Angel Raich drops medical pot case

Inside Bay Area ^ | 05/10/2007 | Josh Richman

[Lady Jag]

Since seeing Marc Emery, a Canadian cannibis crusader, appearing on 60 Minutes March, 2006, and reading the concurrent Free Republic thread, I’ve been reading off and on about the subject.

There is a lot of data out there now and it is amazing how the Freeping WODettes never read any of it.

They’re just here to irritate serious people.

[TigersEye]

I agree. I posted a lot on WoD threads in early '01. They were always multi-hundred post flame fests. There was a lot of good info posted on them though. By one side. ; )

I have been aware of the vast history of the use of cannabis in mercantile and medicinal products for about seventeen years or so. New historical uses continues to come to light as well as new research.

From your last article posted; it is interesting that the human body produces endocannabinoids (and of course has receptors for them.) AFAIK no other plant produces cannabinoids with the possible exception of hops (humulus lupus) which is cannabis' only close plant relative.

[philman_36]

ONDCP Claims Pot Potency Doubled May 2, 2007
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) says that new research shows that the average potency of marijuana sold in the U.S. has roughly doubled since 1983 -- a far cry from drug czar John Walters' past assertion that pot has become up to 30 times stronger.
The report from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project said the average THC content in seized marijuana samples was 8.5 percent, up from about 4 percent in 1983.
Snip...In 2002, Walters wrote a column claiming that average THC content in marijuana had risen to 14 percent and that "the potency of available marijuana has not merely 'doubled,' but increased as much as 30 times."

Good propaganda gone bad. There will be no retractions.

[Lady Jag]

Oh, well, then, you could teach me a lot.

Emery reignited a search I was doing in the late 60s. I was in college, kids were smoking pot and like I’ve always done, I had to find out about it, so I bought a book. I bought a couple more and before I knew it, everything to do with pot was banned. Couldn’t buy anymore books.

Sometime later I turned my interests to legislation for profit and why a lot of laws teach citizenry to be cynical, like prohibition.

Emery’s appearance is the first time I looked into it in 40 years.

From what I’ve read, I’m getting the impression that marijuana has long been railroaded and in many cases where opium was prominent, pot was usually been considered a low class intoxicant.

[Lady Jag]

If you buy it online, you will see by their descriptions the various THC levels in each strain. Bubblelicious is 15-20%

[philman_36]

The key word is "average". So in other words a couple of high potency busts raises the level up to a far greater 'average' than would normally be found from the majority of the busts.
A couple of your Bubblelicious busts would greatly increase that average. If all of the busts were of that potency then the average would be much higher.

And you know, try as I might I can't find the UMiss Potency Project's data online to give it the once over myself. And believe me, I've looked before today. I started looking when the info came out and have found nothing online yet.

[TigersEye]

Well I'm not sure how much I could teach you. You sound like a pretty serious student. I'm more of a hobbyist. As for the increase in potency I can attest to it. However potency of cannabis should be understood in it's own context not that of other drugs. Cannabis has no toxic potential (I suppose it does but you'd need to eat a 90lb bale of it in which case colic would kill you first) so an increase in potency doesn't carry with it an analogous increase in physical effects.

Primarily it increases its psychotropic effects. The rate of duration isn't effected much at all. It might seem longer due to the enhanced effect being more noticeable but the liver breaks down high grade just as fast as it does ditch weed. Nor does the amount smoked significantly prolong the high. You can't put enough in your system smoking to tax the liver. Eating it would be another matter as you could put a lot more in your stomach than you could you lungs. Smoke inhalation from the burning of basic plant fibers limits that.

[philman_36]

I flagged you more on the information being passed aspect than the potency. Lots of WODdies were pumping up Walters when he made that "more potent" proclamation. None of 'em will call him the liar/propagandist he is/was now that the truth is out.
The lies catch up sooner or later, just like with Anslinger. It's nothing more than fearmongering.

[Lady Jag]

From my searches on the subject, I’ve come to realize that it’s one that is censored.

Time after time a clue to a larger report surfaces, a graphic for example, and I can’t find its parent. It has happened many times.

[Lady Jag]

I've already learned from you. I certainly wouldn't mind sharing info.

Decades ago, found during my 60s studies, I believe the study was Canadian, using dogs, scientists tried to determine the toxicity of pot. Official report stated that smoking the equivalent of 800 joints in one hour killed the dogs.

Now, to me that says they died of smoke inhalation, not marijuana intoxication.

This plant has half the THC of Bubbleicious...

[TigersEye]

You’ve got that right. And it will be a cold day on the surface of the sun when we hear retractions too.

[TigersEye]

Now, to me that says they died of smoke inhalation, not marijuana intoxication.

I would say so. I'm trying to imagine the time frame and the amount of smoke that would be. I don't think it would be possible to take that many breaths in one hour. There would be no time for even one breath of clear air and every inhalation would have to be super thick smoke. That still wouldn't get one anywhere near to inhaling the smoke of 800 joints.

[tacticalogic]

P.S. let’s see who is paying for the Pro-marijuana campaign?

Let's have a look at the other side of the aisle, too. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, now there's a trustworthy bunch.

[Lady Jag]

800 joints must be close to two pounds. They must have had some sort of ramjet oven.

Unless they fudged the test and stole the pot...

[TigersEye]

THAT'S NEVER BEEN PROVEN AND I RESENT THE...oh, wait. Nevermind.

That would be about 1.76 grams per joint. Sounds about right. So, even ingested that would be enough dry plant material to bind the intestines and very likely be fatal without emergency treatment regardless of THC content.

I think one thing can be said with certainty; scientists are lethal to dogs, cats and rats.