Well done Richard Branson

[johnboy1974]

some very interesting viewing here

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY-uI-QkVOo]The Rick Simpson Story - Cannabis Cure for Cancer - YouTube[/ame]

[firestorm]

Cannot agree with it one bit-A couple of my friends smoke it constantly.For me its addictive and makes them paranoid.
Idont worry about them when they are on it, i worry about them more when they can't get it. Cannabis is not harmless.

Yes cannabis is addictive so is gambling.Anything can be addictive but its not physically addictive, unlike alcohol and nicotine and it dose not kill you.

[tshirtman]

We had a young lad brought in to the hospital last year, who was a heavy user,
he'd become so psychotic, he believed he was possessed by the devil, so he got a wooden crucifix, sharpened it to a fine point and and impaled it in to his stomach, he almost died,
we had another lad who believed he was Don Johnson from Miami Vice, he was picked up by the police when he started going round the pet shops trying to buy a crocodile.
I could go on.
I know some will think it's funny, but there parents were devastated, it effects the whole family, not just the user.

[Snowy79]

They've legalised tobaco but that doesn't stop the black market in counterfiet tobaco and all the shi@ that goes in it. Even if it was legal some scum would still sell on their own uncontrolled drug.

[firestorm]

We had a young lad brought in to the hospital last year, who was a heavy user,
he'd become so psychotic, he believed he was possessed by the devil, so he got a wooden crucifix, sharpened it to a fine point and and impaled it in to his stomach, he almost died,
we had another lad who believed he was Don Johnson from Miami Vice, he was picked up by the police when he started going round the pet shops trying to buy a crocodile.
I could go on.
I know some will think it's funny, but there parents were devastated, it effects the whole family, not just the user.

Any person suffering these type of mental disorders is terrible and should not be overlooked to find the cause. Recent research in Holland suggests that yes, there is. It is a short-lived psychotic disorder that seems to be brought on by cannabis use but which subsides fairly quickly once the individual has stopped using it. It's quite unusual though ? in the whole of Holland they found only around 100 new cases per year.And that nearly half of those diagnosed as having cannabis psychosis are actually showing the first signs of a more long-lasting psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia.
In Recent research in the UK, has suggested that people who have a family background of mental illness ? and so probably have a genetic vulnerability anyway and should avoid cannabis amongst other substances.
I have good a very good friend who is a Senor drug conciler who has worked with drug and alcohol addiction for over 25years.And in all those years has never had any one in his rehab for cannabis addiction.He also say that some heroin addicts find cannabis very helpful in dealing with withdrawal.

They've legalised tobaco but that doesn't stop the black market in counterfiet tobaco and all the shi@ that goes in it. Even if it was legal some scum would still sell on their own uncontrolled drug.

This is going to happen with anything that is sold from clothes to pharmaceutical drug.And this is why we have trading standers.

[tshirtman]

I didn't really want to get into a scientific debate, but hey-ho.
people who use cannabis at an early age run the risk of developing serious mental disorders, it effects the brains development, the neurons, synapses and pathway connections get mis-wired and causes abnormality's, which later develops in to psychosis(disorder of the brain), not necessarily schizophrenia, the risks are raised six fold, and it's the THC that causes it.
nobody knows what causes schizophrenia, but we do know cannabis can bring it on for those who are predisposed to it or have a family history, and those who are already suffering from the illness, it will become much worse.
my evidence is empirical, and also what I learn from consultant psychiatrists, your friend maybe a drugs councilor, but he doesn't work in mental health, I have more than 15 years experience of working with these people, and I can assure you I've come into contact with hundreds, the latest study reveled it could effect as many as 1 in a 100 people, and it's getting worse.
new Japanese research has shown People who smoke cannabis between five and 20 times a month have 10 per cent more chance of memory problems than non-users. And those who smoke it more than 20 times a month have been found to be 20 per cent more deficient in carrying out simple memory tests.
I accept there are much worse drugs out there, but I want to dispel the idea that cannabis is virtually harmless, and I wouldn't want to see it being widely sold, as we know cigs and alcohol are regulated, but it doesn't stop kids getting hold of them, I also accept that many responsible adults use it on a daily/weekly basis, and are normal functioning people, so I would rather stick with the status quo.
I'm not being sanctimonious and having a go at adults who chose to smoke it, my concern is young teenagers getting hold of it, we have enough problems with kids becoming binge drinkers.

