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Patients With Chronic Disease Benefit From Marijuana: Israeli Study A new study from Israel got encouraging results from testing medical marijuana on 19 nursing home patients. The test subjects were treated with cannabis in the form of powder, oil, vapor, or smoke three times a day over the course of a year. Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by film student Zach Klein, a specialist in medicinal cannabis policy and director of the documentary Prescribed Grass, found that 17 or the 19 patients regained lost weight, and the symptoms of pain, stiffness, tremors, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were dramatically reduced. The moods and communication skills of study participants also improved, and they had fewer nightmares and flashbacks, Klein said, reports Matthew Grant Anson at American News Report. “After I found this, everything has been better,” Moshe Rute of Hadarim, an 80-yearold Holocaust survivor who struggled with nightmares and the after-effects of a stroke, told the Times of Israel. “I’m still a Holocaust child, but I’m finally able to better cope.” Rute is one of 11,000 Israeli citizens with medical marijuana permits from the government. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Klein told the Times. “It’s the future.” Particularly notable in the study was marijuana’s ability to replace some of the prescription medications taken by patients. By the end of the study, 72 percent were able to reduce the number of pharmaceutical drugs they were taking daily. The list of medications which could be reduced after cannabis therapy included painkillers, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and pills for Parkinson’s disease. Many of the pharmaceutical medications
Medical News which could be replaced or reduced can have debilitating and severe side effects, meaning that cannabis therapy resulted in a vast improvement in quality of life. “We know how to extend life, but sometimes it’s not pleasant and can cause a great deal of suffering, so we’re looking to alleviate this, to add quality to longevity,” head nurse Inbal Sikorin said. “Cannabis meets this need. Almost all our patients are eating again, and their moods have improved tremendously.” Marijuana’s chief psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), was discovered in Israel in the 1960s, and the country doesn’t attach the same stigma to cannabis as is commonly the case in the United States. Medical marijuana was legalized for seriously ill patients in the early 1990s. Though it remains illegal for the general population, even senior rabbis reportedly have no problems with the use or spread of cannabis. According to Science Daily, Klein’s research team includes Dr. Dror Avisar of TAU’s Hydrochemistry Laboratory at the Department of Geography and Human Environment; Prof. Naama Friedmann and Rakefet Keider of TAU’s Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education; Dr. Yehuda Baruch of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and director of the Abarbanel Mental Health Center; and Dr. Moshe Geitzen and Inbal Sikorin of Hadarim. Klein is now working on another study at Israel’s Reuth Medical Center with Drs. JeanJacques Vatine and Aviah Gvion. He hopes to prove a connection between medicinal cannabis and improved swallowing (a phenomenon which I personally know is very real, due to what I’ve learned from my friend, medical marijuana patient and activist Mimi Friedman, an Ohio native who had to move to Colorado to legally access her medicine). One of the biggest concerns with chronically ill patients is their food intake, and Klein believes that cannabis — which can stimulate regions of the brain associated with the swallowing reflex — will have a positive impact.
Cannabis Connection determination.
Marijuana and Low IQ Study Flawed
Duke scientists, not to be shown up, conducted new statistical tests to assess his proposed explanation. They think he is incorrect, and that their original study is sound.
A study last August had suggested that marijuana use in teen years can lead to lower IQ scores. But, with holes in the study big enough to drain spaghetti, researchers in Norway have shown that it couldn't hold water.
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The original study included more than 1,000 people who'd been born in the town of Dunedin, New Zealand. Their IQ was tested at ages 13 and again at 38, and they were asked about periodic marijuana use between those ages. Scientists from Duke University, and elsewhere, somehow determined that participants who'd reported becoming dependent on pot by age 18 showed a drop in IQ score between the first test, at the age of 13 and the second test done at the age of 38. Their findings suggested pot is harmful to the adolescent brain, according to the researchers. Fortunately other scientists did a study, which was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a respected and peer-reviewed magazine. In their analysis, researchers at the Ragnar Frisch Center for Economic Research in Oslo, Norway, determined that differences in the participants socioeconomic status had not been taken into account, indicating that the trend may have anything to do with marijuana use. With the help of a computer, Ole Rogeberg performed a simulation which traced what would happen to IQ scores over the twenty five years if they were affected by differences in socioeconomic status. Income, education and occupation are some factors in determining a persons status level, and that can have a major effect on a persons IQ, as suggested in other research. When applying the socioeconomic differences, and not marijuana use, he found the same patterns as the Duke researchers.
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Rogeberg never claimed that his explanation is the right one, but simply showing that the methods and evidence in the original study are flawed, and cannot rule it out. He even suggested further analysis that researchers could perform to make a better
Cont. from Pg. 10 A unique part of this book is that each recipe is designed to compliment the flavor of certain cannabis strains as incorporated in the recipe. The Strain Flavor Profile and Alternative Strains Guide is helpful for those who are not able to obtain the strain listed in a recipe. For instance, if you don't live in an area that produces a particular strain, you may be able to substitute another while achieving the same flavor profile. There are several delightful recipes for extracting the THC from your marijuana in the Butters, Oils, and Extracts chapter, and you can use these to create the other recipes in the book. There are many tantalizing recipes in each of the sections which are, Breakfast and Brunch, Lunch, Appetizers, Drinks, Dinner, and, of course, Dessert. I think I will be trying a few of these recipes in the near future, like the “Bajan Silver Haze Sweet Bread” or the “Indian Mango Lassi”. Here's a great recipe to get you started: Basic Olive Oil Ingredients: 8 servings of dosed and ground strain of your choice (one serving may equal as little as ½ teaspoon depending on personal tolerance) 8 ounces olive oil On the stove, place the olive oil and ground cannabis into a pan then turn the stovetop onto the lowest setting. Make sure to completely stir in the ground cannabis so that it is totally covered by the oil. Cook this mixture on the lowest setting for 1 hour then remove from the heat and strain with a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a measuring cup. After the olive oil cools completely, pour into a sterilized glass bottle then secure the cap tightly. Store your cannabis infused Basic Olive Oil in the refrigerator. This olive oil will have a shelf life of 1 month when refrigerated. As a precaution, under no circumstances should the cannabis have any traces of moisture content left in it. Any amount of water, no matter how minute, will create the perfect environment in the oil to breed bacteria and can create toxins such as botulism. Make sure the cannabis is 100% cured before infusing. If at any point the bottle begins to cloud, throw it away immediately as this means sources of contamination have taken root in your oil. This recipe for Basic Olive Oil produces 8 servings at 1 ounce each. Your dose per serving will depend on the medication strength you pick.
Although some recipes are quite involved, most are easy peezy without the greezy. I highly recommend that you go out and get this book, It has enlightened me and I am anxious to begin using the recipes. Be sure to check out page 13 for more recipes including another from Ganja Kitchen Revolution: The Bible of Cannabis Cuisine that utilizes the Basic Olive Oil recipe. To order your own copy of Ganja Kitchen Revolution: The Bible of Cannabis Cuisine, go to any online bookstore, including the big guys like Amazon and Barnes & Noble (it's about $16.00). Also, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheGanjaKitchenRevolution!