One of the loudest, if not the biggest, cry for cannabis freedom is being led by a group of women. These “Warrior Women of Cannabis” come from all different backgrounds, levels of education, families and areas throughout the world. They may have differing views on how to effect change in cannabis laws, may be advocating for medicinal uses or industrial hemp, however they have the same end goal in mind - that of legalizing cannabis.

Some women receive a lot of accolades from the media, jetting from one hotspot to another to make television and personal appearances. Other women work long and hard, attempting to educate the public by producing public events such as hosting movie screenings such as “Bringing It Home” - the definitive documentary about Hemp. Still other women feel compelled to publish article upon article, detailing the local, national and international news that is made every day in the cannabis movement.

All of these women also take it upon themselves to educate their public representatives. From posting important information such as how to locate and contact a certain politician to sending frequent e-mail blasts and publishing each response, these women have found new and creative ways of becoming a necessary component of the cannabis movement.

None of these women could do this work alone, rather they rely upon each other in a close-knit, cannabis community. By staying in constant contact via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, these hardworking ladies are able to communicate idea and news, learning and teaching at the same time.

For example, there is a page on Facebook called “Canna-Sisters United” and welcomes women from across the globe to interact with each other, from wishing each other a good morning to listening to each other, offering advice and posting news, these ladies are able to stay up to date on the latest, relevant information about legalization.

Women such as Rx Mary Jane (Teri from Denver, Colorado) can be found posting news articles and links to important information day and night to her Facebook account. She attends the majority of the Boulder City Council meetings, disseminating her notes and interpreting the Council’s meanings, all at her own expense. She also attends events such as the Drug Policy Alliance Reform Conference, documenting each through various posts and photos, both on Facebook and Twitter.

Another example of a “Warrior Woman of Cannabis” is Deannajean Fact, a traumatic brain injury survivor who is from Austin, Minnesota. She has not only used (and will attest to it) cannabis to treat her brain injury, she has recovered much of its’ function and believes this is in direct relation to the cannabis.

Deannajean organized the first Austin Hemp Festival, which was held September 15, 2013 at Bandshell Community Park. The festival featured a variety of artists, including Joshua Whalen, JfRO with GTSound, Bartbarian with JRad, Space Brothers Anonymous, 420 Allstars & Manifesting Miracles Music Group, featuring King Fuji along with the Heart of Gold Band. Speakers scheduled for the festival included NORML and Sensible Moms and Dads for Marijuana. The festival was very successful and made national news and she is now in the process of planning the second festival.

Deannajean is now planning a screening of the definitive Hemp documentary “Bringing It Home”, at the Paramount Theatre, located at 125 4th Avenue NE, Austin, MN (phone 507-434-0394), website on Sunday, November 16, 2013 at 2:00.

A third excellent example of a “Warrior Woman” is Alice R. Foster from Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is a transplant from Florida who relocated to Colorado almost 5 years ago to be with her son, a young army veteran who had been diagnosed with multiple Traumatic Brain Injuries as well as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She made the move in order for them both to be able to utilize their choice of herbal medication, cannabis, both legally without fear of reprisal.

Ms. Foster is also the founder and president of Fosteravet.org and also produces and shares a great deal of information pertaining to the cannabis movement, how the medical and now recreational portions have affected patients and other Colorado residents.

None of these advocates are participating in the movement to legalize cannabis for the fame or fortune, as each have spent their own precious time and money. These brave women work hard everyday to get their message across, to lobby for the legalization of cannabis by educating the public and to support each other in the amazing movement that is the road to legalized cannabis.

Cannabis and its derivatives have been documented for anti-epileptic effects since 1881. Today, the promise of cannabidiol (CBD) as an anti-epileptic treatment is prompting people to move to states that have safe access to medicinal products containing this compound. There are increasing reports of CBD being used by parents to treat seizure disorders in their children. This use of a cannabinoid to treat seizures is not unfounded, the ever-popular THC molecule has been studied in children with seizure disorders. The results of early cannabinoid clinical studies and anecdotal findings for epilepsy are promising.

CBD is becoming more popular than THC, because CBD appears to provide relief and does not cause a “high”, and acts on receptors that differ from those of THC. The FDA has approved a new clinical study with CBD, but it is unclear how this drug works. A molecular mechanism that completely explains the effects of CBD has not yet emerged (But as one doctor said at a recent meeting at NYU “Doctors don't treat molecular mechanisms, they treat people”).

There are two theories that seem plausible to explain CBD’s effects. Or at least these will partially explain how CBD may be acting in the body. One theory supports a role for CBD in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a hub in the brain for the exchange of information, and epilepsy can occur when this exchange is disrupted. The other theory involves the protective effect of cannabinoids, through proteins known as NMDA receptors. NMDA receptors play a major role in memory and learning, cannabinoids may have a distinct or ‘special’ site of interaction on these receptors too (Gloss & Vickrey 2012).

