A young Girl Scout proved her knowledge of the business world as she found her target audience in front of a marijuana dispensary and sold a record amount of cookies.
The post Genius Girl Scout Sells Cookies Outside Marijuana Dispensary and MAKES BANK appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
Half of the city"s police force has been suspended, including their police chief, amid allegations of official oppression and evidence tampering.
Mike Tyson looks to revolutionize the marijuana industry as he breaks ground on a mega-resort for cannabis in Southern California.
In a significant policy change, the World Bank announced that it will stop funding most of its oil and gas exploration and extraction projects after 2019.
The local sheriff credited the "hero" of the massacre in Texas, noting that "lots more people" could"ve been killed if he did grab a gun and stop him.
When two police officers encountered a suicidal man with a rifle, they endangered their own lives in order to stop him from killing himself.
Science is already showing that classic psychedelics can treat various mental illnesses, and now we"re finding clear benefits to society as well.
For years now, we at TFTP have been praising the benefits of cannabis and it’s ability to heal. We’ve even brought you stories of medical doctors using cannabis to help opiate addicts kick their addiction to powerful narcotics. But now, a world renowned doctor, “Doctor Oz” (Mehmet Oz) has joined us and has officially come out in favor of medical marijuana, debunking it as a “gateway drug” and claiming it may be the “exit drug” to help our nation’s addicted get off heroin and opiates.
Dr. Oz was a guest on Fox News’ Fox and Friends on Tuesday. As the segment with the physician and television host was coming to a close, Oz seized the opportunity to say a few things about medical marijuana. He said:
The real story is the hypocrisy around medical marijuana. People think it’s a gateway drug to narcotics. It may be the exit drug to get us out of the narcotic epidemic.
Oz criticized the government’s long-standing position on marijuana and said it should no longer be classified as a Schedule I narcotic, precisely the stance TFTP has taken for so many years. Oz stated:
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We’re not allowed to study it because it’s a Schedule I drug, and I personally believe it could help.
Fox and Friends anchor Steve Doocy could only respond by saying, “Wow, I haven’t heard that one before” and cut to a commercial break. But the public announcement was quickly noticed by several media outlets who ran the story. Forbes was one such publication which ran a similar story to ours.
For many years, marijuana advocates have been stereotyped as hippies like Willie Nelson, dreadlock wearing rappers like Snoop Dog, and shamed athletes such as swimmer Michael Phelps. But now, one of the world’s most recognizable doctors has taken his stand with cannabis, and it’s no longer the fringe elements of society saying the same thing. It’s mainstream, it’s medical, it’s Dr. Oz.
READ MORE: Legal Weed is Killing Cartels and Corporate Media Is Trying to Say that"s a Bad Thing
However, Oz is not the first, to come out in support of not only cannabis research, declassification as a Schedule I narcotic by the DEA, and an herb to be used to help people overcome addiction.
In 2015, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy made an appearance on CBS News and was asked about his own personal feelings about medical marijuana. In the interview he declared marijuana “can be helpful.”
Also, in 2013, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta had to apologize to his viewers for critical comments he’d made about cannabis. In what appeared to be a very sincere apology, Gupta declared he was wrong about cannabis.
I apologize because I didn’t look hard enough, until now. I didn’t look far enough. I didn’t review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis.
Instead, I lumped them with the high-visibility malingerers, just looking to get high. I mistakenly believed the Drug Enforcement Agency listed marijuana as a schedule 1 substance because of sound scientific proof. Surely, they must have quality reasoning as to why marijuana is in the category of the most dangerous drugs that have ‘no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.’
Gupta declared that the U.S. government and other entities have been systematically lying to the American people about cannabis and as a result, the people, including himself at one time, had been duped.
What about you? Are you still holding on the the propaganda that weed is somehow bad for you as if your brain is frying like an egg? Please share your comments below. What does it mean for Dr. Oz to come out in favor of cannabis?
READ MORE: Canada"s Pot Legalization Comes With a Hefty Dose of Police State - 10 Years in Prison for Driving High
While it is a rare occasion when the group claiming to represent the will of the American people actually votes accordingly, the House of Representatives voted in opposition of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ plan to expand civil asset forfeiture on Tuesday.
The Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act will now include Amendment 126, which “restricts the use of the federal government’s use of adoptive forfeiture.” It is co-sponsored by a group of nine bipartisan representatives, including Justin Amash, a Republican from Michigan, and Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii.
“About to speak on the House floor in support of my amendment to rein in unconstitutional civil asset forfeiture,” Amash wrote on Twitter. “We must defend our rights.”
