http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_25450052/cbd-marijuana-oil-changing-game?source=rss \t<span>Non-psychoactive CBD oil made from marijuana plants poised to be game-changer </span><span>Colorado innovation could open doors in other states, but some remain skeptical</span> <span>By John Ingold The Denver Post</span> <span>A Colorado marijuana innovation is changing the way lawmakers in even the most conservative parts of the country talk about cannabis and is poised to create a rapid expansion in the number of states that have legalized marijuana in some way.</span> <span>But many marijuana advocates view the new political campaign with skepticism, fearing it could halt their movement's momentum.</span> <span>The invention is a non-psychoactive oil made from marijuana plants that is used to treat children with severe seizure disorders. The oil is rich in a chemical called cannabidiol, or CBD, but is low in THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.</span> <span>Spurred by parents of epileptic children, legislatures in at least a dozen states so far this year have or will consider bills about the marijuana oil. Last week, the governor of Utah signed into law a bill legalizing possession of the oil. A bill in Alabama has passed the Legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature. Lawmakers in Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin and other states have or will consider CBD bills this year.</span> <span>"What the CBD movement has done, I think, is brought in the soccer moms to the discussion," said Josh Stanley, one of a family of Colorado brothers who own a medical marijuana business and developed the oil. "It's brought in the mainstream, and it's brought in the conservatives."</span> <span>But, even though the bills amount to the most successful discussions ever held about marijuana legalization in some of the states where they are being considered, the nation's largest marijuana-reform groups view them with skepticism.</span> <span>The deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has criticized them as "unworkable" and without real benefits. A policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance is concerned the bills will leave other reform efforts behind.</span> <span>"Is it better than nothing?" asked Mason Tvert, the national spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project and one of the leaders of the marijuana legalization campaign in Colorado. "Potentially. But if it means there is no longer a pressing need for comprehensive medical marijuana legislation, these will be a net negative."</span> <span>More restrictive</span> <span>Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. Because the CBD oil is derived from marijuana plants, states that legalize it will also be crosswise with federal law. But because the CBD laws are far more restrictive than typical medical marijuana laws, advocates on all sides of the issues aren't putting states that pass them in the medical marijuana column.</span> <span>What the CBD bills have exposed is the long-standing tension within the marijuana movement.</span> <span>Struggling to generate interest for broader marijuana legalization in the mid-1990s, activists instead got behind more limited medical marijuana initiatives. Since then, reform campaigns have taken on a well-established multiyear pattern: medical marijuana, then dispensaries, then full legalization.</span> <span>But activists have long feared that, taken to its logical conclusion, medical marijuana could be a "box canyon" for broader legalization efforts. Basically, if more refined medicines derived from marijuana are available, why should lawmakers allow people to grow pot at home?</span> <span>That is exactly where many activists worry the CBD bills will take their movement - and, perhaps not coincidentally, exactly where people opposed to legalization hope it will go.</span> <span>"The question is not if but how," said Kevin Sabet, the executive director of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "How do we deliver it to families?"</span> <span>Sabet, whose group opposes marijuana legalization, said he supports further research into and medical development of CBD treatment. But he said that should occur within the established medical processes, something he said the federal government is increasingly willing to expedite.</span> <span>One pharmaceutical drug - made from 100 percent CBD derived from marijuana plants - has been cleared for clinical trials. The only lab in the country with federal approval to grow marijuana, at the University of Mississippi, will reportedly start growing more CBD-rich strains for researchers to study.</span> <span>"Used as pawns"</span> <span>Sabet said using CBD bills to create interest in marijuana legalization is cynical.</span> <span>"I think you have a lot of people here who are being used as pawns by the broader legalization movement," he said.</span> <span>Tvert, however, said the cynicism lies on the other side. He points to Minnesota, where the governor has proposed a study on CBD in lieu of broad medical marijuana legalization and parents backing medical marijuana have called the move disingenuous.</span> <span>"It raises the question of whether these CBD-only bills are good enough," Tvert said.</span> <span>Even Stanley acknowledges the bills will likely have little immediate impact. The Utah law, for instance, allows parents to possess the oil in that state if a neurologist has said their children will benefit from it. But the law contains no provision for growing marijuana in Utah or making the oil there. And, because it is only sold as a medical marijuana product in Colorado, people have to be Colorado residents to obtain it.</span> <span>Stanley said his brothers are working on manufacturing the oil from low-THC plants classified as hemp - thus allowing it to be produced outside of Colorado's complicated medical marijuana system. But, even if that works, Stanley said he hopes CBD laws won't be the end of the marijuana debate in states that adopt them.</span> <span>"I'm not one of these guys who wants just CBD-only laws," he said. "But it's an opening. It's a start."