Medical Marijuana Curbs Local Woman's MS

by Connor Gerbrandt
 

Joanne Gauthier-Wiebe with some medical cannabis drops

“Cannabis has given me my life back,” says Joanne Gauthier-Wiebe, a La Broquerie resident who notes medical marijuana has done wonders in curbing the symptoms of her secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Gauthier-Wiebe says the debilitating disease initially prevented her from reading, remembering, walking properly, and even led to her quitting her teaching job prematurely. “Once you get secondary progressive its kind of a steady decline,” she informs, “and yet in the last five years, since I have started taking cannabis, my health has significantly improved.”

After realizing the dramatic effects the drug can have when taken properly Gauthier-Wiebe says she became an advocate for marijuana’s many redemptive qualities. “You can be pain-free and not be stoned. You start taking cannabis and all of the sudden you realize you can take a few drops and ‘Oh my gosh now I can function and go throughout my day!’”

Gauthier-Wiebe recognizes a lack of information in the area and has begun organizing classes that discuss cannabis as a medicine. She says such events have already taken place in Beausejour, Niverville, and La Broquerie. The next class is slated in Steinbach sometime early fall where Gauthier-Wiebe says a lot of people who use prescription marijuana will share their stories.

“We’re afraid of the unknown and people need to realize how much it can help them,” indicates Gauthier-Wiebe, “The reason we started having these meetings is because people were in pain, they’d go to see their doctor, they’d get a permit and not know what to do with it.”

Though the concept of medical marijuana is entirely separate from its recreational legalization this coming October, Gauthier-Wiebe comments on the impending plebiscite. She feels elderly people whose health is improved by the drug will gain obvious benefits from a local dispensary, adding those who abuse it will likely do so whether or not it is legal.

Gauthier-Wiebe thinks people need to be more informed and suggests her story is one of many that speaks towards the positive influence cannabis can have given certain circumstances.

Mothers Who Smoke Weed May Pass in on Through Their Breast Milk

Marijuana compounds can stay active in breast milk up to a week after mothers smoked it, scientists warn.

By Lauren Vinopal

 

Breastfeeding mothers who smoke marijuana can pass THC, the primary psychoactive component in weed, on to their babies nearly a week after use, new research suggests. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics already recommends mothers refrain from cannabis use while breastfeeding, the findings are the first to demonstrate that smoking weed and then waiting a few hours, or even days, to breastfeed may not cut it.

“Pediatricians are often put into a challenging situation when a breastfeeding mother asks about the safety of marijuana use,” study author Christina Chambers, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of clinical research at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, said in a statement. “If women feel they have to choose, we run the risk of them deciding to stop breastfeeding — something we know is hugely beneficial for both mom and baby.”

Early breastfeeding has been linked with reduced risk of asthma, obesity, and sudden infant death syndrome, along with improved health and intelligence later in life, research shows — and that’s just for the babies. There’s evidence that breastfeeding is good for moms as well, and it may lower their risk for developing breast and uterine cancers, as well as type 2 diabetes. The message is clear: if moms can breastfeed, they should. Unless, of course, breastfeeding passes dangerous chemicals to their babies. The question of marijuana use long plagued the medical community. Can a mom smoke up between pumps? And how long after a hit can she feed her baby again?

To get a better idea of what could actually happen when breastfeeding moms get high, Chambers and colleagues collected 54 breast milk samples from 50 women who smoked marijuana either daily, weekly, or sporadically. THC was found in 63 percent of the breast milk samples for up to six days after self-reported use. While researchers note that the amount of THC was relatively low, they cannot say whether even trace amounts of it are safe for newborns.

The findings raise important questions for parents about pot use — especially moms and dads who see it as a healthier alternative to alcohol. However, more research needs to be done to answer them and uncover the long-term risks of mixing THC with breastmilk, Chambers says.

“Are there any differences in effects of marijuana in breast milk for a two-month-old versus a 12-month-old, and is it different if the mother smokes versus eats the cannabis? These are critical areas where we need answers as we continue to promote breast milk as the premium in nutrition for infants.”
 

The Surprising Neurological Effects Of Combining Cannabis And Tobacco

By Calvin Hughes

The use of cannabis and tobacco often reduce the neuro-connectivity in the brains of people who consume one or the other separately. However, this is not the case with people who consume both.