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About to speak on the House floor in support of my amendment to rein in unconstitutional civil asset forfeiture. We must defend our rights.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) September 12, 2017
Gabbard noted that she co-sponsored the bill because it was “yet another area where AG Sessions must be stopped in his unconstitutional attempts to expand civil asset forfeiture.”
“I’ll be on House floor soon with Justin Amash urging support for our bipartisan amendment to stop AG Sessions expansion of adoptive forfeiture,” Gabbard wrote on Twitter. “Adoptive forfeiture allows state law enforcement to sidestep state laws and use federal law to seize people’s property without conviction or charges. Burden of proving innocence is on the individual, not on law enforcement. Even if innocence proved, the property/cash is often not returned.”
I"ll be on House floor soon w/ @justinamash urging support for our bipartisan amdmt to stop AG Sessions expansion of adoptive forfeiture
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) September 12, 2017
Burden of proving innocence is on the individual, not on law enforcement. Even if innocence proved, the property/cash is often not returned
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) September 12, 2017
Defining civil asset forfeiture as “a pernicious practice that throws due process out of the window and allows permanent seizure of assets based on an extraordinarily low evidentiary standard,” FreedomWorks.org noted that Amendment 126 seeks to “prohibit the use of funds authorized by Division C from being used for adoptive seizures, through which state and local agencies can circumvent protective state laws to seek forfeiture of seized assets under federal forfeiture laws.”
Sessions announced a new policy to increase civil asset forfeiture in July, labeling it as a means to “better protect victims of crime and innocent property owners, while streamlining the process to more easily dismantle criminal and terrorist organizations.”
“As any of these law enforcement partners will tell you and as President Trump knows well, civil asset forfeiture is a key tool that helps law enforcement defund organized crime, take back ill-gotten gains, and prevent new crimes from being committed, and it weakens the criminals and the cartels. Even more importantly, it helps return property to the victims of crime. Civil asset forfeiture takes the material support of the criminals and instead makes it the material support of law enforcement, funding priorities like new vehicles, bulletproof vests, opioid overdose reversal kits, and better training. In departments across this country, funds that were once used to take lives are now being used to save lives.”
However, as The Free Thought Project has reported extensively, and as the majority of the representatives in the House seem to understand, civil asset forfeiture has only led to more corruption.
READ MORE: Before & After Photos Prove the US is Funding a War on Human Rights in Syria
In fact, even one of the co-creators of the civil asset forfeiture program in the United States has said he thinks it should be abolished. “Three decades ago I helped create our civil asset forfeiture system; now it is time to end it,” Brad Cates, former director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Office, said in February 2016.
“During the Reagan administration I helped establish these programs because I believed they would quickly channel seized criminals’ profits into the fight against organized crime and drug cartels. Yet over time we have created a new bad incentive: policing for profit, out of the reach of the proper legislative budget process.”
The purpose of “due process” is to ensure that suspects are given a chance to prove their innocence. However, when police are given the power to confiscate cash, weapons, cars and other possessions, the suspects they are targeting are assumed guilty until proven innocent, and even if their innocence is proven in court, their possessions that were stolen by the state are not always returned.
Berkeley, CA — Berkeley police are in the spotlight this week after one of their officers not only cited a man for selling hot dogs to willing customers without a permit but then opened up his wallet and robbed him of his cash as well.
The entire robbery was captured on video and subsequently went viral. But that was only the beginning. Showing how much society respects hard working entrepreneurs while decrying the police state that robs them, a Go Fund Me for the hot dog vendor has raised over $57,000.
The Go Fund Me campaign was started by the person who was brave enough to question authority and film the road side robbery. According to the campaign:
The funds raised will be utilized to cover legal and personal loses. In addition, funds in excess are to cover other vendors who have been robbed of their hard earned living through citations and removal of their carts. It is my goal to locate Juan in Berkeley. Any and all help to support and locate him is welcome.
On Monday, the video became so viral that UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy had to issue a statement, in which he justified the theft of the hot dog vendor’s money.
“While I cannot comment on the specifics of this particular case, our practice is to issue warnings before giving a citation,” Biddy said. “In a case such as this, it is typical to collect any suspected illegal funds and enter them into evidence.”
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According to NBC 5, UCPD officials said that three other people were warned about vending without a permit, but the vendor in the video was the only person who was given a ticket.
READ MORE: Eyewitness: Laredo Police Knew it was a BB Gun Before Firing 80 Rounds Into Schizophrenic Man
Perhaps it was because he had the thickest wallet.
Whether or not the money in the man’s wallet was from selling unlicensed hot dogs remains to be answered. However, that was apparently of no importance to UC police officer Sean Aranas who found it necessary to confiscate it all.
Yes, selling food without first paying the government for permission—known as a permit—is against the law. However, this does not in any way justify this incident.
