UNM study: all cannabis ingestion is medical

Back in 2011 Bob Newland got me thinking again about how humans developed a technology to ingest the smoke of native plants.

The concept is simple enough; imagine seeing a horn or an antler smoking in a lightning-caused fire looking like a novel way to move burning material from place to place. Protohumans mastered fire about 790,000 years ago, after all. Smoking mixtures came with humans as they passed through Beringia. White Buffalo Calf Woman brought the pipe to the Plains cultures.

Last month two University of New Mexico researchers published a study on how cannabis helps treat certain medical conditions. Their results showed that smoking the herb is most effective method for people who ingest cannabis.

The findings mark a contrast to conventional wisdom that cannabidiol, or CBD, is the part of the marijuana that contains medical benefits while tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, “merely makes one high,” said Jacob Miguel Vigil, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. “If you are taking it because you are stressed out after work … well in theory those are medicinal purposes,” Vigil said. [Albuquerque Journal]

God might not be enough for religious states. They lead the nation in anti-depressant use and as another brutal winter smothers the Great Plains leaving residents on the verge of suicide one writer sees hope.

If there is one observation I feel compelled to share after five years in the cannabis industry, it is that I do believe that all cannabis use is medical. When the modern medical cannabis movement began a little over a decade ago, very little was remembered about the benefits that the cannabis plant has to offer. The phytocannabinoids produced by the plant are in essence exactly what the body needs to maintain a healthy, balanced endocannabinoid system. So if you think you are a recreational user of cannabis, you might want to think again. [Erica Freeman]

The comparison between the absence of power in the New Mexico Republican Party and the flaccidity of the South Dakota Democratic Party in my home state is dizzying in its similarity.

Steve Pearce, the losing candidate for governor last year and now chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party, wants to blame Democrats for the snowballing effort to legalize recreational marijuana. Senate Bill 577, the Republican initiative, calls for marijuana to be sold in state-owned stores. Pearce and the Republicans lost every statewide election last year. They also were routed in the competition for control of the state House of Representatives. Democrats now control the House 46-24, their widest margin since 1996. Worse for the Republicans, they have a thin bench. Not a single member of their ranks looks capable of mounting a serious challenge next year to Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Udall. [GOP chairman can’t make hay out of cannabis]

Alaska suffers as do other states in the frozen tundra red states where access to affordable health care is virtually non-existent but legal cannabis there helps to ease the doldrums.

Alaskans have to wait until December 21 to see the light slowly increasing daily, and for most that day can’t come soon enough. “It looks like seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) is related to low light levels,” said psychologist and depression specialist Suzanne Strisik. “[That] is when we are around the holidays and we are trying to adjust to those low light levels.” [Megan Edge]

Obesity and mental illness are closely linked, especially in northern tier states like South Dakota. Rich people can save themselves since they merely flee South and complain that immigrants are taking over the workforce; but, poverty chains those who live in despair year 'round.

Migration must be celebrated, not outlawed. Statehood for Mexico would mean more people could save themselves from brutal winters in the North.