The Cannabis Papers

by Publius

In all we do, we must remember that the best health care decisions are not made by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors.

POTUS 43, George W. Bush
2007 State of the Union Address

Introduction

The crow and the pitcher

For weeks and weeks there had been no rain. The streams and pools had dried to dust, and all of the animals were thirsty. Two crows, flying together in search of water, spotted a pitcher that had been left on a garden wall. They flew to it and saw that it was half full of water. But neither one could reach far enough inside the pitcher's narrow neck to get a drink.

"There must be a way to get that water," said the first crow. "If we think it through, we'll find an answer."

The second crow tried to push the pitcher over, straining with all of his might. But it was too heavy to budge. "It's hopeless!" he croaked, and flew away to look for water elsewhere.

But the first crow stayed by the pitcher and thought, and after a time he had an idea. Picking up some small pebbles in his beak, he dropped them one by one into the pitcher until at last the water rose to the brim. Then the clever bird happily quenched his thirst.

Wisdom and patience succeed where force fails.

One of Aesop's Fables

Pothead, Stoner, Doper, Hippy, Cannabinoider —

Four out of the five words listed above define a particular reality based on culture and language. The fifth word, the one difficult to pronounce, is something new.

Almost all of us were born into "marijuana" prohibition, which began in 1937. That prohibition is coming to an end because of a new word you are going to be hearing a lot about. The word is "cannabinoid." What a cannabinoid is and does is the focus of this book — though you should know that we started with the intention of writing a "cannabis" book. As some of you are aware, there are plenty of great marijuana and cannabis books. Liberty is a common theme to these books as well as the healing powers of the plant. — But what hasn't been noted or described in context is the fundamental role cannabinoids play in life. Yes, life. Like the four out of five words mentioned above, and the cultural baggage they carry, clarity is needed to address some old misconceptions, demonizations, and prejudices built around the policy of marijuana prohibition — which is simply a cannabinoid prohibition — which makes it a life prohibition.

There is another important change. We have a new President who won an election based on the idea of change — even change we can believe in. The President of the United States is referred to by the acronym "POTUS" (POTUS -- Presidents of the United States). Based on the changing scientific evidence, we believe this POTUS is going to end cannabis prohibition — that's right, the end is near, and here is one of main reasons why: — Cannabis arrests went from just under 400,000 to nearly 750,000 by the last year of POTUS 42, President Bill Clinton. That totals nearly five million fellow citizens arrested for cannabis violations under POTUS 42.

During POTUS 43, George W. Bush's administration, annual cannabis arrests remained at the 750,000 level through 2006. In 2007 and 2008 arrests topped 800,000. That totals over six million citizens arrested for cannabis under POTUS 43.

Now to Barack Obama and POTUS 44 — Will the legacy of his administration be more arrests given that cannabinoids are proving to be one of nature's best-kept secrets? — Or will POTUS 44 end the madness of arresting millions of fellow citizens for possessing cannabinoid plant material? — The writings contained in this book are in support of ending this madness. But more than that, while researching and writing this book, we learned how natural and vital cannabinoids are to human life. This project started as a book about cannabis and morphed into a book about cannabinoids — the scientific and Internet search term for the chemicals in the cannabis plant and our bodies.

The first thing we learned together — our first truth — was that every human being uses cannabinoids. We don't mean everyone smokes pot. No. What we mean is that cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system (ECS) modulate other systems within the human body. This is true for all mammals. Cannabinoids are shown to protect and heal other systems — such as the muscular, nervous, immune, reproductive, and digestive. Essentially, modulation means that cannabinoids help other systems in the body adjust to changing conditions.

In the first part of the book we discuss basic scientific findings and the dynamic nature of cannabinoids. You will read how cannabinoids complete the human experience and begin to see what we are up against — the cognitive dissonance of describing ‘marijuana' as good. But slang terms like marijuana, pot, Mary Jane, reefer, etc., are cultural identifiers and not scientific. As cultural terms, we are not against the words marijuana and pot — we've only learned that there is greater clarity in the words cannabis and cannabinoids. That is because they are the words of science and not slang. We know you will have questions — like we did — and this book will provide the answers or point you in the direction the scientific evidence leads. And we are sure you will be surprised — be you pothead or prohibitionist — as you'll discover irrefutable truths that have been known for some time but hidden by the language games of our culture.

So think of it — after more than 70 years, wouldn't now be a good time for change and the truth about cannabis and cannabinoids? The truth of how cannabinoids help chemotherapy patients recover. The truth behind physical activity, the "runner's high", and cannabinoids. The truth of how cannabinoids protect the beginning of human life — the fertilized egg in the mother's womb. Or even the truth of taxing and regulating a cannabis economy instead of arresting millions of fellow citizens every presidential administration — which exposes another truth — the forgotten devastation of families affected by a cannabis arrest.

Any student of history can tell you we are not the first Americans to confront untruths. To voice our truth through language, to create a new set and setting, we turned to a collection of essays known as The Federalist Papers. During 1787 and 1788, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton wrote 85 essays in support of the US Constitution. They used the penname "Publius" in honor of a famed Roman republican — someone they saw as a defender of liberty. We are "Publius" in 2009 for the same purpose — to make our sum greater than our individual parts.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Science is the language of Publius. It is science that can lift the fog of war caused by 70 years of Reefer Madness. As the founders detailed the workings of the US Constitution, piece-by-piece and Article-by-Article, we have given the same care and effort to describing the cannabis plant and the role of cannabinoids in our culture. We also found that cannabinoids shared one other strong characteristic from the founding period: the similarity is found in the famous phrase summing up the basic rights of free people — Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

It is no secret that many people think that there is a life-giving quality to cannabis use. That is where we began — the anecdotal and lived cannabinoid experience. Since the 1970s, cannabis use has been defined by practice — some combination of the medical/patient model and the recreational/liberty model. What we are describing is something new — the idea that cannabinoids are fundamental to life. The cannabis war will no longer be about use and ideology — about who is sick enough or free enough or responsible enough. What is new today is the science of cannabinoids — and you'll find it more than compelling — some even mind-blowing.

Liberty provides its own compelling arguments. The war on cannabis users has compromised our liberty. It has been this way so long that many of us don't even recognize the unintended consequences placed on our collective liberty by cannabis prohibition — the collateral damage caused by the war. But as this changes, as cannabis prohibition comes to a close, we can look forward to a better culture — one with fewer invasions of privacy, fewer arrests, fewer imprisonments — and more human choices for relaxation, more affordable wellness/health care, more tax revenues, and, dare we say it — happier citizens. The days of Reefer Madness, when it was believed that marijuana smoking created homicidal maniacs, are behind us. The days of dominant Cheech and Chong images and spaced-out tokesters are behind us. Clearer perceptions about cannabis are emerging. Someone like Montel Williams is the new face of the cannabis patient — a former Marine and successful talk show host who fights Multiple Sclerosis and maintains his health and happiness through the use of cannabinoids. Or even beyond any medical perception, someone like Rick Steves — a successful writer and host of travel shows on television and radio. Or even beyond celebrity — perhaps someone like you?

That brings us to happiness. — Each individual citizen has their own definition of what makes them happy. Notice that the goal is not the "right to be happy" but the pursuit of happiness. This pursuit is intrinsically related to freedom of choice — the right to pursue one's happiness without infringing upon another's right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. One doesn't have to be a lawyer to understand this is a legal problem — but it is also more than a legal problem. What we have, and what most of us have been born into, is a system that makes the pursuit of happiness a legal problem — one to be policed. This is a relatively new phenomenon. Americans have not always thought the pursuit of happiness was something best handled by the courts. At one time we believed in the "right to be let alone." In 1928, nine years before cannabis prohibition began, US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote of our constitutional right to be let alone in the case of Olmstead v. U.S.:

The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfaction of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alone — the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.

The war on cannabis has been an assault on the right to be let alone. This means it is also an attack on the conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. Cannabis prohibition has contributed to a net loss of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But that is about to change. The end of cannabis prohibition is upon us because of its own logic — it should have worked by now.

One more thing: like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, I, Publius, have many forms — many selves, if you will. In reading The Cannabis Papers, you will find that I speak in many voices. That is because there are many voices to be heard. So take this book as the founders might have — and you'll see that the fog of war is not coming from the cannabis plant.

#1 Nature’s (legal) cannabinoids

"Where do you get 'it' from?"