“That’s not right man, that’s not right,” Martin Flores, the man who took the video, said as he used his phone to record Aranas issuing the hot dog vendor, Beto, a ticket.
“That’s how it works,” the male officer responded. “Take it to a judge, and the judge can decide whether or not it’s right.”
The officer then took the money out of the vendor’s wallet, and when he began to protest in Spanish, the officer told him to “Back up.”
“You’re going to take his hard-earned money?” Flores asked. The officer replied, “Yep.”
“He doesn’t have a permit,” the officer replied as he dug through Beto’s wallet to steal his cash. “Yep. This is law and order in action.”
In an interview with NBC Bay Area’s sister station Telemundo, the street vendor said he holds down a regular job in construction. He was selling hot dogs to earn a little extra money, he said.
“People saw I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” he said of the response to the video. “I wasn’t stealing or drinking. I was just working to sustain my family.”
As TFTP has reported, in the Land of the Free, if you do not pay the State before you attempt to sell a product or service to a willing customer, you can and will be extorted, kidnapped and caged, with extreme prejudice.
READ MORE: Officers Kept Piling Parking Tickets On Man"s Windshield As He Sat Dead In His Car -- For Days
Sadly, Americans are being conditioned to think that in the land of the free, people are somehow morally wrong if they try to make a dollar without first being extorted by the state.
The bottom line is — in modern day police state, USA — exchanging goods and services is a crime unless the State gets their cut. We are told that this is for our safety and that we could all die if a brown man sells unlicensed hot dogs on the road side. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Morality does not equal reality — and the video above is more than enough evidence to prove this.
Richmond, VA — Richmond resident Chy-Niece Thacker didn’t know what to expect when she was pulled over Friday for having two tail lights out on her car. As she was looking for her required paperwork, Officer Jenkins reassured her, “Don’t worry about pulling anything out. I just want you to know that your brake lights are out.”
Thacker says she was on her way to an interview when the stop happened. After explaining to Officer Jenkins she’d been having a problem with her brake lights, she told the officer of the peace the mechanic wanted to collect $600 to test the wiring of her vehicle.
He looked at me like 😨 and told me to pop the trunk. He checked the lights in the trunk and tapped them, but they didn’t come on. So he told me to pop the hood to check the relay box then asked me to get out to check the other one.
Looking surprised, Jenkins switched gears from being a code enforcer to that of a Good Samaritan. Having a background in mechanics, he quickly checked the connections on the tail lights, and then looked under the bonnet at the relay box, where he found the problem. In just a few moments, Jenkins had Thacker safely back on the road, on her way to her job interview.
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Thacker seemed impressed having nothing but praise for Jenkins who refused to ticket the young lady, fixing her car instead. She wrote:
He could’ve easily given me a ticket, but Officer Jenkins stepped out of officer role and into mechanic role to make sure I was straight. #hesablessing
Officers who have a propensity to kindness and empathy wmay see Jenkins’ actions as routine, something police officers do every day. But other law enforcement officials may be quick to criticize Jenkins for not doing his job and ticketing the young lady.
READ MORE: Can Technology and Prisons Get Along? Inmates Raise $100,000 to Purchase Educational Computers
Such daily encounters with the public can and do have very different outcomes. As TFTP has reported, a broken tail light can be a death sentence for some motorists who quickly find themselves staring down the barrel of a loaded weapon pointed in their direction by the very people who are paid to protect them.
Philando Castile was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer, Jeronimo Yanez, as he was reaching into his pockets to take out his concealed carry license. Yanez was the only adult anywhere near the car that day who believed Castile was reaching for a weapon. As a result, Yanez opened fire, killing Castile instantly in front of his girlfriend and her child.
Body cavity searches are other ways routine traffic stops can end for motorists who get pulled over for having a burned out brake light. A Baltimore woman had her body cavity searched, presumably for drugs, after an officer pulled her over for having a burned out tail light. The incident and others were all documented in a 163-page Department of Justice report which criticized the city’s policing practices.
We applaud Officer Jenkins for helping Thacker in her time of need and we hope your act of kindness serves as a model for the rest of the nation’s law enforcement officers. It’s time to end the practice of pulling people over for broken tail lights and using the infraction as an excuse to “toss” a vehicle and see how many other misdemeanor and felony charges can be filed against a citizen motorist—all designed for one thing—to separate the citizen from his or her money.
READ MORE: Rape Kit Study Reveals that Serial Rapists are an Epidemic -- But Cops Do Nothing to Stop It
We know instinctively that meaning and purpose are necessary in order to live a fulfilling life, with those of us in a career we love often held in high regard. But regardless of how passionate you may be about your career, we all need a hobby – an interest outside of work that we truly love to do. The benefits of purpose and hobbies, however, go beyond quality of life.