Both cannabis and tobacco effect the brain in different ways. And while there is an established body of research evaluating exactly what these effects are, very few studies have looked at what happens in the brain form people who smoke both substances. And that has created a big gap in our understanding of these substances, according to Dr. Francesca M. Filbey, who hopes to fill that gap with her recent research.

"Most of the literature to date has focused on associations of isolated cannabis and nicotine use, even though concurrent cannabis and nicotine use is more prevalent in society than cannabis use alone," Filbey - the Bert Moore Chair in BrainHealth at UT Dallas - said in a statement. "Our findings confirm the limitations of existing research."

Using MRI scans Filbey examined the neuro-activity of people in four groups. The first was comprised of tobacco consumers, the second of marijuana consumers, the third of people who use both substances and a control group that did not consume either. The scans showed that the control group had the greatest connectivity in most scenarios, while the only-cannabis and only-tobacco groups showed less (though to varying degrees). The group of people who consumed both cannabis and tobacco had results that were most similar to the control group with higher neuro-connectivity than either of the one substances groups.

These findings seem to suggests that tobacco and cannabis may counteract some of the effects of each other in the brain, though more research is needed to solidify that conclusion. Nevertheless, Fibley hypothesizes that developing a greater understanding of the interactions between these two substances will be useful in developing programs for people who are looking to quit.

Retail cannabis is newest money-maker on the reservation

Tulalip Remedy is the first pot shop on tribal land in Snohomish County and the sixth in the state.

by Andrea Brown

Workers greet customers at the door with computer tablets to assist and take orders.

Three front-row parking spots are designated for “Elders only.”

Tulalip Remedy is not a typical pot shop.

The flagship store is owned by the Tulalip Tribes, a sovereign nation with its own governing body and laws. Out of 497 licensed cannabis stores in the state, this is only the sixth to open on tribal land.

The emporium is an oasis in the parking lot at Quil Ceda Village in the former KeyBank building.

Sleek and modern, it boasts glass display cases like a jewelry store. An artsy Pacific Northwest mural encircles the room.

“Oh, man. It’s impressive,” said Randy Ervin, a Tulalip resident who came for sativa concentrate at the opening Aug. 9. At his feet was his little service dog, Jaxx, who stayed mellow among the noisy crush of shoppers.


The Tulalip Tribes waited four years after recreational weed stores opened in Washington to partake in the retail action. The tribes and the state have a compact, a negotiated agreement that spells out the mutual guidelines for dispensing the drug.

The tribes also are funding research at a Stanford University lab in California to study the medicinal attributes of marijuana.

There are 51 cannabis retailers in Snohomish County. Before, Tulalip members had to leave the reservation to get a remedy to toke or vape to heighten their wellness or soothe their ailments.

That meant traveling to Everett, Arlington or Lake Stevens. Marysville banned sales within city limits.

This is no mom-and-pop head shop with bars on the windows.

It’s a high-tech fortress. The tribes invested in the latest technology for merchandising. There are 62 cameras, with plans to add more. The windows are stylishly boarded with polished wood as a design accent.

Crystal Puckett looks over the cannabis products at Tulalip Remedy. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Inside is a weed wonderland. The store sells tinctures, rubs and edibles. Indica, sativa and hybrid strains of flower. Pipes, bongs and vaporizers. Budtenders explain the ABCs of THC and CBD with user-friendly graphics and charts.

The expansive Quil Ceda Village is popular grounds for locals to shop and maybe shoot craps. There’s a Walmart, Cabela’s, The Home Depot, Seattle Premium Outlets and the Tulalip Resort Casino.

It’s a gambling-dining-shopping destination.

More than half of the hundreds of thousands of tourists are Canadian, said Les Parks, an elected member of the Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors.

Les Parks (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Which brings up the red leaf, which was designed to represent gathering around a fire, not be a beacon for the northern neighbors.

“When they see that, they are thinking maple leaf. ‘Here’s a Canadian restaurant. Let’s get something to eat,’” Parks said.

“They come in and find out what it is and they walk out the door giggling.”

No wacky tabacky needed.

1-2-3 … Grow
Cannabis on the reservation was once a pipe dream for Parks, a longtime tribal leader.

