Petition: Reduce Marijuana status as schedule I drug

[SciameriKen]

Greetings all -

I created a new petition at whitehouse.gov
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petit ... ule-i-drug

Essentially the goal is to reduce the status of marijuana as a schedule I drug. This classification simply does not make sense, but still the implications are huge as the scientific community has great difficulty in studying the impacts of this drug on what is estimated to be roughly 2.5 million regular users, and countless casual users.

Thank you for your support!

[zetreque]

I'm totally against pot. I've had my fill my entire life of dealing with pot heads. They (including family members and close friends) have done nothing but negatively impacted my life.

If anything, I think added sugar should be classified as I drug status. lol
It probably does more harm than anything.

Furthermore, I would agree however that alcohol and pot should probably be in the same exact category whatever that is (be it not a drug or a drug).

[TheVat]

Well the petition is just about letting researchers study maryjane, so we all better understand all the pluses and minuses, and hopefully make better laws regulating its use. Anecdotes and hysteria are a poor foundation for public policy, and that's been the problem with mj for a long time. It seems to make some people goofy and unambitious, but the stupidity level is nowhere near that of alcohol abusers. We need Framingham-type studies, i. e. follow large population for many years and see how regular pot use plays out in terms of health, career, marital and social relationships, changes in cognition and cognitive skills, spiritual life, etc.

If anyone needs lab supplies, I'm 3.5 hours from the Colorado border...

[zetreque]

several dispensaries are opening up near me. I am not looking forward to it.

[wolfhnd]

Done

I don't like pot heads but I'm tired of paying to keep them in prisons. I have a very hard time understanding how we failed to learn much from prohibition.

As we do more studies I'm pretty sure the negative effects of Marijuana are going to become more obvious. That said I'm really tired of people self medicating. If you are unhappy chances are their is something physically wrong with you and I sincerely hope that better living through chemistry is on the way. Marijuana is not the answer.

[zetreque]

It's strange that they can legally sell it for medicinal purposes and dispensaries are popping up everywhere and yet you say we can't do scientific research on it because of it's classification? That's pretty lame so yeah something needs to be done about that. Can't we get enough research from countries where it's legal though? I find it hard to believe there isn't much out there.

[SciameriKen]

Well we can do research on it (this one is particularly funny - lol marijuana purchased over the internet) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22405481

But there are many hoops and hurdles to get through to be able to do the research - so most researchers will just pass on investigating it.

Hehe and sugar as a drug has been talked about - the equivalent to this would be classifying sugar cane as a drug :)

[Watson]

And not to mention the raw materials for the manufacturing potential. It is now being grown with low/no THC for the strong fiber content.

Hemps’ tensile strength is eight times that of cotton fiber which accounts for its historical use in sails and rope for the British and American Navies. It is an exceptionally durable and strong eco friendly fabric.

http://www.simplififabric.com/pages/hemp

And not to mention the nutritional benefits.*

*not pizza.

[TheVat]

Hemp milk (tried it) tastes pretty weird, though.

It would be nice to find out more about the medicinal potentials of no-THC pot. Last I heard, it has remarkable utility in certain seizure disorders, as well as pain relief, nausea relief, glaucoma treatment, etc.

Should also restore some freedom for LSD research. Back before it was completely banned, there were some amazing results with LSD as a treatment for severe alcoholism. Lucy in the sky with detox.....

[wolfhnd]

As a health issue I would think that something as widely used as pot should be regulated. To regulate it it has to be legal. I would guess that how law enforcement sees it is that people who use pot are likely socially undesirables and pot is a way of removing them from society. At some point they are going to have to realize that they have lost the war and we can't lockup everybody that isn't an outstanding citizen.

[TheVat]

Law enforcement, yes, should like any drug that induces people to feel peaceful, sit around listening to music and eating cookies, versus going out and getting drunk and aggressive. In my very brief experience with pot, I remember going fishing with a friend and we stayed at the lake for hours enjoying nature and then I had to drive back to town on a county road. I kept asking my friend, "Why are all these cars following me and passing me? Aren't I driving at a reasonable speed for this curvy road?" My friend said, "You're driving at 25 mph."

[BadgerJelly]

Legalise all drugs .. people use no matter what. The most important thing is to educate about the effects and study the effects in order to help medicate people.