Japanese culture has a concept called ikigai, which roughly translates to “purpose in life.” Ikigai has traditionally been associated with health and longevity. One study on over 4000 adults set out to determine if this theory was true.
All participants were over 65, with:
Data from February 2011 to November 2014 was used, which can be a long time when it comes to age-related disability. Compared to people who had both hobbies and an ikigai, having neither of these was associated with double the risk of mortality, close to triple the risk of losing ADL abilities, and almost double the risk of losing IADL abilities!
Therefore, hobbies and ikigai were linked to increased longevity and healthy life expectancy in older adults.
This was not the only study that found a link between purpose in life and longevity. Another study on 6000 adults with a 14-year follow-up time found that people who initially reported a strong purpose in life had a 15% lower risk of dying from any cause.
Longevity Secrets: 6 Reasons Okinawans Live to Be Older than 100
So how can you find your own iikigai, or plan de vida, if you haven’t already? A great way to start is by doing an internal inventory.
Take a piece of paper, and for 20-30 minutes think of all your ideals, principles, standards, and morals, then think of your physical, mental, and emotional talents, strengths, and abilities.
It can take a while, maybe even a couple of attempts, to get an idea of what you really want, but you know you’re getting close if anything brings out a strong emotional reaction. And then…put your skills into action!
It’s also important to build relationships with people who can help you achieve your goals. Overall, longevity is for everyone, and it turns out that some of the best ways to extend your life also improve its quality.
Sadly, depression is a common mental health condition that affects millions of people in Australia and around the world. However, there are many natural therapies for depression that give you back your power, as they are more preventive in nature and help your body to heal itself. One of these natural solutions for depression may be magnesium, as pointed out in recent research.
This study involved 126 men and women who suffered from mild to moderate depression. Sixty-two were given a supplement containing 248mg of magnesium (as magnesium chloride, not the best supplemental form) for 6 weeks, and then spent 6 weeks with no supplementation. The others first spent 6 weeks taking no magnesium, and then swapped with the first group for the second half.
All volunteers were given questionnaires to evaluate their depression and anxiety at the start of the study and every 2 weeks during treatment.
During supplementation, depression and anxiety scores improved significantly, and participants were less likely to suffer from headaches. During the control period, however, depression scores did not change and anxiety worsened.
As their symptoms showed improvement in 2 weeks, magnesium could be a rapid-acting remedy for mild and moderate depression, while offering a wide range of side benefits. And if you are worried about negative social attitudes towards depression, magnesium is indicated for so many health complaints that a supplement implies nothing.
From energy production to the synthesis of neurotransmitters that control mood, magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. If you are deficient, and many people are, then these chemical reactions are limited.
Of course, magnesium is not the only nutrient that we need to make neurotransmitters. B vitamins, particularly B12, folate (B9), B6, and niacin (B3), are essential co-factors in neurotransmitter production.
Deficiencies do not just affect mood, but overall brain function and memory.
A balance of omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids is also important, as they are a part of nerve cell membranes and play a role in communication between cells. Impaired communication affects things like mood, memory and function in general.
Vitamin D deficiency is another common problem, which can contribute to depression by altering gene expression and the ability to control inflammation.
Overall, the ‘chemical imbalance’ is more complex than conventional medicine tells you, and we have far more control over it too.
Los Angeles, CA – Cutting edge research reveals that occasionally adopting a diet that mimics the effects of fasting may provide dramatic health benefits.
“Fasting flips a regenerative switch essentially regenerating the entire immune system. It gives the OK for stem cells to go begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” said Prof Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of California.
A study, led by USC’s Dr. Valter, revealed that a “cycles of a four-day low-calorie diet that mimics fasting (FMD) cut visceral belly fat and elevated the number of progenitor and stem cells in several organs of old mice — including the brain, where it boosted neural regeneration and improved learning and memory,” according to USC News.
The initial tests on mice were part of a three-tiered study on the effects of periodic fasting — testing yeast, mice and humans — which was published in Cell Metabolism on June 18, 2015.
According to a report from USC News:
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Mice, which have relatively short life spans, provided details about fasting’s lifelong effects. Yeast, which are simpler organisms, allowed Longo to uncover the biological mechanisms that fasting triggers at a cellular level. And a pilot study in humans found evidence that the mouse and yeast studies were, indeed, applicable to humans.
Bimonthly cycles that lasted four days of an FMD which started at middle age extended life span, reduced the incidence of cancer, boosted the immune system, reduced inflammatory diseases, slowed bone mineral density loss and improved the cognitive abilities of older mice tracked in the study. The total monthly calorie intake was the same for the FMD and control diet groups, indicating that the effects were not the result of an overall dietary restriction.
