cannabis history/books/essay section

[twigs]

On 31/10/2021 at 7:56 AM, twigs said:

HighTimes Encyclopaedia of Recreational Drugs - PDF

 

just downloaded it, looks cool!

 

just thought i’d mention all the pdf links are free downloads of the publications.

click the link and download, go to downloads (in your browser) open the download and save or forward to books (iphone) or a pdf reader and save and save yourself hundreds of quids!

 

I know it’s not the same as having the physical book but it the next best thing if it’s out of print etc  

 

have a cool day! 

 

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Not sure if im allowed to post this but the website b-ok.cc has quite a few of these in epub format if anyone has an ebook reader and wants a cheeky free copy. (has most other books too ).

 

I just downloaded some of Rob Clarke books. Been meaning to get round to them for about a decade.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Two Tents

[twigs]

nice little interview with..

 

Dr. McPartland first studied medicinal plants with Euell Gibbons in 1969, and began cannabinoid research in 1981 (Mycopathologia 87:149-153).

His formal training accrued at Penn State (BS, Botany and Chemistry), University of Illinois (MS, Plant Pathology), Chicago College of Osteopathy (DO, Doctor of Osteopathy), University of Pittsburgh (Family Medicine Residency), and Michigan State University (Fellowship in Biomechanics).

He has composed and delivered osteopathic medical curriculum (including pharmacology) at Michigan State University (Assistant Professor) and Unitec New Zealand (Associate Professor).

Sarah Russo: What has changed the most in the scientific landscape since you first began researching cannabis and the endocannabinoid system (ECS)? 

John McPartland: When I got started in this business, there were no cannabinoid receptors, no endogenous ligands. Allyn Howlett and Bill Devane discovered CB₁ in 1988, at Washington University. Then Devane moved to Jerusalem and teamed with Lumír Hanuš and Raphi Mechoulam, and discovered anandamide (AEA) in 1992.

SR: What is the biggest point of misinformation going around about cannabis from an educational perspective? 

JMcP: Wishful-thinking Americans say CBD is legal, but it is not. In 2016 the DEA reaffirmed that CBD extracts are federally prohibited, under their drug code number 7350. The Federal government can bust you, if they choose to selectively exercise their prerogative.

SR: The topic of indica and sativa are often thrown around to describe effect of different types of cannabis. Does the taxonomy of the cannabis plant have anything to do with user experience? 

JMcP: User experience employs a vernacular taxonomy of "Sativa" (plants that generate a stimulating and energizing experience, with a sweet terpenoid profile), and "Indica" (relaxing and sedating, with a skunky aroma). This distinction is becoming muddled because new Sativa-Indica hybrids are randomly assigned to one or the other category.

Furthermore, this nomenclature does not align with formal botanical taxonomy. Formally, Cannabis sativasubspecies sativa is European hemp—traditionally used for rope, not dope. The subspecies sold in dispensaries is C. sativa subsp. indica. It consists of two varieties: C. sativa subsp. indica var. indica (a.k.a. "Sativa"), and C. sativa subsp. indica var. afghanica (a.k.a. "Indica").

SR: How can cannabis be used as a companion plant and benefit a garden with other botanicals? 

JMcP: I'm less enthusiastic about cannabis as a companion plant, than when we wrote Hemp Diseases and Pests in 2000. For sure, densely-sown hemp plants will squelch weed growth. A Cannabis crop will suppress nematode (certain types of worm) populations in the soil for sequential crops. There's literature saying Cannabiswill repel caterpillars and beetles from neighboring plants. Rather than a companion plant, more research documents success with cannabis extracts: soaking fresh or dried leaves or flowers in water or ethanol, filtering, and spraying the extract on other crop plants.

SR: Can you discuss the evolutionary mutualism between humans and cannabis? Is there a distinction between the cannabis plant's natural selection and how humans have influenced and altered its evolution? 

JMcP: Cannabis, like many crop plants, has undergone two rounds of evolution: first, around 28 million years of natural selection to survive environmental pressures—including avian and mammalian herbivores. Second, recent accelerated evolution by humans who have selected plants for optimal benefit and minimal toxicity. Coevolution refers to reciprocal genetic adaptations between two species in response to each other. Cannabis research shows that the genes for THCA-synthase and CBDA-synthase (CBDA-S) have undergone "purifying selection," a process driven through human selection. THC-rich hybrids have non-functional copies of CBDA-S, and CBD-rich hybrids encode THCA-S pseudogenes.

Reciprocally, human exposure to THC for thousands of years has caused positive selection in genes that express the ECS. In 2007 we found evidence of positive selection in the gene encoding DAGL—the biosynthetic enzyme of 2-AG. This was seen in Asian populations, who have been exposed to Cannabis longer than Europeans and Africans. Ruth Ross's group in 2012 identified a polymorphic locus in the gene for CB₁, which they thought represented a co-evolutionary adaptation in populations exposed to Cannabis for thousands of years.

SR: Can you explain a bit about the fossilized cannabis pollen samples you've researched? 

