CNN's Sanjay Gupta: We've been misled about cannabis

[RainDog]

Gupta apologized on CNN for his former opposition to ending the prohibition of marijuana, stating the DEA has "no scientific basis" for the claim that marijuana has no medical value.

Thank you, Mr. Gupta, for using your position to bring sanity to this issue in the U.S.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/07/cnns-sanjay-gupta-americans-terribly-and-systematically-misled-about-marijuana/

[hrmjustin]

1. Good for him! Thank you doctor!

[RainDog]

4. Yes. An honorable person can admit a mistake

And, as he notes, the DEA has spent years spreading false information. His statement really tells me the time has come - it's this mainstream now.

Hopefully we will be able to see some progress on this issue and the federal govt. can catch up to what 3/4s of the voting public already sees - medical marijuana exists and should be available for Americans.

Prohibition, in general, needs to end, but, honestly, medical marijuana is real and we, as a nation, must allow compassion to overcome prejudice.

watch this link from RandiFan1290, originally posted here - http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3423213

[hrmjustin]

5. Agreed 100%

[RainDog]

6. ...

[dougolat]

9. A moving and devastating game-changer...thanks...nt

[RainDog]

19. Another child with epilepsy

...from the linked thread, above.

Harborside, the dispensary that provided the cannabis for this child, was targeted by the Attn. Gen's office.

The City of Oakland has sued the Justice Dept/Eric Holder to prevent the closure of the dispensary.

No doubt there are people who are not sick who use medical cannabis as a way to acquire cannabis legally - but there are legitimate medical uses for cannabis and someone who lives in a state without medical cannabis should not be denied the option to use a substance safer than aspirin to deal with real medical issues related to seizures, MS, CP and other problems.

#at=12

[Chan790]

30. FDA acknowledgement may not be the best thing.

In fact, it would probably set back the progress made by states on this issue.

In all likelihood, a change in policy would be from schedule I to envelopment into the schedule III approval of Marinol...meaning legalized medical marijuana but only of that being maximally-processed (with low active-dosage approved quantities of THC) into pills, tinctures (and only as patent-medicines) by a drug manufacturer (like Sanofi-Aventis) with a prescription (from a doctor (A doctor increasingly subject to DEA oversight to make sure they're not over-prescribing--the net result being that like pain-medication, it will be exceedingly-difficult to obtain even legitimate script.)) and fulfilled at your local drug store (like CVS)...

and never homegrown or anything that is being smoked, steamed, aerolyzed, hydrolyzed, consumed from vegetation or in any way derived from the plant by the end user. Nothing from currently-styled dispensaries. All of which would certainly remain illegal.

You can be certain any such rescheduling will be written explicitly to increasingly-criminalize recreational usage and forestall any potential future push for across-the-board legalization of recreational usage.

[Bluenorthwest]

34. Your views strike me as both East Coast and dated as well as inaccurate

For example, you are riffing on THC compounds and 'marninol' in response to a post that is all about treatment involving as little THC as possible, exploiting instead the CBD portion of the plant, CBD does not get a person high at all and yet it is the medicine being used to stop these seizures.
So when you go on and on about THC you are missing a big part of the actual point at hand.

[Chan790]

36. No, I'm not.

I'm talking about how policy is created. Policy in this case will be created to destroy as much of state medical marijuana law as it currently exists as possible for the benefit of big pharma and big business as part of any rescheduling. You do not think big pharma cares a lick about the actual point at hand?

It has nothing to do with the reality of the treatment, it has to do with the nature of bureaucracy and a government holding hands with corporate interests for mutual benefit at the expense of the public.

[Eleanors38]

70. Respectfully, I disagree with your outlook...

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has adopted what I call the "lotto" or state-by-state approach. When states go legal, and are next door to prohi states, the prohis will say: "I'm not watching my tax and business dollars go 'cross the border to stnkin' Colorado." The strategy leverages political and economic power.

Economic determinism works in strange ways.

[RainDog]

63. Dr. Lester Grinspoon wrote about this long ago

Grinspoon, a medical dr. and prof., set out to prove mj was a terrible drug. then his son got leukemia and mj made chemo tolerable for his son - made it possible for him to eat. Since that time, Grinspoon has written about the medical benefits of cannabis, and the legal issues surrounding it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1170125

The cannabis plant, imo, should simply be decriminalized at the federal level to remove it from the drug schedule entirely. Grinspoon talks about why a plant will never meet the standards set for a drug - and, well, it's a plant, so of course not.

Jared Polis recommends, and has legislation pending on this, to remove cannabis from the oversight of the DEA and put it with the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms....and marijuana.

Medical applications for cannabis would be regulated - I think, medically, people will move to cannabis oil because it's easier to measure dosages. That's what doctors need - a way to quantify and make recommendations based upon how their profession views their responsibility to patients.

As noted here long ago - GW Pharma, out of GB is lobbying to include Sativex as medicine - it's virtually the same thing as Rick Simpson oil, or the oil the mother is using in the video for her daughter with epilepsy.

[Eleanors38]

72. Talked with Dr. Grinspoon some 20 yrs ago when he spoke at

Texas State. Very knowledgeable and compassionate man.

[RainDog]

84. He has done a great work with his life. n/t

[markpkessinger]

102. He admits his mistake now, when it is relatively safe to do so from a public relations standpoint...

... but the research has all been out there for years. If as a neurosurgeon, he merely took the DEA's word for it (as he now claims) and didn't bother to look at hard data, then it frankly doesn't speak all that well of him as a doctor.

[RainDog]

105. As he notes, only 6% of all research looks at benefits

The U.S. govt. has perverted honest science in regard to cannabis by refusing to fund research that studies any benefit. But, yes, the things he's saying now are things that have been said for years, and dismissed, by prohibitionists.

