Weed

It looks like Obama might be addressing the question of federal pot reform – FINALLY – after skirting the issue practically since his inauguration.

How  long will it be until the United States government recognizes cannabis as a medicinal, useful plant, and not just an abused drug? You’d be interested to know that states aren’t the only ones accepting cannabis in various forms – the  U.S. government is actually closer than ever to legalizing the plant. In fact, a group of bipartisan legislators have recently made an effort to propel medical marijuana to the top, legalizing the plant for medicinal purposes and protecting those working with it from federal consequences.

Adam Koessler wanted to cure his 2-year-old daughter’s rare, stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a cancer of the abdomen that can be very painful. He learned about the positive medicinal effects of cannabis oil on cancers like his daughter’s and tried to administer the oil in an attempt to heal her. What followed is a complete nightmare.
Despite the fact that:

It is an undisputed fact that marijuana prohibition is losing traction at record speeds. If the influx of decriminalization, medical legalization, and recreational legalization bills tells us anything, it’s that the population is beginning to truly accept and even desire marijuana legalization. Now, a new ‘gold standard’ survey tells us that this notion is in fact true – finding that a majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for the first time in recent history.

Still think that cannabis isn’t useful for healing disease? Medicinal marijuana is highlighted in this tear-jerking TED Talk where Hugh Hempel describes how marijuana helped heal his twin girls, Adi and Casey, who suffer from a rare genetic disease. But he almost dismissed it due to government sponsored propaganda that dismisses the veracity of cannabis as a healing plant.

Marijuana is known as a Schedule I substance in the United States. That means that it is completely worthless, harnesses ‘no medicinal value,’ and is evidently on the same level of heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. But marijuana can actually help treat numerous ailments, which is why the U.S. government has been juggling with its reclassification for decades.
Now, a legal dispute in California is shedding even more light on the issue in Washington, D.C., and could expedite its the plant’s impending reclassification.

Charlotte Figi suffered from Dravet syndrome, a rare disease that caused her to have over 300 seizures a week and display autism-like symptoms. After trying every other conventional medical treatment available, her neurologist decided to treat her with cannabis oil extracts, and the results were astounding.

There are now 23 states, as well as D.C., which have legalized marijuana in some form. The only states to have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes are Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon, while the rest have medical marijuana laws in place. And as many might suspect, we’ll soon be seeing some blockbuster years for marijuana legalization. 

While many states in the U.S. have successfully passed bills “legalizing” marijuana for medical and even recreational use, cannabis is still illegal on a nation-wide, federal level. In fact, cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug with “no medicinal value,” along with heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. But recurring evidence is showing that this could all change very soon.

A new interesting precedent has likely been set in a California court regarding medical marijuana. Many people who have taken concentrated cannabis in the form of “honey oil” and “dabs” (which often are concentrated versions of THC) can no longer be jailed or fined, since they will now be classified as medical marijuana.