He was the driving force for the tribes to get into the market.

Not all members were in favor.

“They said this tribe will never get into the marijuana business,” Parks said. “It has been a four-year journey.”

Ramie Faust (left) is checked out by Jeni Birmingham at Tulalip Remedy. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Washington has 29 tribes who are not bound by state restrictions, and in 2015 the first tribal pot compact was signed by the Suquamish. The Puyallup Tribe has both a pot testing lab and a store.

In July, the Muckelshoots opened Joint Rivers in Auburn with the first drive-thru window at a cannabis shop in the state.

Remedy plans to add window service. The former bank building has the bones for it.

You won’t find those on Highway 99.

“State licensees cannot have drive-up windows. They are not allowed under law,” said Mikhail Carpenter, Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesman. “But they are not expressly prohibited under compacts.”

Revenues have blossomed since recreational cannabis shops opened in 2014 in Washington, two years after voters passed Initiative 502, which legalized the sale, consumption and taxation of recreational marijuana products.

The drug is illegal under federal law, but tribes in Washington haven’t had any issues despite the Trump administration’s rescinding Obama-era guidance that had recognized tribal sovereignty over pot.

“In the first full year of legalization it generated $64 million in excise tax,” Carpenter said. “In the last fiscal year completed it was $357 million.”

Wiyanna Benally demonstrates the tablets used by staffers at Tulalip Remedy. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

A 37 percent excise tax is levied on the sale from retailer to consumer — in addition to sales tax.
Tribal stores are required to tax the same percentage as what others stores pay to the state. That amount is retained by the tribes instead of going to city and state coffers.

The Tulalips have earmarked its use.

“A percentage of the profits is going to addiction and problems on the reservation,” such as homelessness and mental health, Parks said.

There are nearly 5,000 members of the tribes, of which about half live on the 22,000-acre reservation north of Everett and west of Marysville.

Customer service
Nick Roman came from Lake Stevens for “some flower.”

He’s already a repeat customer and Remedy rewards member.

“It’s good product. Good service, too,” he said. “It’s more of a Starbucks setup. Order. Get it. Leave.”

Cynthia Leon-Ortiz popped in for oil-based cannabis potions.

Robert Monger performs with Teri Gobin at the preview opening of Tulalip Remedy on Aug. 9. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

“It helps me sleep,” she said. “If I have daily activities that are strenuous it helps me with my body aches. It gets me through the day. When I take pills it is more harsh on my body.”

It was her third time at Tulalip Remedy.

“This place doesn’t judge you,” the Tulalip resident said. “This is my new go-to.”

Business has been steady at Tulalip Remedy, but not yet the green rush the tribes anticipates to come.

On a recent weekday mid-afternoon, employees far outnumbered shoppers.

Many of Tulalip Remedy’s 62 employees are tribal members. All underwent extensive training.

Service is personal and concierge style, using the Apple store model of sorts.

“We’ve taken the traditional budtender away from the counter and put them out on the retail floor.

We’ve given them hand-held units so they have an opportunity to walk up to each person and engage them where they are in their cannabis journey,” said Jonathan Teeters, assistant manager.

“Whether you’re a first-time customer or never used cannabis or you’re a pro.”

Workers wear uniform shirts color-coded to denote their positions, like the “Star Trek” crew.

Budtenders wear red and carry tablets that explain the menu of products. Behind the counter, cashiers in green ring up orders. Managers don black shirts.

After paying with cash, customers get a ticket number for orders, which are quickly filled in the back, then placed in a small, protected window behind the counter. Shoppers can also order ahead online and their order will be ready when they arrive.

There’s a Remedy rewards program for specials and discounts. Sign up and get a text for 10 percent off.

Radio-frequency identification tags, known as RFID, are put on every item to track sales. Unlike a barcode, which is also used, the postage stamp-sized tag doesn’t have to be within sight of the reader.

Macy’s also uses RFID.

“It allows the tribes to be assured that we have 100 percent control of our inventory at all times,” said Doug Boon, store manager. “It gives us more consumer intelligence for patrons who come here and allows us to build better points of sale for them.”

In another move, the Tulalips Tribes established its own regulatory body, the Tribal Cannabis Agency, to monitor itself.

“No other tribe has that,” Carpenter said. “They are the first ones.”

