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Vol. 5, Number 12 December 2013 cheryl riley, editor & writer Dr. David Bearman, Gradi Jordan, Ed Glick, Paul Armentano, Sunil K Aggarwal, Amanda Reiman, Jim Greig, Joan Bello, Arthur Livermore |
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Veterans for Compassionate Care - Rick Rosio Veterans are sometimes referred to as the "Forgotten Ones", because in many ways, they unfortunately continue to be. The "Valiant Ones" is probably a more apt term to define this segment of our society. Those whose lives are usually always turned askew for a variety of reasons unique to these folks who venture forth to ways of living the rest of society can't really fully comprehend. The pact made to enter the US Armed Forces is one that changes lives as promised. It is now becoming more and more apparent that it just isn't manifesting as these folks were told it would when they came come. For most of our country of citizens who do not serve in the military, there is no way to know the unique toll it takes on what could be considered a 'normal' life. What the "Warfighter" community shares in common, is the way they have had to forsake their sense of self to a cause that has not always followed through in 'protecting' those that gave of their lives to serve. There are many in-equities borne out of a 'service' that should enshrine it instead. However, the stark realities facing our Veterans when they return home has resulted in an explosion of service related suicides as the effects of not only their service to this nation in a time of war, but from the various medications given to prevent illness while in the Middle East. Illness borne of service and then so little refuge. Veterans for Compassionate Care is a special program created to bring more balance to those whose lives have been brought into turmoil as a result of their service. We bring compassion and care through a series of programs meant to bring about a "Revitalization" in Veterans lives. We are building out a nationwide organization in support of Veterans finding relief from many of their unique medical maladies. The program we run is a harm reduction program for opiate dependency using Cannabis extracts. It is designed to provide our Warfighter community with the choice of living with their service related injuries using high doses of narcotic pain medications or Cannabis extracts and whole plant botanical substance. The debate that continues within some communities over the need for a new method of providing care for both our Veterans and disabilities communities has brought the issue of Warfighter suicide rates of over 22 deaths a day, and the horrific toll upon their families as they face difficult times in their healing process. For too many years our valiant men and women have only had the option of traditional medications to help them heal from their service related injuries. The result has been an ever escalating level of opiates and benzodiazepine's leaving the recovering patient with additional issues of narcotization and benzodiazepine dependency that create another set of difficulties. With the changes within the Federal Government's position of allowing developing legal Cannabis programs within the 20 states that have approved compassionate cannabis laws, there is finally a realistic option for our loved ones for a better method of pain management and general long term wellness among the palliative care community. Veterans for Compassionate Care is a program driven model that is designed to provide an effective method for dosed cannabis therapy using whole plant CBD extracts to help with the healing process. Combined with a full medical program designed to be attentive to the unique injuries commonly found among our Warfighter community. TBI, CTE, amputations and severe back injuries along with shrapnel remnants are of particular note. The Behavioral Health component will provide access to counselors with training in dealing with PTSD and the collateral damage issues. Along with a staff trained in family dynamics our goal is to provide a well tuned alternative to the traditional positions of the VA Medical Staff. With the current restrictions in place on Federal facilities, Veterans for Compassionate Care will provide a quality program for Cannabis therapy. Currently we are building this pilot program in Washington State with 3 locations pending, Seattle, Olympia and Spokane. We are developing a program for a 60 bed hospital facility to provide in-patient services for our opiate reduction program, with the goal of having this program brought forth within all 20 states with compassionate Cannabis programs. The ability for the Veterans themselves to play all of the critical roles within this model makes this unique, as both a clinical model and voice for the Veterans. Under the umbrella of Cannabis Medical Solutions, VFCC will be able to help organize local chapters in every compassionate Cannabis State, and provide local input and direction in meeting the needs of the local Veterans community as we build these clinic models for national deployment. Recent stories of Medical Cannabis Solutions are abounding throughout the media and from around the world we hear of major strides in relief coming through Cannabis Therapy of one kind or another. The Veterans community is lacking in alternatives to pain management, Cannabis Can Help! veteransforcompassionatecare.org Cannabis-based Medicines for Opiate Dependence - Jahan Marcu The increasing abuse of Percocet and other opiate drugs is also leading to an increase in heroin use, and skyrocketing amount of people seeking treatment for opiate dependence: • According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, over 100,000 individuals were admitted to the emergency department for painkiller abuse, such as a Percocet overdose. By 2008, the number of admissions to the emergency department had almost doubled to over 300,000. Treatments for opioid dependence with drugs such as methadone or conventional medications run the risk of making the patient addicted or dependent on the medication. Conventional treatments for opiate dependence can induce severe withdrawal symptoms if the medication is stopped abruptly. A great need remains for the development of non-opioid drug therapies that have less dependence and abuse liability. Since about the 1970s THC showed promise as a treatment of opiate dependence and withdrawal. It is yet to be specifically included for existing medical marijuana laws, despite strong evidence for its benefits. The plant remains off the table because of its status as schedule I narcotic. The use of Cannabis to treat drug dependence is an old idea. In the late 1800s the Lancet published an article on a fairly successful treatment for opiate addiction, available in the form of a Cannabis tincture. The use of this plant to treat substance abuse disorders also appears in ancient Indian texts and Ayurvedic literature. A recent survey of medical marijuana patients suggested that there is a significant population currently using it as an “exit drug” or as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs. Intermittent marijuana use has been shown to improve retention in opiate dependence treatment programs. The active ingredients in Cannabis interact with the endocannabinoid system within our body. This system consists of receptors, ligands (endocannabinoids), and proteins for synthesis and breakdown of endocannabinoids. Modern day researchers are studying these receptors and the natural THC-like compounds in our body for the treatment of various aspects of opiate dependence and withdrawal. For example, researchers in the laboratory of Dr. Aron Lichtman are studying a drug code named JZL-184. JZL-184 inhibits the proteins that breakdown endocannabinoids, thus increasing the amount of endocannabinoids available to interact with receptors. In Lichtman's animal study, high doses of JZL-184 significantly blocked all signs of opioid withdrawal. As more states pass laws allowing the use of medical marijuana, opiate addiction should be under consideration as a qualifying condition. In addition to potentially helping a severely afflicted group of people, this would greatly help researchers to overcome the barriers to studying Cannabis and refining the plant as a medicine. There is a great need for new effective treatments of opiate addiction that are: non-toxic, have a low addiction potential, and do not cause severe withdrawal symptoms in opiate dependent patients. Original Article
Alabama: Considering a medical marijuana law.