Most patients don't get asked where they get their medicine. That's because everyone knows people get their medicine from a pharmacy. But I have to get my medicine otherwise. I have to safeguard my "source" because my medicine is cannabinoid based — and that makes it almost illegal. — But not today. Today I can answer the source question openly because it is my local pharmacy — with drive-thru service and open to dispense medicine 24 hours a day. I drive up and push a big, yellow smiley-faced button to gain access — a soft automated voice comes over the speaker to verify that I am in the right place in order to pick up my prescription. Next, the typical professional looking person — white coat with badge — slides open the window asking my name and what I need.
"I'm picking up a prescription for Publius."

They return with a baggie and bottle containing 30 synthetic cannabinoid capsules dosed at 5mg each — that's right, legal cannabinoids!

What are cannabinoids? Well, here is where things get interesting. As one learns in biology, the human body has many systems — the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems to name a few. Each system has parts: for example, the nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. By the late 1980s, science identified a new human system — the endocannabinoid system (ECS) — also referred to as the cannabinoid system. There is a cannabinoid system present in all mammals — to include humans and 15,000 other species. A mammal is any vertebrate animal distinguished by self-regulating body temperature, hair, and milk-producing females — as mammal means "breast" or of the breast.

The ECS has two main parts: cannabinoids, which are chemical neurotransmitters, and two receptors called "CB1" and "CB2." Cannabinoids activate receptors found throughout the body — in all organs, for example. In fact, all systems in our bodies are modulated by the cannabinoid system. This means that as a body system changes, it uses the ECS to do so.

Science and popular search sites like Wikipedia use three classifications of cannabinoids:

1. Endogenous cannabinoids (also referred to as endocannabinoids), which are produced by the human body
2. Herbal cannabinoids, the kind found in the cannabis sativa plant
3. Synthetic cannabinoids, produced and distributed by pharmaceutical companies

The third kind is what I am picking up from the pharmacy — 30 Marinol (Dronabinol) capsules. Marinol is a prescribed cannabinoid from my doctor — and I am going to test it against the herbal cannabinoids I have been baking into my brownies for six years now.

The pharmacist hands me a white paper bag containing the Marinol prescribed for my Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Stapled to the top is a typical handout with cautionary medical information. The small amount (150mg) of the synthetic cannabinoid THC costs $370 — or more than $69,000 per ounce!

I sign my name on a distribution sheet and pay my $3 Medicare co-pay. The government, meaning our tax dollars, pays the other $367 for my medicine. Now I am ready to go — but not before my 'synthetic cannabinoid' dealer informs me of possible side effects. She warns me to be on the lookout for — "dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, feeling 'high,' an exaggerated sense of well-being, lightheadedness, headache, red eyes, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, clumsiness, or unsteadiness."

Geez — sounds like a lot of potential adversity on my chemically sensitive body. From personal experience, I know that the herbal cannabinoids do not cause these side effects in my body. The pharmacist did mention one noticeable side effect that I have had with eating cannabis brownies: dry mouth — which is hardly a problem when considering the overall benefits of the medicine.

When I get home I open the bag to take a look at the Marinol. The pills are a deep maroon color and perfectly round. They remind me of Boston Baked Beans — as they look exactly like those candies. One thing is for sure: synthetic cannabinoids do not look anything like herbal cannabinoids — the ones from the plant itself. The distinct medical difference of popping pills versus the variations and qualities of consuming natural cannabis cannot be understated — and surely won't be by me. After a week of taking one pill a night before bed, as the doctor prescribed, I do not notice any positive effects from the Marinol. It makes me hungry — but that was never a problem in the first place. However, it is my first legal cannabinoid and that is what counts, right? — Not whether it works, just whether it is legal, right?
Wrong.

Here is what I know. I have been self-medicating with herbal cannabinoids for six years to provide relief from MS, which I have had for 24 years. During that time I went through the long list of prescribed pharmaceuticals. The relief was minimal. The problem was (and is) the side effects, which became unbearable over time. I felt like a slave, dependent on a cycle of pharmaceutical use which abused my body and left me in the most depressed, hopeless, and flattened state.

I finally said enough of the pharma-tinkering with my body and the MS and tried baking herbal cannabinoids into brownies. In doing so, my alternative treatment made me a criminal. I began to eat a small cube of cannabis brownie three times a day. Within the first month my insomnia disappeared, my bladder issues calmed, nerve tingles of the arms, legs, and feet stilled. I was no longer breaking out in upper body tremors after being out in the world of loud noises, traffic, and the everyday racing of life. The MS was quieter. I found I wasn't contemplating suicide and I felt hopeful about my life again — but realized I had become a chronic criminal.

Cannabinoids are clearly medicinal to our bodies. But there is a strange distinction between which cannabinoids are effective and which ones are legal. In the case of my MS, appetite stimulation has not been a problem — which is what the Marinol is usually prescribed for. Marinol simply did not work for me. There are other pharmaceutical cannabinoids — such as Nabilone and Sativex — available in other countries, but they remain expensive and less effective than herbal cannabinoids. Nature created cannabis and the mammalian ECS, not you or me — and it was through the use of herbal cannabinoids that I was able to wean myself from a life of pharma-cocktails and move toward a healthier life. — Just as nature designed.

#2 Should pregnant women smoke consume pot?

Uterine cannabinoids and the beginning of human life

"Do you want pregnant women to smoke pot?"

That question bounced around the room (and in my head) for a moment. And the answer is an equivocal "Yes" — but the reason why I hesitate is the word "smoke."

Here's a better question — "Do you want pregnant women to consume cannabinoids?" The answer to that question might surprise you, but this is too important of an issue to be wrong — no matter what misconceptions one might have. Current research is confirming a new theory: cannabinoids play a fundamental role in a healthy and successful pregnancy.
First of all, there is no such thing as a drug-free pregnancy. The making of a baby is a biological and chemical phenomenon that every adult is somewhat familiar with. We know cells divide, organs grow, parts mature, and then birth — and the mystery of fertility goes on.

One aspect of fertility is becoming significantly less mysterious. A 2006 report from the Pediatrics Department at Vanderbilt University characterized endocannabinoids as "an emerging concept in female reproduction." Why such praise? Because of what they found: a "cannabinoid sensor" mechanism to influence crucial steps during early pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a stress to the body. To modulate that stress, the ECS responds by creating endocannabinoids — the body's version of "first responders." By first responders I am referring to what the Vanderbilt research termed the "endocannabinoid signaling in preimplantation embryo development and activation." One of the first things the fertilized embryo must do is to attach itself to the lining of the uterus. Without becoming attached to the uterine wall, which forms the umbilical cord, there will be no pregnancy. Here is where cannabinoids play a key role: for the embryo to become attached to the lining of the uterus, a particular range (or amount) of one specific endocannabinoid, called anandamide, is necessary. This endocannabinoid uses the CB1 receptors that are on the blastocyst (fertilized egg) — the same type of receptors that the herbal cannabinoid THC uses. The Vanderbilt research shows that if there is not enough of the endocannabinoid anandamide, or too much anandamide, the embryo will not become attached to the uterine lining. Here is the visual representation presented by the Vanderbilt research team:[ 1 ]

uterus.jpg


The Vanderbilt research shows how the fertilized egg is dependent on a functioning ECS — and specifically, the endocannabinoid anandamide and the CB1 receptor. To make this more charming and less scientific, one could say that once upon a time there was a baby Publius. And before I was a baby, before even a fetus or an anything — there was this one sperm that was part of making me — and it was the smallest cell in the human body, only swimming 3mm a minute. And that single cell had a ways to travel. The journey to conception begins in one organ and ends up in another — from gonads to vagina, passing through the cervix, the uterus, and into a fallopian tube where the smallest human cell joins with the largest — my mother's egg. So the sperm and the egg meet and off they go to form . . .

No — not yet — there is another part to the story. Until the now fertilized egg attaches itself to something, in this case, the lining of the uterus, there is no viable pregnancy — just a fertilized egg. That is why the Vanderbilt research is important. It points to a revolution in our way of thinking about cannabis and the cannabinoids it contains. For example, a fertilized egg is cannabinoid dependent. It, the life of the egg and the beginning of a viable pregnancy, depends on a healthy ECS. It takes the right amount of cannabinoids to activate a certain number of CB1 receptors in order for the fertilized egg to attach itself to the uterus. This process is accomplished because there are CB1 receptors on the blastocyst — that is, on the fertilized egg itself — and the cannabinoid anandamide on the endometrium — the inner lining of the uterus.

Cannabinoids are not only one of the first responses of the body to fertility, they also play a role in other aspects of pregnancy as well. A 2004 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology concluded: "Both endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids exert a potent and direct relaxant effect on human pregnant myometrium, which is mediated through the CB1 receptor." This means that the middle layer of the uterine wall, the "myometrium," is modulated by cannabinoids as well. — And as a reminder, these uterine CB1 receptors are activated by endocannabinoids as well herbal and synthetic cannabinoids.

