​ Corporate Control vs Compassionate Use By John Novak

vipersclub.org
July 19, 2015

It has been incorrectly arguedby large corporate interests that no more than 150 or so varieties handled by one or two corporationswill be enough for every condition. Thisargument is inaccurate as it clearly lacks the most basic horticulturalknowledge of maintaining an expanding, dynamic gene pool. Access to stabilized varieties, especiallyheirloom and landrace, provides a large gene pool for horticulturistsworldwide.
One real world sadexample outside of cannabis is the Cavendish banana. Lack of geneticdiversity has placed this kitchen favorite in a precarious position, and thedanger posed to its continued existence by disease is well documented.
Patients rely on alarge variety of varieties being made available because of the uniqueproperties of each plant's phytocannabinoids & terpene content. Not only is each variety different, but eachplant is unique.
Over time, the desirablegenetic qualities break down and access to a large gene pool is mandatory forthe ongoing science of finding variety to condition match for the best possiblerelief or potential cure. Whilestabilized varieties offer the best for medical purposes, the cloning of femaleplants off a stabilized mother will not stop genetic degradation overtime. New seeds and people to breed themwill always be needed to perpetuate the existence of stabilized standards andnew varieties. Even the “small guy” inhis own basement, garage or backyard horticulturist makes a contribution to thecontinued existence of the species. That is why in the present age we have allthe wonderful varieties of flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees and shrubsavailable for use today. That is whatwill be needed alongside "mom & pop" businesses and even thebigger corporations. More so than most plant consumer groups, cannabis patientsneed control over who grows their plants and how they do it.
This is critical forthose who can't grow it themselves due to financial, health or residentialrestrictions. Those who want more directcontrol over the varieties and the types of fertilizers and pest controlmethods need home horticulture, designated providers and the ability toparticipate in non-commercial, non-regulated collective horticulture with otherpatients, family and friends. Havingdirect interaction and commerce with commercial horticulturists is also helpfulin acquiring seeds, plants and low cost, high quality products when no otheroption is available.
One of the biggest arguments patientsand medical cannabis advocates have used in the past to keep home horticulturewithin local laws is the cost of production. Patients can grow the plants together or by themselves for less money thanwhat the commercial industry is charging. This argument is starting to be defeated is some areas, like Canada,that are considering having insurance companies pay the costs so it's even freeor next to nothing and still shut down home horticulture.
We are now left with having to defendourselves over why we need to save the compassionate use model. And that is the variety to personal conditionmatch the current world-wide market makes available. It is so important topreserve because big corporations can never match that kind of need foreveryone. They'll be able to work alongside and even take advantage, but nevercompletely monopolize. It's just toopersonalized.
The more the scienceon the endocannabinoid system and the entourage effect of phytocannabinoids inwhole plant therapy and medicine advances, the more it is realized how manyconditions cannabis safely and effectively treats.
All adult use,especially the elderly, can be seen as a medical/therapeutic preventative,intended or not, in relation to US Patent #6630507, awarded to the Departmentof Health and Human Services, which states, “Cannabinoids have been found tohave antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This newfound property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis ofwide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related,inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to haveparticular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurologicaldamage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in thetreatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease,Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia.”
Even if a personbelieves they using cannabis for “recreational” purposes, the bottom line isthat varieties have different effects on the user. That is the point of compassionate use: more choice of effects means a greater chancefor superior effective relief, cure or prevention of disease.
Using the same math probability of less choice of availablevarieties means less chance of superior effective relief. .
It is clearto those who look at the math with an unbiased view: a good match is possible at 15000+ choiceswhere limiting that to 5, 6 or even 800choices insures that some patients will not get superior effective relief,prevention or cure of their disease.
It isalready happening in Washington State where medical shops that provide a vastvariety in a near free market are being closed down in favor of the over-regulatedI-502 “recreational” shops. Patients arebeginning to give anecdotal evidence that they can not find the same varietyand find this out for themselves without knowing the math, they are not gettinggood enough relief.
The SingleConvention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, Articles 4 and 28 gives allowances forIndustrial, Medical, Horticultural and Scientific uses of cannabis.
With thisknowledge in hand, the term “illicit” defies common sense in relationship withthe use of cannabis for adult use or a superior and effective relief,prevention or cure, especially when it has never been the direct cause of deathin all of recorded history. This is whythe laws must change and the species itself protected from over-regulation andmonopolization schemes.
In today'sworld of on-demand consumerism, we must not so easily forget the decades, and in manycases thousands of years of history of selective breeding. There would be no named varieties of flowers,trees, veggies, fruits and herbs that bless our society today if those thatcame before us had such apathy. We cannot give up on protecting and expanding the vast genetic heritage simply toline the pockets of a few who have no sense of integrity on this issue.
\n\n\nThe Viper's Club, a charitable corporation in WashingtonState, exists as a social welfareorganization (hereafter “Organization”) not organized for profit and operated exclusively to promote socialwelfare and reducing the harms associated with unjust cannabis laws andprotecting patient and adult access and cultivation rights for compassionateuse to find a more effective, superior relief, prevention or cure of theirdisease or condition through the use of the cannabis plant in all its forms andvarieties currently available worldwide. Find out more at vipersclub.org