The bizarre story of how cannabis became an illegal drug

 The illogicality of our present laws is, perhaps, best illustrated by the fact that cannabis (marijuana) is classified as a dangerous, illegal drug. The bizarre story of the way that cannabis acquired its false reputation is worth telling.

In the 19th century cannabis was being used in Britain to help opium eaters kick their habit and the chances are that cannabis would have remained a fairly obscure drug had not a Dr. Warnock, then Superintendent of the Cairo Asylum in Egypt, written a report suggesting that it might be the cause of insanity.

Dr. Warnock wrote his report in 1895 and it seems likely that he came to his conclusion because many of the inmates in his asylum were enthusiastic cannabis users. What Dr. Warnock seems to have overlooked is that cannabis was extremely popular outside the asylum too.

Dr. Warnock was very much out on his own when he wrote his report. Other experts who had studied cannabis had all come to a different conclusion. The Indian Help Drugs Commission of 1893-4 was set up to examine the trade in hemp drugs (cannabis) and their effect on the social and moral condition of the people in India. The Commission had been given the job of deciding whether or not cannabis should be made illegal. Its conclusion was that the physical, mental and moral effects of cannabis were not adverse and that there was no evidence of cannabis leading to addiction. All the available evidence suggested that cannabis was no more damaging a drug than tea or coffee.

But Dr. Warnock’s isolated and eccentric view became important when, in 1925, Britain, together with a number of other countries signed the International Opium Convention.

The Convention was designed to introduce binding international controls on the sale of opium and cannabis was included along with the far more dangerous opiates as a result of pressure from Egypt where it was still believed that the regular use of cannabis could lead to mental illness.

Britain and the other signatories accepted Egypt’s request to include cannabis on the list of controlled drugs since it seemed, at the time, to be a fairly modest and almost irrelevant concession. The outlawing of cannabis, as a harmless drug, was regarded as a small price to pay for persuading Egypt to sign the opium ban.

Ever since 1925 cannabis has, in much of the world, remained on the “controlled” drug list....<<<Read More>>>....

Medical benefits of cannabis SUPPRESSED and banned throughout most of the 20th century

Natural News: One of the most misunderstood botanicals in modern times, cannabis sativa, more popularly known as “marijuana,” has been used since the beginning of time as a natural medicine – except, of course, for most of the 20th century all throughout the “civilized” West, including in the United States and Canada where it’s been outlawed since the 1930s.

Up until that time, however, nobody thought twice about cannabis, which was readily available at pharmacies, and could be freely grown by anyone without fear of arrest or imprisonment.

It was only when “reefer madness” suddenly hit the scene and started to spread like a plague that this miraculous, seed-bearing plant was deemed “evil” by government entities that, right around this time and not coincidentally, began pushing synthetic pharmaceuticals as the “new” medicine...read more>>>...

Powerful organic compounds found in medical cannabis can slash some cancers by 50%, researchers find

Natural News: Medical marijuana is a booming industry, and the use value of cannabis just continues to expand as we learn more about this heavily prohibited, but clearly medicinal, plant.

While CBD (cannabidiol) has been stealing the show, with its ability to help treat seizures, there is a new, non-psychoactive, medicinal plant compound in town: Terpenes.

Terpenes are another class of beneficial compounds, found in an array of strong-smelling plants. Terpenes can be found in citrus fruits, rosemary, frankincense, and of course, cannabis. Plants actually use the pungent odors produced by terpenes to ward off pathogens and predators....read more>>>....

CBD oil: A miracle oil that relieves anxiety without causing a high

Natural News: Anxiety is truly one of the greatest afflictions of our time. Many of the so-called “conveniences” that are supposed to make modern life easier and more enjoyable, including the Internet, social media, emails, WhatsApp, etc., invade our lives, leaving us little time to disconnect and maintain a state of calm. We are left feeling anxious and overwhelmed, on a permanent treadmill to nowhere. For many, this culminates in burnout and anxiety.

Big Pharma’s go-to drugs for anxiety are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Zoloft and Prozac. However, these dangerous drugs cause multiple side effects, and an increasing number of people – including celebrities – are turning to a natural, safe alternative to cope with their anxiety called cannabidiol (CBD) oil...read more>>>...

Cannabis Exerts Powerful Neuroprotective Effects And May Soon Be Used In Stroke And Cardiac Emergencies

Natural Blaze: Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of over 100 active cannabinoids in cannabis. It accounts for 40 percent of the plant’s extract and widely considered to be one of it’s most powerful constituents that heals cells. Emergency teams in cardiac and stroke units may one day use CBD’s neuroprotective effects to prevent the onset of debilitating symptoms developing from stroke and cardiac arrest. The reason cannabis is so effective medicinally is directly related to its ability to interact with receptors in the body which inhibit inflammation and prevent disease. Cannabis does this so well, that few drugs can compete with its level of potency which come essentially with no side effects...read more>>>...

Cannabinoids Heal the Body

Waking Times: If this were the 60s or 70s and you told someone you were using cannabis for pain relief or to treat an illness, you might get a funny look. Today, however, countless legitimate medicinal uses have been discovered for the plant. It’s finally receiving positive attention from a society that’s condemned it for nearly a century. “Regular” people are standing up for cannabis, unafraid of the consequences imposed by an unfair system. Rather than continue to condemn it, people are openly exploring and sharing information about its benefits. Even doctors are speaking out about it.

Nishi Whiteley writes that cannabis helps various ailments because of the “active pharmacological components” in the plant that mimic the body’s endocannabinoid system, which is described as an “internal chemical harm reduction system”.

Nishi writes that endocannabinoids – chemicals produced by the body – control the endocannabinoid system. These chemicals ensure our most important biological functions are stable. Those functions include the ability to sleep, feel pain, have an appetite, and maintain a healthy immune system. Their control gives endocannabinoids the ability to “fix the problem” when the body becomes imbalanced or stressed. The cannabis plant, Nishi writes, contains “pharmaceutically active” components that mimic the body’s endocannabinoids. These components can help the body manage crises or find healing after trauma if the body’s endocannabinoids are insufficient by themselves. The short answer as to why cannabis helps so many illnesses is that it treats pain and inflammation by working with the endocannabinoid system, which controls these symptoms. Pain and inflammation are prevalent in most illnesses, giving cannabinoids the edge against them ... read more>>>...

Cannabis Prohibition Insults Thousands of Years of Use of This Sacred Plant

Waking Times: Continuing cannabis prohibition becomes even more preposterous in light of a recent archaeological discovery. Many pot promoters are already well aware that the forefathers of the United States utilized cannabis and hemp to become fruitful. Many more are cognizant that the false war on drugs was a way to squelch would-be activists who were fighting against war in Nixon’s time. Looking outside of the trillion-dollar prohibition industry into the archives of history, we can confirm that cannabis was not just accepted, but revered.

A 2,500-year-old cannabis burial shroud was recently unearthed along the Silk Road in Turpan, China. Archaeologists found a grave thought to belong to a 35-year-old male who was wrapped in cannabis leaves. Some of the plants were up to a meter long, and researchers believe they were used ritually. Radiocarbon dating was used to verify the age of the mummy...read more>>>...