In addition to conception, another 2004 report showed that endocannabinoids activate the oral motor musculature necessary for newborn mice to nurse — which makes sense because breast milk contains endocannabinoids. The same 2004 study also stated "Anandamide has neuroprotectant properties in the developing postnatal brain." And of course, all of this is new, right? — No. Fourteen years ago, in 1995, there was lab research on mice that showed that the mammalian ECS is involved in signaling within the uterus.

So let's review: cannabinoid receptors are located on the blastocyst, the fertilized egg, making the implantation of the egg cannabinoid dependent. We've also learned that throughout pregnancy and during nursing that the ECS delivers relief and neuroprotection to mother, fetus, and baby. That sounds pretty important — important enough to rethink the guilt, fear, shame, hesitation, and reticence of using cannabis to modulate the ECS before, during, and after pregnancy — as it seems that nature thought of it way before we did.

And no, pregnant women don't have to smoke blunts or joints to get their cannabinoids. There are easier ways to consume cannabinoids. Simply put, expectant mothers and new moms could consume cannabinoids in baked goods, tinctures, teas or whatever form is best for them. Harm reduction is the key. Perhaps in the future the health of a woman's ECS, and its effects on fetus and baby, will be the focus of pregnancy and not the fear mongering of "smoked marijuana." In the future, mothers-to-be might want to start asking their doctors something like, "How are my anandamide levels? — Too high or too low?" Or perhaps even more likely, maybe the doctors will be asking the mothers, "Have you had your cannabis brownie today?"

#3 Sporting cannabinoids

Sweating ourselves high

Wow. I just got back from a run and feel great. Not a difficult run — just wanted to break a sweat.

It seems that everyone advocates exercise. Few people argue against being active — but what is it that makes us feel so good? — And does us so much good? What chemicals in our body put a bounce in our step and a smile on our face? Try it — try bringing this up in a discussion and see how many people guess wrong. Ask them what chemical compound in the body accounts for the "runner's high"? — Those moments of time, both during and after physical activity, when one feels good and high.
People will typically guess "endorphins" as the answer. Yes, endorphins are an opioid, or morphine-like substance produced in the body, and they do provide pain relief during strenuous activity — however, endorphins have problems crossing the all-important "blood-brain barrier." So if not an opioid, what substance might account for the runner's high?

Before the answer, let's have some fun and listen to POTUS 43, George W. Bush, and see how he describes the benefits of running. In an October 2002 interview for Runner's World, POTUS 43 was asked, "What role does running play in your mental and physical fitness?" He said it was very important and that he runs five or six times a week. President Bush went on to say that running:

* "helps me sleep at night"
* "keeps me disciplined"
* "breaks up my day"
* "allows me to recharge my batteries"
* "enables me to set goals — "
* "— and push myself toward those goals"
* "in essence, it keeps me young"
* "adds a little bounce to my step"
* "I get a certain amount of self-esteem from it — "
* "I just look and feel better"

Later in the interview President Bush is asked about running and how it helped him to quit drinking alcohol. POTUS 43 responded:

"As a runner, I quickly realized what it felt like to be healthy and I already knew what it felt like to be unhealthy. If you're drinking too much and you're running to cure a hangover, pretty soon you have to make a choice. Do you want to keep getting a hangover or do you want to feel the way you do after a run? So running is a way to heal people. Running is something that just makes you feel fantastic."

Yes, the ECS is a wonderful thing, and thank you for saying so President Bush — just like the research from the NeuroReport: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology published in 2003. This research from Georgia Tech and the University of California, Irvine, showed that a "class of chemicals known as cannabinoids may be the missing piece of the 'runner's high' puzzle long sought by scientists."

That's right — the new runner's high theory is that the internal chemical system responsible is — the ECS.

Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. It appears that cannabinoids modulate the other systems in one's body. For example, breaking a sweat is a good bodily marker of this transition. In the moments when the body begins to adjust to the stress of running, the ECS is activated. In the 2003 research, 24 male participants exercised for 45 minutes. They ran or cycled while the control group was at rest. All the runners and cyclists had "dramatically" elevated anandamide levels after 45 minutes of moderate exercise. From the NeuroReport: "Anandamide crosses the blood-brain barrier readily, avoiding the principal problem that plagued the endorphin hypothesis."

We will discuss the blatant irony of arresting over 800,000 fellow citizens for "exercising" their individual ECS by modulating their health with herbal cannabinoids — which is commonly referred to as "getting high." We'll discuss "high" as a concept later in the book, in the parts on Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. For now, think of the foolishness of a sports dominated culture, one built on sweat and dependent on the ECS, and our herbal cannabinoid prohibition. Simply put, if humans did not have a cannabinoid system, we could not modulate the other systems. In playing a role in the modulation of other systems, the ECS helps our bodies adjust to changing circumstances — from heart-pumping running to chill-relaxing massage. Simply stated, cannabinoids work by adjusting the amplitude, frequency, and/or intensity of a nerve impulse.

— And POTUS 43 was a promoter of personal cannabinoid use, i.e., running, to the end. In 2007, Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, wrote that President Bush stays healthy because of "his really good physical shape" and that exercise and sleep help to "keep his spirits high."

Yes, POTUS 43, we agree — and keep exercising! As POTUS 44 is also an advocate of exercise and physical activity — which has always been a pro-cannabinoid position!

#4 “DSI for Dummies"

Getting to know cannabinoid history

We’ve all seen those “_________ for Dummies" books. They’re popular because they explain in detail complex subjects so that anyone can understand. That’s what we’re trying to do here, and with your ECS, we are going to help you overcome some of your federally imposed ignorance.

Of course, herbal cannabinoids have always been around. The scientific study of these substances began more than a hundred years ago. Beginning in 1896, some white coats in Boston named Wood, Spivey, and Easterfield, isolated and named the first plant cannabinoid. Working with Indian hemp resin, also known as “charas,” the authors described a “physiologically active substance” which they named Cannabinol (CBN).

About four decades go by with no advancement in the science, but many changes in the law. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 effectively began federal cannabis prohibition. – But the science continued. In 1939, one of America’s leading organic chemists, Roger Adams, obtained a red oil extract made from Minnesota wild hemp supplied by the US Treasury Department. Adams, originally from Boston and a descendent of the founder John Adams, was working at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He is credited with the 1940 isolation and identification of the second plant cannabinoid – Cannabidiol (CBD).

It was twenty-four years until the next major discovery. In 1964, while working at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Raphael Mechoulam identified the compound delta-9-Snuffleupagus – which became widely known as THC.

The identification of three plant cannabinoids is only half the initial history; finding the receptors completes this phase. Up until this point, it was thought that cannabis worked like alcohol. This all changed in 1988. Entering the brains of rats, scientists attached radioactive tags to synthetic cannabinoids and watched where they landed. They made an amazing discovery! They found two types of cannabinoid receptors in the body and named them “CB1” and “CB2.” This discovery contrasts with alcohol, which has no receptors, is not part of a physiological system, and can easily induce alcohol poisoning.

Finding cannabinoid receptors in animals led scientists to an obvious question: what fits in them? This time they found the answer quickly. In 1992, the first endogenous cannabinoid was found by two scientists working in Mechoulam’s Jerusalem laboratory. They discovered Anandamide and named it after the Sanskrit word for bliss.

This history lesson brings us to the present topic – DSI. Let’s break it down to its basics. DSI stands for – Depolarized-induced Suppression of Inhibition. This is one of the ways cells talk back to each other. This form of communication is the chemical process called “retrograde signaling.” Imagine, like humans in conversation, cells have to let other cells know how things are going. Retrograde signaling filters and harmonizes this communication. It is when the receiving cell “talks back” and confirms to the sending cell that a message was received; the receiving cell also gives feedback on the original message. Think of this moment as a nod of understanding in a conversation, only at a cellular level.

In 2004, a Scientific American article titled “The Brain’s Own Marijuana,” put it this way – “endogenous cannabinoids participate in retrograde signaling, a previously unknown form of communication in the brain.” The phrase “previously unknown” explains a lot. That is why most Americans don’t know anything about DSI, retrograde signaling, or the ECS. We’ve all been unaware and uninformed to a degree; – not to mention the lack of any major media coverage in the United States in response to these breakthrough discoveries.