</span> ********** Look, the ONE thing that the prohibitionists are right about is that medical use opens the door for recreational use! Once medical use is allowed, and folks see that "the sky does NOT fall", they become more open to the idea of recreational use! However in the more conservative states, we have to take a "baby step" by getting them to legalize CBD oil. CBD, as you know, does not cause a high, so it is less scary to the DARE-educated mind. That it is AMAZING at stopping children's seizures that don't respond to other medications, makes it into a heart-wrenching plea to save the kids. There are few politicians that can stand up to a hoard of desperate mothers looking for a cure for their children! When it comes to our kids, women can be a FORCE OF NATURE! You, my dear blades and bladies, need to take advantage if the pending legalization of CBD is your area! CBD does MUCH more than "just" stop seizures! Let me show you what I am doing. Here is a "set piece" that I pop into the comment sections (Yes, Granny "spams" sometimes in the comment section )- It is wonderful that those with seizures will soon have access to CBD (cannabidiol), but what about all the OTHER people this herbal medicine could help? CBD prevents many of the complications of diabetes- "Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy" (Science Daily), and "Lab Notes: Pot Has Benefits for Diabetic Hearts" (MedPageToday). Many women have "triple negative" breast cancer, or other ID-1 type cancers- "Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells" (PubMed) and "Pot compound seen as tool against cancer" (SFGate). CBD can stop the growth of "feeder" blood vessels (angiogenesis) that help tumors grow so fast- "Cannabidiol inhibits angiogenesis by multiple mechanisms" (PubMed). So, WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US? We deserve CBD, too! Learn more about CBD in "Granny Storm Crow's List". The whole idea is to educate folks about all the OTHER uses of CBD, and that although CBD and THC can treat many of the same conditions, that they do it is very different ways! Dr Gupta explaining about the "entourage effect" was a big help towards legalizing! Here's some other stuff I have found useful- Treatment with CBD in oily solution of drug-resistant paediatric epilepsies. (abst - 2005) http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_show.php?s_id=173&&search_pattern=EPILEPSY “Conclusions: So far obtained results in our open study appear encouraging for various reasons: 1) no side effects of such a severity were observed as to require CBD discontinuation; 2) in most of the treated children an improvement of the crises was obtained equal to, or higher than, 25% in spite of the low CBD doses administered; 3) in all CBD- treated children a clear improvement of consciousness and spasticity (whenever present) was observed.†OBTAINING EPIDIOLEX™ IN THE U.S. (news – 2013) http://www.dravetfoundation.org/dravet-syndrome/consider-dravet/obtaining-epidiolex Report of a parent survey of cannabidiol-enriched cannabis use in pediatric treatment-resistant epilepsy (abst – 2013) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525505013004629 And (I LOVE this) use the "Think of the Children" card! The prohibitionists have used that phrase against legalization for decades. Turn-about is FAIR PLAY! Ask folks to think what it would be like to watch your child go through seizure after seizure, knowing that there is a safe herbal medicine that very well could help! Then we can bring up that other cannabinoids, or a combination of them may work if CBD alone fails! (citing Dr Gupta and the "entourage effect") Cannabidivarin-rich cannabis extracts are anticonvulsant in mouse and rat via a CB1 receptor-independent mechanism. (abst – 2013) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23902406 Science/UK: Antiepileptic efficacy of cannabidivarin will be tested in clinical studies (news – 2012) http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=382 Anticonvulsant activity of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol compared with three other drugs. (abst – 1976) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1253828 In other words, we need to create a feeling of discontent among the American public! Make them WANT CBD - with all it can do, it won't be hard!. So what does CBD do? Let's start with those I mentioned in the comment- READ THEM AND EDUCATE YOURSELF! Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy (news - 2006) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060227184647.htm Lab Notes: Pot Has Benefits for Diabetic Hearts (news - 2010) http://www.medpagetoday.com/LabNotes/LabNotes/23853 Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells. (full - 2007) http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.long “CBD represents the first nontoxic exogenous agent that can significantly decrease Id-1 expression in metastatic breast cancer cells leading to the down-regulation of tumor aggressiveness.†Pot compound seen as tool against cancer (news – 2012) http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Pot-compound-seen-as-tool-against-cancer-3875562.php#page-1 “When McAllister and Desprez exposed the ("triple negative" breast cancer) cells to cannabidiol in a petri dish, the cells not only stopped acting "crazy" but they also started to revert to a normal state… The researchers stressed cannabidiol works only on cancer cells that have these high levels of ID-1 and these do not include all cancerous tumors but, rather, aggressive, metastatic cells. But they've found such high levels in leukemia, colorectal, pancreatic, lung, ovarian, brain and other cancers.