by Arjun
A recent study conducted by Andras Biokei-Gorzo at the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn in Germany is suggesting that marijuana(or the activation of the brain’s cannabinoid system) triggers the release of antioxidants, which act as a cleansing mechanism. This process is known to remove damaged cells and improve the efficiency of mitochondria. Mitochondria is the energy source that powers cells. The study was published inPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society, B. You can read the entire study here.
Full Article:
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/05/30/new-study-shows-cannabinoids-improve-efficiency-of-mitochondria-and-remove-damaged-brain-cells/
Month: May 2013
Hemp Hoe Down
We are thrilled to announce Hemp Hoe Down 13 is moving to Glencoe Camground in Sturgis, South Dakota. This venue makes it possible for us to bring you everything we’ve wanted to for years, and more. A HUGE indoor building lets you rock the night whether it’s raining, snowing or moon-shining, a high-end industrial kitchen gives our staff the tools to keep up with your hemp food needs and the camping can’t be beat. Cabins will be available, lots of camp sites along a tree-lined river, plenty of space for slack-lining, disc golf, kick ball and all manner of other outdoor activity and so much more.
Dates are May 29 – June 2, 2013 and tickets will go on sale January 29th. Follow us on facebook to keep up with all the happenings.
The campground will be handling all cabin reservations for the event this year. Just call 800-272-4712 for more information.
Hemp Hemp HOORAY!!
http://hemphoedown.com/new-location-hemp-hoe-down-13-at-glencoe-campground
Steve Katz Votes to Decriminalize Small Amounts of Pot
By Jon Campbell, Gannett Albany Bureau
ALBANY, NY– Westchester Assemblyman Steve Katz, who was ticketed for marijuana possession earlier this year, voted Wednesday to decriminalize small amounts of pot.
The Assembly passed the bill by an unofficial vote of 80-59, but its future in the Senate is uncertain. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the bill would lower the penalty for the public possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation.
Full Article:
http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/216200/37/Steve-Katz-Votes-to-Decriminalize-Small-Amounts-of-Pot
Industrial Hemp: A Win-Win For The Economy And The Environment
Ashoka
Industrial hemp being grown for fiber and grain in France. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Logan Yonavjak (@Loganyon) makes a case for allowing farmers in the United States to grow hemp.
Industrial hemp was once a dominant crop on the American landscape. This hardy and renewable resource (one of the earliest domesticated plants known, with roots dating back to the Neolothic Age in China) was refined for various industrial applications, including paper, textiles, and cordage.
Over time, the use of industrial hemp has evolved into an even greater variety of products, including health foods, organic body care, clothing, construction materials, biofuels, plastic composites and more (according to one source, more than 25,000 productscan be made from hemp).
In the U.S., the first hemp plantings were in Jamestown, Virginia, where growing hemp was actually mandatory. From then on hemp was used in everything from 19th century clipper ship sails to the covers of pioneer wagons. The Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, and even the finest Bible paper today remains hemp-based.
Full Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2013/05/29/industrial-hemp-a-win-win-for-the-economy-and-the-environment/
Celebrating Hemp History Week
By Emily Patti
For centuries, hemp was grown on American soil. The viable, adaptable crop was essential to the growth of industry. Thomas Jefferson endorsed it, declaring, “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country.” During World War II, the U.S. government instituted a program to supply material for military equipment by contracting with farmers to grow hemp. The “Hemp for Victory” effort made sense, but politically the timing was a bit perplexing, considering that a mere five years earlier, Congress had passed the Marijuana Tax Act.
A veritable kaleidoscope of misinformation and misguided policymaking, the Marijuana Tax Act defined Cannabis sativa as a narcotic drug, regardless of plant variety or THC content. The law effectively made hemp, which has no narcotic value, guilty by association. As destructive as the Marijuana Tax Act was to American hemp farming, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 put the nail in the proverbial coffin.
While the rest of the industrialized world continues to grow industrial hemp and benefit from the plant’s nutritional content and environmental advantages, American farmers must wait patiently on the sidelines and watch the increasing popularity of hemp products that could have been grown and produced domestically. Hemp History Week (June 3-9) is a nationwide grassroots marketing and public education effort to inform the public on the potential of hemp as an economic stimulant and to encourage positive legislative changes. Organized by the Hemp Industries Association and Vote Hemp, the 4th Annual Hemp History Week celebration promises hundreds of promotions and events, including the Hemp History Week college campus road show, a premiere screening of the documentary Bringing it Home, and an online letter-writing drive to encourage legislators and President Obama to support hemp farming legislation.