We’ve already covered some amazing topics in this book. First, we discussed the three types of cannabinoids: endogenous, herbal and synthetic. We explained the importance of the ECS in successful fertility and pregnancy. We talked about how cannabinoids play a key role in the modulation of temperature and heart rate when jogging.

The beginning of this chapter was a fill in the “__________” moment about DSI. This previously unknown signaling system appears to be fundamental to the evolution of species. Now with this new knowledge of how your body (and even Snuffleupagus’ body) works, you are moderately more informed about cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system.

#5 Astrocytes and cannabinoids

A Helping Hand

Science is filled with rat stories. Okay, more accurately, rodent tales. That’s because rodents work so well in the lab replicating the research model. Scientists can take the same kind of rodent, rerun the same experiment, and be able to get the same results. They also often find major differences between species.

The CNS is a tightly regulated area of the body by design. Its functions are so crucial to life that a strong barrier exists to keep trespassers out. Cannabinoids are one of the few substances allowed into this exclusive VIP area. Nature created the ECS as a support system to intervene in signaling problems – such as demylenation and apoptosis, or “cellucide.”

The familiar parts of the CNS are the brain and spinal cord. Only ten percent of the cells in the CNS are neurons – the other ninety percent are “glial,” the Greek word for “glue.” The most abundant glial cells in the CNS are star-shaped “astrocytes.” These special glial cells help us keep it all together. They provide nutrients to nerves, are involved in cell impulse signaling, repair and induce scarring after inflammatory conditions, and support cells which form the blood-brain barrier.

A 2006 study found that human astrocytes are more advanced than rodents. Rat astrocytes protect and monitor approximately 100,000 synapses. Human astrocytes embrace “up to 2,000,000” synapses. This 20-times greater complexity led the researchers to identify human astrocytes as one of the “distinguishing cells” that separates us from rats.

Astrocytes play an essential role in the bodily process called “myelination.” Our nerve axons are covered with myelin, an electrically insulating material which protects them. Myelin formation starts during fetal development and continues through adulthood. Research has established a working relationship between synaptic activity, astrocytes, and myelination. Science also shows that the ECS supports astrocytes in building and repairing myelin. For example, astrocytes must produce proteins to initiate scarring as inflammation begins. Research from as long ago as 1998 found that cannabinoids potentiate astrocytes to produce the proteins needed to remedy the inflammation.

A 2008 study looked at how astrocytes and the ECS work together in another way. They found that hippocampal astrocytes have CB1 receptors on them that activate, stimulate and increase cellular processes. The research showed the existence of an “endocannabinoid-glutamate signaling pathway.” In this pathway, astrocytes are a bridge for chemical (nonsynaptic) neuronal communication. Recall that each star cell is performing these tasks while simultaneously communicating with about two million other cells.

Here is 2010 and the rat race research continues – this time with mice and the CB2 receptor. Activation of mice CB2 receptors was shown to prevent thermal pain, alleviate “allodynia,” meaning abnormal pain, and facilitate the proliferation of anti-inflammatory glial signaling. Scientists used a synthetic cannabinoid (NESS400) to investigate chronic pain thresholds. They looked at the CB2 and found that repeated treatment with NESS400 “significantly alleviated” nerve pain.

While astrocytes are repairing damaged nerve tissue, they are protected by the ECS. If astrocytes are not protected they will be unable to repair myelin. They also can’t help with apoptosis, or cellucide. While most cells die a natural death, apoptosis is initiated, regulated and executed by the cell itself. In this case, astrocytes instruct cells not to kill themselves.

Surprise! Sometimes apoptosis is good – like if you’re fighting cancer. The goal of chemotherapy is cancer cell death. Researchers are coming to the conclusion that cancer cannot be cured without the aid of the ECS. A simple search of the National Institutes of Health website (PubMed.gov) yields a vast array of studies validating the ECS’s anticancer power. An example from 2010 – research published in the journal of Cancer Investigation shows that THC “inhibited [cancer] cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis.” That means THC killed cancer. – Which isn’t a surprise; science discovered the same thing in 1975. See the article, “Anticancer activity of cannabinoids,” in the journal of the National Cancer Institute, if you want to read it for yourself.

#6 A medical cannabis club called CHAMP

Publius visits California Smile

At the 2002 NORML conference in San Francisco I met a “Harm Reduction Specialist” who changed my life. He worked at a medical cannabis club called CHAMP – Californians Helping Alleviate Medical Problems. The guy I met was Michael Barbitta, a walking- talking encyclopedia of information about cannabis. When he asked me if I would be interested in a tour of CHAMP, I knew this would be a once in a lifetime chance – and I quickly took him up on it.

After a short trip on BART, San Francisco's public transit system, we suddenly emerged in front of a building with the words - CHAMP, Service, Hope and Compassion - stenciled on the wall.

As we walked through the wrought iron front door, Mike is into an amazing nonstop discourse about the requirements of membership to CHAMP: valid CA state ID Card or CA Driver's license, plus a valid Medical Cannabis User ID Card with the physician's statement having been presented to receive the cannabis card. - Remember, this is California, where cannabis is legal under Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act (1996) - so, being from Illinois, it felt like another world to me.

Mike was on a roll as we climb the stairs - CHAMP is a member funded, member run, not for profit community wellness center - It is dedicated to the physical and mental health of the medical cannabis user - CHAMP believes medical necessity dictates that patients have safe access to cannabis - And that their cannabis be free of mold, mildew, and pesticides.

We reach the top landing, and like he has recited a thousand times before, Mike points out the bulletin board and starts to answer the most commonly asked question before you have to ask: "The medicine provided by CHAMP is for medical use only and NOT for re-sale." A few introductions to the staff and we walk to the end of the counter. I try not to stare and be too obvious, or maybe it was just me, but I felt the most peaceful feelings I've ever experienced. This was no regular doctor's office. Here were comfortable chairs and couches, coffee tables with bowls filled with pretzels and popcorn and fresh fruit. There were a dozen or so people of various colors, ages and backgrounds sitting around chatting and enjoying one another's company. A woman nearby was preparing her meds to be used in a vaporizer - it looked like one of those Jiffy Pop bags - only filled with cannabinoids.

Then I remembered that this was a medical club. It made me wonder what they were talking about. - Cancer? - Chemotherapy? - The death or well being of a friend? With those thoughts on my mind a moment of sadness sets in - but up pops Mike again. "Want a drink?" he asks. I looked at the can of Ensure in his hand and politely turn it down. Mike tosses the can to a guy sitting on a couch and he begins teaching me again. He describes the different types of medicine offered and says that some people have never used cannabis before, so teaching patients about their options is part of what CHAMP does. With decades of misinformation about marijuana, it is vital that people teach other people about cannabinoids and their healing properties.

I ask about the rules for purchase.

"One ounce per person per day: - some come and make their purchase and leave, some stay because of the safe surroundings. We've learned that patients meeting together teach each other. They talk about how to take their medicines and which strains of cannabis work well. And it's good to hang out and share stories - it helps in the healing."

"How long can they hang out?

"That depends - usually about an hour per day."

I ask Mike - "What if someone is all alone, broke and bedridden with no one to help them?"

Mike raises his eyes and looks straight into mine - "Yeah, we help them. I'll get on my bike and deliver it to them if I have to - that's what we do."

As he was talking I recalled the words painted out front - Service, Hope and Compassion.

This is a different and appealing kind of healthcare - one that develops our ability as humans to offer comfort, care, connection and compassion. In place of insurance forms, sterile rooms with staff going through the motions and making you feel less than human, at CHAMP one can just be and connect with other patients - with others who are working on healing. It is not the specialized offices of a cardiologist, neurologist, urologist, psychologist, or ophthalmologist. At traditional healthcare facilities you feel separated from other patients. But here I saw individuals coming together to share in the healing. No matter the health issue, from cancer to the common cold, the ECS plays a role in our body of health - the same way a healthy digestive system does.

I take one last look around, thank the staff for their hospitality and down the stairs we go. In moments we are back out on the street and the spell broken - another reality. Damn, all the questions I wanted to make sure to ask started coming back to me. How long was I there? I look at my watch and figure about an hour - rules are rules.

I fly home to Illinois and have a hard time describing my CHAMP visit to myself - let alone my friends. I cannot find enough words to describe the care and compassion. Yeah, people were sitting around consuming cannabis, but that's not what it was about.

I guess it doesn't really matter what I felt at the time - as CHAMP was forced to close its doors by our federal government only a month after I visited. Now, more than seven years later, perhaps what mattered was what I experienced - and it changed my life.