T’yana Green watches as Juan Martinez hands a purchase to a customer. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

The cure
Parks dispels the old stereotypes of reefer madness.

“Our customers are not ‘Cheech and Chong,’” he said. “The old theory that cannabis is the gateway to addiction is outdated. That’s Nixon theory.”

Marijuana was placed as a Schedule I, the most dangerous group of controlled substances, under Richard Nixon’s watch.

The majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use “harder” substances, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Instead, it could possibly offer the cure for more serious addictions, such as opioids.

The tribes are sponsoring research at the Barron Lab by Stanford bioengineering professor Annelise Barron, director of the California campus site.

“This is exciting because it is still difficult to obtain federal funding to study for the benefits of cannabis,” said Barron, who got her undergraduate degree in 1990 at the University of Washington and also earned post-doctoral degrees elsewhere. “Specifically, we’re doing a rat study to determine the efficacy of cannabinoids to treat opioid addictions.”

Another research project is its use for Alzheimer’s disease.

Already, CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid isolated from the cannabis plant, is in products targeted for issues such as pain and insomnia. CBDs don’t contain the THC that gets users high.
But that euphoria is why many shop here.

Parks expects Tulalip Remedy to reap a bundle.

“Twenty million a year in sales is not out of the question,” he said. “If you’re earning $20 million in revenues, that’s $10 million in profit.”

Still, pot has nothing on gaming.

“By gaming standards it’s not a big revenue-producing impact to tribes, but it is an impact. And every little impact is a positive to each tribe’s membership,” Parks said.

Tulalip Remedy is managed and overseen by the Tulalip Economic Development Corporation. The store is just the start for the new tribal organization geared toward business.

Vertical integration is the buzzword here.

In Washington, there are three separate license tiers: producer, processor and retailer. State law prohibits people from doing all three.

But state law does not govern sovereign nations like the Tulalip Tribes.

“We can do all three. Our compact allows it,” Parks said.

He envisions a grow operation, a testing lab and a processing facility to supply this store and possibly more to come.

“We are going to get there. It’s not a question of if, it’s when.”

A silent movement for the legalisation of cannabis is spreading across India

The Great Legalisation Movement has two agendas: quietly provide cannabis oil to cancer patients, and press the government to lift the ban on using marijuana.

The Great Legalisation Movement India/Facebook.

 

Cliff Vint was diagnosed with urinary bladder cancer in 2016. His oncologists said the illness was terminal, predicting that the 75-year-old would see no more than a hundred days. In search of hope, he went online and found the non-profit Great Legalisation Movement, which helped him procure cannabis oil. Over a year later, Vint is alive, and on the mend.

A thin, wiry man, Vint sits surrounded by the blue walls of his house near the Bilikal forest, 75 kilometres south of Bengaluru, with only one message for the government: “Allow it [cannabis] to be grown by anybody who has cancer. They cannot do this [procure cannabis oil] on their own. The government must see that this treatment is provided to patients who need it.”

Vint is one of thousands of patients to whom Great Legalisation Movement has recommended and delivered cannabis oil, says Viki Vaurora. A resident of Bengaluru, Vaurora founded the group in November 2014. He took the initiative after meeting Leela, a 37-year-old stage-four stomach cancer patient, at his sister’s ayurvedic clinic in Nuggehalli, Karnataka. “I told my sister, why not use bhang to help her as it [cannabis, which is used to make bhang] is one of the first plants you learn about in ayurveda, but she too had a mental block, and Leela was also reluctant to try when she heard weed,” said Varoura of this first encounter. Leela went through several rounds of chemotherapy, without much success. As she grew sicker, her husband, remembering Vaurora’s advice, telephoned the young man.

“Within three days of taking the oil, she was more comfortable – she wasn’t vomiting constantly and she could eat,” said Vaurora. “Within three months she finished her oil and called back and asked for more.”

He asked Leela to undergo medical tests to see whether the cannabis oil treatment was working. “She got her scans: Leela had been declared cancer-free, they couldn’t find tumours anywhere,” said Vaurora. Though it is unclear whether the results were a result of the chemotherapy Leela had been getting, or the cannabis oil, or luck, or simply a coincidence, the episode was Vaurora’s “wake-up call” to the healing properties of the marijuana plant, says the 27-year-old pro-marijuana activist.
Shortly thereafter, the Great Legalisation Movement was formed.