[moranity]

ah the war on drugs is keeping alot of people very rich
schedule one means "has no medical use", cannabis has many well proved medical uses

[SciameriKen]

So far I have 12 of the 150 signatures needed to get this publicly listed on whitehouse.gov -- is anyone up for sharing this on their favorite social media sites?

[SciameriKen]

Woo hoo!! I did it!!! :D

http://gossiponthis.com/2016/04/07/dea- ... le-1-drug/

[zetreque]

Why only 18 signatures, and do you think your petition made a difference?

But the head of the DEA is firm in his belief that medical marijuana has zero health benefits.

“What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it’s not,” Chuck Rosenberg, a former federal prosecutor and the current acting head of the DEA, said back in November. “We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it medicine — that is a joke.”

So now we can research it to confirm what he says?

[SciameriKen]

Indeed it will be easier now! I think I only got 18 signatures because I didn't sell it well enough (my text was probably weak) - wasn't catchy enough to go viral (also people may not want to spread this issue on facebook).

Since it only got 18, it was not enough to get publicly posted on whitehouse.gov, so I'm guessing unless some high level DEA agent was one of the 18, I don't think I really did anything to make this happen :)

[SciameriKen]

On a side note - it is shameful that the head of the DEA has that opinion about Marijuana. This is his job after all to keep up on whether there are potential benefits for these drugs. The research is out there, and he can talk to researchers to learn more about it. There is no excuse for this man to have this opinion.

[zetreque]

On a side note - it is shameful that the head of the DEA has that opinion about Marijuana. This is his job after all to keep up on whether there are potential benefits for these drugs. The research is out there, and he can talk to researchers to learn more about it. There is no excuse for this man to have this opinion.

It would be interesting to talk to him to find out his perspective though. I'm sure having to deal with this issue every day for your job gives him a lot of insight into it.

[SciameriKen]

On a side note - it is shameful that the head of the DEA has that opinion about Marijuana. This is his job after all to keep up on whether there are potential benefits for these drugs. The research is out there, and he can talk to researchers to learn more about it. There is no excuse for this man to have this opinion.

It would be interesting to talk to him to find out his perspective though. I'm sure having to deal with this issue every day for your job gives him a lot of insight into it.

I am guessing he willfully turns a blind eye to it. His career was built on prosecuting people for marijuana possession, thus he likely has to view it as an ultimate evil. Positive benefits of it would crush his belief system.

[zetreque]

He said he is willing to have an "intelligent conversation and honest debate" about it. Maybe we should follow up on his offer?

Honestly, I am with him. I've seen no benefits from it. But people can research it if they want.

[TheVat]

I have reservations about the open mindedness of the DEA....never quite understand the idea that since drugs ruin lives and trap people in addiction, we must find drug users and ruin their lives and trap them by tossing them in prison. There's a logic problem there....

[zetreque]

I have reservations about the open mindedness of the DEA....never quite understand the idea that since drugs ruin lives and trap people in addiction, we must find drug users and ruin their lives and trap them by tossing them in prison. There's a logic problem there....

People have a power ego trip. As long as others are not harming us then it's find but it's hard to figure out where to draw the line on drug users harming society and posing a risk to others (threat of ruining other peoples' lives)

[Dave_Oblad]

Hi all,

I liked MJ when I used it for 10 years. As a stress reducer it has no match and I was always ill with stress related problems before MJ. My wife had perpetual PMS and doctors couldn't figure out why. Her pain pills barely worked and such large dosages would have caused major side effects such as liver failure. She found MJ took the edge off the pain much better than any of the prescription drugs. I and my wife were proof of the medicinal effects.

I dislike alcohol. I rather drink gasoline. MJ at least provided an alternative to alcohol. I must also note that every friend I had that drank died from it in one way or another. Most of my MJ using friends are still kicking. I quit MJ when my wife passed away in 2003.. because it felt like having a party without her. Note: she passed from catching the flu and not related to drugs or her medical issues.

But it is obvious that anyone who has taken a hard stand against MJ for decades would find it near impossible to suddenly switch their rhetoric to Pro or even casual acceptance. I do (or did) have 2 Pot-head relatives that where so stereotypical as Lazy couch potatoes that smoked from sun-up to sun-down for nearly 10 years.

