CBD Instead of Ibuprofen
Ireland: Gym users in Ireland have started using a new supplement to handle their delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after a tough work out. Many gym enthusiasts and athletes use anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen after a long work out. The medication, while helpful, can actually hinder post exercise healing and over a period of time can be harmful to filtering organs. Now those looking to get pumped without the after pain of DOMS have started turning to CBD oil. The oil not only eases pain, though more research on CBD in relation to DOMS should be done, it also doesn’t have the high associated with THC, making the supplement a more natural alternative to anti-inflammatories.
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Marijuana Hospitalizes Infants
France: Since mid-August nearly half a dozen babies have been admitted to a hospital in Nice, France for ingesting marijuana. All the infants brought in were under the age of two. One of those admitted was taken to the emergency room in a coma and had to be placed in the intensive care unit. None of the other children were in as bad of condition when brought in and all recovered. Parents of the sick children claim their kids found and ingested the cannabis at a nearby park. Head of service at the hospital, Dr. Herve Haas, told French news agency AFP, “It is important to warn parents, even if they are consumers, that leaving nuggets of cannabis around can have significant consequences, including hospitalization. When ingested, cannabinoids rise directly to the brain with major effects. And in babies, the impact is 100 times greater than in adults. The cases of cannabis intoxication are unfortunately fairly regular, but it is remarkable to have five in less than fifteen days.” The hospitalized children displayed symptoms of drunkenness and drowsiness when first brought in. Unfortunately, according to Haas, the only thing doctors can do is give them an IV drip and wait for the cannabinoids to leave the system.
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Former Football Star Requests Relaxed Conditions
Ireland: Robert Bayly, a former Leeds United and Republic of Ireland football player, was arrested earlier this year for being in possession of €240,000 worth of marijuana. His car was stopped for a minor traffic violation when the flowers were discovered. He was ultimately charged with possession with intent to sell or supply. Bayley remained in custody for 4 days before posting his €200 bail. Since being released, Bayly has obeyed his bail conditions which included surrendering his passport and signing at the local Garda station daily. Last month though, Bayly and his attorney went before the judge to ask for more relaxed bail conditions. He is requesting to have the Garda daily sign-on discontinued and to be allowed to have and use his passport for employment purposes. The judge adjourned the case while the conditions are considered.
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China’s Cannabis Culture
China: In the Heilongjiang province the small town of Hexin is populated with farmers growing legalized marijuana. The hemp is grown and used for everything from fabric to medicine to kitchen oil. Farmers of the area set aside as much land as needed to meet demand for the crop, sometimes up to 1,500 acres per farm. The workers view the crop as green gold since they sell each part of the plant for a profit and rarely have to invest in anything such as pesticides to keep the cannabis alive. They sell the stems of the plant to textile plants for high-quality fabrics, the leaves and flowers to pharmaceutical companies to make medications, and the seeds contained in some plants are sent to food companies to make cooking oil, drinks, or even snacks. Though the practice was just legalized last year, officials in the country turned a blind eye to the market in previous year due to the economic boost the service was providing. Hexin as well as the Yunnan province, another large hemp provider, account for almost half of the world’s legal commercial hemp. Thanks to the secrecy of China’s government, the country has quietly been becoming the powerhouse for both marijuana cultivation and research. Though using the THC form of cannabis is new (legally) to the area, the country has been growing hemp cannabis for rope, fabric, and paper for centuries. Until new laws came into effect recently, possession of marijuana containing THC could be punishable by death. However, research was going on long before legalization allowing China to claim more than half of the 600-plus patents that revolve around the plant. According to the nzherald, Dr. Luc Duchesne, an Ottawa-based businessman and biochemist, said "Because cannabis in Western medicine is becoming accepted, the predominance of Chinese patents suggests that pharmaceutical sciences are evolving quickly in China, outpacing Western capabilities.”
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American Banking Disrupts First Legalizing Country’s Sales
Uruguay: The first country to legalize recreational marijuana ran into some expected and unexpected problems in the first month. Expectedly, the pharmacies that are distributing the plant ran extremely low on supply with demand being higher than anticipated. Then an unexpected problem, letters from American Banks threatening to stop doing business with banks in Uruguay if they were involved with the pharmacies. Uruguayan banks, worried over losing access to the American banking system, immediately sent word to some of the pharmacies informing them that their accounts would be closed later in the week. President Tabare Vazquez told reporters his administration is attempting to come up with a solution, but “we can’t hold false hope.” Pharmacies are currently the only businesses in the country that are allowed to supply the drug and at least 15 of the pharmacies that signed up to participate in the venture have backed out since the announcement. Years of studying and planning went into starting the program that was legalized in 2013. Officials in Uruguay are hopeful that lawmakers in America will pass a law allowing banks to do business with marijuana producers and distributors in states and countries that allow the plant.
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Cannabis May Treat Schizophrenia And Tourette Syndrome
Austrailia: Researchers in Austrailia are making tremendous strides in regards to the discovery of mental health ailments that could possibly be treated with cannabidiol (CBD). According to recent studies, the cannabis-derived chemical (CBD) may be used to offer relief to patients with schizophrenia, a frequently chronic condition which can significantly interfere with how we think, feel, and behave.
At the University of Wollongong, researchers have discovered that CBD could provide new kinds of symptom relief for schizophrenic patients by examining what science has uncovered about the chemical so far. Dr. Katrina Green, Professor Nadia Solowij, and Wollongong Ph.D. candidate, Ashleigh Osborne, conducted a detailed review of 27 extant studies on the chemical to determine what kind of impact CBD would have on cognitive function in relation to schizophrenia. The researchers ultimately uncovered some “fascinating insights” about its potential therapeutic value.
