UCLA's Dr. Donald Tashkin states he would be in favor of legalization of marijuana.  Why?  After all he did study chronic marijuana smokers and the effects of heavy long term marijuana smoking on the lungs with regards to lung cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).  Prior to the study he hypothesized there would be a link between heavy marijuana smoking and lung cancer or COPD.  Guess what?  He was wrong!  To his surprise the study concluded otherwise. 

"What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect," says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Tobacco smokers in the study had as much as a 21-fold increase in lung cancer risk, and developed COPD more often in the study.  Researchers found marijuana did not impair lung function. (perhaps this is why Michael Phelps was able to win 8 gold medals in the Bejing Olympics... of course in all fairness he did win the medals prior to getting caught on camera smoking marijuana).

Tashkin, supported by other research, concluded that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), an active ingredient in marijuana, has an "anti-tumoral effect" in which "cells die earlier before they age enough to develop mutations that might lead to lung cancer." 

"Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects," Tashkin says.

"But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization. I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances, because of the potential for harm. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance.

"Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm," Tashkin stated.

And of course this is ONLY in reference to smoking marijuana.  It doesn't take into consideration the other methods of medicating, such as vaporizing marijuana and marijuana edibles. 

So you're sick, and you prefer to medicate with medical marijuana to ease your pain and symptoms. After all it is non-toxic and is well known to aid sleep, appetite, and mood, not to mention medical marijuana can ease pain and suffering of anxiety, pain, glaucoma, MS, wasting syndrome, nausea, and many other ailments.  So you visit your Dr. and he or she agrees that your ailment may benefit from the use of medical marijuana, AND that your sickness is on the list of "approved" ailments by the Colorado Department of Health.  So.. you send in your application to be listed as a medical marijuana patient with the State of Colorado and your Dr. recommendation along with the required fees to the State of Colorado Health Dept. Division of Medical Marijuana.  Do you think you're legal to use medical marijuana?  You're NOT!  It doesn't matter that your Dr. and you both agree that medical marijuana is a good option.  You must WAIT for the Colorado Dept. of Health to APPROVE your medical marijuana application.  But WAIT!  They are backlogged NINE MONTHS on medical marijuana applications!   Although it would seem that a decision about your health would be between you and your Dr.  and NOT involve the Government.  Well think again.  However the good news is you don't have to wait the entire NINE MONTHS! 

Colorado medical marijuana patients need to remember that their medical marijuajna card or application is valid 35 days AFTER they send in their medical marijuana application to the Colorado Department of Health (we know it sucks that you have to wait considering this is a matter of health, however it could be much worse if the law required you to wait for your card to return in the mail). 

IF you are currently an actively licensed medical marijuana patient in Colorado you should be sure to review your expiration date so you can reapply 35 days before the expiration date on your medical marijuana card, and not be caught in a 35 day waiting period of being unable to obtain your medical marijuana from a medical marijuana center if you wait until the final expiration date to reapply.  In other words always renew and reapply for your card at least 35 days before the expiration of your existing medical marijuana card. 

Since the Colorado Dept. of Health is backlogged up to 9 months on processing medical marijuana ID cards, you are not considered legal for the first 35 days UNLESS by some miracle the Colorado Dept. of Health catches up with their back log of medical marijuana applications, and sends out your medical marijuana card within days.  Therefore it is important you carry the following on you at all times to prove you have applied to be a medical marijuana patient: 

1. A copy of your medical marijuana application form. 

2.  A copy of PROOF of mailing (certified mail receipt) 

3.  Proof of payment (money order receipt)

If you are a medical marijuana patient who is growing your own marijuana plants, you should also keep a copy of all of the above items at your home, so if anyone wants to verify that you are a legitimate patient your family can show a copy of your medical marijuana papers if you are not home. 

Veterans can now obtain medical marijuana, in States with Medical Marijuana laws,  without fear of telling their V.A. Dr. 

Click Here to get the full story on this policy change by the Veteran's Administration, a branch of the Federal Government, which has many marijuana activists cheering since the Federal Government has completely failed to acknowledge the medical benefits of marijuana.....  at least publicly.  Even though the Federal Government did file patent # 6,630,507 stating that cannabinoids were effective in treating and preventing a wide variety of diseases.  The patent is assigned to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Marijuana Facts AND a Very Nice Soundtrack!

Ya gotta love the Montana police for doing the "right" thing.  Evidently FEDEX and UPS refuse to deliver medical marijuana to patients based on fear of Federal consequences, even though medical marijuana has been legal in Montana since 2004. 

Click here for the Full Story:  Montana Marijuana Police

There is currently a bill pending before the United States House Judiciary Committee that is very important to everybody involved with medical marijuana.  It would create a defense to federal criminal law for the possession, growth, sale, or use of Medical Marijuana.  Even if your State does not have medical marijuana laws you should support this bill for those who need the support now, and for your state moving into the future!  Mile High Medical Cannabis urges you to contact your Congressman and get them to co-sponsor this bill. 

            H.R. 3939 was introduced last fall and is currently pending before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.  It does not appear any hearings have been held or action taken yet.

            H.R. 3939, if passed, would create what is called an “Affirmative Defense” for anybody involved in medical marijuana, as long as they were in compliance with State law. 