Eventually, they out-grew that irresponsible behavior, got decent jobs and one is getting married soon. They would have been lazy bums, even without the MJ, due to the way they were raised. Just glad they weren't lazy bums on booze.. I doubt they would have survived long enough to figure out life requires some work.

In the Army, there was blood spilled every night at the lounge that served booze. Real rowdy bunch and constant fights with weapons. The pot heads never bothered anyone and were always very peaceful. These are two extremes but still.. I think society needs more peace and less war.

Nuff said.

Regards,
Dave :^)

[zetreque]

They would have been lazy bums, even without the MJ, due to the way they were raised.

My opinion is that MJ (not Micheal Jackson which first came to mind when reading) in many cases is a band-aid coverup for other problems in society and health (that may or may not be our direct fault). It's a complicated story of upbringing, culture, and poor health habits (poor quality food and alcohol induced illness).

[SciameriKen]

I am a bit shocked at this one:
http://www.npr.org/2016/08/10/489509471 ... t=20160811

DEA rejects reducing Marijuana from schedule I.

I would have thought the data regarding childhood epilepsy was pretty convincing... :(

[wolfhnd]

At this point the laws covering marijuana are a national tragedy. Perhaps less so than the consequences of irresponsible use of the legal drug alcohol. One however is the result of public policy and the other a matter of personal choice. We have a culture intent on preferring simple solutions and immediate gratification over the tedious process of using the best evidence available to find and implement long term solutions.

The fact that prescription narcotics abuse is a bigger problem than illegal opiates is proof that the drug problem is an epidemic of self delusion. There are no easy answers to the personal problems that drive people to use drugs nor to policy makers refusing to face the fact that the war on drugs has been lost.

If education is a part of the solution then at least some of the educational process should be devoted to teaching the virtues of moderation and self discipline. Taking the easy way to a quick fix has proven to be a disaster for individuals and institutions.

[Dave_C]

I guess I'm too late for the petition. <sigh>

I liked this one though: Petition to create a federal law enforcement agency that supervises the behavior of all law enforcement agencies
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petiti ... t-agencies

[Athena]

I know this thread is old, but I have new to me information that I want to check out with you all. I just did training about osteoporosis and it said cannabis can be the best medicine to make bones strong. That really got my attention because the medication I have been using for osteoporosis is very dangerous stuff. It can make bones brittle and effectively kill them, destroy our jaws and teeth, cause digestive problems. I ignored the warnings until I developed digestive problems, and now I take the warnings seriously.

So if cannabis is better, of course, I want to use it! I want to go roller skating with the kids, so I want to have strong bones.

Now it is a matter of determining what is the best cannabis to use for osteoporosis? Can I grow it myself? What is the best way to process cannabis to get the most cannabinoids for my bones?

I assume smoking cannabis would destroy the cannabinoids. I assume it should be processed and eaten like other herbs. That would mean it needs to be reasonably fresh, therefore, the interest in growing it. I sure don't want to spend money on something that does not give me the desired result of stronger bones.

This link explanations the medical use of cannabis, but doesn't answer my questions.

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-10 ... s-medicine

[SciameriKen]

So I did a quick look at Pubmed searching between cannibiniods or marijuana and bone or osteoporosis.

At first glance it would appear cannabinoids are important for bone regulation:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20532878
Endocannabinoids play important roles in bone homeostasis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19634029
Synthetic Cannabinoids rescue ovariectomy induced bone loss and cannabinoid drugs may be useful to combat osteoporosis

However, two recent studies raise questions whether marijuana use is the best strategy for bone strength:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286929
No Association between Cannabinoids (specifically marijuana usage) use and BMD - NHANES Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27593602
Heavy Cannabis use is associated with low bone mineral Density

I wonder if the latter is due to lower activity (less exercise) because of the heavy cannabis use - and granted these studies do not eliminate the possibility that smoking eliminated the cannabinoids - but I think they provide evidence that occasional or heavy smoking of marijuana does not provide benefits.

Some general things that do however are increasing vitamin D intake (at least 2,000 IU daily), and calcium - and weight bearing exercises are probably most important. Vitamin C is also important - and I am sure Doogles might have something to add about vitamin K2 :D