Growing movement

The core GLM group began with a handful of people. First through YouTube and Facebook, and later through a dedicated website, they propagated literature on marijuana and medical news. Attention and members followed soon after.

GLM has been recruiting ambassadors in states across India. The ambassadors, who volunteer through the non-profit’s website, are responsible for the area where they live. “Ambassadors are basically in charge of coordinating GLM members in their area,” said Mantra, an actor and producer who owns the Mumbai-based Mantramugdh Productions.

Mantra is GLM’s Mumbai ambassador. “If there’s a protest to be organised, or if there is educational material to distribute or share with others who have asked, or even something as simple as talking about its [cannabis’] benefits among friends or spheres of influence, that is what ambassadors do,” he said.

Photo credit: The Great Legalisation Movement India/Facebook.

Vaurora, who worked as a journalist in Bengaluru before founding GLM, funds the group’s research and events. Others who work for the movement, such as the ambassadors, do so without any remuneration, personally bearing the costs of printing educational material on the benefits of marijuana.

GLM’s Himachal Pradesh ambassador Haneesh Katnavar says meeting Vaurora and hearing about the group’s work convinced him to become part of the movement. “I used to smoke, okay, but that was some time ago,” said Katnavar, who is also the group’s content writer and social media manager. “Growing up in Himachal Pradesh, the problem with criminalisation of cannabis is obvious. I know people – both young and old – in jail for providing or selling a plant that literally grows everywhere around them.

And many Himachali people do think of it [the cannabis plant] as having healing properties.”

With over 27,000 followers on Facebook and more than 46,000 views on YouTube, GLM’s main focus for now appears to be spreading awareness about the benefits of industrially-grown marijuana. In December 2017, GLM organised the first all-India march to legalise marijuana. A month later, the Delhi chapter organised a protest at the Central Park in Connaught Place. “If the government can allow sale of tobacco and alcohol, why not marijuana…,” said Utsav Thapliyal, GLM’s Delhi ambassador, as he addressed the gathering.

Photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters

The movement has received support from renowned cardiologist, former Vice Chancellor of Manipal University and Padma Shri recipient Dr BM Hedge. Vaurora has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office explaining the benefits of “legalising cannabis and hemp for medical use and large-scale industrial cultivation”. A reply dated January 5 says the prime minister’s office forwarded the information to the Drugs Controller General. Though he hasn’t heard of any decision taken on his letter thus far, Vaurora is optimistic. “I think it’s highly likely that in the next month or two, something will open for…not just for GLM but hope for many patients in this country.”

While medical marijuana remains the movement’s “first priority”, says Vaurora, people do often ask about the uses of cannabis for recreation. “We are open-minded about its recreational uses as well, but the need of the hour is that of the suffering patients,” he said. GLM says it doesn’t take any money from the people to whom it provides cannabis oil for medical use. “It’s never been about the money,” Vaurora said. “All our medications are for free. In some instances, the people who have benefited choose to donate and help out others in treatment.”

Global acceptance

India has a 2,000-year-old history with cannabis. The first known mention of marijuana can be found in the Atharva Veda, in which it is referred to as one the five most sacred plants on Earth – a source of happiness or a liberator. In Hinduism, the consumption of bhang, an edible preparation with cannabis leaves, is central to festivals such as Holi.

It is so commonly used in in Ayurveda that it has been called the “penicillin of Ayurvedic medicine”. Cannabis was used in the Unani system of medicine practiced by Muslims in medieval India, as a possible cure for diseases of the nervous system and as an anti-spasmodic and anti-convulsive. Sikh warriors too were known to use bhang during battles to numb their sense of pain. The Nihang sect in Sikhism still consumes the narcotic as part of their sacred rituals.

Photo credit: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP

The ban on using and selling marijuana came into force in November 1985, with the Parliament passing the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The law was meant to fulfill India’s obligations under the US-backed international treaty for Single Convention on Narcotics, which was drafted in 1961.

Over the last two years, cannabis has caught attention worldwide as the medical community has come to accept its healing properties. In November 2017, the World Health Organisation released a report in which an expert committee on drug dependence found that cannabidiol “demonstrated as an effective treatment of epilepsy…and may be a useful treatment for a number of other medical conditions”.