Bush Sr. tried to bury research that had been done in the past to look at health benefits. A president tried to undermine science in order to punish political enemies. That's a pretty astonishing fact.

A nurse/PhD who studied the effects of cannabis on the children of mothers who live in a culture in which marijuana is an accepted part of their society's medicine cabinet found she could not get her research funded because it showed no harm to those children.

A doctor who worked with HIV/cancer patients was denied funding for research that studied the benefits of cannabis for patients with HIV.

Personally, I'm not here to defend Gupta. But I am here to say that he's the face of mainstream medical opinion - which has been shaped by propaganda put forth by agencies whose purpose is to lie and distort public perception because of political, not scientific, motivations.

Gupta is calling out the offices of the govt. who have participated in a massive disinformation campaign to justify policies that were created to enforce racism, and, later, to punish political enemies of the right wing.

He's telling the world that, yes, what those people who are pro-legalization have been saying about this topic, for decades, is the truth and prohibition of cannabis is based upon LIES.

Since he has a megaphone at CNN, I welcome his voice.

[eShirl]

2. Wow. n/t

[burrowowl]

3. K&R

[avaistheone1]

7. Got to admire someone who admits they are wrong

particularly when they take a public stage to do so.

[99th_Monkey]

16. Yes. That was downright refreshing to see, and on CNN no less. eom

[Initech]

8. Obvious conclusion is obvious.

[millennialmax]

10. Glad he had the guts to say he was wrong. I admire that. eom

[LittleBlue]

11. Sanjay was well spoken there

Everyone gets it wrong at some point in their professional lives, it's admitting the truth that's hard.

[Chaco Dundee]

12. to litle to late

There is and never has been any good reason why a government that you elected should be able to restrict your private choyces ,desires or habits.if you did elect that government,than by description it is supposed to protect your rights and your freedom.

[RainDog]

14. the story of history

is all about that struggle between oppression and freedom.

America's entire history is a story of proclaiming all are created equal within a slave-holding state.

we can't change the past but we can change the present and the future.

[demwing]

26. It's hardly too late

Is there a big timer running out ?

[eShirl]

27. just people's lives

since none of us are immortal, for some people it really is too late

[Chaco Dundee]

43. up's.

Sometimes writing is missinterpreted.blame only is deserved by those who intentionally missinterpred what they read.

[demwing]

98. Sorry for the confusion

posted in the wrong area of the thread, now deleted.

[eShirl]

71. um, huh?

Did you reply to the wrong post or something?

[demwing]

96. Yes I did, sorry

deleted with apologies

[KharmaTrain]

13. More And More Doctors Have Come To Understand...

...the medicinal values of using marijuana for pain management and a big reason why Medical marijuana laws have passed in a majority of states and is about to here in my own state of Illinois. I heard one physician state that "it's a natural plant...if it was bad for you why does your body retain it for so long?"

[area51]

15. Now if only he'd smarten up about single-payer. n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

94. No kidding. Micheal Moore made a fool out of him....

The video went viral.

[Go Vols]

103. kick

[99th_Monkey]

17. K & R Thank you Dr. Gupta for your honesty. eom

[BillyRibs]

18. Same as any other

MSM Dictaphone, Only now he was taken to the woodshed by someone. so now it's, Oops, sorry, My Bad. Thank the gods for that, But what about the damage he and the rest of the refer madness crowd does!?

[RainDog]

21. So, this is how you stop the damage

This is a big deal, for Dr. Gupta to change his position. His position is now in direct contradiction to the DEA and the Drug Czar's office concerning the medical value of cannabis.

When you consider the big money that doesn't want to stop this current insanity - I think it's important when someone with an international medical reputation with an international audience acknowledges that the science backs up legalization.

[CanSocDem]

28. Glad you snagged this...

...because, the truth be told, I am still hopelessly addicted to reflexively switching channels at every mention of his name or appearance of his face.

I may have to start cutting that boy some slack.

.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. Kick.

[RainDog]

22. ...

[Warren DeMontague]

23. Back atcha.

[DallasNE]

24. Kind Of Like A Day Late And A Dollar Short

Thanks to Presidents Nixon and Reagan our prison population has increased 7 fold since Nixon's ill fated War on Drugs. But that doesn't explain why the Nixon/Reagan policies have been left on auto-pilot all of these years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_rate_timeline.gif

[MannyGoldstein]

25. "Make No Mistake... marijuana is a dangerous drug,

at least for *other* people.

Hey Jamie... Larry... got another blunt?"

[hobbit709]

31. Abbie Hoffman said it back in the 60's

The reason marijuana is illegal is because it lets you see the absurdity of the system and laugh at it and authority can't have that.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

50. And Anheuser-Busch has some kick-ass lobbyists (nt)

[Myrina]

29. ... big pharma must be getting closer to genetic replication & Copyrighting ....

... legalization/benefits sure as hell it wouldn't even be a topic of mainstream discussion unless some corporate assholes stand to make a mountain of money off of it.

[navarth]

100. ding ding ding

[spanone]

32. how many lives have been ruined by this bullshit? how much money has been made on drug war?

shame shame shame

[PoliticAverse]

33. "and I did part of that misleading" - indeed he did. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

35. Good for Gupta, he stopped lying! I think the seizure patients make it hard for

physicians to jump back into the mendacity. Hard for a person to say 'let that child suffer then die because I have some bullshit I want to promote'. Sanjay, apparently, is not willing to lie kids into the grave for Big Phrama and the politicians they own.

[RainDog]

85. Yes.

I totally agree.

Doctors have been propagandized by the DEA for decades. Most of them aren't going to bother to check if the DEA is lying to them because they operate within a credentialed system and they assume that anyone who has made it to the point of a major govt. bureaucracy is not going to out-and-out lie.