†Cannabidiol inhibits angiogenesis by multiple mechanisms. (abst – 2012) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22624859 So what ELSE does CBD do? The nonpsychoactive cannabis constituent cannabidiol is an oral anti-arthritic therapeutic in murine collagen-induced arthritis (full - 2000) http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/17/9561 Anti-nausea And Anti-vomiting Activity Of Cannabidiol Compounds/ US 2003 0225156 A1 Dec. 4, 2003 (full – 2003) http://www.cannabisinternational.org/info/CBD-Nausea.pdf Post-ischemic Treatment with Cannabidiol Prevents Electroencephalographic Flattening, Hyperlocomotion and Neuronal Injury in Gerbils. (abst – 2003) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030439400300569X (stroke) Neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component from Cannabis sativa, on β-amyloid-induced toxicity in PC12 cells (full - 2004) http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118757302/HTMLSTART (Alzheimer's) Comparison of Cannabidiol, Antioxidants, and Diuretics in Reversing Binge Ethanol-Induced Neurotoxicity (full - 2005) http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/314/2/780.full (alcohol-induced brain damage) Cannabidiol inhibits human glioma cell migration through a cannabinoid receptor-independent mechanism (full - 2005) (brain cancer) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1576089/?tool=pmcentrez Cannabidiol Prevents Cerebral Infarction Via a Serotonergic 5-Hydroxytryptamine1A Receptor–Dependent Mechanism (full - 2005) http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/36/5/1071 (stroke) Cannabidiol lowers incidence of diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice (full - 2005) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2270485/?tool=pmcentrez Cannabidiol as an antipsychotic. A double-blind, controlled clinical trial on cannabidiol vs. amisulpride in acute schizophrenia. (full - 2005) http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v2/n3/full/tp201215a.html Chemicals in Cannabis may help mentally ill (news - 2005) http://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/06/06/10716.aspx Now all of that was just me going through and "cherry picking" a few from the "CBD" section of the List from 2000 - 2005. There are MANY more like those in the CBD section all the way up to January 2014! to get them, just get a copy of my List! Bottom of my sig, or PM me your email address. Commenting in the news is a safe and easy form of activism! More importantly, it reaches a LOT of people! And "shooting down" the prohibitionists by providing titles of studies and articles that the saner folks can look up and read, is really a LOT of FUN! So when you are bored, or TV sucks, or just pissed off about the laws... Just get online, hit the comments in the news, and go "Prohib hunting" with me! Feel free to steal my ideas, but put them in your own words! Education paves the way to legalization! Once the medical facts become known, the need for legalization becomes obvious! Granny
I might just be one of the cynics mentioned, but CBD could be the end of the legalization movement. If all 50states have access to a medicine without the high, should a push for recreational continue, all it will cause is guffaws from the opposition saying "see? we told you they didnt care about the medicinal properties, they just used it as a modum to push recreational legalization" which, unfortunately, is partially true. While the movement does care about medicinal value, it has always been a front in the fight for the end of prohibition. And should that be broadcast to those on the fence, the ones that we really need to win over, the movement could lose quite a bit of credibility, which with momentum we've gained, would be detrimental to the movements progress. Like I said I could just be being cynical, and I would love this just to be another instance of baby steps, but I cant help but think a wide acceptance of CBD, will change the war on marijuana, to the war on THC.
I've heard people say that the medical marijuana movement would kill recreational legalization. At first, I thought "No way, it's helping it and it is a stepping stone!" But now I'm starting to think that the former might be true. Don't get me wrong, it's great that politicians are legalizing a natural medicine that will help kids with seizures. But now they won't want to legalize for recreational use at all. The liberal states will be the only ones to legalize recreationally. All the conservative states won't at all. They will say there is no reason to legalize recreationally. After that happens we will need to go back to our original argument that it's our right to put what we want into our bodies and that it is less harmful than alcohol.
Interesting... I'll say this for now: It speaks volumes that tools like Kevin Sabet support CBD-only legislation while banning the whole-plant. I love your enthusiasm, Storm Crow. I believe it will come down to the states. IE in CO they would be hard pressed to revert BACK to a "CBD only" state because we are already full blown. IMO it would be a death sentence (figuratively, career-wise) for any politician to push away what has been established. We are talking about MILLIONS of dollars being recirculated into our local economy - because the shop owners, employees, growers etc are all residents of the state. The CBD-only legislation tends to reek of pharmaceutical private interest and that's going to be a big battle over time. The Prairie Plant Bill is an example of perversion that actually passed the vote - which would put ALL profits into national chain pharmacies and the Canadian grow op who grows for Health Canada's asinine MMJ system. This would rob the state (Michigan in this case) and its citizens of millions. It appears that these issues are becoming important in other states, slowly but surely, as they see how greatly CO is benefiting from legalization. People are actively leaving their old state to move here. In time, I believe enough people will catch on and begin pushing their politicians harder on the issue. It becomes a question of, "Are citizens who do not live in CO less deserving than those who do? Why should they be cheated out of millions of dollars worth of new jobs/careers, tax revenue and simultaneously enjoy lower crime rates, smaller black market activity and vastly INCREASED health via cannabis consumption???"
CBD will show the world cannabis's power that will lead to whole plant research. imo.. the more people we heal the more evidence we have.