In June, the United Kingdom renewed its research into cannabis’ potential as a restorative drug after confiscating the oil from a mother who was using it to help her 12-year-old epileptic son. The same month, the US Federal Drug Administration approved its first cannabis-based drug for epilepsy called Epidiolex. A US-based research firm the Brightfield Group has estimated the global market for legalised marijuana to be worth $7.7 billion.

Cannabis has also been in the news in India after the country issued its first government licence to grow medical marijuana in August 2017. In July, Uttarakhand became the first Indian state to allow industrial growth of the cannabis plant. Several public figures, including Maneka Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, have spoken out about legalising medical marijuana.

Photo credit: The Great Legalisation Movement India/Facebook.

Research has found that cannabis oil contains two main chemicals that act on specific receptors in the brain known as cannabinoid or CB1 receptors: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. While THC can have a psychoactive reaction in the brain, most cannabis oils contain a small amount of the chemical – so a patient does not get high – and a high amount of cannabidiol. For people suffering from a terminal illness or on whom traditional medicines do not work, cannabis oil has been found to be a more effective treatment.

Medical view

While GLM and many movements like it across the world tout the healing properties of marijuana, Indian doctors are constrained from using the same due to lack of government approval. “It [marijuana] is used as a pain reliever for cancer patients,” said Dr Shyam Aggarwal, an oncologist and senior consultant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi. “It is also used in some psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and anxiety. A lot of pre-clinical studies do support the idea that cannabis oil has anti-cancer properties.

The findings of such studies are however limited to the lab and pre-clinical mice trial models. There have not yet been any trials to test the efficacy of marijuana in treating cancer in human beings, though the pre-clinical data that exists…is sufficient to explore this with proper clinical trials.”

Till such a time as the United States’ FDA or a similar government body approves clinical trial on human beings, using cannabis to treat cancer and other terminal diseases remains untested, unauthorised, and potentially illegal. GLM is deeply aware that its work could land members into trouble with the law. “Whatever we do is illegal right now…procuring the Indica strain, making the oil, and giving it to patients who want to use it – but helping them [the patients] is more important to us,” said Vaurora.

In October 2016, Dharam Vir Gandhi, a Member of Parliament from Patiala, moved a private member’s bill in Lok Sabha to allow people to use “non-lethal, conventional drugs such as marijuana and opium husk”. Gandhi’s bill, listed as an A-category bill, is set to come up for discussion in the winter session this year.

Gandhi believes that the drug crisis in Punjab is due to “the banning of common man substances [that] has led to an emergency, a humanitarian crisis as people turned to synthesised drugs instead”. The law must allow for “demarcations, common man substances should be kept separate from hard drugs or chemicals,” he said. The bill aims to curb the black market worth “thousands of crores, which is controlled by the mafia that consists politicians, corrupt policemen, and affluent strata of society which wanted to go rich very quickly”.

Photo credit: The Great Legalisation Movement India/Facebook.

His bill has the support of several political leaders. “I have talked to TMC [Trinamool Congress], some Akali leaders, to BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] leaders, and even Shiv Sena leaders garnering support for the cause of legalising marijuana.” Maneka Gandhi and Tathagathy Satpathy, a Biju Janta Dal MP, are actively supporting his cause, he says.

Though Gandhi and GLM have never met, each is aware of the other’s existence.

Katnavar says that the movement has plans to meet the parliamentarian before the winter session. At present, though, they are focused on the field because “cannabis season is about to finish,” says Katnavar, who is also working on getting GLM a government licence to grow cannabis. For now, as Vaurora admits, the group is obtaining the plant illegally. “Everyone, including Commissioners of Police, know and don’t pull us up because we are using it for medical treatment,” he added.

The group has expanded into healing centres, one of which is being set up in the Western Ghats. “I’m reluctant to disclose the exact location till it is set up,” said Vaurora.

The centres teach patients with cancer and other illnesses how to treat themselves using cannabis oil. It also encourages them to follow GLM’s 10-step protocol that “is about basic lifestyle changes, removing emotional blocks…[and] changing the way they think and breathe,” said Vaurora.

“From different parts of India the call is rising to legalise natural substances that are part of our culture,” said Gandhi.