#7 Chemotherapy and cannabinoids

Fighting cancer is a fight for your life

2005 - that is a year I won't soon forget. When I realized the uphill battles I faced, I quickly determined I wanted to be a survivor, and my entire focus was on beating the cancers.

In 2005 at the age of 65, I was diagnosed with colon cancer and subsequently with lymph and liver cancer. My initial colon resection removed 23 cancerous lymph nodes and lesions. I then began a six-month regimen of chemotherapy prior to removal of half my liver in December - and back to chemo for an additional three months to ensure eradication.

Shortly before starting chemotherapy, I had a catheter implanted in my left arm. This made the hundreds of injections a lot less painful. The medical professionals were at their best, though my experience as a patient was chillingly lonely. My chemo routine was methodical. I went into the therapy center on alternate Wednesdays. I got a blood test. I filled out a form about what I was experiencing emotionally and physically. I sat in a chair for six hours while being injected with incredibly expensive chemo drugs. I also had to wear a pressurized bottle that injected different chemo drug for two more days. I returned on Fridays to get unhooked from the bottle.

Wednesdays through Saturdays were usually better. On Sundays the nausea and diarrhea started and continued for about seven days. During this time I spent much of my day in bed - the term "sick as a dog" comes to mind. If you have ever experienced seasickness, imagine it combined with diarrhea and lasting for a week. (The "middle of the night while sleeping diarrhea" is downright embarrassing.) My doctor recommended anti-nausea medicine and I took up to 18 Imodium pills a day.

By Mondays and Tuesdays I generally felt stronger - then back to the center on Wednesday for more chemotherapy. Over the six months I had lost 40 pounds, some of my hair and basically looked and felt fatigued.

It was during this time that I was surprised when a close relative suggested that I try "marijuana" to relieve my symptoms. I did try it. Never having been a regular smoker of anything, the first few times I gagged from the smoke and vomited. I did notice my nausea had subsided and I attributed this fact to vomiting. As I became accustomed to taking smaller amounts of cannabis smoke more frequently, I learned to control my gag reflex. - That's when the amazement started: I would go from bed-ridden and nauseous to actually feeling fine in about ten minutes. - And yes, it felt like a miracle drug!

My enthusiasm was that of a born-again convert.

I wanted the world to know.

I wanted my fellow sufferers to know.

I wanted to share the discovery.

I wanted to tell everyone of an easy treatment that quickly relieved my symptoms.

I wanted to tell my doctor. I did. He obviously didn't want to hear about, nor comment on, my cannabis use. Crestfallen, I realized that he felt he could not. He too was a victim of the system - a victim of cannabis prohibition. My doctor wouldn't (or couldn't) discuss the healing effects of cannabinoids. We were at an impasse. Exactly when my future mattered most we couldn't talk to each other. Here I was sitting with the doctor and we couldn't discuss how I was staying alive. The medicine that worked we couldn't discuss, and the medicines that didn't work we could discuss at length.

Vital to chemotherapy is the ability to keep food down - to stay hydrated. Vomiting was the problem - cannabis was the solution. I wanted to talk to my doctor about my effective treatment. But couldn't.

Our government has historically denied patients and scientific evidence regarding the healing effects of cannabis and cannabinoids. The feds go so far as to say that no evidence exists that "marijuana" has any medical value, as evident in the retention of cannabis as a Schedule 1 narcotic. Given the scientific findings and research, this is willful ignorance. Anyone with a computer and internet access can educate themselves about cannabinoids. Aren't federal officials capable of this?

Fourteen state governments have laws to protect patients, doctors, and caregivers. In states like Michigan, dispensaries are opening and thousands of patients and caregivers are now protected by law. In the past, our government has harassed doctors, raided dispensaries and threatened patients in medical cannabis states. We are witnessing the transformation of this situation. As the founders envisioned, the citizens are leading - now it's up to the government to follow.

#8 Patient Patients

Why is patience considered the most powerful and difficult spiritual practice?

Because patience is the antidote to anger. When we're patient, we don't dance to the jerky, ever changing beat of worldly circumstances. Instead, we think, speak, and act in a measured way, as if to a steady, internal heartbeat - a tempo that comes from our deepest, most secret being. When we achieve this degree of patience, how can we get carried away by anger, much less rattled by petty irritations?

- From "Buddha is as Buddha Does" by Lama Surya Das

Cannabis not only helps people with diseases and many different medical conditions - it is keeping some patients alive. I am 44 years old and have lived with MS for about half my life. During that time I've learned to be a patient patient. I took the advice of my doctors and the pharmaceuticals they prescribed. In an effort to manage my symptoms, I took one drug after another only to find the next nightmare of side effects crushing. This is why they call me a patient - I am supposed to endure, and if I am patient enough, there will be relief and a better quality of life.

I smoked what we called "marijuana" while in college, and stopped entirely as I entered the work force. In 1998, after many failed pharmaceutical combinations, I smoked again for medicinal purposes. At that time, I noticed how it relieved my leg spasticity. MS causes the nerves to "misfire," making my legs twitchy and jumpy. The cannabinoids in cannabis eased this problem while also helping with my bouts of recurring insomnia.

It wasn't until I started eating cannabis brownies in 2004 that I noticed a number of additional benefits. I regained better control of my bladder and a "quieting" of the tingling and numbing pain - which is a constant symptom of MS.

I also found that activating the ECS with the cannabis brownies calmed me. For example, cannabinoids kept my nerves from overloading whenever I was in a crowded or loud place. Typically in these situations, my nerves would get too stimulated - which means my body would start to "crash," often resulting in tremors. It's similar to a computer crashing. By shutting the computer down it may restore the system: the way I restore is by finding a dark, quiet, calm space to "reboot" my system. These crashes were not just painful, they progressed the disease, as I could literally feel my nerves fraying.

Being an MS patient has taught me endurance. My ability to stand straight and tall or walk from place to place is dramatically improved with cannabis. My balance is more controlled and I can walk heel-to-toe. Without this medicine, I typically have to hold onto a walker while my locked-legs are dragged underneath as I lurch forward. With cannabis, on my best days, I can walk - heel-toe-heel-toe-heel-toe. My legs can relax when I stand. I'm able to start moving with a spry jaunt through my apartment. Compared to walking like the Tin Man wearing a suit of armor, I feel like I'm again in better control of my body.

Perhaps most importantly, since I started using cannabis brownies, my depression has ended. Depression itself makes MS worse by overstressing an already taxed immune system. The health of our immune system affects the central and peripheral nervous systems. Surrounding and protecting our nerve fibers, like a sheath of an electrical cord, is a fatty tissue called "myelin." Myelin helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses. In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. When myelin is damaged, the ability of nerves to conduct electrical impulses is disrupted. This produces the various symptoms of MS. Recent science has shown that the endocannabinoid system actually helps myelin rebuild itself - a process called "remyelination." I guess that's why I'm less depressed.

In my journey I have learned a lot about patience. Although, the laws in most of the country make this medicine illegal and difficult to obtain, I am patiently waiting to be able to access cannabis as easily as the pharmaceuticals that failed to help the MS.

I want you to see my story as one of discovery and healing. Not all stories work out that way. Many patients before me have endured the consequences of cannabis prohibition; people have lost and are continuing to lose their lives. While we wait for the laws to change, patients have been dragged through the legal system and have been denied access to their medicine. One noted example is Jonathan Magbie - a 24-year old who died in 2004 while incarcerated in a Washington DC jail. He was serving a ten day sentence because he told a judge that he couldn't stop using cannabinoids. Magbie was a quadriplegic patient and he smoked cannabis to ease the painful symptoms of his paralysis. At age four, while exiting a school bus, he was struck by a drunk driver. The accident left Magbie paralyzed from the neck down, stunting his growth and relegating him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Magbie's healthcare should have been an obvious concern to the court. He was incapable of moving without the aid of a chin-operated wheelchair and required a tracheotomy tube, a pulmonary pacemaker, and a ventilator at night in order to breathe. Since he was not provided a ventilator in his jail cell, he contracted pneumonia. He had difficulty speaking above a whisper and was forced to bang his wheelchair around in order to get the attention of the corrections officers. Magbie's movement apparently irritated the guards, so they locked him inside an infirmary cell without access to a panic button. The guards did not check on Magbie until the next morning when they found him dead.

Dying alone in a jail cell is a long way from the day Magbie had his picture taken with POTUS 40, Ronald Reagan. We need much more than feel good pictures from our political leaders - we need new cannabis laws. I fear the day that I would be arrested and denied access to my medicine. No patient person should have to endure such injustice - in the name of justice.

