Cannabis Research

[mullray]

Would that research institute be NDARC which is attached to Curtin Uni??

 

Plenty of research was done in Russia during the communist era on insanity and fear induced by constant paranoia. Because the poor Russians were so afraid of being ratted out as bad communists they started withdrawing and becoming insular. The paranoia associated to this bred an almost endemic social insanity. Perhaps, researching the similarities of this syndrome and what it is for drug users to live with fear and loathing on a daily basis would make a very interesting comparative study.

 

Good luck with the research - I for one will pass.

[WantDaChronic]

good to see you back around and answering questions cannabis.research

 

but we also do know that cannabis acts on the neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine, and in illnesses such as depression and anxiety (which are common in cannabis users) these neurtransmitters are affect. therefore its also possible that it could be a direct result of cannabis use on these brain chemicals

while depression is very complex, cannabis use cant be blamed for causing it. sure there are the times when we run out of smoko and get depressed as a result, but i have known many people who are on anti depressants due to their severe depression and have noticed that every single one of them has reacted positively to marijuana. to be fair when they have been smoking for a few months and then are forced to go without those few cones or joints a day it has sent the depression into over drive, but show me one person who is clinically depressed, on meds like zoloft and then doesn't have a massively worse increase in their depression once they go cold turky

 

as for anxiety and cannabis, to be completely honest im sure everyone on here has had a bad experience and become really anxious after smoking up. its only natural considering that the second we have marijuana in our possession we are breaking the law and know that some police officer having a shitty day could lock us away, get us fined, etc. but in the general scheme of things im sure that you'll find cannabis helps ease anxiety when consumed in a safe environment.

 

with that out of the way, i totally agree with you when it comes to schizophrenics smoking up and only making matters worse...i have had the unfortunate experience of seeing that happen in person

[bufo marinus]

- i dont smoke, i have of course tried it but it makes me sick (yes.. maybe im weak!).

 

I doubt anyone here thinks that at all? Thats the main reason I don't drink much alcohol

But that little point is highly significant!!! Why does it make you sick but make me feel content, at times euphoric?

Why does it help ease depression in some yet bring it on in others?

Why do a high proportion of schizophrenics find relief yet for some it can trigger all sorts of problems?

 

This is where we have trouble dealing with all the facts and figures thrown at us as by 'experts' and I personally think this equation cannot be resolved by you or anyone due to the many variables, some have already been mentioned above.

The point mulray raised is a very real one.

Buying and consuming poorly grown cannabis, as well as paying ridiculous amounts for it, coupled with the pressures of modern living + at the same time being viewed as a criminal by family and friends has a real effect on people.

Whether or not this all has an effect on the way the eye blinks who the hell knows?? but couldn't this be influenced by the level of stress in the subjects? Would a group of happy home growers smoking small amounts of quality bud perform differently to a group of smokers who have no access to quality bud and smoke probably too much poorly grown commercial cannabis(in an attempt to get the effect) laced with unknown chemicals? fly spray? plant growth retardant hormones?

You guys don't even understand the difference between Indica or Sativa? How are you's ever going to understand what your researching when you's ummmm don't understand much about what your researching?

Do you see what I'm saying?

[mullray]

Foucault might give you some interesting pointers seeing as how you're an academic (part of the meta narrative). The history of insanity to begin with. Something I very much liked that Foucault stated was (to this effect) - the perversion of truth leaves us with no truth and a collective insanity ensues. When the facts become so distorted truth is distorted to such a point that we as a collective have no truth and without truth (reason) we become insane. Society thus as a collective becomes insane and we cannot recognise this because insanity is our truth It's about the only explanation I have for the quality of the media around cannabis today.

 

If there's any academics out there who would like to write a thesis on the collective insanity of governments and the mass media I would be glad to contribute.

[freddie]

Thanks for coming back cannabis.research.

