cannabisnews.com: Marijuana-Like Drug Eludes Scientists










  Marijuana-Like Drug Eludes Scientists

Posted by CN Staff on July 30, 2004 at 07:15:31 PT
By Jacob Goldstein 
Source: Miami Herald  

As Ricky Williams fights social anxiety disorder with marijuana, scientists are working to take advantage of the plant's anti-anxiety properties while avoiding the drug's side effects.Ricky Williams' claim that marijuana helps stave off social anxiety may have scientific merit, but developing a drug that could produce similar results will take years, medical experts said Thursday.
In lab animals, higher levels of cannabinoids -- the compounds found in marijuana, and which occur naturally in the brain -- sometimes decrease anxiety.Scientists are trying to develop a drug that would replicate this effect in humans. But even under the rosiest circumstances, it will take nearly a decade to bring the drug to market.In the meantime, scientists recommend against smoking marijuana to relax.''One of the reasons humans use marijuana is because it reduces anxiety,'' said Cecilia Hillard, a professor of pharmacology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.``On the other hand, the reason most often cited for stopping using marijuana is that it causes anxiety.''Daniele Piomelli, the scientist who is developing the cannabinoid-based drug, is more blunt.''Cannabis is not a very good medicine,'' he said. PROMISING TESTS A compound Piomelli developed at the University of California at Irvine slows the breakdown of the canabinoids that occur naturally in the brain.Tests in mice and rats suggest this may reduce anxiety without causing the memory loss, appetite increase and decrease in cognitive function associated with smoking marijuana. Human trials of the compound are slated to begin within two years, Piomelli said.But drugs that work in mice often fail in people, and several experts said they were not aware of any studies that used marijuana to treat anxiety in humans.Scientists following federal recommendations have studied marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis, advanced HIV and cancer-related pain. The government has approved a marijuana-like drug to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea.It's more difficult for psychiatrists to study marijuana.''It's kind of hard to do that research, because of the illegal nature of the drug,'' said Dianne Chambless, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist who studies social-anxiety disorder. THERAPY Chambless said therapy for social-anxiety disorder often helps patients relax by understanding that the whole world is not judging their every move -- which might not be the case for a star running back like Williams.''For most people with social anxiety everybody really isn't watching you or judging you, but for people in his position, people really are,'' she said. ``It's a very tough position to be in.''Source: Miami Herald (FL)Author: Jacob GoldsteinPublished: Friday, July 30, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Miami HeraldContact: heralded herald.comWebsite: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmWilliams Fails Third Drug Testhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19247.shtmlReefer Sanity - Fortune http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17813.shtmlCould Anti-Marijuana Compound Hold Key?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15001.shtml

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Comment #39 posted by ron on August 01, 2004 at 23:40:36 PT
More rumours about Bush (thanks DEA)
From a posting on DEA Watch today:On this topic I think we need to commend our brothers and sisters who regularly complained about George's regular weekend alcohol trips to Camp David. Ever since certain writers consistently reported on George's continued alcohol addiction nursed at Camp David every weekend he has terminated his regular weekend trips there. But, unfortunately, George's alcoholism requires him to take frequent "vacations" to Crawford, TX where he enjoys greater privacy than he had at Camp David. Because of Crawford's low population it is more difficult for journalists or Democrats to get close enough to track George and his bad habits. Nonetheless, because George is a total substance abuser our country is suffering. We are suffering from serious problems today because of alcohol. George Bush is an alcoholic and Karen Tandy along with every other senior appointee in the Bush Administration knows it... and because of their greed and egos have kept silent.http://members.aol.com/deawatch/daily.htm
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Comment #38 posted by afterburner on August 01, 2004 at 08:35:23 PT
The Search for Non-Addictive Pain-Killers
Medical scientists tried for years to create a non-addictive opiate pain-killer: starting with opium, then morphine and codeine, and then heroin. Each step away from the natural plant extract *increased* the addictive potential, instead of decreasing it. Even methadone, which was created to fight heroin addiction, is itself addictive.Yet, nature has provided another pain-killer that does not fuel addiction, namely cannabis. Are medical scientists dancing in the streets and celebrating this discovery? No, due to the political climate and nanny state "health" concerns, many of them want to tinker once again. Many want to create expensive and profitable pharmaceutical derivatives of cannabis to attempt to tailor the effect in line with their puritan morality.Cannabis was placed in Schedule One because of mistaken concerns about its potential for addiction, like the opiates. The discovery of THC/cannabinoid receptor sites in the brain relieves such fears. "Marijuana and the Brain
... Brain microdialysis has proven that opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine
and alcohol all affect dopamine production, whereas marijuana does not. ... 