It may be hard to believe, but clinical studies with CBD have been going on since 1978. However, there are only a handful of studies that examined CBD alone in the last 30 years. A preparation of CBD in combination with THC has been the subject of numerous clinical trials, known as the drug Sativex. There have been some recent anecdotal reports of CBD that were published in the scientific literature and on CNN.

An early anecdotal report with 5 institutionalized children being treated with THC for epilepsy resulted in: one seizure free kid, one almost seizure free kid, and 3 that experienced no significant change (Davis and Ramsey, 1949).

A CBD clinical study published in 1980 resulted in: “4 of the 8 CBD subjects remained almost free of convulsive crises throughout the experiment and 3 other patients demonstrated partial improvement in their clinical condition. CBD was ineffective in 1 patient. The clinical condition of 7 placebo patients remained unchanged whereas the condition of 1 patient clearly improved.”

There is a fair amount of information known about the potential therapeutic benefits of CBD from limited clinical studies, anecdotal information from both hospitals and parents, as well as a wealth of animal data. It is safe to say there is more than enough evidence to support large-scale clinical trials with CBD, it is non-toxic and generally well tolerated in clinical studies and anecdotal reports. However, the number of patients given pure CBD is small, and the studies are generally short in duration and this prevents mainstream medicine from drawing any reliable conclusions about the efficacy of cannabinoids for epilepsy. Bringing CBD into rigorous clinical trials will provide medical professionals with the information to prescribed CBD based medicines.

Here are a few links to full scientific articles that will provide an overview and a lot of background information on cannabinoids for epilepsy:

• Cannabidiol Displays Antiepileptiform and Antiseizure Properties In Vitro and In Vivo

• Exogenous and Endogenous Cannabinoids Suppress Inhibitory Neurotransmission in the Human Neocortex

• Endocannabinoid system protects against cryptogenic seizures.

• Commentary-Slim Evidence for Cannabinoids for Epilepsy

• Neuron to astrocyte communication via cannabinoid receptors is necessary for sustained epileptiform activity in rat hippocampus

Alabama: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   HB642 - The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act of Alabama

Arkansas: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Florida: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.

Idaho: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Indiana: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Iowa: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Kansas: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.
   Marijuana Bill Reaches House
   Cannabis Compassion and Care Act

Maryland: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   Medical Marijuana Approved by Maryland House of Delegates

Minnesota: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Missouri: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   HOUSE BILL NO. 1670 - An Act relating to the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
   Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber hopes Missouri legislature passes medical marijuana law

New York: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   Medical Marijuana Bills Introduced

North Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   North Carolina Medical Cannabis Act

Ohio: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   HB 214

Pennsylvania: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   HB 1393

South Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.

South Dakota: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.

Tennessee: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Texas: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Medical relief from the Canny Bus Trip Kit

There’s a dilemma in making medical cannabis edibles. In general, the stronger they are the worse they taste. Who wants a bitter tasting cookie? Who wants a great tasting cookie that doesn’t work? Compounding the dilemma is the fact that the stronger the cannabutter used in baking, the more the butter acts like oil which dramatically alters the baking properties.

Nurse Nancy Wife co-cook and I have come up with a modified cookie recipe that seems to solve the dilemma. WARNING: These cookies are not called “Coma” for nothing. They are very strong potent medicine used to treat severe muscle pain and cramping and insomnia related to chronic pain. Do not drive for at least 8 hours after ingestion.

First, we made Black Out Butter from high grade trim. This is nasty tasting stuff but has the needed potency. It is estimated that each cookie made from this recipe has from 0.7 grams to 1.5 grams of cannabis. Second, we didn’t combine our cannabutter with dairy butter as we usually do in our recipes. We used pure cannabutter. Third, we reduced the amount of additional ingredients to further increase the relative amounts of cannabinoids in the cookie and to keep the cookies moist.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups of steel cut oats
1 ½ cups of light brown sugar
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of Black Out Butter derived from approximately 50 grams of ground trim/flowers in 1 lb of Strauss Organic butter (86% butter fat) slow cooked and frequently stirred for 4 hours
2 eggs
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup organic currants
1 cup organic dried cranberries
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2-3 tablespoons of Bourbon vanilla
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Directions:

Sift together the dry ingredients (except the steel cut oats) and set aside. Cream the cannabutter and sugars then add the vanilla and mix in the eggs. Don’t overwork the butter and sugar or it will break down. Mix (we used an electric mixer) the set aside dry ingredients into the creamed butter. Mix in the oats with a heavy spoon and blend. Fold in the currants, cranberries, and pecans. Chill the batter (we made two portions and froze them). With the batter still cold roll the dough into balls about golf ball size.

Place the cookie balls on a greased baking pan and bake at 300 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

Hint: The cookies will flatten out and not rise as usual. They will be chewy and crispy at the same time. Keep the cookies in an airtight container (they should stay fresh a month that way).

Options: You may use raisins instead of currants. You may also want to add a teaspoon of lemon zest and/or some allspice or ground cloves.

Recommended beverage: Guatemalan Antigua coffee

Final note: Eat one whole cookie, sip coffee, and relax. You are now on a pain free vacation.