above harm reduction label is consistent with known risk profiles.
Blair Anderson ‹(•¿•)›
Social Ecologist ‘at large’
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com/
http://blairformayor.blogspot.com/
http://blair4mayor.com/
http://efsdp.org/

ph (643) 389 4065 cell 027 265 7219

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On Drugs, Medicine and Some Harms

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Part of the problem with Met’s Bill (and Nandor’s earlier) is that it occurred at all.
(comment as posted to the Daktory Forum)

While med pot is an important issue, the diamonds in the sky is D’classification of cannabis. It would matter diddly what med pot provisions were made (as per Sativex) there would still be injustice. The argument for med pot (even as a wedge issue towards full Class D implementation, the rules are all ready there ) fails to do justice to the issue. AND THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TO RAISE THE ROOF before the Law Commission (LC).

The LC is doing some very creative stuff around ‘privacy’ and the internet… using the internet to both air the issue contructively and gain insight into public concerns, suggestions and fulfill the responsibility of ‘consultation being seen to be done’.

This is the stuff of social capital. The ‘drug debate’ will be the better for it. One can (will be able to) even send a comment in via ones cellphone. Suddenly the debate (has the POTential to) become relevant to young people.

So donut worry to much about the vote in Parl. There was NO drug debate in the run up to the election, but the day after John Key was elected PrimeMonster we legally regulated psychoactive recreational drugs (it got Royal assent two days before the election, became law on the Sunday). Much more has been accomplished than either media or MP’s are prepared to

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concede. We are the first country in the world to take a ground up approach to analyzing drug policy – including adherence to and relevance of the International Covenants and Conventions.

It really doesn’t get better than this. Although the anticipated in april/may ‘issues paper’ is yet to be released (so that the framework for the debate is clear – and thats a head start) it has been delayed somewhat due to [political] prioritisation of the Alcohol issue. The drug we drink, Alcohol (legal) and Drugs (illegal) will according to the Law Commission(er) ‘inform each other’. Again, no country has (IMHO) realy taken this holistic evaluation of ‘all drug policy’.

Consider fmr PrimeMunster Palmer on Drugs we Drink, “The exclusion of these substances from the terms of reference does not preclude the Commission from taking into account the relative harms of these and other substances.” and “Lessons learnt from the regulation of alcohol and tobacco will be taken on board in the course of this review.” (media release 2008[url]

We are turning full circle back to where our National Drug Policy (framework) pre 1996 HIGHLY reco

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mmended an ‘all drugs’ framework rather than a drug by drug approach.
This serves reform VERY WELL.

Like Alcohol and the recent academically critiqued BERL report on Alcohol harms – the area of cost/benefit need to be explored thoroughly. Daktavists MUST ask for this, ‘where’s the the baseline?’ – and the more we do this, the greater weighting will be given to getting the likes of Prof Jeffery Miron (or the like) out here from Harvard to give this international credibility.

Be Empowered, Submit Unconditionaly.
/Blair Anderson,
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com

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Medicinal Cannabis Bill

Medicinal Cannabis Bill

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party are calling on all MPs to support an extremely important piece of legislation that will be before the house on Wednesday 1st of July. Metiria Turei‘s Medicinal Cannabis Bill will make it legal for patients with severe or life threatening illnesses and injuries to access the medicine they need. For many patients, the only medicine that works to relieve their suffering is Cannabis.

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Cannabis is already legally available in New Zealand on prescription from a doctor. The pharmaceutical cannabis preparation Sativex has been approved for a number of patients. However many people in need cannot afford Sativex or they prefer to source there essential medicine elsewhere. Metia Turei’s Bill will increase access to this important medicine by allowing patients or their caregivers to grow their own cannabis. By allowing those patients most in need to grow their own medicine, they will no longer have to risk buying from the black market and will no longer have to fear arrest and imprisonment.

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Emeritus Professor Lester Grinspoon from Harvard Medical School, believes that Cannabis will be the world’s most important medical drug in the 21st century.

The reason cannabis is such an effective medicine, with thousands of years of use, is because it contains over 60 active therapeutic compounds. The cannabis plant can be breed for different levels of these cannabinoids, and specific strains have been developed to treat specific ailments, such as ADHD. Scientists can also isolate specific compounds in cannabis to create unique new medicines.

At present Sativex is the sole cannabis product on the market. While it is effective for many conditions including MS, others conditions such as chronic pain require an Indica rather than Sativa based preparation.

Metiria’s Bill will allow for a more diverse range of cannabis products to be made available, to better suit the needs of patients. Concerns about the smoking of cannabis medicine, can be addressed by the use of a number of alternative delivery methods, including vaporisation, oral ingestion, ointment or spray. While cannabis has a bad reputation due to its illegal status, all of the uses of this medicine can be referenced to scientific studies. Cannabis has been scientifically shown to be 100% non toxic, non addictive and has never caused a single death from overdose.

The scientific and lay literature of the medical effectiveness of cannabis is extensive. There are

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numerous conclusive studies which show that cannabis reduces the growth of cancer tumors, including studies conducted at the University of Otago. Some conditions like Glaucoma, can only be effectively treated with cannabis. When made into a skin balm, cannabis is an effective remedy for both Arthritis and Melanoma.

Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders are in desperate need of this medicine. Only the most heartless and uncaring members of parliament could vote against the compassionate use of cannabis. Already the hard-line USA has approved medical marijuana in many states. Not to follow suit here would cause outrage throughout the New Zealand medical marijuana community, not to mention years of needless suffering for thousands of people.