Full Article:
http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-21138-celebrating-hemp-history-week.html
Relief elusive for N.J.’s youngest medical marijuana patient
By Susan K. Livio/The Star-Ledger
Vivian is diagnosed with a rare and severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome.
These are a few of the ways her parents relentlessly manage everything that comes into contact with their youngest daughter, who suffered her first seizure when she was 2 months old.
None of it is enough. Medications help, as does a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet — every meal weighed to a 10th of a gram. But only so much.
Vivian’s parents, Brian and Meghan Wilson, enrolled her in New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program in desperation, hoping that a strain of pot that has stopped most seizures in a small but growing number of children in Colorado and California could help her.
But before her registration card arrived in February, the couple said they figured out the state’s restrictive law and medical community’s unwillingness to participate in the program is preventing any minor from getting help.
Meghan Wilson said she has been writing to and calling lawmakers to explain her daughter’s condition and to ask them to relax some of the medical marijuana program restrictions for the few children who may need it.
Full Article:
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/relief_elusive_for_njs_younges.html
Hemp Can Build Your House and Make Your Blouse
The 420 Times
Hemp is conceivably best known for its Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids that make it an excellent addition to a healthy diet, or perhaps as a cotton substitute used in the manufacturing of ecologically-sound clothing. But it can also be manufactured into a vast array of resourceful, environmentally-sound building materials.
Hemp is typically categorized as a long or bast fiber crop with its stem consisting of an outer skin that contains long, strong fibers and a hollow wood-like core or nucleus. When the stems are processed it results in two different types of materials: hurds and fibers, both of which possess properties that make them extremely useful in building construction.
The hurds themselves are derived from the inner short fiber and are capable of being used in the manufacturing of numerous wood-like, earth-friendly, long-lasting building materials, such as fiberboard, roofing tiles, wallboard, paneling, insulation and bricks.
A material of stone-like strength that is commonly known as “hempcrete” is also produced using the hurds of the hemp stalk which is claimed to be up to seven times stronger than the traditionally used concrete, half as light and three times as elastic.
The added bonus of using the superior strength and flexibility of concrete manufactured with hemp hurds is that foundations which are constructed using these particular types of materials are resistant to stress-induced cracking and breaking, even in earthquake-prone areas such as the state of California.
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-/hemp-can-build-your-house_b_3333979.html
University of Michigan kicks off 2.2 million dollar Marijuana Research Study
The University of Michigan has recently recieved a $2.2 million dollar federaral research grant to study marijuana’s effects on pain. This funding comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and will pay for a two-year studty of 800 Michigan Medical Marijuana patients who are seeking to obtain a state medical marijuana card.
Full Article:
http://blog.wheresweed.com/medical-marijuana/2013/may/university-of-michigan-kicks-off-22-million-dollar-marijuana-research-study/
New Study Seeks 10,000 Veterans For Marijuana Treatment Monitoring
by Rick Thompson
DENVER- Medical professionals and interested parties have announced the start of Stage 1 of a new and highly ambitious study involving Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and cannabis use designed to answer a singe question: “Do Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress benefit from the Use of Medical Marijuana ?”
The principals involved in the project include Mary Lynn (ML) Mathre, RN, MSN, CARN, listed as the President and Co-Founder of Patients Out Of Time; Clifton Croan, MA; and attorney William Graf, of Colorado. Mathre is also the founder of the American Cannabis Nurses Association and is on the advisory board of Veterans for Medical Cannabis.
Full Article:
http://www.theweedblog.com/new-study-seeks-10000-veterans-for-marijuana-treatment-monitoring/
L.A.’s New Mayor Is OK With Legalizing Marijuana
Jacob Sullum
Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who was elected mayor last week on the same day that voters approved a cap on the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in L.A., says he would be OK with legalizing the plant for general use:
During a short interview with Univision’s Jorge Ramos on Sunday, Garcetti was asked if he thought pot use should be legalized for casual use….
Marijuana was important for medicinal use, he said. “But if in the future, California’s voters want it for casual use, for me, it’s not a problem.”
He went on to suggest that enforcement of marijuana laws was diverting law enforcement from more important tasks.
Full Article:
http://reason.com/blog/2013/05/27/las-new-mayor-is-ok-with-legalizing-mari