www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/BRAIN.HTM - 24k -" http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/BRAIN.HTMNewsbrief: British Drug Panel Considering Anti-Drug Vaccinations for Schoolchildren http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/348/vaccinations.shtml
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Comment #37 posted by unkat27 on July 31, 2004 at 20:15:00 PT
furthermore
These idiots are rationalizing this research by claiming that cannabis also 'causes anxiety' for many, even while it relieves anxiety in others. They've got it wrong. Cannabis doesn't cause anxiety, except maybe when people don't know when to put it down and do something else. The real cause of anxiety for cannabis users is the idea that because it is 'illegal' a group of fascist pigs with the law on their side could come banging on their doors any minute, thanx to some ratfink neighbor or grade-school kid who has had his brain programmed by the DARE fear-factor.
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Comment #36 posted by The GCW on July 31, 2004 at 18:43:59 PT
No,
thank You.Cannabis is good. I am not waiting for the world to figure out what I already know.There may not be one single pharm drug on earth as safe as cannabis.The waiting is done.Reject ignorant humans not cannabis.
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Comment #35 posted by Virgil on July 31, 2004 at 12:34:05 PT
uncat27
Looking to manufacture a man-made cannabinoid when cannabis is already there reminds me of the wasted money they spent looking for a grass to plant on Kill Devil's Hill in Kitty Hawk, NC. The Wright Brothers made the sand dune a historic point in world history with their flight in NC in 1903 and when the park wanted to preserve the massive dune from being blown away they searched the world for the most suitable grass to plant on the dune. Finally they settled on the local grass that had adapted overeons for the climate. 
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Comment #34 posted by unkat27 on July 31, 2004 at 11:56:21 PT
Duh?
This article makes me laugh. Scientists are trying to develop a marijuana-like drug? Our tax dollars are paying for this fiasco? These guys are college-educated scientists? You have got to be kidding me! They've been kissing their own asses for so long, it's obviously done something to their minds.
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Comment #33 posted by Sam Adams on July 31, 2004 at 09:36:41 PT
Bush on drugs? 
It's widely known today that Nixon had a glass of bourbon in hand for much of his presidency. When I say widely known, I mean there was a network TV movie about it. His rants against Jews, psychiatrists, gays, etc., are well known now.I'll bet not one mainstream newspaper in the US ran a story on his drinking while he was in office. So I don't know if the story about Bush is 100% true, but just because it's not in the big papers or TV doesn't mean anything.Hell, Bush was a cocaine addict for years, and I haven't heard one peep about it in the media, and Bush is running for president! 
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Comment #32 posted by E_Johnson on July 31, 2004 at 09:36:30 PT
Could Bush be on prednisone?
Bush's behavior makes me wonder if his doctors prescribed him any prednisone for his knee inflammation.Prednisone could cause the erratic behavior described in the article in Capitol Hill Blue.It's a very commonly used anti-inflammatory. Doctors give it out way too easily. It is powerful but has very deadly side effects including sudden outbursts of rage.He's been looking puffy lately, weight gain is a side effect.If a doctor rpescribed that stuff to him -- that should be considered an act of treason, because a Predident on prednisone is dangerous.My doctor had me excused from jury duty for as long as I have to tajke it, because I would send people to the electric chair for shoplifting if they caught me at the wrong time.I would regret it later but during a prednisone outburst things happen too fast for the conscious mind to stop them.If any doctor would prescribe prednisone to the President of the United States, I would like to have that doctor put up on charges of treason.Seriously, no kidding.