In a pilot human trial, three cycles of a similar diet were given to 19 subjects once a month for five days and decreased risk factors and biomarkers for aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer with no major adverse side effects, according to Longo.
Dr. Longo notes that strict fasting can be difficult for people to adhere to, and also has the potential to be dangerous, while pointing out that a fasting mimicking diet is much safer and easier.
“Strict fasting is hard for people to stick to, and it can also be dangerous, so we developed a complex diet that triggers the same effects in the body,” said Longo, Edna M. Jones Professor of Biogerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and director of the USC Longevity Institute. “I’ve personally tried both, and the fasting mimicking diet is a lot easier and also a lot safer.”
The fasting mimicking diet cuts a person’s daily caloric intake over the fasting period down to 34 to 54 percent of their daily average, with a specific balance of micronutrients, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
In previous groundbreaking research, Longo has shown how fasting can protect immune and other cells from chemotherapy toxicity, while simultaneously starving out cancer cells. Fasting for seventy-two hours protected cancer patients against the toxic impact of chemotherapy:
“Chemotherapy causes significant collateral damage to the immune system. The results of this study suggest fasting may mitigate the harmful effects of chemotherapy,” said co-author Tanya Dorff, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital.
“We are investigating the possibility that these effects are applicable to different systems and organs, not just the immune system”, Longo said.
“The good news is the body got rid of the parts in the system which might be damaged or old and inefficient parts, during the fasting. If you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system,” he said.
USC News reports that:
For 25 days a month, study participants went back to their regular eating habits — good or bad — once they finished the treatment. They were not asked to change their diet and still saw positive changes.
Longo believes that for most normal people, the FMD can be done every three to six months, depending on the abdominal circumference and health status. For obese subjects or those with elevated disease risk factors, the FMD could be recommended by the physician as often as once every two weeks. His group is testing its effect in a randomized clinical trial, which will be completed soon, with more than 70 subjects.
“It’s about reprogramming the body so it enters a slower aging mode, but also rejuvenating it through stem cell-based regeneration,” Longo said. “It’s not a typical diet because it isn’t something you need to stay on.”
“If the results remain as positive as the current ones, I believe this FMD will represent the first safe and effective intervention to promote positive changes associated with longevity and health span, which can be recommended by a physician,” Longo told USC News. “We will soon meet with FDA officers to pursue several FDA claims for disease prevention and treatment.”
Despite the plethora of health benefits associated with fasting, Longo warned against water-only fasting or attempting the fasting mimicking diet without seeking the consultation and supervision of a doctor.
Despite its positive effects, Longo cautioned against water-only fasting – noting that they should only be done in specialized clinics – and warned even about attempting the fasting mimicking diet without first consulting a doctor and seeking their supervision throughout the process.
“Not everyone is healthy enough to fast for five days, and the health consequences can be severe for a few who do it improperly,” he said. “Water-only fasting should only be done in a specialized clinic. Also, certain types of very low-calorie diets, and particularly those with high protein content, can increase the incidence of gallstones in women at risk.”
“In contrast,” Longo added, “the fasting mimicking diet tested in the trial can be done anywhere under the supervision of a physician and carefully following the guidelines established in the clinical trials.”
Longo warned that diabetics should not attempt to undergo a fast or the fasting mimicking diet while receiving insulin, metformin or similar drugs and that subjects with a body mass index of less than 18 should not try the FMD diet.
Please share this important information as a means of undercutting the big pharma monopoly, and helping people regain control over their health naturally!
This year, the oldest of the Baby Boomers are turning 70. But these late-decades of life aren’t what it used to be. With celebrities such as Cher (who turned 71 this year) no longer holding a monopoly over looking and acting younger. The UK’s Oxford Institute of Population Aging even recommends that people in their 70’s and 80’s be called “active adults” instead of “old.”
Even the Daily Mail has added to the discussion, with a few writers who are, well, rewriting what it means to be over 70.
First up is Angela Neustatter, who at 73 looks years younger than you’d expect. She attributes her youthfulness to yoga, Pilates, a house full of stairs, sex, and stepping back from emotional conflict. Angela does and wears what she wants, even mini skirts and leggings!
Angela NeustatterLesley Pearse also appears to be in her 50’s at the age of 72. Her “normal” involves parties, swimming, and scrambling around her cliff-top garden.
Lesley PearseJan Leeming is still a BBC newsreader at the age of 75. As part of the first generation of women to have lifelong careers, she doesn’t see the point of retiring or giving up travel or physical activity.