 

cannabis potency. i agree with you here. Though in terms of the scientific literature there are not many articles which actually state that there has been an increase in potency, i have only found one so far and this is the one that many other people cite when saying that cannabis potency has increased. the potency issue is very complex

 

The press and policy makers seem to make a clear distinction between the cannabis now and what the generation of 30-40yrs ago smoked, often citing hydroponics and genetic manipulations as bogeymen. Most of us happily eat hydroponic food and the genetic manipulation (simple crosses of varieties) has been less than what has happened to most of your humble vegetables.

 

Bufo rightly points out that researchers don't seem to understand the difference between sativa and indica. When we read in the popular press that cannabis causes .....? whatever? a lot of us are thinking well, what cannabis. Different varieties have astoundingly different effects. Some cannabis will make you want to get up and vacuum the house, climb a mountain, surf, play sport, exercise whereas others will make you want to meditate, read a book, veg out on tele, have a nap even, or a combination of any or all the above and more. Is this ever taken into account when research is carried out? How do you get supplies to test subjects? Some people mix with tobacco. Is this ever taken into account? When I see a 4 corners special on the ABC and realise that most of the people on this site know more about cannabis i am worried. Policy makers have no idea.

 

Lastly, it is possible that some of the mental health issues could be attributed to the lifestyle. i dont know of any research on this topic, but thats not to say there hasnt been any. but we also do know that cannabis acts on the neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine, and in illnesses such as depression and anxiety (which are common in cannabis users) these neurtransmitters are affect. therefore its also possible that it could be a direct result of cannabis use on these brain chemicals

 

 

Cannabis certainly effects the brain. That is why we take it. Personally I use cannabis that doesn't cause me depression or anxiety. Again, different strains or varieties have completely different effects. Cannabis is not like alcohol in this respect. I have heard of cannabis being good for depression and anxiety as well? I have also heard of negative experiences and hav somoked some gear that made me anxious for a short period of time.

 

Russians were so afraid of being ratted out as bad communists they started withdrawing and becoming insular. The paranoia associated to this bred an almost endemic social insanity. Perhaps, researching the similarities of this syndrome and what it is for drug users to live with fear and loathing on a daily basis would make a very interesting comparative study.

I couldn't put this better. Social effects on mental health are severely underplayed in our society. Excellent example. I'm also glad you brought up Foucoult, mullray. I understand where your coming from much better (and agree with you more). I'll send you a quote by PM soon if i can find it.

 

If I was anywhere near Perth I would take part in you test, but I'm not. Good luck with your studies and I hope you contribute more here. It would be great to have some dialogue with someone in cannabis research even if we don't agree.

[Radic]

irey to see yah researcher

welcome back

and thanx for answering we Qs

 

It is possible that cannabis use in patients w schiz may improve cog function, and if this is the case medication with targets cannabinoid receptors may be a further avenue of research

 

i love reading cannabis scientific research studdies because all the things i have suspected over the years you and your peers are proving to be fact.

thats so beautiful

it just keeps a smile pon me face all day

 

radic, in terms of the self medicating thing in schiz.. the scientific literature on this issue is not clear. there are studies which suggest that cannabis use has an antipsyhotic like effect (on motor activity etc). but there are also a lot of studies that do not find support for this self medication hypoth.

 

when i first started smoking cannabis it was a strictly fun affair

then at 19 i was the victim of serious car accident which left i with 7 crushed vertabri

then i started to discover the medicinal qualities of cannabis

i learned how to proccess cannabis into ointment and tincher and then i really started to get a handle pon the healing qualities of cannabis

i am the mirrical man

i walked out of a wheel chair

and now i am still walking

thanx to my cannabis self medication treatments

i am here to say it works for me

i have shared my success with cannabis self medication with many people

1 of my friends suffers from serrabul pause

he self medicates too

the average life span for sp victim is 40ys he is in his 60ts and still drives his car

cannabis rulez

i have and continualy deal with schiz suffers daily

they all are more ballanced and grounded when they self medicate with cannabis

my eyes wittness this fact continually

a local phycatric nurse use to score cannabis tincure from me to treat his paitants