#9 To Sleep, perchance to dream

Doctors and poets agree to the necessary role of sleep and dreams to our health. Common sense suggests that they are essential to the human experience. This is confirmed by research which shows that sleep reduces stress, improves alertness and memory, helps repair the body, and restores one's spirit.

Our 24-hour culture is a challenge to the natural rhythms of our sleep-wake cycle, making it difficult to slow down and rest. This creates many sleep disorders. Most conventional sleep aids, prescription and non-prescription, are fraught with problems. Some are simply ineffective while others create dependency. This is because they are missing the mark. They are not cannabinoid based and do not activate the body's own sleep aid - the ECS.

"Oh sleep, o gentle sleep,
Nature's soft nurse,
How have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?"

There's the rub. Nature already provided us with a sleep aid - endocannabinoids and retrograde signaling. Once this system is activated, sleep can begin. My personal experience with sleep problems isn't uncommon. The use of cannabis to activate "Nature's soft nurse" eased the transition between consciousness and sleep.

Many people use cannabis for better quality sleep. They also report that the sleep experience is effective. This contrasts with the pharmaceuticals and their reported side-effects - things like dizziness, symptoms of the common cold, and morning drowsiness. Nor do cannabinoids lead to frightening experiences of extended sleep walking or even more dangerously, to sleep driving. The intense desire for a normal night's rest makes people willing to endure such extreme side effects.

"Weary with toil,
I haste to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired,
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind when body's work's expired."

The research on sleep and cannabinoids is more promising. The Chemistry & Biodiversity Journal reported in 2007 that patients given cannabis extracts experienced more restful sleep, an increase in their daytime level of function, and an improved quality of life. This study of 2,000 patients using a cannabinoid medicine found "marked improvement in subjective sleep parameters."

Americans spend nearly $3 billion annually on sleep medications. Millions more are spent selling pharmaceuticals to us. Our government has noticed. The National Institutes of Health is calling for more research into insomnia and its treatments. Many drugs taken for insomnia have not been tested for long-term use, even though patients tend to take them for years. Furthermore, according to a recent NIH report, some commonly used treatments for sleeplessness - to include antidepressants and antihistamines - are not approved for insomnia.

"The pangs of despised love,
The law's delay,
The insolence of office,
And the spurns that patient merit . . ."

More severe sleep disorders than insomnia exist. Sleep apnea is a disorder that affects 12 million Americans. It is characterized by frequent interruptions in breathing of up to ten seconds or more during sleep. The condition is associated with numerous physiological disorders, including fatigue, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and death.

Several years ago, in 2002, the Journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reported beneficial results for cannabinoids on sleep-related apnea. Researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago reported "potent suppression" of sleep-related apnea in rats given cannabinoids. They found that the herbal cannabinoid delta-9-THC and the endocannabinoid oleamide each stabilized respiration during sleep.

A 2008 review made it clear: "The activation of the CB1 receptor leads to an induction of sleep."

"When days oppression is not eased by night,
But day by night and night by day oppressed"

Recent research continues to confirm the relationship between cannabinoids and sleep. Talk to cannabis consumers about the quality of their sleep and you'll often hear positive responses. Anecdotally, I can attest to that. But then all good sleep is anecdotal. Just think of a friend "oppressed" from a sleep disorder, and imagine the relief a cannabis cookie could do before bedtime.

"To be or not to be -
That is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them."

#10 "Cannabinoids" succeed where "marijuana" fails

The word war

Words, be they new or old, both limit and extend thought. If we look at the word “Marijuana,” we will find a popular term of culture that is common both on the street and in mass media. However, like the words pot, weed, dope, ganja, and reefer, marijuana is slang and has little value in a discussion about medicine, policy and human life. And it is often used by prohibitionists as a weapon of propaganda, where a single mention of the weed can incite reefer madness.

When discussing law and science, cannabis and cannabinoids are the standard and accepted terms. If the word “marijuana” were to be used in a scientific setting, the word “marijuana-noid” would have to be coined to discuss the “marijuana-modulators” of the ECS.

Back in the day, Harry Anslinger and the prohibitionists (no it’s not a band) put slang in the founding law of prohibition – the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. Anslinger is the one person we can all thank for federal cannabis prohibition. He is known for wacky marijuana quotes; many are racist in tone and emphasis. Here’s one about the plant that makes marijuana-noids:

Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its user’s insanity, criminality and death.

Anslinger’s characterization of marijuana as understood in the 1930s crashes into our discussion of the ECS and cannabinoids. That’s because the “evil of marijuana” is a cultural argument. Every scientific discussion in the 21st century uses the word “cannabinoid.” Often, in legal and scientific fields, the word “marijuana” is used to conjure up reefer-madness-like fears and to distract from a serious policy debate. It would be like using the “N-word” – arguably our nation’s most notorious slang word – to talk about legal and scientific policies regarding a group of Americans.

In the scientific community, there is clearly an opposite view. Tom Brock, a researcher for the pharmaceutical company Cayman Chemical, speaks highly of cannabinoids and what they do. In an essay titled Cannabinoids: to the Neurons and Beyond, he imagines the blessings of healthy cannabinoid receptors (cue Beatles song):
Imagine what could be achieved if signaling through these receptors could be controlled:
happy, slim, and healthy people who remember that they’re pain-free.

Well, as you can see, Brock has quite a different take than Anslinger did on these marijuana-noid thingies. Our cannabinoider asks us to imagine happy, slim and healthy people who remember they’re pain-free. Our prohibitionist believes marijuana users are doomed addicted insane criminals. When reading Brock next to Anslinger, it’s hard to imagine we are even discussing the same thing. In fact, we’re not – the old saw marijuana as a deadly weed, the new as a promising plant. It’s amazing what 70 years of experience and information will do.

There is also plenty of examples where the word “marijuana” is used in a joking way – just ask Cheech and Chong. Pharmaceutical, scientific and research communities don’t think cannabinoids are a joke. Back in the early days of Mary’s prohibition, no one knew humans had an ECS; now we even know how the body produces endocannabinoids. In 2009, Cayman Chemical published a 56-page cannabinoid marketing and research booklet. In it, Publius first learned of the two enzymes – DAG lipase alpha and beta – which the body needs to produce the endocannabinoid 2AG, a cannabinoid fundamental to retrograde signaling. And this is no joke.

Translation according to Publius: a + b = 2AG. This means two enzymes naturally come together to modulate cell signaling. Think of it as a relay race where 2AG is the informational baton. Brock’s research company is investigating ways to increase this relaying of information. They are trying to extend-and-enhance the half-life and travel time of 2AG. – Why?

Because scientists understand that cannabinoids are good. They are working from the premise that our ECS has therapeutic value. Brock and the white coats believe these include: “reduced anxiety, reduced sensitivity and dependence to alcohol and nicotine, less age-related cardiac dysfunction, increased memory acquisition and extinction, and protection against neurodegeneration.” One using the cultural term “marijuana” to understand and explain these biological processes will fail.

Defeating things like Alzheimer’s is where cannabinoids are likely to succeed. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that steals and destroys one’s ability to have a peaceful end to life. Little is understood about preventing or healing this disease. What is clear, according to the scientific data, is that the ECS is part of any solution. For example, a 2005 review found that “cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in [Alzheimer’s] disease.” A 2008 review came to the same conclusion – highlighting the fact that cannabinoids “represent an endogenous adaptive response aimed at counteracting” the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s.

The horizon looks bright as well. Beyond supporting our basic health, studies show that cannabinoids increase neurogenesis – the process by which we grow brain cells. Current research suggests the CB2 receptor “may assist in the treatment of neuropathologies by increasing neurogenesis.”

The shift is here – from slang to science, from marijuana to cannabinoids. Marijuana will remain a cultural icon, but please keep politics out of the petri dish. This plant may save your life one day.

Publius, 2009

Publius is Bryan Brickner, Julie Falco, Dianna Lynn Meyer, Stephen Young, William Abens, Danielle Schumacher, Derek Rea (1954-2008), David Nott, Dan Linn, Dan S. Wang, Brian Allemana, Peter Vilkelis, and many others.

#1
Search terms

Endocannabinoid system (ECS): Endogenous, herbal, and synthetic cannabinoids: Marinol: Multiple Sclerosis and cannabinoids.
Research and selected readings

Cannabinoids on Wikipedia.

Endocannabinoids on endocannabinoid.net.

1998-present: International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM).

2003-2006: O'Shaughnessey's — Journal of the California Cannabis Research Medical Group.

2005: Mitch Earlywine, Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Oxford University Press.

2004: Vincenzo Di Marzo, Cannabinoids, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers.