Jan LeemingJo Foley is also very grateful for a life of freedom, so unlike her mother’s generation. She describes the new and improved “normal” as: “In our 70s we shop at Zara, drink pisco sours, take slow boats along the Mekong and talk to ourselves without contradiction.” Jo then adds, “Did we ever think to thank our parents,” referring to the restricted life of marriage, children, staying home and growing old that she saw in previous generations.
Jo FoleyOlder age groups growing younger are nothing new, however. Dr Martin Connolly, Freemason’s Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Auckland University, says that 90-somethings today are the same in terms of health and fitness as 70-somethings at the end of World War One. He describes meeting someone over 90 as “rare” thirty years ago, but common now. And despite his position, he struggles to pinpoint the age of someone over 90 by looking at them, even though he has an easy time of doing the same for someone under 90.
This may be because researchers have found that aging appears to stop at around 90 in humans (with a range of 80-100), and at different ages in other animals. It’s hard to get your head around, but we do have our own mechanisms of fighting key drivers of aging such as oxidative stress and inflammation, and the aim of this research is to keep those mechanisms strong.
Overall, these days, we don’t have as much to fear or put up with as we once thought, as times are changing in ways we didn’t previously expect.
As the opioid epidemic rages on, those professing to seek “solutions” are willfully ignoring one of the most promising treatments – medical cannabis. When the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA) was being debated in 2016, amendments to study medical cannabis were stripped out.
This happened despite studies showing that medical cannabis eases neuropathic pain, and the government’s own National Institutes of Health stating, “Medical marijuana products may have a role in reducing the use of opioids needed to control pain.”
There were also studies showing that deaths from opioids plummet in states with legal cannabis, and that 80 percent of cannabis users give up prescription pills. A Feb. 2017 study confirmed that opioid dependence and overdoses dropped significantly in medical cannabis states.
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In January 2017, the National Academies of Science published an exhaustive review of the scientific literature and found that one of the most promising areas in medical cannabis is for the treatment of chronic pain.
But all of this falls on deaf ears to those in the pockets of Big Pharma, which is largely to blame for getting America hooked on opioids, as described in a Harvard analysis.
Now, a new experimental study has shown exactly how cannabis works to treat opioid addiction – by actually blocking the opioid reward in the brain.
“This study sought to determine whether the cannabis constituent cannabidiol attenuates the development of morphine reward in the conditioned place preference paradigm. Separate groups of mice received either saline or morphine in combination with one of four doses of cannabidiol using three sets of drug/no-drug conditioning trials. After drug-place conditioning, morphine mice displayed robust place preference that was attenuated by 10 mg/kg cannabidiol. Further, when administered alone, this dose of cannabidiol was void of rewarding and aversive properties. The finding that cannabidiol blocks opioid reward suggests that this compound may be useful in addiction treatment settings.”
The use of cannabidiol (CBD), one of two major active ingredients in cannabis, is even more promising for legalization effiorts because it does not produce the high that THC does. So prohibitionists who demonize cannabis’ intoxicating effect have no ammo when it comes to CBD. CBD can even be extracted from hemp, which is grown for its fiber used in thousands of manufacturing applications.
READ MORE: Cops Fake Illegal Drug Checkpoints to Detain and Search Drivers who React to the Sign
Because it can’t get anyone high, CBD extracts are even being permitted for medical use in staunchly prohibitionist states such as Oklahoma and Utah, to treat children with intractable epilepsy.
States have been reluctant to approve opioid addiction as a valid condition for prescribing medical cannabis. Big Pharma, having already secured their grip on federal government, has undoubtedly been working over state governments to prevent cannabis from threatening their profits. They had a measure of success in Arizona, which failed vote for legalization after pharma companies donated heavily to anti-pot propaganda campaigns.
The new study showing how CBD blocks the opioid reward will certainly prompt more research. This, coupled with statistical evidence from medical cannabis states, should finally prove fatal to the irrationality of blocking cannabis for opioid addiction treatment.
Deaths from cancer in the United States peaked in 1991, but have since dropped a whopping 25%, according a report published earlier this year by the American Cancer Society (ACS). [1]
As a result of that drop, 2.1 million fewer people died from cancer between 1991 and 2014 than would have died if cancer death rates had remained stagnant at their 1991 level.
The ACS credits reductions in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment for the significant decline, such as more people having colonoscopies to detect colorectal cancer.
Source: CDCDr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement:
“The continuing drops in the cancer death rate are a powerful sign of the potential we have to reduce cancer’s deadly toll.
Continuing that success will require more clinical and basic research to improve early detection and treatment, as well as strategies to increase healthy behaviors nationwide.” [1]
The researchers also credit the Affordable Care Act with improving survival rates in ethnic minorities. Between 2010 and 2015, the Affordable Care Act decreased the number of uninsured from 21% to 11% in African-Americans, and from 31% to 16% among Latinos. [2]
The report, published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, shows the decline in cancer death rates was fairly steady for more than two decades, decreasing about 1.5% each year during the study period. [1]
The cancer death rate fell from 215 deaths per 100,000 people in 1991 to 161 deaths per 100,000 people in 2014.