Well, on this issue, at the least, the DEA is out-and-out lying.

This is why I say the war on drugs undermines respect for the law, in the same way that racism does. The DEA has systematically worked to create an underclass of people who have found cannabis offers the best medical treatment for certain things by maintaining their lies.

They have killed innocent people to fight against a phantom of their own reefer-madness making.

One man choked to death on this own vomit after he was a "show" arrest for speaking out about this issue when he needed cannabis to keep down his HIV and cancer meds. His crime? Talking about how cannabis was keeping him alive. They showed him.

[90-percent]

38. "Serious emotional side effects to marijuana addiction"

I think this is a consideration in the debate, however;

The serious emotional effects of going to jail and having your life ruined by our American Criminal Justice System is the most horrible risk to marijuana use by far.

The state had to wreck your life to save it, you wretched pot smoker you!

-90% Jimmy

PS - it was very honorable of Dr. Gupta to publicly admit he was wrong. Its too bad more public figures don't do it. Like it would be nice for Obama and Holder to admit they are wrong about busting state legal pot dispensaries. Especially when they are simple dead wrong, from the vantage of being on the wrong side of history, given the obvious trend for the public to be more accepting of pots benefits and the absurdity of pot prohibition. Historically, most prohibitions eventual are proven to be stupid and unfair, don't they?

[kestrel91316]

52. I was having serious emotional side effects from the chronic back/neck/arm pain from

my ancient skiing injury.

Funny how once I started using medical cannabis every night in the form of a single cannabis oil brownie, that all ended.........

That other "doctor" on there needs to be slapped silly.

[Isoldeblue]

77. I'm right behind you,

to give him, what-for

[RainDog]

86. I think addiction is nearly always a secondary condition

Sometimes it's not - someone who received a doctor's prescription for painkillers after a surgery or injury, etc. - those are situations in which it's a matter of physical addiction.

But people who are addicted to alcohol, for instance - even tho they may have a physiological propensity for alcohol addiction - I think that same... cluster... of genetic markers is also found for people with bipolar disorder and some other forms of mental illness.

So, it's not that we deny that some people may be inclined toward self medicating before they know of an underlying issue - but, as we learned with alcohol - it is not useful to treat such people as criminals or moral degenerates.

We now offer help for those who need it. Just as with alcohol, most people who would use cannabis recreationally will not be dependent on it. And, in fact, more will be dependent on alcohol than marijuana. And some people have done research to see if marijuana can help wean alcoholics and pharmaceutical drug abusers.

The problem with marijuana and the issue of substance abuse, however, is that pleading a sentence down to substance abuse counseling has inflated numbers to make it look as though marijuana is more harmful than it is. We know many going into such programs are not actually addicted because they test clean for marijuana before they enter the programs (a month later.) If someone were truly addicted, they would not stop voluntarily.

The guy offering the counter view makes his living off this sort of drug sentencing. Of course he can't be honest about the ridiculous arguments he puts forth.

[mainer]

39. Will this be the equivalent of Cronkite turning against the Vietnam War?

This just might turn the tide. Go, Gupta!

I admit, I was so disappointed in him a few years ago when he came out against legalization. The fact he has publicly reversed himself makes this all the more potent.

[90-percent]

40. It could very well be the Cronkite moment for medical pot

And that moment will be marked by Dr. Gupta getting a big hug from Michael Moore. (They've clashed before, possibly more on medical insurance issues?)

-90% Jimmy

[reusrename]

45. There's definitely something in it for Gupta.

His corporate masters are probably investing in pot farms now.

[RainDog]

58. Nice analogy

I hope this is exactly the case.

[mainer]

41. The people with a real stake in keeping it illegal are the drug kingpins

I wonder how much money those drug lords are funneling into politicians' pockets to keep pot illegal.

[hunter]

62. Not to mention those who supposedly "fight" the lesser drug kingpins...

... thus limiting the competition for greater drug kingpins who have official connections to the CIA, money-laundering big banks, etc..

[Segami]

42. Big Kick!..Thanks!

[reusrename]

44. I'd rather see him apologize for all the lies he told about Sicko.

He just made up a bunch of crap so he could lie about Michael Moore.

The guy is a snake. Obviously his masters see some profit to be made here.

[gvstn]

48. I have to agree.

A brain surgeon who shills on teevee rather than you know-helping people with his skills, says everything you need to know about him.

My favorite when he was doing a segment on cellphone radiation and telling everyone it is perfectly safe as his masters told him to, while letting it slip that he uses a headset to keep his phone away from his head. Then repeating about a dozen times that it is perfectly fine for his viewers to hold their phones to their ears. Ugh!

[reusrename]

49. Shill! That's the word I was looking for.

The guy disgusts me.

The way he can KNOWINGLY lie, all the while KNOWING that his lies harm folks.

[Egalitarian Thug]

46. Wow, a TV doctor that not only admits he was wrong, but apologizes.

He may not be a total corporate tool.
& R

[Dawson Leery]

47. The DEA did not simply "mislead", the DEA LIED!

The GD DEA systematically LIE!

[RainDog]

61. Yes, he said "systemically misrepresented" evidence

Which is a nice way of saying they have been doing a disservice to the American people by lying...they and the Drug Czar's office, as well.

As far as I'm concerned, the office of the Drug Czar could go away. Do you know that it's entire existence is based upon the govt's decision to engage in propaganda for the Drug War? Yeah. That was pretty astonishing to me when I learned this entire bureaucracy has existed to lie.

We now have years of data from other nations who have tried different approaches to the issue of abuse of substances (which is outside of the issue of medical benefit, but all angles are considerations regarding policy.)