 

NYPD change in marijuana arrest policy goes into effect

By Eyewitness News

NEW YORK (WABC) - A new NYPD marijuana policy went into effect Saturday to cut down on drug arrests in New York City.

Police will put a stop to arresting people for smoking marijuana in public.

This means that the city expects about 10,000 fewer arrests

Officials said the policy was implemented because most of these arrests have nothing to do with public safety.

It is also intended to level the playing field. Studies show that white people smoke marijuana at the same rates as other demographics, however, the vast majority of arrests take place in communities of color.

"Our new policy, we're going to see a humongous drop in people in communities of color being arrested for marijuana," NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison said. "And that was one of the whole goals of this whole new policy."

Officers will be able to decide whether or not to arrest people caught smoking marijuana in public.

In some cases, arrests will be made. Anyone caught driving while smoking and anyone refusing to show identification when requested by an officer and anyone with an outstanding warrant will be arrested.

Why the Trump Administration's Plot to Derail Marijuana Momentum Will Flop Bigly

Marijuana stock investors shouldn't worry about the federal government's secret plans to whack weed before it grows too much support.

Keith Speights 

 

On Wednesday, online news site BuzzFeed reported that the Trump Administration is engaged in a "secret war on weed." BuzzFeed stated that the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee told multiple federal agencies to submit "data demonstrating the most significant negative trends" about marijuana use. The goal appears to be to try to prevent further support for relaxing federal anti-marijuana laws.

If the committee is successful in its efforts, companies with U.S. marijuana operations such as Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG), CannaRoyalty (NASDAQOTH:CNNRF), and Kush Bottles (NASDAQOTH:KSHB) could see their hopes of operating in a fully legal environment dashed.
But don't go shorting these stocks. Here are three reasons why this plot to derail marijuana momentum will flop -- and do so bigly.

Image source: WhiteHouse.gov. 

1. It's not coming from Trump

Love him or hate him, one thing pretty much everyone will agree on about President Trump is that he marches to his own beat. He stated in his presidential campaign that his top adviser was himself. So far, that statement appears to be pretty accurate.

The effort to cast marijuana in a negative light isn't coming from Trump. Instead, it's being coordinated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Jim Carroll is the head of the ONDCP, a position also known as the "drug czar." Carroll isn't a close confidante of the president. He wasn't even Trump's first pick for the position.

President Trump has publicly expressed his view that states should be allowed to make and enforce their own marijuana laws. In April, he pledged to support legislative efforts led by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) that would prevent federal interference in states that have legalized marijuana (like Gardner's home state of Colorado). The Denver Post reported that Sen. Gardner's spokesman stated that the senator "remains confident in the commitment the president made to him to support a states' rights solution to the current disconnect on marijuana law." 

2. It's a bad political move

Coming out swinging against efforts by states to legalize marijuana is a bad political move on multiple fronts. First, President Trump would be blatantly going against what he has publicly stated he supports. I know, what a shock it would be for a political figure to do a 180. But Trump would catch a lot of flak -- and he knows he would.

Speaking of flak, a major reason why the president came out in favor of relaxing federal marijuana laws earlier this year was that Sen. Gardner was holding up confirmations of political appointees. If Trump breaks his word, you can bet that Gardner will resume the logjam that worked pretty effectively in the past.

It's no secret that the American public has grown increasingly supportive of the legalization of marijuana. I doubt that a report from a group called the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee based on data collected from more than a dozen federal agencies is going to sway public opinion. Quite honestly, the committee itself sounds like a creature from the swamp in D.C. that Trump has promised to drain.

3. The cat's out of the bag already

The nail in the coffin for the "secret" effort to derail the momentum for marijuana is that it's not a secret anymore. The cat's out of the bag already thanks to the reporting by BuzzFeed. And because it appears that the committee's report will be intentionally biased, I suspect that it will be largely discredited from day one.

More important, though, the cat's out of the bag already with respect to legalized marijuana in general. Thirty states plus the District of Columbia allow legalized medical marijuana. Nine states allow the legal use of recreational marijuana. More are likely to follow in their footsteps.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) even recently approved a marijuana-based drug for treating rare forms of epilepsy. That would make it hard for the committee's report to convincingly argue that there aren't medical benefits associated with marijuana.