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Comment #31 posted by Jose Melendez on July 31, 2004 at 07:29:02 PT
a VERY sick way
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/07/16/czech.morris/July 16, 2001 NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- Smokers' early deaths may be a boon to the Czech Republic's finances, a study commissioned last year by Philip Morris Cos. said. U.S. consulting firm Arthur D. Little International Inc. studied the impact of smoking on Czech public finances at Philip Morris' request in November 2000. The study [ http://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/07/16/czech.morris/study.doc ] found the cost benefits of smokers' early mortality, together with cigarette-tax revenue, outweighed the economic drawbacks of health-care and other smoking-related costs.(snip)
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Comment #30 posted by kaptinemo on July 31, 2004 at 07:16:55 PT:
Well, that clears some things up 
Believe it or not, CE, I tend to agree. Though my view goes a bit further into the health aspect.I've long held that one of the reasons why cananbis is illegal is because it is, truly, a *preservative* as much as it is an anodyne. It enhances both physical and mental health in nearly all exposed to it.Take a look at the fact that we now have more people living longer than ever before in recorded human history. Then take alook at the statistics: by 2025, one worker will be supporting two oldsters on Social Security. So, the thinking of the plutocrats seems to be, if they kill themselves off with tobacco and booze, the fewer will be left to collect those SoshSec checks. A crude but realistic appraisal of the situation.Anything that impedes this sick calculus is detrimental to the balance sheet. Enter cannabis. It does just that...especially by acting as a natural anti-cancer agent.So...in a very sick way, the constant harping of the antis about 'health concerns' is really a sort of truth; they just don't want you to be healthy, is all.
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Comment #29 posted by ron on July 31, 2004 at 04:36:21 PT
More Rumours about the Bushbrain
This comes from DEA Watch (May 4, 2004):George Bush....for the first three years of his presidency spent (almost) every weekend at Camp David reportedly getting drunk. It was only due to persistent reporting about Bush's Camp David binges that ended them. (He has been to Camp David only a few times on weekends in 2004.)The DEA has had nothing good to say about Bush since he labeled them poor performers. Nice to see this kind of infighting.I don't like seeing it between CNews commentators though.
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Comment #28 posted by Cannabis Enthusiast on July 30, 2004 at 20:08:21 PT
Power = being in the depressed mind-state
Being in power in today's world of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine (all substances that make humans depressed) means being depressed. If you are in a depressed (unhappy) mind-state, then you are in a mind-state of power.I may be using the wrong word, someone enlighten me on psychology... It may not be "depressed" as depression implies a weak state of mind, but rather "not high". If you are high, then you are weak and powerless in today's society.Cannabis, Coca, and Opium all make humans "happy". If you are happy, then you are not in the mind-state of power. When a human is happy, the human does not have power over other humans. The humans who are depressed / not-high are the ones who are psychologically in power.All I have is a high-school education, so if someone on here has a graduate degree in psychology or something similar, please explain in better terms what I am trying to say.Basically alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are legal in today's society because they are power drugs - they all result in depression / make a human "not high". All the Christian power drugs make humans "low". Most every illegal drug make humans "high" / "happy", so those humans are useless in a society which seeks to have power over all other societies of the world (the U.S.).In a society who's main goal is to have dominance over all other societies, only substances that make humans "low" (powerful) can be legal.
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Comment #27 posted by BGreen on July 30, 2004 at 19:08:26 PT
Thanks, Jose
Kozmo had the same idea in post #5, too. Few things get past us here at Cannabisnews.com.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #26 posted by Jose Melendez on July 30, 2004 at 17:55:48 PT
one more thing
Rev. Green hit the nail on the head. Anyone gainfully employed in the intoxicant, medication or incarceration industries who claims cannabis is not effective most certainly has a conflict of interest.
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Comment #25 posted by Jose Melendez on July 30, 2004 at 17:50:00 PT
whoa
I'm confused by some of the comments, so here's what's on my mind, for what it's worth:1. I believe that lots of religious conservative, strong confident people use psychiatric or mind altering drugs of some kind. Even Jesus was said to have turned water into the best wine.2. It should not be a crime to get "high". In fact, I believe that it is the suppression of raw, living and generic plant based cannabinoids, opiates and coca products that increases the value and demand for inferior, corporate and black market alternatives.3. It would not surprise me if Bush or any other president self medicated, even Reagan and Nixon were said to drink regularly, if not heavily.4. As for Veri-chips, yes today's technology now makes it possible to track, and likely indicate user substance levels. Perhaps a boycott, or creation of our own corporations or open source groups with competing technologies will prove to answer such Orwellian ideas.5. We have worked so hard here on cannabisnews to create a positive, supportive community with enlightening, if intense commentary. I'm glad to participate, even honored to contribute my writings to this forum, which I've been doing since before the word "blog" became popular.Thanks to all of you for working to make this world a better place. If the president of the United States needs a chill pill, whether he actually takes them or not is irrelevant. It's important he get the message that locking up others for those very same needs is inappropriate.Drug War IS Crime. Wage Peace. - jm
 
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Comment #24 posted by BGreen on July 30, 2004 at 17:43:11 PT
Cha-Ching and No Cha-Ching
Cha-Ching: Daniele Piomelli, the scientist who is developing the cannabinoid-based drug, is more blunt.No Cha-Ching: ''Cannabis is not a very good medicine,'' he said.Daniele Piomelli doesn't make any money if we smoke the herb.Now, everybody inhale!The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #23 posted by mayan on July 30, 2004 at 17:35:10 PT
C E
You said..."I was just skeptical about our President being on drugs, when he is a rather hardcore conservative religious man - something on the complete opposite of the spectrum as a mental illness patient."So, religious conservatives can't suffer from mental illness? Thanks for clearing that up for me! Here's another piece on the nutcase(But don't believe it as it doesn't come from a mainstream source!)...Sullen, Depressed President Retreats Into Private, Paranoid World:
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4930.shtmlThe only way out...5/22/03 Statement from FAA Contradicts 9/11 Report Findings:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=366&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0The 9/11 USAF Stand Down:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/911stand.htmlCoup d'Etat in America? - by Michel Chossudovsky:
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/072904_coup_detat_america.shtml
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Comment #22 posted by siege on July 30, 2004 at 17:18:53 PT
 E C
It sound like you have going for you 
Why is it that the pros. and senate 
and corporates worried about the Ex Vit Nam 
Vet. so bad. they said so on Ch. 3 C B S last night.
art.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on July 30, 2004 at 17:16:32 PT
Kaptinemo
Thank you for defending what CNews is trying very hard to be. I appreciate it.
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Comment #20 posted by Cannabis Enthusiast on July 30, 2004 at 16:58:41 PT
It doesn't matter who is "President of the U.S.A.&
The United States of America is still essentially run by Corporations. Corporate CEO's and executives are still the ones who are really in power. They tell the puppet (president) what to do and say.Remember, no matter how much you may dislike Pres. Bush, he is still just a puppet to the true power of our country/world - the Corporations.So it doesn't matter if Bush leaves the white house or dies or goes to prison and gets anally raped on a daily basis for the rest of his life - You still won't be able to escape the power of the Corporations.Face it, U.S. corporations and their U.S. government will ultimately have complete control over all human behavior, and eventually if anyone ever smokes a joint they will be stuck in prison and will be anally raped on a daily/hourly basis for the rest of their lives.VeriChip's (implanted in all humans on planet Earth) will send a radio signal to the police if it detects Cannabis metabolites in the body.I personally am not paranoid as I just chose to "join them" since I could not "beat them". Essentially I live my life now as a conservative in public, though at home I just relax and forget about all the stresses of public work/life.