The war on drugs is a failure.

There is a better way to deal with this - as a health issue, not a criminal one.

[tabasco]

51. While I condemn his previous failure,

that is, his role in spouting government propaganda, I applaud Dr. Gupta's moral courage in admitting his mistake and telling the truth.

[Ganja Ninja]

53. If society can live with legal alcohol it can live with legal Marijuana.

That is all the argument that is required because there is no argument as to which is more harmful. Legalize it now!

[kath]

55. + a brazillion.

[RainDog]

64. calls to legalize

a list from previous years. Add the National Lawyers Guild to this list for 2013.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/117052

[indepat]

54. Too much is at stake for big brother to fully decriminalize cannabis, for all that funding

for SWAT teams and their sophisticated paraphernalia, including lethal weaponry, tanks and tank busters, and the like, among them, will not be given up imo just so people won't suffer and die needlessly from what cannabis effectively treats: it ain't gonna happen in our right-wing society.

[rhett o rick]

56. I am glad he came clean, but he isnt a hero for saying he is sorry.

He is claiming he made a mistake. He chose the wrong side to back now he wants to change sides.

I think he loves the attention, but that's my opinion.

[RainDog]

57. The real point, for me, is that he has a national presence

I don't think he's a hero - but I do think it is honorable to admit a mistake. I also think it's a big deal for this face of the establishment to talk about medical benefits, how he was wrong and, importantly, that OUR NATION'S bureaucracies IMPEDE scientific research on this issue.

As he noted, and as has been noted here many times - our govt. will not fund research to look at health benefits, so any research that is done is skewed, from the start, as propaganda.

But he's ADMITTING this reality.

Other research was available to him in 2009 when he came out against legalization before CA's vote on the issue before the election. Research has been available for decades, on some aspects of this issue.

I doubt if he read too much of it before he reflexively came down on the side of the DEA.

[Rex]

59. It is a rare bird these days that admits to being wrong

and starts working on what is right.

[Go Vols]

67. Yes it is

[SomethingFishy]

60. What's this "we" shit Doc?

No YOU were misled. The rest of us KNEW you were all full of shit. Nice to see you admit it.

[RainDog]

65. Marijuana Causes Remission in Crohn's Disease

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648372

METHODS:
We studied 21 patients (mean age, 40 ± 14 y; 13 men) with Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) scores greater than 200 who did not respond to therapy with steroids, immunomodulators, or anti-tumor necrosis factor-α agents. Patients were assigned randomly to groups given cannabis, twice daily, in the form of cigarettes containing 11.5 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or placebo containing cannabis flowers from which the THC had been extracted. Disease activity and laboratory tests were assessed during 8 weeks of treatment and 2 weeks thereafter.

RESULTS:
Complete remission (CDAI score, <150) was achieved by 5 of 11 subjects in the cannabis group (45%) and 1 of 10 in the placebo group (10%; P = .43). A clinical response (decrease in CDAI score of >100) was observed in 10 of 11 subjects in the cannabis group (90%; from 330 ± 105 to 152 ± 109) and 4 of 10 in the placebo group (40%; from 373 ± 94 to 306 ± 143; P = .028). Three patients in the cannabis group were weaned from steroid dependency. Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.

CONCLUSIONS:
Although the primary end point of the study (induction of remission) was not achieved, a short course (8 weeks) of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active Crohn's disease, compared with placebo, without side effects. Further studies, with larger patient groups and a nonsmoking mode of intake, are warranted.

This article reporting the study claims complete remission, but the study is more conservative in its claims. It is true that nearly half the patients in the study were in complete remission, but the sample size is very small.

But, interestingly, 10 out of 11 patients in the study using cannabis, rather than the placebo, demonstrated a "clinical response" to the cannabis. Out of those 10, 5 were in complete remission.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17529/20130718/medical-marijuana-crohns-disease-remission-anti-inflammatory-drug-inflammatory-bowel-disease.htm

Often mischaracterized as an autoimmune disease, Crohn's disease is in fact an immune deficiency state. Arising from a host of genetic, environmental, and immunological factors, the disease causes a chronic inflammatory disorder that attacks the person's gastrointestinal tract — anywhere from the mouth to the anus — in order to fight the body's antigens that otherwise do no harm. Symptoms of the disease range from mild abdominal pain to more severe cases of bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and fevers.

There is no cure for Crohn's; however, various methods are aimed at limiting flare ups and keeping the disease in remission. Treatments, like disease severity, fall on a spectrum depending on the person. Simple dietary changes suffice for some, while invasive surgery to remove the affected area may be needed for others. Corticosteroids and other medications are also prescribed for less severe cases.

The disease affects around 400,000 to 600,000 people in North America, although many people do not get diagnosed until they've had the disease for years, simply because no symptoms were present.

[Eleanors38]

66. Stop & Frisk Bloomberg in the forefront of prohibitionis...

Ganja, guns, Big Gulps. What else does he want to waste money on? Give him a little time: When the "high" of prohibitionism wears off, he'll come up with even More stuff to ban. Gupta is to be commended for breaking away from MSM's usual prohibitionist pack. In fact, I'll celebrate with a bowl when it reaches 4:20 in about 4 minutes.

[RainDog]

68. The ACLU - the war on cannabis magnifies racism

ACLU Report: The War on Marijuana in Black and White

http://www.aclu.org/billions-dollars-wasted-racially-biased-arrests

OVER-POLICING
Between 2001 and 2010, there were over 8 million pot arrests in the U.S. That’s one bust every 37 seconds and hundreds of thousands ensnared in the criminal justice system.


WASTED TIME AND MONEY
Enforcing marijuana laws costs us about $3.6 billion a year, yet the War on Marijuana has failed to diminish the use or availability of marijuana.


