Page 11 - the NOISE September 2012

enforce federal law over state law.
Legal watchdogs in the medical mari-
juana arena speculate that it will take either a change in federal law allowing states to regulate medical marijuana on their own or a trip to the Supreme Court to resolve this clash.
So what is it about cannabis that gets everyone’s panties in a knot? What has earned this natural herb that grows out of the earth and has been used by people for centuries such a demonic reputation?
According to the book, Marihuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years by Er- nest L. Abel, the first recorded use of mari-
juana was in 2737 BC by Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The emperor documented its medical effectiveness in treating the pains of rheumatism and gout.
Prior to the mid-1930s, doctors in the United States regularly prescribed cannabis for a variety of ailments including coughs, headaches, digestive disorders, and vene- real disease. And doing so was not illegal then. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed and the use, sale, or distribution of cannabis was effectively banned except for medical and industrial uses. Physicians around the country railed against this act because it required them to pay a hefty ex- cise tax if they prescribed cannabis to their patients. In 1942, cannabis was completely removed from the United States Pharmaco- peia, the book of standards for medicinal products.
A major contributor to the bastardiza- tion of cannabis was a man named Harry Anslinger, who had worked for the Bureau of Prohibition in the late 1920s. In 1930, he was appointed the first commissioner of the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics. At that time, the regulation of the drug and alcohol trade fell under the Department of the Treasury. As illegal sub- stances, their trafficking was considered a financial loss to the government as they could not be taxed.
Anslinger perceived an alarming rise in marijuana use in the mid-1930s, but he also had a reputation as a racist and his percep- tions may have been exaggerated to suit his underlying agenda. He often wrote about his concerns regarding cannabis use with ethnic overtones. “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sex- ual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others,” is one such quote attributed to Anslinger. He is credited with numerous such statements made in articles published extensively, with the help and support of publisher William Randolph Hearst.
In a New York Times article from 1935, critics alleged that Anslinger’s fervent campaign had ulterior motives fueled by the DuPont petrochemical company and Hearst. Prior to its all-out ban, the hemp plant was a cash crop in the US. The Chi- nese began making paper from hemp pulp in about 100 BC. It has been specu- lated that Hearst, who had extensive timber holdings at that time, wanted to eliminate hemp as a competitor in the paper-making industry. Anslinger was in his fourth year as the FBN director before beginning his all-out campaign against cannabis, aimed primarily at creating fear and alarm in the American public. Prior to then, he did not seem overly concerned about its use. His efforts, however, have left a lasting impres-
sion on our society.
Under current medical marijuana stan- dards, cannabis can be recommended by a doctor for the relief of certain debilitat- ing conditions, including glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV, and AIDS. Cannabis has known effectiveness for the reduction of pain and nausea associated with severe illness and treatments like chemotherapy.
Recent studies have shown that canna- bis is much more than just a strong aspi- rin or antacid. In 1974, researchers at the Medical College of Virginia were funded by the National Institutes of Health to find evidence that cannabis damages the im- mune system. But instead they found that it slowed the growth in mice of cancerous tumors of the lungs and breast and of virus- induced leukemia. The study was imme- diately shut down by the DEA and in 1976 President Gerald Ford ended all public research on cannabis. Exclusive rights to research the herb and its active ingredient THC was granted solely to major pharma- ceutical companies. The development of a synthetic form of THC that would have had the beneficial medical effects of its natural counterpart without inducing the “high” was unsuccessful.
In February 2000, researchers from Ma- drid, Spain announced they had used THC to destroy incurable brain tumors in rats. In fact, our bodies actually have an entire system that is fundamentally wired to re- spond to cannabinoids — the name for the class of active chemicals in cannabis that includes THC. A 1998 study from Italy confirmed the existence of the endocan- nabinoid system in the human body, our own way of producing chemicals similar to those found in marijuana.
In 2006, a drug called Rimonabant was approved for use in Europe. It was the first pharmaceutical created that blocked the cannabinoid receptors. It was marketed as a diet drug. After all, doesn’t everybody get the munchies when they smoke pot? So logically, if the THC receptors that make us hungry are blocked, then appetite con- trol should be the result. However, side effects experienced by those who took the miracle diet drug included depression, anxiety, insomnia, and aggressive impulses. A study showed that mice that were given Rimonabant developed cancerous tumors. After five suicides were reportedly link to the drug, it was pulled from the European market in 2008.
There is additional evidence emerging that the endocannabinoid system in our bodies is being overwhelmed by things like pollution and chemically altered foods, which have in and of themselves been linked to a dramatic rise in cancers. Can- nabis could naturally bolster the endocan- nabinoid system and might, in fact, not only protect us from developing cancer but destroy and eliminate already existing tu- mors and disease.
In the documentary What if Cannabis Cured Cancer, Norman Vroman, former dis- trict attorney for Mendocino County, Cali- fornia said about marijuana: “With it being illegal, it’s a built-in government price sup- port. As long as it’s illegal, there’s gonna be money in it. If it was decriminalized, every- body could grow it in their backyards.”
| Cindy J. Cole has been known to snoop around airports and forests from time to time. cindycole@live.com
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