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Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on July 30, 2004 at 16:51:47 PT:
You were more than 'skeptical', CE
You were abusive towards someone who is doing groundbreaking work in the reform movement with his actions regarding chronicling the LEAP. Based upon information that he provided without judgement himself, offering it for general perusal...as had I. That your reaction was as ...disagreeable...as it was would cause me to wonder what angered you so. Your point of having escaped the clutches of the Mental Health Inquisition was well spoken, but having made a blanket statement that all those deemed mentally ill are 'weak' doesn't take into account the fact that asylums were built long before the pharmacological advent arrived, with its attendent profitable industrial application. Some people really do need such help.I'd like to believe that here at CNEWS we operate above the puerile nonsense characterized by "Wooooow, man, I'm sooooo hiiiiiigh" websites that litter the 'Net like some dog's sidewalk leavings and give us serious reformers a black eye. Here, it's 24/7 'adult swim'. It's the only reason why I've been posting here for the last 5 years, and bloody few other places. If it's conjecture or rumor, we say so, and we provide verifiable links so the reader can satisfy their own curiosity. If it's controversial, we also give appropriate warning. You are free to accept or discard at your pleasure...so what brought on the ire?
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Comment #18 posted by Virgil on July 30, 2004 at 16:22:41 PT
Capital Hill Blue
I accept it as a reliable source. I have only known of it for 6 months or so and read where it was an inside the beltway type of thing. The article was written by their editor and I am sure they would not ruin the work they have done so far on a bash job using untruths. I bookmarked it when Kap put it up and I intend to bring it into conversation as time goes on, mainly because it shows how tightly things are controlled by mass media. The guy is really highly troubled and when you cannot speak in complete sentences on a continual basis, something is bad wrong if you are over 5 years old.It shows how corrupt the Republican Party is to tolerate this man in office without impeachment to go on to be what is greater than a failed presidentcy. It shows how completely gone the Republicans are to nominate such a sick man that is on some serious medicines for some serious troubles. If anyone was around when Eagleton was selected by Mondale in 1976 or so, they remember how fast Eagleton was dropped when his history of depression became public. Now we are talking about an active president with current mental illness planning on running again.I would think this to be the very most important issue in the campaign. How can a man be so self-centered as not to step aside? It is telling of the media, the Republican Party, the sad state of affairs that now are leading to a global plantation economy where we are all slaves and not worthy of the truth or education.Let us hear his press secretary deny these statements. I still would believe Capital Hill Blue instead of the press secretary anyway, as he is just a professional liar on a scale one step up above car salesman.
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Comment #17 posted by Cannabis Enthusiast on July 30, 2004 at 16:12:25 PT
kaptinemo
I said nothing about you. I was just skeptical about our President being on drugs, when he is a rather hardcore conservative religious man - something on the complete opposite of the spectrum as a mental illness patient.I know that liberals like to say that religious conservatives are "mentally ill", but the fact is that the entire mental health industry is _controlled_ by conservative religious Republican pharmaceutical CEO's.I have personally been through the gauntlet of the U.S. Mental Health Industry, and the only thing I got out of it was that all my mental health issues were based on the fact that I felt powerless in this conservative religious Christian society. When you get out of that gauntlet, and quit all drugs (marijuana, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, etc) and start actually feeling confident and powerful (at least psychologically) in this world, you realize that all mentally ill people are essentially just weak people."Mental Health" is just an easy way to control people that aren't strong psychologically. I see Dubya as an extremely strong, confident man so I find it very hard to believe he would be on psychiatric drugs.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on July 30, 2004 at 16:03:30 PT
Just My Thoughts
If it isn't true they can be sued. That would be slander and not just of anyone but our current president. That's very serious. Hopefully they checked with their lawyers before posting that story or they could be in very big trouble.
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Comment #15 posted by kaptinemo on July 30, 2004 at 15:44:37 PT:
A case in point
Keep in mind, dear readers, it was the National Enquirer, not the Washington Post or New York Times, that broke the story about ex-President Bill Klinton's extramarital affair. No other paper would touch it...and it turned out to be true.Truth is where you find it, regardless of where you want it to be...or expect it.
