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Yet more propaganda. This is NOT peer reviewed by oncologists or urologists and therefore has no place on this site. There is ample properly researched work on the health risks of cannabis and so I urge readers to exercise great caution when reading this stuff from the two enthusiasts who are mis-using our site.
I'm sorry you consider this information as 'propaganda', and you feel that it's your place to decide what other members should and should not read. Personally, if I were recently diagnosed with PC I would like to read everything available, to get the full picture.
If you were a Yank you'd be a little more open-minded I'd think, because you would know the history of the Federal Government and cannabis in America, and you might even understand that Big Pharma has been in bed with the Feds since the 1930's, and that only studies showing a negative aspect of cannabis were permitted.
Perhaps you are aware of all the cannabis research going on around the world, so have you not wondered why it is all being done outside the US? Like GW Pharmaceuticals, right in your own backyard.
I'll try to understand your fears. Let me repeat them for you. 1) The information I presented regarding cannabis and prostate cancer, was done in Chile, and has NOT been peer reviewed in the USA., you are absolutely correct. 2) You suggest there are 'health risks' of cannabis. Well, yes and no. It is reported that there are NO deaths from medical cannabis, that it is one of the safest medicines in use. Check out the deaths from aspirin and viagra if you care to. Cannabis has been used as medicine around the world for thousands of years now, suggesting there is something worthwhile about it.
I reject the suggestion that I am mis-using 'our' site. I thought that had been ruled upon previously. And may I ask you what are your primary fears regarding cannabis? For 20 years the US government has been giving considerable cannabis to those who originally applied for a government program 20 years ago. One gentleman consumes 10 or 11 cigarette sized joints a day and has no trouble at his job. Another woman has been using it for glaucoma, as nothing else permits her to see. The government limited the program to about 20 people originally. And this writer has used medicinal cannabis since 1959 for common colds, restless leg syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, sciatica, sleep, etc.
Charley,
This may come as a surprise to you but Pharmaceutical Companies have vast research resources. A modest portion of those resources are utilised at reexamining the utility of known chemical compounds, including cannabis, for purposes other than originally envisaged. Needless to say motivation for such research is fostered by both scientific investigation and the the likelihood of a financial windfall should the outcome be favorable.
Now Charley as yourself this, if cannabis had the miraculous wonder cure for just about everything as you proclaim, surely the Pharmaceutical Companies would seek to licence it and make megabucks?
If per chance you are a research fellow Charley, dash back to the lab and give us some empirical scientific evidence that is robust and subject to peer review. And if you don't know what all that mean's Charley, please take up your soapbox, move on, and spruik your "snake oi"l on more gullible ears.
Actually I do see a use for medically prescribed cannabis, namely in seizure minimisation in epilepsy for both petit and grand mal, and palliation for the terminally ill. Trials are currently being conducted in several states in Australia to achieve that end.
I'll try to answer your concerns. I am aware of Big Pharma, as I'm aware of Big Government, both organizations that appear to act in their own best interests, not yours or mine. Tell me you think any government cares whether you live or die.... Take a number, my friend. Tell me Big Pharma will do the research regarding a plant that grows wild that you can grow, and cures cancer, that they can't make any money from, or that they will likely lose their previous investments. My understanding is that existing drugs are of little use for chemo and radiation. As for the US Govt, I have no confidence they will do anything except continue the current corruption. You're expecting a government to take care of your health? I wish you good luck.
Being retired gives me the opportunity to gather a lot of information. I thought perhaps there were others out there that might be interested in a 'peoples' medicine, or those who maybe don't have the bucks to move to Colorado for treatment. John, I'm suggesting your interests are self-centered, limited and circumscribed.
So let's imagine that your PC is a PSA of 2.5, not really worrisome, starting to climb, but you've elected to wait for Big Govt to run the trials that Big Pharma doesn't want to run. Right.....
I'm sure you're aware that cannabis has been used as medicine for thousands of years, and that there exists an endocannabinol regulatory system within your body, and that no deaths have been reported with it's use.
Charley your perception of your government borders on paranoia. If a government is not elected to protect the interests of it's citizens then what purpose does it serve? We currently have a very unpopular right wing federal government here in Australia. But my fellow Australians do not exhibit the learned helplessness that you apparently do. Why, well because come next election the government in all likelihood will change.
I never thought I would be telling a yank to love his country, but that Charley is precisely what I am suggesting you do. If you cannot stomach such a notion, then migrate Charley, but please don't choose Australia as we have enough wingers here already.
So Charley if you don't like the way your country treats it's citizens, get of your ass and do something about it.
Nice comment Charlie, forget some of the so called experts and and ask some of the people who have used it regarding reduction of side effects, (chemo)and the improvement in quality of life while having treatment.Bob.
I appreciate your interest, and I wish it were paranoia and not reality that I suffer from. In the US we have stooges elected because they accept more money from, you guessed it, Big Pharma, and all the others, they call it 'campaign donations'. Our senators and legislators are all millionaires, bought and paid for by Big Business, bringing in far above the average wage of same status workers, and of course having their own 'special' retirement and pensions. Here let me get you some numbers, maybe you can understand the world's plight. I started watching the US debt when I worked for Wells Fargo Bank in the early 70's, say 45 years ago, and I've watched our debt follow an exponential curve upwards until now, when the total debt is as follows:
"Total US debt at the end of the first quarter of 2014, on March 31 totaled almost $59.4 trillion - up nearly $500 billion from the end of the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the data. Total debt (the combination of government, business, mortgage, and consumer debt) was $2.2 trillion 40 years ago." Federal Reserve. Did you get that? From $2.2 up to $60,000,000,000,000 in debt!
Can you relate to that, do you understand money? From a $2.2 trillion National Debt, up to $59.4 TRILLION today, which follows the illegal bailout of all the banks recently, with public funds. BANKRUPTCY is our future. So try your positive spin on that number.
So enough talk about 'protecting our interests'. And where are all our products made.... in China of course, you don't expect Big Govt and Big Business to have factories here in the US when they can sell out to slave labor from over in your corner of the world. And yes, I've seen documentary films about your country's efforts to protect the interests of your native inhabitants, just as our government has robbed and turned the Native American Indians into paupers on their own land. Shame on Australia while you're patting yourself on the back. Maybe get off your ass and try helping them......
Perhaps I should be happy that there exist people such as yourself to keep the illusions going, but frankly if you aren't aware of the financial condition of the world, it likely means you simply don't care.
So your advice to love my country is frankly insane, laughable, and I can only reply that I wish I could sever the heads from the Bushes and Cheneys and Rumsfelds and all the rest of the bastards for what they've done to this country...... so don't be surprised when it happens. Yes, if I were younger I'd head for Finland or some other sane place.
You might have saved your breath mate, for all you understand about the U.S.
People around the world are calling for such trials, including Jason Woodforth, a Member of Parliament for Nudgee, Queensland in Australia. Woodforth described the situation in a local Australian newspaper:
“Why aren’t we saying… let’s have a look at this, let’s explore, let’s research. But no, we just want to go and shoot it down. This madness has to stop. We can’t just sit on our hands and say ‘no, it’s a fluke’ because its not. There’s lots of incidents in the US where people have been cured of things like cancer. As politicians we need to have an open mind and listen. Too often we don’t.”
Woodforth is right. Politicians must seriously listen to the higher-level claims of cannabis healing disease. This is no longer a fringe issue that can be ignored.
The bottom line is that every day cannabis medicine stays prohibited, children suffer and die needlessly. The worst possible effects of cannabis would still pale in comparison to the proven harms of traditional pharmaceuticals, which damage the liver and kill thousands a year through overdoses and other organ damage.
Parents who want to use a nontoxic, plant-based alternative medicine that works naturally through their children’s endocannabinoid system should be permitted to do so. The sooner this is taken seriously, the sooner very sick people will have access to medicine that could save their lives.
Sorry Charley but his constituents just gave him the flick at the recent Queensland elections. But I can see where you are coming from, as he certainly was a certifiable fruitcake.
john
