Medical marijuana is one of the most talked about subjects in the US today. It may seem like weed has been taking over the world since Colorado and Washington decided to fully legalize its use in 2012, but in reality, the fight for marijuana, both medicinal and otherwise, has been silently raging in this country since prohibition began.
The federal government defines a Schedule I drug as:
“…drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence. “
Drugs included in the Schedule I are:
“heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote”
That means, in the eyes of the federal government, marijuana is more dangerous than cocaine (Schedule II), methamphetamine (Schedule II), ketamine (Schedule III), and even benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium (Schedule IV). That also means that as far as Uncle Sam is concerned, marijuana has no medical advantages.
In 1975 while police were raiding a neighbor’s home, they discovered a marijuana plant growing on the front porch of Robert Randall. Mr. Randall was subsequently arrested for possession of the
plant, but when he arrived for his day in court, even his lawyer laughed at his defense. Mr. Randall was suffering from glaucoma and smoked the marijuana to alleviate his symptoms and save his eyesight. With the help of a UCLA researcher and a battery of medical tests, Randall was able to prove his case, making him the first ever medical marijuana patient. The marijuana was grown at a University of Mississippi farm, rolled into cigarettes at a facility in North Carolina, and shipped in a tin to Randall’s local pharmacy. He was allotted 300 joints per month, an average of 10 per day.
So now the obvious question here is, how can the government agree to grow, roll, and distribute marijuana to a man to treat his glaucoma when they’ve held the opinion for almost a century that marijuana has no medical advantages? This is the question that’s been on a lot of minds in one way or another lately.
With internet access or a Netflix subscription, you can now hear stories of recovery that would normally be hidden or downplayed by the federal government, specifically the DEA.
There’s the story of 5 year old Jayden David. A boy diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a horrific epileptic disorder that usually begins around 6 months of age. In Jayden’s case, he suffered hundreds of seizures every day, sometimes having Grand Mal Seizures lasting over an hour a piece. His journey began at 4 months, and even as I am typing this, my heart breaks for the suffering this child had to endure. Before his 5th birthday, Jayden had ingested over 20,000 pills to try and control his epilepsy, but to no avail. Doctors had begun to lose hope that Jayden would ever learn to eat on his own, play with other children, or even be able to tell his father he loved him. Jayden required constant care and attention, resulting in his father losing everything. His house, his car, his business, and even his wife. At this point, 4 and a half year old Jayden was taking 22 perscription pills every day. On June 4th, 2011, a desperate father took a desperate measure. Something that most people would consider child abuse, giving concentrated marijuana oil to his little boy. After taking the oil, the boy went 4 full days without a seizure, the first time since he was 4 months old.
The road ahead was troublesome. Jayden had to be slowly weaned off of his other seizure medications and suffered a brutal withdrawal. The withdrawal from benzodiazepines and barbiturates is enough to kill an adult, in fact, medical professionals strongly advise against self-detoxing these drugs. Unfortunately for little Jayden, being barely 5 years old, he was far too young to be accepted into a medical detox, and his father was turned down time after time trying to get the boy help. Today, thanks to medical marijuana, Jayden can speak, walk, run, play, swim and live life the way an 8 year old should.
In Canada, a man named Rick Simpson is making waves with lawmakers and big pharma alike. Simpson has developed a highly concentrated form of hemp oil that he calls Phoenix Tears. With around 90% THC, this is some of the most potent hemp oil in the world. After experiencing damage to his nervous system from chemicals he was using at work, Simpson was prescribed 1,000 milligrams of Tegretol a day. Side effects of Tegretol include short term memory loss. After one year, Simpson couldn’t even read thanks to the side effects of this drug. After seeing a documentary on medical marijuana, Simpson asked several doctors if this is something that could benefit him. After being declined for a medical marijuana prescription, he took it upon himself to get his medication the old fashioned way. After smoking just once, he felt better than the medication had ever made him feel. Upon making this discovery, he returned to the doctor and explained that he felt medical marijuana was the right choice for his treatment, but still he was denied. Several months later doctors had told him all of their options were exhausted and he was on his own. It was at this point Simpson had given up pharmaceuticals all together and seeking a healthier way to administer the drug, starting making cannabis oil to be taken orally. His health drastically improved and Simpson was sold.
At a routine appointment, Simpson asked a doctor to take a look at 3 discolored spots on his skin, one on his face and two on his chest. Upon examination, the doctor deduced that the spots were most likely skin cancer. In January 2003, doctors removed the spot on his face and sent it for biopsy. Remembering a documentary he saw some 30 years earlier, where scientists claimed THC had cancer killing properties, he looked down at the spots on his chest and decided to experiment. He put the highly concentrated cannabis oil on two bandages and applied them to the affected areas of skin. After 4 days he removed the bandages and saw that the spots had disappeared completely. Several weeks later the cancerous spot that had been surgically removed had reappeared, so Simpson took it upon himself to apply his cannabis oil and see what would happen. Sure enough, after a few days, the spot was gone. Eager to share this discovery with his doctor, Simpson was shot down immediately after even implying that hemp oil was responsible for his recovery. Soon after, Simpson decided to experiment further with the medical possibilities of his hemp oil. He visited his mother, a long time sufferer of weeping psoriasis. He applied the oil to her skin and after several weeks, her sores were healed and her scales were gone.
Within his first year, Simpson had successfully treated over 50 people with his oil, dubbed Phoenix Tears. During his second year he treated a man with Melanoma in his cheekbone. The cancer had been surgically removed 5 times to no avail. The man was skeptical of the Phoenix Tears, but was desperate enough to try anything. After 3 weeks, he was completely healed.
Many other homeopathic or holistic treatments are usually sold by devious or misinformed people as a way to make money off the truly desperate, but Phoenix Tears is different. Rick Simpson has never charged patients for his miracle oil and even today the recipe is available for free on his website.
When Simpson tried to provide proof of his medical discoveries, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police served a warrant on his property and seized 1,620 plants growing on his land. He was charged with marijuana possession, cultivation and trafficking.
Medical marijuana. The proof is there. Countless lives saved, suffering ended for many with no hope. So why is the US government, along with foreign governments, fighting it’s legalization with such gusto? Surely something that has been proved time and time again, to not only be harmless, but also be incredibly beneficial, should be supported
fully by our government, right? If only it were that simple.
Lawmakers and politicians hide behind pseudo-science and reefer madness, claiming marijuana destroys lives, but anyone can see the most dangerous thing about marijuana is getting caught with it. Personally, I believe big pharma is much more concerned with making money than treating patients. There is money to be made in medicine. If we legalize a plant that can be grown in every American home with limited resources and information, a plant that can be used to treat every disease from migraines, to epilepsy, to cancer, what will be left for big pharma? How will the pockets of the 1% be lined without the billions of dollars spent on drugs every year? The time to wake up is now. Don’t wait until it is your mother, your father, your child, or even you, laying in a hospital bed dying without access to a cure. It is time to put the lives of the American people before the desires of those in charge.