STAGGERING RACIAL BIAS
Marijuana use is roughly equal among Blacks and whites, yet Blacks are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

[Isoldeblue]

69. I appreciate, having an opposing view,

but not to have a platform to lie! I'd like Samuels to document ANYONE going thru "withdrawal" from the kind herb! In 1990, I went thru a horrendous withdrawal and was in the hospital for 8 weeks, because of Xanax, legally prescribed for three years...........

I've been using the kind herb, off and on, for 11 years for neuropathy in my feet and lower legs, and several other symptoms from an auto-immune decease. I suffered the pain for 14 years before I could get the KH. I used Neurotin till the side-affects became permanent; tinitus and vertigo. I used Tegretol for 7-8 years that may also have caused some permanent side-affects.

I've had to go without the KH for days and weeks at a time in the past 11 years and while the pain and other symptoms returned, there were ZERO withdrawal symptoms! The KH also benefits those symptoms from the legal drug use. So I am on very little medication for years now. The only one I need is a light doze for HBP.

So for this mf'er to say he's treated people for the KH "addiction is just so full of shit and really pisses me off! If I never had any emotional upset or affects from going without for several days, where are the one's that did?!?

I would do anything for the KH to be decriminalized. I live in a red state and a super red county. Redneck evangelicalism abounds here, with bible verses on pick-up trucks and on signs on one's front lawns. The hypocrisy is hip deep.
So I live in fear all the time of being arrested and causing harm to my sons who live and work locally, in good jobs, with one being a federal job. So, I'm afraid to even sign a petition or get involved with helping a bill pass.

That's hard on me, as I used to lobby and took part in activism for many issues in the past for many years. I'm very proud of the work I did in the mid '80's with the state justice dept. for victim rights laws that got passed. I was the most active in my county for that one. Boy, did we celebrate it when it passed!

Living in a different state, NC, I would also go before the zoning board to protest developers raping wooded area, for housing developments. I was often successful in their compromise to allow them to build less units, like reduced from 20 to 15, one time and to build around the more mature trees and to plant at least half as many new trees, for the ones they bull-dozed down. Needless to say, I was not popular among housing contractors and developers. Tree huggers like me pissed them off.....

But I am thrilled with Dr. Gupta for coming forth so strongly! And when he said that the only thing that works for my sort of pain, is the kind herb, I wanted to jump thru my monitor screen and hug him!

Damn, God love you Dr!! The more people who know the truth, the sooner bills will get passed and I can live out the last few years of my life, pain free and worry free of losing everything, by getting arrested for using a God given, natural, harmless remedy, for a better quality of life.

[mainer]

73. Pot may prevent Alzheimer's Disease

It is insane that we can't do research on it when Alzheimer's now costs the US 200 billion dollars and will cost us a trillion dollars a year by 2050. Is this just a reflection of the drug cartels' hold on our political leaders?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/marijuanas-key-ingredient_n_1003981.html

[NM_Birder]

74. If you heard it on the news...

then yeah, you're being misled.

[RainDog]

82. LOL

I was noting that Dr. Gupta was finally recognizing the errors in his thinking. He could've visited the Drug Policy Forum here and read abstracts and found links to peer-reviewed studies that demonstrated the DEA has lied its ass off for decades.

The only people who don't know this are people who haven't followed the issue.

The reality is that most people don't care if the DEA lies and imprisons people for no valid reason. The ones who don't care, most of all, are our nation's politicians.

Some on the right even find it useful to create prison records that can lead to felony convictions for voters.

[Iggo]

75. Sanjay Gupta: I tried to mislead you about cannabis and I failed.

[mainer]

76. Be fair. He said he didn't do his homework. Now he admits it.

The man is saying something that no one with his influence has said on national TV before. This is huge.

[Isoldeblue]

78. I agree! He is a reespected doctor

and his saying this will help sway some to the truth.

Just as it's taken a long time to get more gay rights, this will come to be, as well. A few people at a time, each passing day..........

[rhett o rick]

89. Gullible comes to mind. nm

[Isoldeblue]

125. Whatever. It's still helpful what he says, in my mind

And I need all the help I can get to make it easier for me to get and use, for a better quality of life.

[rhett o rick]

127. It's helpful if you can trust him and I dont. He wanted so badly to be Surgeon General

he was willing to sell his soul and take the establishments stand on medical marijuana. Apparently unconcerned with the effect on the thousands of patients. Now the wind is shifting and he can see the advantage to shift himself.

[Isoldeblue]

128. I have no need to trust him. If he tells people that

cannabis is helpful to the god-awful pain I endure from neuropathy in my feet and legs, then more people will accept it. That was my point. I hope to see the day when I can get my kind herb without fear of being arrested.

In this case, the means justify the end. He did have enough integrity to make a formal apology and admit he was wrong. For that I give him more benefit of the doubt and points. That is rare these days.

[rhett o rick]

130. I wish you the best. I hope his reversal helps those that need help.

I am bitter that supposedly highly educated people like himself have done so much to stifle the use of medical marijuana.

[rhett o rick]

79. But think about it. "he didnt do his homework"? This man is supposed to be brilliant, and

he didnt do his homework? Sorry, but I dont buy that for a moment. I am glad he has changed his tune, but wouldnt trust him. I believe he knew what was what but chose the side of the Ruling Elite for some reason. Probably for his career.

[RainDog]

83. This is just where you see propaganda in action in the news

When someone posted a link about Gupta's series on cannabis (which is why he's now admitting this), I went to the CNN site and found this:

“Gone to Pot: America’s Marijuana Obsession,” a one hour "Piers Morgan Live" special will introduce voices from both sides of the marijuana argument offering a number of resources and statistics on the substance. Tonight, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks through the talking points and discusses the real benefits and effects of marijuana.

