Sure enough, patent number 6,630,507 states unequivocally that cannabinoids are useful in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases including auto-immune disorders, stroke, trauma, Parkinson’s, Alzeheimer’s and HIV dementia. The patent, awarded in 2003, is based on research done by the National Institute of Health, and is assigned to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services.
So, why is this important? Here is a legal document, in the public domain, which flies in the face of the US Government’s stated position with regard to the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance having no “currently accepted medical use”. Believe me, citing this patent stops the “medical marijuana is a myth” advocates dead in their tracks. They simply cannot argue with it. The forces that would keep cannabis illegal are vocal and well funded, but they are not impervious to persistent effort. The lynch pin in the War on Drugs is cannabis. Without the suppression and interdiction of this popular and widely used substance, there simply would not be enough “illegal drug use” going on to justify the huge amount of money and resources spent on “fighting drugs.”
Disseminating information about this patent as widely as possible, and to as many people as possible is a crucial strategy in loosening that lynch pin, and changing public perception about cannabis.
Abstract
Other References
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Medical Marijuana Raids to Continue After House Defeats Defunding Bill
By The Huffington Post – Thursday, May 10 2012
The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal
By Lee Fang, Republic Report – Monday, May 7 2012
1.) Police Unions
2.) Private Prisons Corporations
3.) Alcohol and Beer Companies
4.) Pharmaceutical Corporations
5.) Prison Guard Unions
Update ~ Dreher’s research has hit mainstream media. See Fox news report. An excerpt 3.20.2012:
Melanie Dreher, who is the dean of nursing at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, did a study in Jamaica. It was actually published in the American Journal of Pediatricsin 1994, but now it’s re-circulating because of all the interest in the neuroprotective properties.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC20965/
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 July 7; 95(14): 8268–8273.
PMCID: PMC20965
Medical Sciences
Cannabidiol and (−)Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol are neuroprotective antioxidants
A. J. Hampson,*† M. Grimaldi,‡ J. Axelrod,* and D. Wink§