An affirmative defense is not the same as legalizing medical marijuana.  What it means is that you could be arrested and charged in Federal Court.  If the Federal Prosecutor refused to dismiss the charges against you, you would have to go to trial.  However you could raise the defense that the marijuana was for medical purposes. 

Contact your congressperson and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of H.R. 3939 and to push to have H.R. 3939 passed this session of Congress. 

Click here to read bill 3939 courtesy of Mile High Medical Cannabis. 

The Colorado Department of Higher Education Division of Private Occupational Schools oversees the state's 330 vocational and trade schools, and they have now agreed to regulate Greenway University which teaches students how to grow, and distribute marijuana. 

This is a first for the Department of Higher Education who will approve the curriculum and set standards for the teachers.  Approximately 1,000 students have attended Greenway since it started satellite classes downtown last year. 

Marijuana will not be allowed in the classrooms for now.  This author is not sure how they teach growing, without growing?

Greenway University's I-25/Alameda Denver campus is expected to open in about a month.

Courses take between three and five months, and can cost between $300 and $2,000 depending on the curriculum.

FACT:  Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug.  If marijuana was a gateway drug, use of harder drugs would be a much more massive problem than it is.  It is estimated that over 83 million people in the US have smoked marijuana. 

BEWARE!  MILK IS A GATEWAY DRINK TO DANGEROUS SODA!

Obviously people drink soda because they choose to drink soda.  Not because milk led them to drink soda.  The same is true for cannabis and hard drugs.  People who use hard drugs choose to use hard drugs, not because marijuana made them seek out something stronger, but because that is a choice they make. 

While some research shows that many hard drug users used cannabis or alcohol before moving on to the harder substances, other research shows that some serious drug abusers have used other drugs before using cannabis or alcohol.  The former is particularly evident in individual drug-abuse histories which tend to show that "hard drug" users tend to jump from drug to drug, or progress from one drug to another.   When you take into account that less than 1% of marijuana smokers use harder drugs the gateway theory is further eroded.

Study on San Francisco vs. Amsterdam

In 2004, a study comparing cannabis users in San Francisco to those in Amsterdam was done to test the effects of the differing drug policies in the two cities on drug use patterns. The Netherlands has a drug policy of decriminalization in which cannabis can be bought by adults over 18 in quasi-legal "coffee shops" and used publicly, while in the United States cannabis is criminalized and must be bought in the black market  (often from the same dealers that sell hard drugs) and used "underground". The results found that, compared with their counterparts in Amsterdam the San Francisco cannabis users were significantly more likely to use cocaine, crack, amphetamines, ecstasy, and opiates despite similar cannabis use patterns and a more permissive drug policy in the Netherlands^.  One plausible explanation is that the black market itself acts as a gateway to harder drugs, as opposed to the effects of cannabis. 

Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug.  99% of marijuana use is by people who only use marijuana because they choose to only use marijuana.  In fact, it would be much easier to hide the use of most of the harder drugs because they don't smell, are  much easier to hide, simpler to use, quicker to use,  and often times easier to get.    Pop an Oxycontin - it takes 2 seconds, there is NO smell, it's easy to conceal, there is no rolling, you don't have to wait for the vaporizer to warm up, you can get a script so if you are searched you are totally legal.   Yet people CHOOSE to use marijuana - because they know it is LESS harmful if they are using recreationally, and can be more helpful if they are using medically.   

Mile High Medical Cannabis is a Denver Medical Marijuana Dispensary providing Medical Marijuana to Medical Marijuana Patients.

In Five Thousand years of marijuana use, there has not been one death.   However, every year acetaminophen poisoning results in 100,000 calls to poison control centers, 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and more than 450 deaths from liver failure.

What is Acetaminophen?  Tylenol is Acetaminophen among other brand names.  Marijuana is Safer than Tylenol and the other brand names of acetaminophen.  The LEADING cause of acute liver failure in the U.S. is not alcohol abuse, nor viral hepatitis.  The number one reason Americans suffer acute liver failure is a drug the FDA has allowed to be sold for decades after its lethal toxicities were known. 

The FDA has bent over backwards to protect billions of dollars of profits earned annually by pharmaceutical companies who sell this deadly drug.  As the body count mounted in 2009, the FDA was forced to mandate a lower dosage and remove it from prescription combinations that were particularly lethal. 

When acetaminophen is ingested a rapid depletion of glutathione in the liver occurs.  The result of glutathione depletion is free radical destruction of liver cells.  A scientist suggested to a supplement company that they produce a combination product that probably eliminate virtually all acetaminophen related acute deaths.  It is a very long story, but the short version is this:  The FDA prohibits combining existing drugs and dietary supplements unless a New Drug Application is filed, tens of millions of dollars of clinical studies are performed, and the FDA agrees to allow the combination to be sold.  The process can cost upwards of $100 million and take a decade to complete.  EVEN if both of the ingredients that would go into the new drug are sold "over the counter".  So by bureaucratic edict, a safer form of acetaminophen never made it to market. 

Mile High Medical Cannabis is a Denver Medical Marijuana Dispensary providing Medical Marijuana to Medical Marijuana Patients.