Medicinal Cannabis And The Caregiving Community Giving It Away For Free

[bobandtorey]

Marijuana legislation is being relaxed all over the world – but not in the UK, where the most unlikely of horticulturalists are taking the law into their own hands

 

In the heart of Cumbria stands a two-bedroomed cottage wrapped in ivy that for half a century has been home to a lady named June.

 

She makes a pot of tea in a cluttered kitchen brimming with fresh herbs in labelled jars, assorted saucepans and drying socks, then

 

potters across the slate floor, and into a garden. Here lies what June calls "her private retreat". An overgrown rose bush dotted with

 

apricot-coloured blossoms creeps over a rusting bench and from one of the many ceramic plant pots comes the scent of rosemary. At

 

the back of the garden stands a decaying shed, lost beneath a white climbing hydrangea, and nestled behind this sits a small grow tent,

 

which June tells me contains a single cannabis plant. She pulls down the zip to reveal the hidden green leaves. "You wouldn't believe it

was only one plant!"

The sight is reminiscent of the film Saving Grace, where an elderly widow starts growing cannabis as a way of paying off debts – but June

has no intention of making money from her plant, nor does she plan on smoking it.

 

Inside, on the mantelpiece, sits a brown envelope addressed to a nearby town. It contains a small bag of weed. "I'm sending this to a

 

friend of mine with arthritis who I've been helping out for a few years," she says. "I promised to have it delivered to her a few days ago

but it took me longer than I expected to harvest this time so it's a little late."

 

June first started to grow cannabis in 2003, after a neighbour gave her late husband, Arthur, a sample. Arthur, who had suffered from MS

from the age of 46, had developed secondary progressive MS and severe spasticity – involuntary muscle stiffness and contractions. June

says she experimented with different strains of cannabis and found some were particularly effective muscle relaxants.

 

After seeing the relief it brought her husband, she decided to grow her own and began searching through the wealth of blogs and forums

offering guidance. "I don't exactly operate on a grand scale," laughs June, who says she never has more than one plant at a time. "If you

look after a plant properly it can go a long way." She initially wanted to set up an aquaponic grow tent, which combines keeping fish with

hydroponics – but decided it was too conspicuous. "It's a shame. I already keep fish and it is much more eco-friendly."

 

"I've got no real interest in the stuff myself. I just really love gardening and I'm glad I can use it for a purpose which helps people." June

provides cannabis for three other people: two, aged 78 and 85, who have arthritis and live nearby; the other aged 73, who has MS, to

whom she sends cannabis once a month, often in a bag of coffee to mask the smell. "I'm still learning," says June. "The stuff I grow isn't

always effective but it does seem to provide some comfort."

Cannabis has been used as a medicine throughout history, with the ancient Egyptians among the earliest users. Its first recorded use as

an anaesthetic is in first-century China; the Chinese term for "anesthesia" can be translated as "cannabis intoxication". Increasingly, the

medicinal benefits of cannabis are being recognised and researched internationally and growing numbers of countries have legalised it.

Recent research from the New York University Epilepsy Centre, for instance, has shown the cannabidiol (CBD) element in cannabis can

help reduce epileptic seizures. The CBD-high cannabis strain Charlotte's Web is now in demand in Colorado among individuals seeking help for epilepsy.

Even though, in 1998, the Home Office granted GW Pharmaceuticals a license to grow cannabis in order to develop cannabinoid-based

medicines, Britain is not following suit. This week, Norman Baker, Lib Dem minister of state for crime prevention, called for more

liberalised drug laws, and specifically the legalisation of cannabis grown for medicinal use. A coalition spokesman rejected his suggestion

outright: "This government has no plans to legalise cannabis or to soften our approach to its use as a medicine. There is clear scientific

and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health."

And so those seeking cannabis for medicinal purposes must continue to chase it in the same way as recreational users, through the black

market. "I considered asking around to see if people nearby sold any," says June, "but I thought: 'Hang on, I'm an old lady! I shouldn't be

meeting strangers on street corners.' "

 

 

  Read more here

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/15/cannabis-marijuana-medicine-law-growing

[Chauncy Gardner]

Marijuana legislation is being relaxed all over the world – but not in the UK, where the most unlikely of horticulturalists are taking the law into their own hands

 

In the heart of Cumbria stands a two-bedroomed cottage wrapped in ivy that for half a century has been home to a lady named June.