Read: Study: Moderate Exercise May Cut Your Risk of 13 Types of Cancer!
Fewer deaths attributable to four types of cancer played a significant role in the overall decline – lung, prostate, breast, and colorectal. For example, deaths from lung cancer in men dropped by 43% from 1990 to 2014, and in women by 17% between 2002 and 2014. The colorectal cancer death rate decreased by 51% between 1976 and 2014.
To paint a clearer picture, in the mid-1970’s, the five-year survival rate for someone diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia was about 41%. For patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2012, however, the five-year survival rate had increased to 71%.
In the mid-1970’s, the five-year survival rate for chronic myeloid leukemia stood at a dismal 22%, but the five-year survival rate is now 66%. And thanks to new therapies, people diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia before age 65 can expect a near-normal life expectancy. [2]
Progress is slow in the areas of lung and pancreatic cancers, however. Those types of cancer tend to be caught in the later stages. As a result, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is just 8%, while the five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 18%.
Read: Women’s Cancer Deaths Expected to Climb 60% by 2030
Cases of new liver cancer diagnoses and deaths are increasing, according to the researchers. The number of new cases has grown by 3% yearly, and liver cancer deaths rose by 3% annually between 2010 and 2014.
Additionally, deaths from uterine cancer are on the rise, increasing by 2% per year in that period.
Source: PublicHealthResearchers estimate there will be more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer in the U.S. this year, or about 4,600 diagnoses each day, and over 600,000 cancer deaths, or about 1,650 deaths each day. [1]
Sources:
[1] LiveScience
Can the slow, gentle ebb and flow of yoga help people suffering with depression feel better and even overcome unhealthy eating habits? Four separate studies presented in August, 2017 at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association suggest that the answer is “Yes.” [1]
In one study, led by psychologist Lindsey Hopkins, PhD, of the San Francisco VA Medical Center, 23 male veterans with elevated depression scores who participated in hatha yoga twice a week for 8 weeks saw significant improvements in their symptoms. [2]
Hatha yoga zeroes in on physical exercises and meditative and breathing exercises.
According to The Sanatan (Yoga) Society, hatha yoga focuses on “concentrating on the practice of postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama) to energize the subtle channels (nadis) in the body.” [3]
Another study involved Bikram or “hot” yoga, an offshoot of hatha yoga. Bikram yoga consists of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. It earned the nickname “hot” yoga because, unlike hatha yoga, Bikram is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit with 40% humidity. The steamy temperature helps maximize detoxification, helps oxygen travel to the tissues of the body, and protects the body through malleability (flexibility). [3]
For this study, Sarah Shallit, MA, from Alliant International University and co-author Hopkins divided a cohort of 52 women between the ages of 25 and 45 into two groups. Half of the women were able to take the Bikram classes right away, while the other half was placed on a wait-list. [4]
Not surprisingly, the group that was able to take the class reported sharply reduced symptoms of depression, compared to those on the wait-list. What’s more, the participants who took the yoga classes found that they had an easier time controlling discombobulated or emotional eating patterns that can trip up even the most health-conscious people.
Read: Yoga for Depression and Anxiety – Help Without Drugs
The third study, by Maren Nyer, PhD, and Maya Nauphal, BA, of Massachusetts General Hospital, was a similar experiment. It involved 29 adults, all taking Bikram classes twice weekly for 8 weeks. The researchers found that the participants’ depression symptoms improved and that the participants felt their quality of life had improved, including in optimism and mental and physical functioning. [1]
And in another study, conducted by Nina Vollbehr, MS, of the Center for Integrative Psychiatry in the Netherlands and colleagues, 74 mildly depressed university students were asked to follow a 15-minute instructional yoga video at home for 2 months. They, too reported a dramatic improvement in mood. [1] [5]
Hopkins said in a statement:
“Yoga has become increasingly popular in the West, and many new yoga practitioners cite stress-reduction and other mental health concerns as their primary reason for practicing. But the empirical research on yoga lags behind its popularity as a first-line approach to mental health.” [5]
She went on:
“At this time, we can only recommend yoga as a complementary approach, likely most effective in conjunction with standard approaches delivered by a licensed therapist. Clearly, yoga is not a cure-all. However, based on empirical evidence, there seems to be a lot of potential.” [2]
Sources:
[1] American Psychological Association
[2] HealthDay
[3] One Green Planet
[4] PopSugar
[5] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
Adult smokers in the U.S. are kicking the habit at a rate that researchers haven’t seen in 20 years. The rate of smoking fell to 15% in 2015 due to the biggest 1-year decline in 2 decades.