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.
Maryland: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Minnesota: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Missouri: Considering a medical marijuana law.
New York: Considering a medical marijuana law.
North Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Ohio: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Pennsylvania: Considering a medical marijuana law.
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.
Wisconsin: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Featured Recipe - Black Out Bud Butter by Jay R. Cavanaugh, PhD An even better bud butter for the Canny Bus Better Bud Butter has been a
terrific hit with website readers and those fortunate enough to have a copy of
“The Canny Bus Trip Kit” (soon to be released). It’s hard to improve on Better
Bud Butter but we’ve done it. Improvement number one comes
from using European sweet butter. Regular butter is about 80% butterfat while
European butters range from 84-86%. This may seem trivial but remember it is
the butterfat that exacts the cannabinoids so a 7-8 % increase in butterfat
will result in a more efficient extraction and stronger butter. European style
butter comes from a number of manufacturers including Plugra from upstate Improvement number two comes
from using a Braun high speed coffee grinder to convert all cannabis plant
material from whatever source to a fine powder. The use of powder means the
butter will taste more like cannabis as some of the chlorophyll and a few terpenes get into the butter. It also means a vastly
increased surface area where the butterfat meets the cannabinoids. Using powder
or “flour” significantly increases the potency of the final butter. Improvement number three
comes from using the best starting materials available. In this case Train
Wreck, California Orange, and Pooh Bear trim were ground up and supplemented by
powdered California Orange flowers. Using bud as opposed to trim will increase
the potency of the butter. The three improvements noted
above resulted in cannabutter that is markedly different from the normal (and
quite wonderful) Better Bud Butter. Black Out Bud
Butter (BOBB) is approximately 200-300% stronger. The name BOBB comes from the
fact that this butter is Ingredients: 2½ pounds (six cups) of
European Style high butterfat unsalted butter. I combined 8 oz of Plugra with 1
pound of Strauss Organic and 1 pound of Challenge European Style. Everyone has
there own favorites but mine is Strauss. Strauss is smoother and less greasy
than the others. 4 oz powdered Train Wreck
Trim 2 oz powdered Pooh Bear Trim
(a cross of Train Wreck and Salmon Creek Big Bud) 2 oz powdered California
Orange trim 1/3 oz powdered California
Orange flowers Method: The butters were melted in a
covered crock pot set on high. The powdered cannabis was gradually stirred in
with a wood spoon. The mixture was frequently stirred and cooked covered on
high for one hour followed by three hours set on low. Stirring was accomplished
every 15 minutes. After four hours the hot
mixture was squeezed through cheese cloth into a bowl then the product was filtered
once more through cheese cloth. All available butter was squeezed out producing
approximately 3 ½ cups. Theoretically, the cloth balls remaining could be
re-extracted with more butter but the product would not be nearly as strong.
Approximately 75-85% of the available cannabinoids are extracted on the first
pass. Here is one cup of BOBB in
his new refrigerator home:
Note on Preparation: No gloves were used in
squeezing the rather hot cloth balls into the collection vessel. If you go
barehanded beware of burns. Usually the ball can be twisted and held at the top
then you can press the ball with the wood spoon against the side of the
collection vessel. Once the ball has cooled sufficiently you can “wring” out
the last of the cannabutter. Yes, this is messy but will leave your hands oh so
soft. Note on Amount of powdered
cannabis to use: I use as much as will go into solution with the butter. This
varies depending upon the cannabis and source. Note on Potency: I know this cannabutter is
potent simply from the extreme effects produced from handling it. I look
forward to using this super potent butter for the next batch of Pecan Sandies. |
April 26-28, 2012 Tucson, AZ USA
Contribute to the AAMC Legal Fund here: 
Medical Marijuana States Alaska Arizona * California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Hawaii Illinois Maine * Massachusetts Michigan * Montana * Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Oregon Rhode Island * Vermont Washington * States with reciprocity law
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