“There was so much that was saying that simply wasn’t true,” said the Chief Medical Correspondent. “Every 19 minutes someone dies of a prescription drug overdose - doesn’t happen with marijuana.”

According to Gupta, marijuana has the potential to be an addictive and abusive substance; about nine percent of people may become addicted or psychologically dependent. In comparison, around 15 percent of people become addicted to alcohol, with 23 percent of people using LSD or heroin becoming addicted.

To hear Gupta refute David Evans, Special Adviser to Drug Free America Foundation, tune in tonight at 9. Also, be sure to watch for Gupta’s own documentary, “WEED,” slated to air in August.

People in the medical community DO NOT consider LSD addictive. Why CNN says this - well, who knows. Heroin is considered highly potentially addictive. LSD is considered LOW on the addiction scale - as in virtually no addictive potential.

In fact, some research has indicated that LSD can help wean people from addictive substances like alcohol or heroin. So, even when advertising this program, CNN was spreading misinformation about drug policy. LSD, like marijuana, is a schedule I drug, and said to have no medical value. This isn't true.

The man who founded Alcoholics Anonymous used LSD to help him with his addiction to alcohol.

We are not allowed to perform studies on the medical value of LSD to help addicts kick their habits and rejoin society, heal their lives and heal their families. This is, again, indicative of a govt. that is too stupid or corrupt to do its job.

The reason LSD is schedule I is because LSD was taken out of the medical environment, where it was under study for help with addiction and other medical treatment, and into the counter culture. That reality - that these substances are associated with the social upheaval of the 1960s, is the ONLY reason for these to have a schedule I classification. There's no scientific reason.

So, we see medicine and science are subject to propaganda from those who have an agenda outside of medicine or science.

Just the mention LSD as a medically useful substance, in a mainstream setting, requires someone to go through the litany of... I don't endorse recreational use, I was not part of the sixties, I am a responsible person...blahblahblah. Why? Because of decades of propaganda and demonizing a substance because it is associated with one's political enemies.

But Gupta's remarks, which are in the OP, do not mention LSD. He talks about alcohol and cocaine and how their addictive properties are much greater than marijuana. So how or why did CNN include the lie about LSD?

The reality is that I don't watch tv news for my information about the world. But a lot of people do.

[John2]

99. I think you

are going too far with the LSD argument. LSD is definately too dangerous and caused people to die. So don't throw it in with weed. I think he is part of the elite in society, that wanted to condition it to reflect certain moral and ethical perceptions. It is like people want to present a view, that America is pure and this Christian nation that can do no evil. So smoking marijuana was one of them. Especially if you can blame that crazy weed on the bad influence of minorities. If you are too happy, you must be smoking something.

The Nixon Administration knew all about marijuana, but hid the information from the Commission on it and their recommendations because of political reasons. He didn't want to upset certain constituents with science. All you have to do is have Faith. Marijuana is an evil plant from Satan.

[RainDog]

104. I disagree

I don't think LSD and weed are alike. I'm not throwing them in together.

I was talking about the way in which the war on the 1960s has harmed research, valuable research, into things - not based upon the harm of the substance, but on the cultural history surrounding the substance.

From Erowid - Dr Paul Gahlinger states "LSD is not toxic in the biological sense.". A 2008 review of the scientific literature titled "The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review", by Passie et al. gives the number of pharmacological fatalities from LSD as zero: "There have been no documented human deaths from an LSD overdose."

There have been deaths associated with LSD use - but these were suicides and it was not the substance itself, but rather the mental illness of a person that is the root of this issue. i.e. - someone may be suicidal and take an overdose of aspirin - that means aspirin has a lethal dose. someone may be suicidal and take LSD - but they will not overdose. Physiologically - this is the reality.

On the other hand, under medically supervised conditions, people who face the end of their lives have used LSD to come to terms with terminal illnesses.

I wasn't referring to LSD to talk about its recreational use - it's a powerful, powerful drug, much more powerful than marijuana - and, as such, people should have respect for that power - and caution in relation to it.

but that doesn't mean it is without medical benefit or that it is harmful to society.

However, just as someone with a history of schizo-affective illness in her/his family should be cautioned about cannabis with high THC (while high CDB cannabis is now under consideration to help people with schizo-affective disorder), someone with a history of mental illness should be cautioned regarding the powerful effects of LSD.

At the same time, LSD has shown promise, in a therapeutic setting, for some people with various mental illnesses such as PTSD, depression, addiction... and the scare stories and counter culture associations people have with LSD should not impede research into its uses.

[John2]

113. I'm very

impressed with your knowledge. You know a lot more than I do on the subject, especially from a medical position. Thanks for the information and I see your point.

[RainDog]

115. I just know

about the work I've read that others have done on the subject.

But there are more than a few different people doing research into the benefits of psychotropics for certain mental conditions - and, again, the govt. in the U.S., and elsewhere, refuses to grant funding for much of the research. It's not just LSD that's blocked from study.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/apr/07/magic-mushrooms-treat-depression

Trials of psilocybin blocked by drugs law red tape, says Professor David Nutt of Imperial College London

...Scientists believe the chemical psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms, can turn down parts of the brain that are overactive in severely depressive patients. The drug appears to stop patients dwelling on themselves and their own perceived inadequacies.

However, a bid by British scientists to carry out trials of psilocybin on patients in order to assess its full medical potential has been blocked by red tape relating to Britain's strict drugs laws. Professor David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, will tell a conference today that because magic mushrooms are rated as a class-A drug, their active chemical ingredient cannot be manufactured unless a special licence is granted.