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Comment #14 posted by kaptinemo on July 30, 2004 at 15:22:28 PT:
Would you like to berate me as well, CE?
I posted the same exact same link to www.smirkingchimp.com a few days ago. Given Bush's erratic behavior, the recent brouhaha about Dick Cheney's dismissal of his personal physician for having a jones for SSRI's, and Bush's inexplicable seeming obsession with testing Americans for mental illness (looks like a case of psychological projection to me) I felt it worth offering for comment.I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the source. But the truth isn't always wrapped neatly in a clean, neat Hallmark box with perfectly tied ribbons; sometimes it's covered in something disgusting you wish you didn't have to touch...but must.
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Comment #13 posted by Jose Melendez on July 30, 2004 at 15:21:18 PT
I'm no troll.
It's true there are no independent reports verifying that story. All I can find are essentially reprints of the article posted, which in fact may just be a Bush bash piece.Wage peace. 
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Comment #12 posted by Cannabis Enthusiast on July 30, 2004 at 14:41:03 PT
Ha ha, jose, funny... (sarcasm)
President George W. Bush does not have any "mental illness". He may be the world's most powerful person, but just because liberals hate him doesn't mean he actually takes antidepressants.Capitol Hill Blue sounds like a joke newspaper to me. I'd like to see a link to CNN or Yahoo for an AP/Reuters article on his use of psychiatric drugs.Or maybe I'm just wasting my time feeding a troll here.
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Comment #11 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 30, 2004 at 14:16:43 PT
Why develop it
Why change the wheel when it works.This is money modivated -- just like in any war, drug war, iraq war, etc.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on July 30, 2004 at 13:51:57 PT
Whoa Jose!
My husband told me something about Bush taking drugs but we got busy and I forgot all about it. Thank you for the link. Everytime I see him carrying his cute little dog I'm afraid he's going to drop him again. How can someone drop their precious pet!!!
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Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on July 30, 2004 at 13:25:03 PT
chill pill
Perhaps we should have THIS American examined for "mental illness"from: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4921.shtmlPresident George W. Bush is taking powerful anti-depressant drugs to control his erratic behavior, depression and paranoia, Capitol Hill Blue has learned.The prescription drugs, administered by Col. Richard J. Tubb, the White House physician, can impair the President’s mental faculties and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis, administration aides admit privately.“It’s a double-edged sword,” says one aide. “We can’t have him flying off the handle at the slightest provocation but we also need a President who is alert mentally.”Tubb prescribed the anti-depressants after a clearly-upset Bush stormed off stage on July 8, refusing to answer reporters' questions about his relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth J. Lay.“Keep those motherf*ckers away from me,” he screamed at an aide backstage. “If you can’t, I’ll find someone who can.”Bush’s mental stability has become the topic of Washington whispers in recent months. Capitol Hill Blue first reported on June 4 about increasing concern among White House aides over the President’s wide mood swings and obscene outbursts.(snip) - - -Yet another "signature achievement" from our "leader".
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Comment #8 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on July 30, 2004 at 11:44:36 PT:
EXAMINE EVERY AMERICAN FOR MENTAL ILLNESS?
President Bush and Congress are contemplating allocating millions of dollars on a plan to examine every American for mental illness, especially school children and pregnant women. The United States Supreme Court ordered then-U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush not to lobby for the pharmaceutical industry while U.S. President. The Bush Family has muchl dinero in pharmaceutical industry stock.Now junior Bush is pushing the pharmaceuticals in a subtle way! Have every American examined for "mental illness", in hopes the psychiatrist will prescribe pharmaceuticals [and get their kickbacks!]!
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Comment #7 posted by Max Flowers on July 30, 2004 at 11:36:46 PT
Here's some clarity
It's very simple. Cannabis causes enough anxiety to make people want to quit using it WHEN IT IS BEING USED TOO OFTEN. When it is used excessively, it can turn the other way and start giving anxiety rather than taking it away. This is something that most every experienced user knows.But when used judiciously, i.e. not too often (and that is a different frequency for every individual), it performs beautifully.I get really sick of reading the words of scientists who don't even use it, trying to tell us about it. If you want to learn something about it doc, talk to me, I've been my own lab rat for almost 30 years now. 