i asked him how it affected them

he said it helped them to fell more ballenced and grounded too

i told him his bosses new all these facts from scientific studdies and such

he should be able to get cannabis tincture from them

he never came back after that

 

i have seen some bad things happen too

and i say to them suffers latter dont smoke if it affects you like that

the same answer is allways replied

'oh no radic as you know with out cannabis in my system it would a been a far worse attack lasting even longer and leaving me with fewer of my faclties in tact. i know ive been there'

true

i am as stunded as you are

 

i friend who works at willson park clinic in brisbane

told me he recomends cannabis for most of his paitants

he said 1 in 20 he would not allow cannabis

that was 35y ago

 

im interested in the effects of cannabis on the brain because the issue is so contentious

 

huh????

cannabis is one of the most researched plants in the history of people kind

 

- i dont think there is enough clear evidence on the effects to warrant its legalisation, just yet anyway

 

BS

 

- i dont smoke, i have of course tried it but it makes me sick (yes.. maybe im weak!).

 

funny dat

cancer and aids victims undergoing kemo tell me cannabis stops them from feeling sick

and even helps regain their appertite

no you are not week

cannabis is not at all like ethonol

we dont try to smoke eachother under the table

to prove some 1 is weeker

 

i am not convinced that you have tried cannabis at all

 

cannabis acts on the neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine, and in illnesses such as depression and anxiety (which are common in cannabis users)

 

self medicating again explains this

is there some sorta delayed echo in here????

what part of

sick people find relief in cannabis dont you overstand???????

 

these neurtransmitters are affect. therefore its also possible that it could be a direct result of cannabis use on these brain chemicals

ok

tell i why india is not fulla depressed indians?????

plenty a life time chronic cannabis smokers there

or morroco, china, indoinasa, the list goes on

 

cannabis is one of the safest herbs known to people kind

 

how many billions have been spent just trying to prove that wrong in the last 65y??????

and nobody has suceeded yet

hahahaha

why not??

well

check the history of cannabis

people have been cultivating it, medicatling with it, meditating pon it,

eating it , wearing it, drinking and smoking it yes

for thousands of years

shurley evolution would have culled out unhealthy practices by now

leaving us with the old tried and proven results

 

my dad retired a herbalist he said he used to put cannabis in most treatments before probition

and since the medicinal cannabis has been taken off the market a lota diseases have got out a control

now theres a good angle for some scerious research

i better get on to it cause i dout if they will pay any researcher to check dat 1 out

 

guidance

[Pam]

I'm sticking my neck out here for Radic, and posting.

 

I went to school with a boy that had such a terrible stutter that he literally could not talk. But once he smoked even a small amount of cannabis the stutter was gone completely. That is when I first realized the medicinal qualities of cannabis.

 

Peace out.

[Indycar]

Nothing much has changed. The positives of cannabis massively outweighs the negatives. The sooner the "powers that be" admits such, the sooner proper laboratory studies can take place and work towards the better of mankind and the planet.

 

To be honest, It's quite scary to think that what cannabis.research is doing is regarded as cannabis research in Australia.

 

I tend to believe other areas need to be explored more so. Like the long term affects of man made chemicals added to processed food stuffs and what are doing to us mentally and physically. I worked in a food processing establishments before and it was an eyeopener, as there was the odd chemical, that if it wasn't used in the right dosage, it could kill people. It's one of the main reasons i got out of the game 'n never looked back. Not so much that i was worried i would possibly have a hand in someone dying, but what i was possibly doing to them long term, is what done it for me.

 

But anyway, back on topic. Been some bloody good posts in this thread so far.

 

[Radic]

A few more Qs please, this is Radics other half speaking....

 

Who is supplying 100% of the funding for this research?????