"We haven't started the study because finding companies that could manufacture the drug and who are prepared to go through the regulatory hoops to get the licence is proving very difficult," said Nutt. "The whole field is so bedevilled by primitive old-fashioned attitudes. Even if you have a good idea, you may never get it into the clinic, it seems."

Research by Nutt has found that psilocybin switches off part of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex. It was known that this area is overactive in individuals suffering from depression. In his tests on healthy individuals, it was found that psilocybin had a profound effect on making these volunteers feel happier weeks after they had taken the drug, said Nutt – who was sacked as the chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 2009 after repeatedly clashing with government ministers about the dangers and classification of illicit drugs.

[burnodo]

88. +1

[Spitfire of ATJ]

93. More like, "I realize my credibility is suffering because I'm lumped in with this other idiot."

[Isoldeblue]

80. K&R

[Kablooie]

81. You mean it's not called cannabis because cannibals smoke it?

[Blue Owl]

87. Reefer Sadness

How many people have been denied medical relief because of the insane "Reefer Madness" based policies of the past?

[RainDog]

90. The utter uselessness of the war on drugs in one graph

[Warren DeMontague]

120. That's good.

Of course, it's not useless if you're on the receivin' side of that Trillion Dollar gravy train roller coaster.

[RainDog]

121. Prison economy r US!

The drug war has been waged almost exclusively in communities of color, yet those people in those communities are no more likely to use or sell drugs.

hmmmm. using laws to imprison a large number of a predominantly black population. hmmm. where have I heard that one before? What was it called, before?

[Warren DeMontague]

122. Their new argument- you can tell the rationale is failing- is "its very unlikely that a pot smoker

Will be arrested for it"

okay, never mind the fact that the lion's share of the drug war is low level possession pot arrests again, as you mention, predominantly in minority communities...and they say this, of course, because they tacitly recognize that using taxpayer money to arrest potheads is unpopular, not to mention indefensible... What the fuck sort of rationale is that for continuing the policy, or defending the law?

"Well, we're really not enforcing it all that much"- okay, so even you are admitting that it's a monumental waste of time. Then get rid of it. Legalize and TAX it, instead. Sheesh.

[RainDog]

124. Michelle Alexander makes a great point

That white people tend to buy drugs from other white people - yet they don't face the same consequences, especially if they're connected or wealthy.

Mitch Daniels, Republican and censor-wanna-be of Howard Zinn, was able to become governor of a state and an advisor to Bush Jr., even after arrest for quantities of multiple drugs that would indicate he was a drug dealer. He went on to engage in moral gymnastics that qualified him as a contortionist in order to be able to stay true to the drug war and the Republican Party.

Perhaps the most pivotal day of Daniels' four years at Princeton was May 14, 1970 — the day of the drug arrest that Daniels thought would sully his political future. Officers found enough marijuana in his room to fill two size 12 shoe boxes, reports of the incident say. He and the other inhabitants of the room were also charged with possession of LSD and prescription drugs without a prescription. Daniels and his two roommates in 111 Cuyler Hall, Marc Stuart '71 and Richard Stockton '71, were arrested and, after plea bargaining, Daniels eventually escaped with a $350 fine for "maintaining a common nuisance."

The comically mild penalty he received -- a $350 fine, no jail time, no probation -- was a salutary wake-up call that allowed him to go on to a productive career. And he presents this as evidence in favor of laws that would absolutely destroy the career of anybody caught in 1989 (or today) doing what Daniels was caught doing. A couple of hundred thousand students have lost their financial aid, in many cases meaning they had to drop out of college, because of a conviction for possession or sale of drugs. If Daniels were in college today, and thus had actually served time as a convicted drug dealer, not only would he have no political future, he wouldn't have much of a future at all.

But his logic seems be this: When the police found me with a huge amount of drugs, I was given a slap on the wrist, and I then went on to a productive life. Which shows that kids today who did what I did ought to have to leave school and get chucked in jail with murderers and rapists. Perhaps Daniels has changed his position on this issue since 1989 -- lots of other people have. But it's worth asking, particularly since he's probably going to run for president, if not next year then in 2016.

http://prospect.org/article/mitch-daniels-drugs

[RainDog]

91. Lies from the National Institute on Drug Abuse

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends

After alcohol, marijuana has the highest rate of dependence or abuse among all drugs. In 2011, 4.2 million Americans met clinical criteria for dependence or abuse of marijuana in the past year—more than twice the number for dependence/abuse of prescription pain relievers (1.8 million) and four times the number for dependence/abuse of cocaine (821,000).

Hmmmm. The reality is that cannabis is one of the least addictive substances. Why lie, NIDA? Need to pump up the fear to milk the tax cash cow? Doing the work for the drug cartels to keep the U.S. safe for their product?

Below, the NIDA plays with numbers to state something that is statistically nothing, is a something.

Illicit drug use in America has been increasing. In 2011, an estimated 22.5 million Americans aged 12 or older—or 8.7 percent of the population—had used an illicit drug or abused a psychotherapeutic medication (such as a pain reliever, stimulant, or tranquilizer) in the past month. This is up from 8.3 percent in 2002. The increase mostly reflects a recent rise in the use of marijuana, the most commonly used illicit drug.

So, a .04% increase is meaningful in a time when more people can actually be open about their cannabis use because of the recent relaxation in laws regarding use? Really?

It seems the big news is that drug abuse is, in fact, fairly flat over time, while drug use may fluctuate somewhat - but it's not as though we suddenly have epidemics of addicts. But that didn't stop the NIDA from starting their page with this scare line:

"Illicit drug use in America has been increasing."

oh, but wait... there's more to that story...