The rate fell 2 percentage points from 2014, when approximately 17% of adults in a large national survey said they had recently lit up. The last time Americans kicked the habit at that pace was from 1992 to 1993, when the smoking rate dropped 1.5 percentage points, said Brian King of the CDC.
People have been tossing their packs of smokes in the trash for decades, but the smoking rate typically drops only 1 point or less than a year.
The statistic – which has experts a bit baffled – was announced by the CDC on May 24. The number is based on a large national survey which the government uses to measure many health-related trends. The agency can’t specify why the smoking rate dropped so dramatically in 2015, or if it will drop that way again.
Many of us have heard tales of how “everybody” used to smoke. There was a time when you could smoke on airplanes (not all that long ago, actually), you could smoke at work, heck, TV reporters could even smoke on the air. Fifty years ago, 42% of the population sucked on cigarettes and thought nothing of it, including pregnant women. Anti-smoking ad campaigns, cigarette taxes, and smoking bans made many people kick the habit.
Source: GallupE-cigarettes, which heat liquid nicotine to vapor without releasing the dangerous byproducts created by burning tobacco, have helped smokers both continue to get their nicotine fix more safely, or use the devices to quit entirely. However, the jury is out on just how safe e-cigarettes truly are, and studies show the devices may be getting kids who never smoked before addicted to nicotine. [1]
The CDC report also shows:
Read: 3 Cigarette/Tobacco Facts You May Not Know About
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S., resulting in 480,000 premature deaths every year, and more than $300 billion in direct health care expenditures and productivity losses.
Though the smoking rate may be dropping Big Tobacco continues to show quarterly and annual revenue gains. This is partly due to per-pack list price increases to distributors that are passed on to consumers.
Some smokeless tobacco advocates had predicted that e-cigarettes, vaporizers, and hookahs would outsell traditional cigarettes within 5 to 10 years, but that might not be a possibility, now that the FDA announced it will regulate e-cigarettes the way it regulates other smokeless tobacco products. The regulations could destroy thousands of small vape businesses, and perhaps make vaping a thing of the past.
Sources:
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
Costa Rica is hoping to make a dent in the trillions of plastics polluting the oceans and the environment by becoming the first country to ban all single-use plastic products by 2021.
Some U.S. cities, states and other countries have either banned plastic bags or are working on a plan to do so, but that only touches the surface of what Costa Rica wants to do. Forks, lids, coffee stirrers, water bottles, and a multitude of other products would be prohibited under the ban. [1]
In the last half-century, use of plastic has increased 20-fold. There appears to be no place on Earth that is untouched by plastic waste. Even the Mariana trench – the deepest part of the world’s oceans – is littered with plastic. In a report published last year by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur foundation, experts estimate there will be more bits of plastic in the sea than fish by 2050.
Source: The Ocean ProjectSome 40,000 tons of solid waste is produced in Costa Rica every year, and 20% of it never makes its way to a recycling center or landfill. Instead, the waste ends up in Costa Rican rivers, beaches, and forests.
The country already has plans in place to be carbon-neutral by 2021, partly by ditching fossil fuels. It is also actively trying to restore its forests and protect wildlife.
The effort is being spearheaded by Costa Rica’s Ministries of Health and Environment and Energy, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and local governments, as well as civil society and various private sector groups. [2]
In a joint statement, Environment and Energy minister Edgar Gutiérrez, Health minister María Esther Anchía, and resident representative for UNDP Costa Rica Alice Shackelford, said:
“Being a country free of single use plastics is our mantra and our mission.
It’s not going to be easy, and the government can’t do it alone. To promote these changes, we need all sectors—public and private—to commit to actions to replace single-use plastic through five strategic actions: municipal incentives, policies and institutional guidelines for suppliers; replacement of single-use plastic products; research and development—and investment in strategic initiatives.
We also need the leadership and participation of all: women, men, boys and girls.”
Source: United NationsCosta Rican researchers have been busily working toward replacing traditional plastics. For example, 3 university students developed a material made from bananas that is 5 times more resistant than regular plastic bags. The material disintegrates within 18 months. The downside of this material, however, is that it is equipped with a pesticide-releasing system. [3]
Other solutions are clearly needed in the near future.
Sources:
[1] Inhabitat
[2] EcoWatch
 | Mike is the co-founder, editor, and researcher behind Natural Society. Studying the work of top natural health activists, and writing special reports for top 10 alternative health websites, Mike has written hundreds of articles and pages on how to obtain optimum wellness through natural health. |