2001 (1998): Christian Ratsch, Marijuana Medicine: A World Tour of the Healing and Visionary Powers of Cannabis, Healing Arts Press.

1998: Beverly Potter and Dan Joy, The Healing Magic of Cannabis, Ronin Publishing.

1977: Lester Grinspoon, Marihuana Reconsidered, Harvard University Press.

#2
Footnotes
1 Endocannabinoid signaling directs peri-implantation events, AAPS J, Wang H., Xie H., and Dey SK., Pediatrics Vanderbilt University, 2006. The AAPS Journal: Home - Back to Text
Search terms
Uterine cannabinoids: anandamide: CB1 receptors: neuroprotection cannabinoids: breast milk (prolactin, oxytocin and cannabinoids): Ester Fride (1953-2010).
Research and selected readings

2008: Ester Fride, Multiple roles for the endocannabinoid system during the earliest stages of life: pre- and post-natal development, Journal of Endocrinology, May 2008:20 Supplement 1:75-81.

2007: Tibor Harkany et al, The emerging functions of endocannabinoid signaling during CNS development, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, February 2007:28(2):83-92.

2007: Paul Berghuis, et al, Hardwiring the brain: endocannabinoids shape neuronal connectivity, May 2007:316(5828):1212-1216.

2006: H. Wang et al, Endocannabinoid signaling directs peri-implantation events, American Association Pharmaceutical Scientists Journal, 2006:8(2):425-32.

2004: MC Dennedy et al, Cannabinoids and the human uterus during pregnancy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, January 2004:190(1):2-9.

2004: Ester Fride, The endocannabinoid-CB(1) receptor system in pre- and postnatal life, European Journal of Pharmacology, October 2004:500(1-3):289-297.

2001: BC Paria, et al, Dysregulated Cannabinoid Signaling Disrupts Uterine Receptivity for Embryo Implantation, Journal Biological Chemistry, June 2001:276(23):20523-8.

1995: SK Das et al, Cannabinoid ligand-receptor signaling in the mouse uterus, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, May 1995:92(10):4332-6.

1994: Melanie C. Dreher, et al, Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An Ethnographic Study, Pediatrics - American Academy of Pediatrics, February 1994:93(2)254-260.

#3
Search terms
Cannabinoids and exercise: runner's high: blood-brain barrier: Presidential physical fitness.
Research and selected readings

2008: Leon Chaitow, Bodywork High: The Cannabinoid Connection, Massage Today, Feb. 2008.

2007: Willy Stern, The General Motors: In Iraq with General Petreaus, Runner's World, 3 December 2007.

2004: Arne Dietrich and William F. McDaniel, Endocannabinoids and Exercise, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2004.

2004: Georgia Tech Press Release, Research Locates Source of Runner's High in Athletes, 8 January '04.

2004: Amby Burfoot, Runner's High, Runner's World, 28 April 2004.

2003: Sparling et al., Exercise Activates the Endocannabinoid System, NeuroReport: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology, 2003.

2002: Interview of POTUS 43, Running With President Bush, Runner's World, 1 October 2002.

#4
Search terms

DSI, retrograde signaling and cannabinoids: Charas and Cannabinol: Roger Adams and Cannabidiol: Raphael Mechoulam, THC and Anandamide: Sesame Streets’ Snuffleupagus: see also DSE and cannabinoids.
Research and selected readings

2010: PJ Zhu and DM Lovinger, Developmental alteration of endocannabinoid retrograde signaling in the hippocampus, Journal of Neurophysiology, 2010:103:1123-1129.

2006: Yoshinobu Kawamura, et al, The CB1 receptor is the major cannabinoid receptor at excitatory sites in the hippocampus and cerebellum, Journal of Neuroscience, March 15, 2006:26(11):2991-3001.

2004: RZ Nicoli and BN Alger, The brain’s own marijuana, Scientific American, November 22, 2004.

2002: AC Kreitzer and WG Regehr, Retrograde signaling by endocannabinoids, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2002:12(3):324-330.

1992: WA Devane, et al, Isolation and structure of a brain constituent that binds to the cannabinoid receptor, Science, 1992:258:5090:1946-1949.

1988: WA Devane, et al, Determination and characterization of a cannabinoid receptor in rat brain, Molecular Pharmacology, November 1988:34(5):605-613.

1964: Raphael Mechoulam, et al, Isolation, structure and partial synthesis of an active constituent of hashish, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1964:86(8):1646-47.

1940: Roger Adams, et al, Structure of Cannabidiol (I.), a product isolated from the marijuana extract of Minnesota wild hemp, Journal of the American Chemical Society, January 1940:62(1):196-200.

1940: Roger Adams, et al, Structure of Cannabidiol (VI.), isomerization of Cannabidiol to Tetrahydrocannabinol, a physiologically active product, Journal of the American Chemical Society, September 1940:62(9):2402-2405.

1896: TB Wood, et al, Charas: the resin of the Indian hemp, Journal of the Chemical Society, 1896:69:539-546.

#5
Search terms

Astrocytes, glial and cannabinoids: apoptosis and cannabinoids: myelin and cannabinoids: endocannabinoids and cannabinoids on PubMed.gov.
Research and selected readings

2010: S Leelawat, et al, The dual effects of delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol on cholangiocarcinoma cells: anti-invasion activity at low concentration and apoptosis induction at high induction, Cancer Investigation, May 2010:28(4):357-63.

2010: L Luongo, 1-(2',4’-dichlorophenyl)-6-methyl-N-cyclohexylamine-1, 4-dihydroindeno [1,2-c]pyrazole-3-carboxamide [NESS400], a novel CB2 agonist, alleviates neuropathic pain through functional microglial changes in mice, Neurobiology of Disease, January 2010:37(1):177-85.

2009: Alexei Verkhratsky, Filming the glial dreams: real-time imaging of cannabinoid receptor trafficking in astrocytes, American Society for Neurochemistry, 2009:1(5).

2008: M Navarrete and A Araque, Endocannabinoids mediate neuron-astrocyte communication, Neuron, March 2008:Rasta:confused:883-890.

2006: NA Oberheim, et al, Astrocytic complexity distinguishes the human brain, Trends in Neuroscience, October 2006:29(10):547-53.

2006: T Ishibashi, et al, Astrocytes promote myelination in response to electrical impulses, Neuron, March 2006:goof:confused:823-832.

2002: L Walter, et al, Astrocytes in culture produce anandamide and other acylethanolamides, Journal of Biological Chemistry, June 2002:277:20,869-20,876.

1998: F Molina-Holdago, et al, The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide potentiates interlukin-6 production by astrocytes infected with Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus by a receptor-mediated pathway, FEBS Letters, 14 August 1998:433(1-2):139-42.

1975: AE Munson, et al, Anticancer activity of cannabinoids, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, September 1975:55(3):597-602.

#6
Search terms

California Proposition 215 (1996): Attorney General Holder Cannabis: Derek Rea: Michael Barbitta: CHAMP: Cannabinoids and anticancer.
Research and selected readings

2009: Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells, Salazar, et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2009, Vol. 119, pp. 1359-1372.
2006: Antitumor activity of plant cannabinoids with emphasis on the effect of cannabidiol on human breast carcinoma, Alessia Ligresti, et al, Journal of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics, 2006, Vol. 318, pp. 1375-1387.

2004: Cannabinoids Inhibit the Growth Factor Pathway in Gliomas (brain tumors), Manuel Guzmán, et al, Cancer Research 64, August 2004, pp. 5617-5623.

1998: The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation, Vincenzo Di Marzo, et al, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, July 7 1998 Vol. 95 No. 14, pp. 8375-8380.

1975: Cannabinoids suppress Lewis lung carcinoma cell growth in mice (Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids), A.E. Munson, et al, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 55, No. 3, September 1975, pp. 597-602.

#7
Search terms
Chemotherapy and CBs: Cancers and CBs: Glioma: Cannabidiol.


Research and selected readings

2010: Endocannabinoids selectively enhance sweet taste, Ryusuke Yoshida, et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2010:107:winkyface:935-939.

2009: Inhibition of tumor prostrate PC-3 cell growth by cannabinoids R (+) Methanandamide and JWH-015: Involvement of CB2, N. Olea-Herrero, et al, British Journal of Cancer, 2009:101:940-950.

2008: Expression of cannabinoid receptors type 1 and type 2 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma: growth inhibition by receptor activation, Kirstin Gustafsson, et al, International Journal of Cancer, 2008: 123:1025-1033.

2007: Cannabidiol - Recent Advances, Raphael Mechoulam, et al, Chemistry & Biodiversity, 2007:battingeyelashes:bigblush:1678-1692.