[firestorm]

I agree that cannabis in children and young teenagers is a bad thing and do not dispute what you are saying in a small number of the population.But you have to look at country's that have got rid of prohibition,for example cannabis use among youngsters aged 15 to 24, France scores 22%, compared to the Netherlands with 11%.There is no doubt in my mind that cannabis is now very easy to get hold for young people.There seems to be the factor that its illegal seems to make it more cool in there eyes.
But you have to look at the positive of cannabis as i have stated before.How can it be right to stop an adult from using a plant that grow all over the planet and used by humans for thousands and thousands of years, to give them a pain free life.
for example latest study from the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation shows that the benefits of using cannabis in multiple sclerosis therapies far outweigh the light side effects they have. In many areas, sufferers from MS have often turned to marijuana to relieve their symptoms.
Other illness that cannabis helps are
Arthritis
Appetite Loss
Nausea
Cancer Chemotherapy
AIDS Wasting Syndrome
Glaucoma
Depression
Movement Disorders
Parkinsons Disease
Chronic Pain
Diabetes
Crohn's Disease
Ulcerative Depression
Epilepsy
Fibromyalgia
High Blood Pressure/Hypertension
Migraine
Nail Patella Syndrome
Tourette's Syndrome

[gmb45]

"virgin skunk"

.......

[mapex]

Being an.everday weed smoker it dont matter what he says i love my green and will continue smokin.....stoner for life.

[Snowy79]

It helps Tourettes "Fnuck off"

[firestorm]

As the mental health issue keeps coming.One of the most devastating mental illness, which effects more and more people each year is Alzheimer's Disease to which i have witness first hand with my own nan.Now i am not saying cannabis cures it but please red this .
from A Molecular Link Between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology

[cablefreejunkie]

As the mental health issue keeps coming.One of the most devastating mental illness, which effects more and more people each year is Alzheimer's Disease to which i have witness first hand with my own nan.Now i am not saying cannabis cures it but please red this .
from A Molecular Link Between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology

i do agree that there is a place for medicinal use of cannabis and an industrial use aswell,,hemp which is one of the strongest natural fibres known,,but due to number 1 - the billion dollar Pharmaceutical industry who will not sanction the use of cannabis for medicine unless they can patent it and make millions of dollars from it,they are not interested in cures as cures would put them out of business and cannabis has been proved many times to cure certain illness etc
and secondly hemp would also put lot of companys out of business
as hemp would be a natural alternative to plastic,its biodegradable,causes no harm to the environment is easy to manufacture etc etc the list goes on,but you are dealing with masive corporations who dont give a shite quite frankly
so as much as i agree with a lot of what you say,it will never happen for the above mentioned reasons

[firestorm]

You have hit the nail on the head.
The reason cannabis had a world wide ban in the first place was nothing to do with it recreational use.But the Americana cotton industry was in serious decline.And hemp was being grown all over the world and was cottons main threat.So films like reefer madness(allegedly paid for by money from the cotton industry)wer used as propaganda to help get hemp(weed) banned.
here is another very interesting read

http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/mps-complete-legislation-aimed-at-legalizing-cannabis-for-medical-purposes

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSH6ofHbeUw"]Bill Hicks - Drugs and Evolution - YouTube[/ame]
.

[Snowy79]

Surely the Chinese, Russians, Keoreans etc would still produce it just to piss the Americans off. Think it's a bit of propoganda there from smoking front.

[firestorm]

Surely the Chinese, Russians, Keoreans etc would still produce it just to piss the Americans off. Think it's a bit of propoganda there from smoking front.

They do, Today Russia has 2,000 hectares of industrial cannabis, as against 30,000 ha in China.As for the south Koreans they are so far up the USA arse that they will do anything to please them in case the north kicks off.As for North Korea they shoot all drug users.