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Comment #6 posted by rchandar on July 30, 2004 at 11:36:37 PT:
sam
hey sam--Yeah, I admire him too. The problem is, he's making a very high-profile admission of smoking grass; I'm worried they'll try to bust him in the months to come. He's getting s#$tloads of press because of weed; I hope he's careful, though I think he will be.--rchandar
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Comment #5 posted by Kozmo on July 30, 2004 at 10:48:02 PT
Not good medicine
"Daniele Piomelli, the scientist who is developing the cannabinoid-based drug, is more blunt.''Cannabis is not a very good medicine,'' he said. "That's because the pharma company he works for can't make money on it.
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on July 30, 2004 at 10:13:01 PT
Ricky Williams
Say whatever you want about the guy - I am impressed by his integrity. How many other athletes or professional entertainers tell the truth?  How many NFL players recite the party line, knowing damn well there's nothing wrong with smoking MJ?Think about what Ricky has done. No corporate sponsor will ever touch him again. The players union now hates him for revealing what all the players do - taking products to pass the tests. No football team will take him. The price of integrity is often high.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on July 30, 2004 at 10:09:59 PT
Oh, this is a great one
As Ricky Williams fights social anxiety disorder with marijuana, scientists are working to take advantage of the plant's anti-anxiety properties while avoiding the drug's side effects [and enabling the pharmaceutical industry to make billions of dollars].This article, to me, sums it all up neatly. We are told by the corporate media to ignore reality - the reality that nearly ALL of us have used cannabis, that almost all of us directly experienced its medicinal effects. That most of us can get cannabis any time we want. No, cannabis is not a medicine, not a medical drug. We must suffer and take only toxic prescription drugs. "Scientists" tell us that cannabis is not good medicine. It's medical benefits aren't benefits, they're "side effects". It's scary. Right now, this line of propaganda doesn't work. 75% of us still think medical MJ should be legal. But I wonder, if they print it long enough, will people start to believe it?What kind of society will we have, when people are trained not to learn through personal experience, but through government and establishment propaganda? What's next, will they put questions about medical marijuana on standardized tests & make elementary school kids answer correctly to pass? All the machinery for a totalitarian society has been put in place. Now, it's only a matter of slowly implementing it.
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Comment #2 posted by duzt on July 30, 2004 at 08:25:06 PT
bi-polar and cannabis
This is going to be a big issue in the future. Cannabis works better than any other drug for bi-polar disorder. I've been on Paxil, Deseryl (Trazadone), Prozac and one other I can't remember the name of and had horrible side effects (real side effects like vomiting and severe cramping) and will never take another anti-depressant again. I also see alot of people with MS and cancer and other serious illnesses who find great relief from the stress associated with those in cannabis. It seems strange to me that they call euphoria a side-effect when as far as I can tell, euphoria would be an effect. Anyway, some states still don't recognize any psychlogical problems (bi-polar disorder, depression, etc.) in order to qualify for a state card, like my state. My back injuries, which don't affect me like my bi-polar disorder, are what qualified me for a card. GW pharmaceuticals sent me an application for some research they are doing on psych. disorders in Brazil so hopefully that research will shed more light on the subject.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on July 30, 2004 at 08:07:03 PT

Is Ricky complaining about side effects?
The big story is that we have something that works right now that can pop out of the ground with legal seed. They act like their are some really terrible side effects like those that come on the costly pharmaceutical products.The drug pushers in this country are the pill companies with their day and night advertising. The depression pills and the pain pills are highly addictive and they have made it necessary for nurses to be in the schools just to administer pills to children that a generation ago would take nothing. Maybe the food giants genetically modified corn and stuff just so the pill companies could come along and fix it with a pill the way Monsanto makes canola and soy beans resistant to their own poisons that kill everything else. Who knows what kind of bastard conspiracies are going on? Damned the side effects. Free smoke ahead.
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