 

She makes a pot of tea in a cluttered kitchen brimming with fresh herbs in labelled jars, assorted saucepans and drying socks, then

 

potters across the slate floor, and into a garden. Here lies what June calls "her private retreat". An overgrown rose bush dotted with

 

apricot-coloured blossoms creeps over a rusting bench and from one of the many ceramic plant pots comes the scent of rosemary. At

 

the back of the garden stands a decaying shed, lost beneath a white climbing hydrangea, and nestled behind this sits a small grow tent,

 

which June tells me contains a single cannabis plant. She pulls down the zip to reveal the hidden green leaves. "You wouldn't believe it

was only one plant!"

The sight is reminiscent of the film Saving Grace, where an elderly widow starts growing cannabis as a way of paying off debts – but June

has no intention of making money from her plant, nor does she plan on smoking it.

 

Inside, on the mantelpiece, sits a brown envelope addressed to a nearby town. It contains a small bag of weed. "I'm sending this to a

 

friend of mine with arthritis who I've been helping out for a few years," she says. "I promised to have it delivered to her a few days ago

but it took me longer than I expected to harvest this time so it's a little late."

 

June first started to grow cannabis in 2003, after a neighbour gave her late husband, Arthur, a sample. Arthur, who had suffered from MS

from the age of 46, had developed secondary progressive MS and severe spasticity – involuntary muscle stiffness and contractions. June

says she experimented with different strains of cannabis and found some were particularly effective muscle relaxants.

 

After seeing the relief it brought her husband, she decided to grow her own and began searching through the wealth of blogs and forums

offering guidance. "I don't exactly operate on a grand scale," laughs June, who says she never has more than one plant at a time. "If you

look after a plant properly it can go a long way." She initially wanted to set up an aquaponic grow tent, which combines keeping fish with

hydroponics – but decided it was too conspicuous. "It's a shame. I already keep fish and it is much more eco-friendly."

 

"I've got no real interest in the stuff myself. I just really love gardening and I'm glad I can use it for a purpose which helps people." June

provides cannabis for three other people: two, aged 78 and 85, who have arthritis and live nearby; the other aged 73, who has MS, to

whom she sends cannabis once a month, often in a bag of coffee to mask the smell. "I'm still learning," says June. "The stuff I grow isn't

always effective but it does seem to provide some comfort."

Cannabis has been used as a medicine throughout history, with the ancient Egyptians among the earliest users. Its first recorded use as

an anaesthetic is in first-century China; the Chinese term for "anesthesia" can be translated as "cannabis intoxication". Increasingly, the

medicinal benefits of cannabis are being recognised and researched internationally and growing numbers of countries have legalised it.

Recent research from the New York University Epilepsy Centre, for instance, has shown the cannabidiol (CBD) element in cannabis can

help reduce epileptic seizures. The CBD-high cannabis strain Charlotte's Web is now in demand in Colorado among individuals seeking help for epilepsy.

Even though, in 1998, the Home Office granted GW Pharmaceuticals a license to grow cannabis in order to develop cannabinoid-based

medicines, Britain is not following suit. This week, Norman Baker, Lib Dem minister of state for crime prevention, called for more

liberalised drug laws, and specifically the legalisation of cannabis grown for medicinal use. A coalition spokesman rejected his suggestion

outright: "This government has no plans to legalise cannabis or to soften our approach to its use as a medicine. There is clear scientific

and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health."

And so those seeking cannabis for medicinal purposes must continue to chase it in the same way as recreational users, through the black

market. "I considered asking around to see if people nearby sold any," says June, "but I thought: 'Hang on, I'm an old lady! I shouldn't be

meeting strangers on street corners.' "

 

 

  Read more here

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/15/cannabis-marijuana-medicine-law-growing

 

 

Yeah? Please cite your evidence Mr. Coalition Spokesman.