2005: The endocannabinoid system in chronic liver disease, Daniel Zamora-Valdes, et al, Annals of Hepatology, 2005:4(4):248-254.

#8
Search Terms

CBs, myelin and remyelination: CBs and pain: Jonathan Magbie, Colbert King, and Reagan: 1998-Present DC Medical Cannabis.
Research and Selected Readings

2009: Congress Allows DC to Implement 1998 Medical [Cannabis] Law, December 9, 2009.

2009: Targeting CB2 Receptors and the Endocannabinoid System for the Treatment of Pain, P. Anand, et al, Brain Research Review, April 2009, 60(1):255-66.

2008: CB2 Cannabinoids Receptors as an Emerging Target for Demyelinating Diseases, Angel Arevalo Martin, et al, British Journal of Pharmacology, January 2008, 153(2):216-225.

2006: Endocannabinoid Mechanisms of Pain Modulation, Andrea G. Hohmann and Richard L. Suplita II, American Association Pharmaceutical Scientists Journal, November 2006, 8(4):E693-E708.

2005: A Searing Portrait of Abuse, Colbert I. King, Washington Post, November 26, 2005.

2003: Therapeutic Action of Cannabinoids in a Murine Model of Multiple Sclerosis, Angel Arevalo Martin, et al, The Journal of Neuroscience, April 2003, 23(7):2511-2516.

#9 Search terms

Oleamide: Sleep regulation and CB1 receptor: Sleep apnea and CBs: Shakespeare and cannabis: Sleep-wake cycle.
Research and selected readings

2010: A. Herrera-Solis, et al, Acute and subchronic administration of anandamide or oleamide increases REM sleep in rats, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, March 2010:95(1):106-12.

2009: E. Murillo-Rodriquez, et al, Mechanisms of sleep-wake cycle modulation, CNS & Neurological Disorders Drug Targets, August 2009:8(4):245-53.

2008: E. Murillo-Rodriquez, The role of the CB1 receptor in the regulation of sleep, Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, August 2008:32(6):1420-7.

2007: Ethan B. Russo, et al, Cannabis, pain, and sleep: lessons from therapeutic clinical trials of Sativex®, a cannabis-based medicine, Chemistry & BioDiversity, 2007:battingeyelashes:1729-1743.

2003: Vincenzo de Marzo, Manipulation of the endocannabinoid system by a general anaesthetic, British Journal of Pharmacology, July 2003:139(5):885-886.

2002: DW Carley, et al, Functional role for cannabinoids in respiratory stability during sleep, Sleep, June 2002:25(4):399-400.

1998: Dale L. Boger, et al, Structural requirements for 5-HT2A and 5-HT1A serotonin receptor potentiation by the biologically active lipid oleamide, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, April 1998:95(8):4102-4107.

#10
Search terms

Alzheimer’s disease and cannabinoids: Cayman Chemical and cannabinoids: neuroprotection and cannabinoids: neurogenesis, hippocampus, and cannabinoids: CB2 receptor and neurogenesis.
Research and selected readings

2010: JR Rivers and JC Ashton, The development of cannabinoid CBII receptor agonists for the treatment of central neuropathies, Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, March 2010:10(1):47-64.

2009: Y Marchalant, et al, Cannabinoids attenuate the effects of aging upon neuroinflammation and neurogenesis, Neurobiology of Disease, May 2009:34(2):300-7.

2009: BS Basavarajappa, et al, Endocannabinoid system: emerging role from neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration, Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, April 2009:9(4):448-62.

2009: T Brock, Cannabinoids: to the neurons and beyond, Neuroscience Vol. 3: Cayman Chemical, 2009.

2008: T Bisogno and V Di Marzo, The role of the endocannabinoid system in Alzheimer’s disease: facts and hypotheses, Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2008:14(23):2299-3305.

2007: I Galve-Roperh, et al., The endocannabinoid system and neurogenesis in health and disease, Neuroscientist, April 2007:13(2):109-14.

2005: BG Ramirez, et al., Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease pathology by cannabinoids: neuroprotection mediated by blockade of microglial activation, Journal of Neuroscience, February 2005:25(8):1904-13.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Illinois NORML
Author: Publius
Contact: About -
Copyright: 2010 NORML
Website: The Cannabis Papers - Illinois NORML
 
#14 Intermission – let’s get high

Let’s take a look at “high” ~
High seas: The word “high” is used to indicate that
the seas are public, just as “highway” means a
“public way.” In both cases, of course, “high” also
means “chief” or “principal.”

Why Do We Say It?
High road
High hopes
High times
Higher forms of life
Highest potential

High-minded: adjective – being on a high intellectual or moral level.
Characterized by elevated ideals or conduct; noble.

High importance
Higher learning
Higher education
High endurance
Higher ground

“And if the high didn't solve whatever it was that
was getting you down, it could at least help you
laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through
all the hypocrisy and bullshit and cheap moralism.”

Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, 1996

High expectations
High resolution
High court
High stakes
High anxiety
High official – as in eminent in rank or status

“With all the things we’ve got to worry about, and our
Justice Department should be doing, that [federal raids
on medical cannabis patients] probably shouldn't be a
high priority.”

Senator Obama, 2007

High scores
High roller
High jump
High energy
High quality

“High is determined by low.”

Tao Te Ching

High pitch
High note
High turnout
High confidence
High standards

“I’d been getting bored with the stereotyped changes
(harmonies) that were being used all the time . . . I
found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a
melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes,
I could play the thing I’d been hearing. I came alive.”

Charlie Parker

High summer
High beam
High point
High speed
High mileage
High tourist season

The Acropolis = high + "polis"= city: the upper,
fortified part of an ancient city, “the high city”: the
most famous and important part of Athens.

High horse
High net worth
High income
High maintenance
High fidelity
Higher power

Thus saith the Lord:
Ye are gods and children of the Most High.

Psalm 82

High spirits
Highlighting
High noon
High jinx
High life
High moral ground

A High Place: The word “altar” derives from the Latin altare,
meaning a “high place.” In the great religious traditions of
the East, the altar similarly assumes a central role in
focusing the mind towards the “high place” where the
enlightened qualities of the deities shine forth.

Tibetan Buddhist Altars

The Helper’s High – named for the good feeling that follows helping others.

“What does “high” mean to you, your highness?”

Publius

Search terms
Cannabis arrests: DSI and DSE: retrograde signaling and ECS: anandamide, 2AG and entourage effect: runner’s high and endocannabinoids.

Research and selected readings
2010: J Fuss and P Gass, Endocannabinoids and voluntary activity in mice: Runner’s high and long-term consequences in emotional behaviors, Experimental Neurology, 29 March 2010:Epub.

2009: Ryan Grim, This is your country on drugs: the secret history of getting high in America, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009.

2009: DR Sagar, et al, Dynamic regulation of the endocannabinoid system: implications for analgesia, Molecular Pain, October 2009:hug:59.

2008: J Gertsch, Immunomodulatory lipids in plants: plant fatty acid amides and the human endocannabinoid system, Planta Medica, May 2008:74(6):638-50.

2007: SE O’Sullivan, Cannabinoids go nuclear: evidence for activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, British Journal of Pharmacology, November 2007:152(5):576-82.

2007: SP Alexander and DA Kendall, The complications of promiscuity: endocannabinoid action and metabolism, British Journal of Pharmacology, November 2007:152(5):602-23.

2000: Stephen Young, Maximizing harm: losers and winners in the drug war, Writer’s Showcase (iUniverse.com), 2000.

1998: S Ben-Shabat, et al, An entourage effect: inactive endogenous fatty acid glycerol esters enhance 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol cannabinoid activity, European Journal of Pharmacology, July 1998:353(1):23-31.

1998: MD Randall and DA Kendall, Endocannabinoids: a new class of vasoactive substances, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, February 1998:19(2):55-8.

NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Illinois NORML
Author: Publius
Contact: About -
Copyright: 2010 NORML
Website: The Cannabis Papers - Illinois NORML
 
That was a magnificent read (took me a while though).

I am now a lot less ignorant towards the truths now. I have been wanting to find a basic document that shows the TRUE medicinal properties of cannabis. It's really amazing how this information doesn't get thrown all over the news all around the world. People are being very very poorly educated about this, most people just plain have no idea cannabis can even be used medicinally.

I really hope we can get the word out, this kind of information has to be taught to the general public, so everyone can not be so ignorant towards people that NEED medicinal cannabis to allow them to live a functioned life.
 
Back
Top Bottom