 

If you are funded by phamacutical companies who wish to try isolate componants of the Cannabis plant or synthesis Cannabaniods, for instances, you will have a biased agenda

 

Or may I say, corrupt corporations who relentlessly attempt to find some conclusive dirt on our favourite plant, so as to justify the attack on, and scapegoating of, countless innocent citizens who merely want to live a quality life utalizing natural, proven safe, environmentally friendly herbs and NOT toxic artificial synthetic pharmecutical drugs

(yes I AM biased, but, despite my lack of formal education, I am not a damn fool)

 

Are you aware of the current quantum physics findings into the corralation between the observer (ei reseacher) and the observed and the way in which the observer affects outcomes?

 

You see we are not so separate from that which we observe

unless you have a firm and steadfast agenda to reveal the unbiased truth, your data will fail to be conclusive

 

A good book to help open your mind would be The Benefits of Marijuana, by Joan Bello

 

As a RastaFarI mother and recovering sufferer of eating-disorder I am in the fortunate position to be a highly suitable canditate for your reseach, if is is genuine knowledge you seek..however I am way to busy raising seven kids and raising awareness from my own home, so we will have to conduct our interviews here,

 

however I don't expect you to take me up on my offer, as I suspect dollars rule in your world and not the passionate livication to uncovering the truth about Cannabis

correct me if I'm wrong, or overstepping the mark

 

you see we have suffered terribly due to the ilegality of Cannabis, but not more than billions of others

yes, it is sometimes depressing and anxiety producing

 

how would you feel if you were considered a criminal for trying to get healthy and function normally?

could that perhaps cause you some anxiety and bouts of morbid depressing thinking?

how about the financial hardship due to both your condition and the expensive and danger-fraught acquisition of your medicine?

could that possibly contribute to anxiety and depression?

Not that all Cannabis users are poor but it certainly does not help that our medicine is ilegal

 

Another thing, I suffered from chronic depression before I used Cannabis, now I only experience acute, short-lived bouts, usually lasting no longer than a day, and usually the primary thing that is upsetting me, is our collective hardship due to Cannabis prohibition, this alone has the power to isolate me, driving me deeper into myself in an attempt to draw more strength to withstand this abysmal persecution.

 

Nothing would make me happier than Cannabis legalization

 

If you have any shred of compassion and commitment to the truth, I urge you to have the courage to face the truth of Cannabis' unique ability to alleviate pain without damaging side effects, and its literally thousands or even millions of applications to help heal humanity and our shared home.

 

Give thanks for this time

Nyah I Jahlove Conscious

Edited March 26, 2008 by Radic

[cannabis.research]

To be honest i think this thread is starting to go around in circles, as did the other one.

As i said previously, this research has no direct funding, any money that is needed to support it is being drawn from left overs from previous research grants.

Yes i am aware of researcher and that being observed biases, as a scientific researcher, i am here to uncover the truth, not to be biased. I have been defending this throughout these whole discussions. If you do not believe in my objectivity then there isnt much more i can say. I am here mainly with the hope of finding people who may be interested in participating in my study, not to constantly defend my position and be attacked when people jump to conclusions about me. Many of you are highlighting that u feel attacked and victimised by the community for your cannabis use, tho you are doing the same to me here without any basis.

 

As for coming to your house for you to participate, i would most certainly do this if was able to. However, the laboratory here is set up and the equipment cannot be transported. The room is electically shielded and the power supply is specific for use on instuments that attatch to the human body. therefore, testing anywhere else would not be possible, for this reason only

 

Im not denying the medical uses of cannabis in terms of pain management etc.. all im trying to do is further our knowledge with regard to the effects of cannabis on the brain in terms of cognitive performance.

 

 

Basically, all im saying is that if u dont agree with the research, think its ridiculous, whatever, dont worry about it. pay no attention to the origional post. However, dont attack me based on your ideas of what im like and what i believe in, i never came on here and did that to anyone, and i was hoping for the same respect. Even though ive tried to explain myself and my position many times in the previous posts many of you still dont believe me, and thats fine, but i think there has been enough stuff posted about that issue.

 

Thanks everyone for your interest in the study, even if it has mostly been negative