Below are some of that conditions that cannabis is effective treatment for:

Appetite Loss Arthritis Asthma Addiction Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Anxiety Disorders AIDS Wasting Syndrome Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Autism Aversive Memories Bipolar Affective Disorder Brain Injury/Stroke Cancer (including Breast cancer, Cervical cancer, Lung cancer, Skin cancer) Depression Dystonia Epilepsy Fibromyalgia Glaucoma Migraine Nausea Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Chemo Related Nausea Chronic Pain Diabetes Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure/Hypertension Lymphoma Migraine Mental Illness Multiple Sclerosis Movement Disorders Musculoskeletal Disorders Neuroprotection Nail Patella Syndrome Parkinson’s disease Pancreatitis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sickle Cell Disease Schizophrenia Skin allergies Sleep Apnea Tourette-Syndrome Ulcerative Depression, Violent, uncontrollable outbursts in children

ENDS

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Some Drugs Driving

It doesnt mean it makes a difference to fatalities or accidents however.
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One of the problems with current drug policy (and is clearly evident in the drugged driving debate) is that drug substitution occurs. This is a two way street. (ask an economist!) Just as one can drive people to more harmful options, so too can we promote less harmful options by simply removing the impediments.

Cannabis is a least harmful option. As much as some folk will gnash their teeth and say, no drugs are good… (and they may even be right) from a social policy perspective, enforcement is a least efficient way to manage the problem and may, as in the case with cannabis, be an impediment to ‘credible education messages’.

This is highly evident when one ‘models’ what would happen if we could eliminate alcohol on the road by substituting with cannabis. Road deaths (and other harms) would plummet. This is not to argue that cannabis should be compulsory, rather it helps us understand that, if a less harmful option is better than a more harmful option, and that leads to less deaths/accidents IT MAY WELL BE that the death that it saved was the very death that some individuals for whom the harm has been acute (and I share their heartache) would not have experienced that grief.

We have an obligation to solve problems with the least amount of invasive procedures as we can. It doesnt stack up, that just because we can (use Police) we must.

Look at how much we have changed societal response to drink driving through social mores around Sober Drivers etc.

Policing/Enforcement doesn’t deserve all the credit (as much as they may wish to take that credit to justify continuation of policy enforcement).

Accidents occur without cannabis, there mere presence (in a zero tolerance model) does not make it ‘responsible’.

Cannabis consumers (who drive, but not necessarily are stoned) do not make the unwise choices to drive that alcohol drivers make at relative degrees of intoxication. And that is a massive head start in harm limitation.

But that requires a society that has moved beyond intolerance. Regretably our drug laws are structured to enable the very worst in people. Even the ones who make moral (or otherwise) choice not to use cannabis… tiredness, distraction, stress and use of ‘legal drugs, prescribed or otherwise’ are NO LESS RESPONSIBLE for the outcomes of their behaviors.

It is wrong that we should hide behind our foibles and responsibilities while casting dispersions upon that of which they know little.

A more informed debate, founded in good social science should have been held. It is regrettable that our Expert Advisory Committee (on Drugs) has been expediently weighted by ‘enforcement’ over health.

No good will come of this.

Blair Anderson ‹(•¿•)›

Social Ecologist ‘at large’
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com
http://blairformayor.blogspot.com
http://blair4mayor.com
http://efsdp.org

ph (643) 389 4065 cell 027 265 7219

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Outrageous Suggestion

New Zealand’s favourite family entertainment and cultural advisors….

And if you happen to point out that there must be something good about drugs otherwise people wouldn’t keep doing them, everyone jumps up and down and has a fit about it, because you can’t point out the obvious when it comes to drugs because that might make people do them more. More hypocrisy!

(snip)

My family are total drug hypocrites. For years various members of my family have smoked and drunk themselves senseless, while all the time Mum and Dad were mouthing off about how we’d never sell drugs because that is bad. As opposed to steal shit which is somehow good? How does that work? / Loretta West – “Outrageous Fortune”

Blair Anderson
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com

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Call 0800-Poison?

That is a cannabis Plant and Bong, ya fools!

“Hazmat confiscated a marijuana plant, a melted plastic bottle and what appears to be gas lamp fluid. Authorities say they are all items for making meth and they leave a strange smell in the air. “

So who are you supposed to be scaring in silly ouftits like this?
Both are safer than Speights.

Blair Anderson
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com

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New Scientist: Cannabis Kamatua Needed.

Cannabis Kamatua Needed

Wed May 20 23:22:10 BST 2009 by Blair Anderson

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The endless charade maintaining cannabis prohibition on a global scale is being challenged in New Zealand as it reviews its ‘all drug policy‘ through the statutory empowered Law Commission. New Zealand has already given royal assent and passed into law the regulatory model for legal sale, storage, cultivation and manufacture, labeling, place of sale, age of consent and research oversight (Oct 6th, 2008). The UN consultation phase pre-Vienna avoided any recognition either in local or international media of this world first initiative yet cannabis is used in NZ at a rate higher than Jamaica, with clear evidence of extremely damaging consequences to some individuals, the deviancy amplification principally caused by covert Policing. There is scope for New Zealand to lead the world in reform options if it takes the policy analytic approach. The world needs a new Holland!

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227096.300-comment-get-real-drug-czars.html
– /Blair

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Cops mission; die honorably for hopeless causes.

“What are they [Jan] trying to protect? That is what I want to know. A silly marijuana plant? What a thing to protect … [and] take someone’s life.” – Mrs Molenaar despaired that Mr Snee’s life had been lost over a small amount of drugs.

Cop shot Dead, two more Police plus a member of the public in serious
condition, and we pretend drug policy is working! Like the case of Officer Don
Wilkinson, another severe case of deviancy amplification created under Warrant
of the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall! /Blair.

read more digg story

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