Use of most drugs other than marijuana has not changed appreciably over the past decade or has declined. In 2011, 6.1 million Americans aged 12 or older (or 2.4 percent) had used psycho-therapeutic prescription drugs nonmedically (without a prescription or in a manner or for a purpose not prescribed) in the past month—a decrease from 2010. And 972,000 Americans (0.4 percent) had used hallucinogens (a category that includes Ecstasy and LSD) in the past month—a decline from 2010.

Cocaine use has gone down in the last few years; from 2006 to 2011, the number of current users aged 12 or older dropped from 2.4 million to 1.4 million. Methamphetamine use has also dropped, from 731,000 current users in 2006 to 439,000 in 2011.

So, the reality is that drug use has declined, overall. Drug addiction has remained steady for decades (i.e. this would indicate drug addiction is a medical issue, not a social one) and use of the least harmful of all recreational drugs, cannabis, has increased as states have modified their laws to remove some of the stigma for those who choose to use cannabis instead of alcohol, etc.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

92. Okay,...where is this "potent" marijuana they talk about?

[Pathwalker]

106. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

n/t Some places even tell you how much thc, and the other stuff is in it, and they even test it.
Comes in vacuum sealed 4 gram 1/8ths. Yummy..

[Spitfire of ATJ]

111. I'm old enough to remember "Lids"....

The classic was the lid from a big jar of Hellmann's mayonnaise. When filled level it came in at a little under an ounce.

[Warren DeMontague]

117. Trust me, potent marijuana is not new, either.

We were smoking it back in the 80s.

It wasn't always easy to find, but it definitely existed.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

119. I'll stick with skunkweed.

[B Calm]

95. It's past time to move on and just legalize it all across the country!

Us baby boomer's are retiring now and what to live out our golden years with a smile on our face!

[SHRED]

97. "We"?

[mucifer]

101. What a sloppy interview. The 2 guests were discussing different things.

The questions to Sanjay were about medical marijuana. The questions to the other doctor were about marijuana legalization, not about medical marijuana. They both were in agreement about prescribing marijuana.

It was weird.

[RainDog]

108. Howard isn't a medical doctor

fwiw. He has a PhD in psychotherapy. He's not a doctor. He's an addiction counselor.

Morgan asked about the discrepancy between legal pharmaceuticals that are highly addictive (Vicodin), and marijuana, which is not highly addictive. Gupta also talked about this discrepancy.

Howard was the one who moved the topic from "yes, it's useful, but most people aren't using it for its medical benefit. they're using it to get high."

Because he opposes legalization of recreational cannabis.

That's his schtick - don't legalize. don't offer people a substance safer than alcohol because then another legal substance would exist. the arguments against legalization are stupid like this.

[Life Long Dem]

107. It's hard for me to trust anyone in the media

Gain your trust by fitting in and you'll listen to every word of propaganda.

[RainDog]

109. Gallup: Cannabis Usage Little Changed Over Three Decades

http://www.gallup.com/poll/163835/tried-marijuana-little-changed-80s.aspx

Even as Americans' support for legalizing marijuana has doubled, and more than 20 states have loosened marijuana restrictions in various ways, Gallup finds relatively little increase throughout the past three decades in the percentage of U.S. adults who say they have tried marijuana. Thirty-eight percent of Americans admit to having tried marijuana, compared with 34% in 1999 and 33% in 1985.

Before Americans' self-reported experimentation with marijuana leveled off in the 1980s, it surged in the 1970s, rising from 4% in 1969 to 12% in 1973 and 24% in 1977.

Gallup's trend by age reveals that widespread experimentation with marijuana first occurred among adults aged 18 to 29 between 1969 and 1973, rising from 8% to 35%. It then continued to mount, reaching 56% by 1977, and remained at that level in 1985. Since then, however, marijuana use among young adults has progressively declined. At the same time, as the bulge of young adults who tried marijuana in the 1970s ages and replaces older Americans who never tried it, the rate of all Americans who have ever tried the drug has increased slightly.

There are relatively minor differences in marijuana use by race -- between whites and nonwhites -- and by education. There are no income-related differences among those who say they have tried marijuana, but lower-income Americans are the most likely to say they currently use it. This is consistent with the higher percentage of young adults who say they smoke it, given young adults report relatively lower household income figures.

[drynberg]

110. Deal One Little Blow for the Cause of Truth...A Start. Who's next?

This is about MONEY, too many fat cats are getting rich on Big Pharma and HealthCare, even if it's a waste of $$. Thanks, Doc.

[RainDog]

112. Colbert responds

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/09/colbert-laments-that-sanjay-gupta-has-gone-over-to-the-dank-side/

[Warren DeMontague]

114. Kick.

[Warren DeMontague]

116. How long before Gupta Gets Got To Gitmo?

For fucking sure he's being monitored by the NSA, now.

[RainDog]

118. LOL

you know, ever since I started writing about this issue, I assumed it was possible for anyone to find out anything they like about me. Too bad I'm so boring.

[CanSocDem]

123. This is a great thread...

...and hopefully will stay 'bumped' as close as possible to broadcast time. Local attention spans and all that......

You said it earlier how having the issue featured on prime time CNN is a bigger deal than the about-face of Sanjay Gupta. Couldn't agree more.

Getting more people to try it has been my life's work for almost 50 years. In the early days giving it away was the norm so it is disconcerting to be reminded of the big business it has become. Comforting, on the other hand, to have such a public display of its medicinal benefits.

"The times they are a-changing"...again. Who cares if its CNN that breaks it to the masses.

.

[RKP5637]

126. Thank you! n/t

[War Horse]

129. Good for him.

I've actually gained a modicum of respect for Dr. Gupta after this. Not that I had a lot to begin with, but I'm willing give him the benefit of the doubt here.

[RainDog]

131. well, there's another perspective...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3446516