Grow Life 420

Psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs may still be federally prohibited, Schedule-1 Controlled substances, ostensibly with no accepted medical use. But gold-standard research demonstrating the impressive efficacy and safety of these substances for treating intractable mental health disorders has changed minds even in the FDA. And while far from being a done deal, many expect that the rescheduling of certain psychedelic compounds, and their introduction into routine standard of care, is now just a matter of time.

In the meantime, Cybin Corp, a Canadian mushroom life sciences company, is already refining the way psilocybin can be administered. Cybin recently entered into collaboration with drug delivery company IntelGenx to create an orally dissolvable film that delivers pharmaceutical grade psilocybin to the patient.

– Read the entire article at Forbes.

Cannabis to alleviate the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer treatments is considered one of the medical applications most strongly supported by research, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s report on the Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids. But cancer encompasses an entire range of diseases, with treatments – and side-effects – that vary as well.

Dr. Marisa Weiss, an oncologist and breast cancer specialist, recently conducted the first study ever to evaluate the underlying reasons that women with breast cancer use cannabis as part of their treatment regimen. Interestingly, nausea was not at the top of the list.

– Read the entire article at News.

“We Baby Boomers think we’re going to die without getting old,” an insightful colleague told me recently. At the time, we chuckled at the folly of our generation. But lately I am starting to think that we may actually be able to pull it off. “Getting old” is just as much a state of mind as a chronological reality. And feeling good, vital and optimistic are not only the prerogatives of youth. As millions of Baby Boomers consider the quality of how they will live out the rest of their lives, cannabis could play a significant part in their aging-without-getting-old process.

Healing with cannabis, like any other plant medicine, invites us to engage in an unmediated relationship between natural sources and our own well-being. And a trip to Humboldt County, California, the heartland and spiritual home of cannabis, is an excellent way to appreciate the plant’s medicinal powers.

– Read the entire article at Forbes.

For older adults suffering from pain, anxiety and other chronic conditions, cannabis can be a game-changer. But finding the right product and dosage can be a daunting process without reliable guidance beyond what dispensary staff can provide.

The clinics established by Israeli/American company NiaMedic offer an intriguing model that overcomes the most common obstacles older adults face, to help them successfully reap the benefits of cannabis medicine using evidence based protocols.

I spoke with NiaMedic’s Director of Business Development, Alon Blatt, about how the company’s scientific approach to cannabis medicine is suited to seniors:

– Read the entire article at Forbes.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the movement to legalize cannabis is the need to overcome decades of disinformation proliferated through War on Drugs propaganda. And if the good fight is to be won, it will require a shift in the common perception of cannabis – from dangerous, gateway drug to safe and effective medicine.

The prohibition-era re-branding of cannabis as medicine made its first major breakthrough in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 215 – the landmark Compassionate Use Act in California that first introduced “medical marijuana” into the law books. At the time, activist Dennis Person was distributing cannabis to AIDS patients in San Francisco, and voters were convinced that he shouldn’t be prosecuted as a criminal for his humanitarian efforts.

Now state by state, legislators are responding to the will of their constituents who want access to medical cannabis that is regulated and controlled for quality. Yet if cannabis is going to be legalized at the federal level, it may happen because policy-makers acknowledge that a critical mass of Americans believe that the drug’s useful medicinal qualities outweigh its dangers.

– Read the entire article at Forbes.