JMcP: Thanks to scientific interest in climate change, a growing number of fossil pollen studies (FPSs) have attested to changes in vegetation over long periods of time. Cannabis pollen appears sporadically in these studies, but when hundreds of studies are combined, some signals emerge. We analyzed 603 European FPSs, and concluded that Cannabis grew indigenously in Europe during the last Ice Age, when the landscape was dominated by steppe and dry tundra. As the Ice Age retreated and trees filled the landscape, Cannabis pollen disappeared. Then surges of pollen arise, suggestive of hemp cultivation, during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The oldest Cannabis pollen in Europe appeared during a previous Ice Age, known as the Olduvai cold stage, about 1.8 million years ago. That's young compared to Asia, where Cannabis pollen dates back to 19.6 million years ago. The European population may be the ancestor of C. sativa subsp. sativa, and the Asian population may be the ancestor of C. sativa subsp. indica.

SR: The runner's high phenomena used to be attributed solely to endorphin release, but you have investigated the ECS connection. Can you give some specifics about this? 

JMcP: Years ago I noticed that running a hard 10k elicited a pleasant "purple haze" (now a name given to a popular strain). The cannabimimetic sensation was particularly evident during periods when I wasn't partaking—when my CB₁ receptors were up-regulated. A related sensation occurred after receiving osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation. So in 2005 we measured anandamide (AEA) levels in 31 subjects, before and after manipulation, compared to a placebo control (we devised a believable sham manipulation using a "calculated deception" protocol). Post-treatment AEA levels increased 168% over pre-treatment levels, compared to no change in placebo subjects. Since then, several groups have linked runner's high with AEA levels, in animal models and in humans. In the animals, runner's high was detected as anxiolysis and analgesia. The ECS can be upregulated many ways, read Care and Feeding of the Endocannabinoid System for more details.

SR: Can you describe the scientific evidence that supports the synergistic action of cannabis compounds? 

JMcP: Historically there's been four rounds of synergy research. In the 1890s, David Prain concluded, "The volatile oil [terpenoids] and the resin [cannabinoids] are both active; that is, the "active principle" of gánjá is not a simple substance, but consists of at least two distinct things." Walter Loewe, who invented a way to measure supra-additive synergism (isobologram analysis), studied cannabis between 1938 and 1950. His work was amazing—last month I went through his archived papers, housed at the University of Utah, and I'm writing a review.

Next came the 1970s. Ten years after Mechoulam successfully described THC, a flurry of studies showed that cannabis extracts—containing multiple ingredients—produced greater effects than expected from their THC content alone. Between 1970 and 1995, 18 animal studies and 7 human studies documented interactions between CBD and THC. Our current round of research began in 1998, which marks the founding of GW Pharmaceuticals, committed to the concept of synergy in whole plant extracts. And, may I add, McPartland and Pruitt (1998) published a seminal review of therapeutic synergy in cannabis. For an update on the scientific evidence, check out Taming THC by Ethan Russo.

SR: You've examined the issue of cannabis pesticides and contaminants long before cannabis testing was readily available. How has this issue evolved from when you first began studying this topic to now? What are the biggest issues with quality control from your perspective? 

JMcP: The use of pesticides is a rising crisis, and a breakdown in ethics. Holmes's group estimated that pesticide residues were found on close to half of the cannabis sold in Oregon dispensaries in 2015. Evidence of pesticide usage by sloppy and unscrupulous growers goes back to the 1970s. It's gotten way worse, thanks to Big Money underwriting mega-grows. Faced with a pest or a pathogen taking down a mega-grow, the temptation to spray poisons becomes overwhelming. It's why we need legalization and regulation with pesticide residue testing. And legalization must contain provisions for self-cultivation, because people rarely poison their own weed.

SR: Thank you for your time and insight, John

  

[twigs]

 another interesting historically important study/report   

 

wiki: 

The LaGuardia Committee was the first in-depth study into the effects of smoking cannabis in the United States. An earlier study, the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, was conducted by the colonial authorities in British India in 1893–94.

 

The reports systematically contradicted claims made by the U.S. Treasury Department that smoking marijuana results in insanity, deteriorates physical and mental health, assists in criminal behavior and juvenile delinquency, is physically addictive, and is a "gateway" drug to more dangerous drugs.

 

The report was prepared by the New York Academy of Medicine, on behalf of a commission appointed in 1939 by New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia who was a strong opponent of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

 

Released in 1944, the report infuriated Harry Anslinger, who was campaigning against marijuana. Anslinger condemned it as unscientific.

Anslinger went on an offensive against what he saw as a "degenerate Hollywood" that was promoting marijuana use. After high-profile arrests of actors like Robert Mitchum.

 

Hollywood gave Anslinger full control over the script of any film that mentioned marijuana..

 

The Laguardia Committee Report New York, USA (1944)The Marihuana Problem in the City of New York Mayor's Committee on Marihuana, by the New York Academy of Medicine City of New York , 1944

 

  

[twigs]

not read all of it yet but so far is an excellent book from one of my favourite modern cannabis Dr’s / authors / activists   

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by twigs

[twigs]

snippet from ‘POT a handbook of marihuana’

 

Robert S. deRopp, one of the noted doctors who has truly examined marihuana, recently said the following,

Scientists who have studied marihuana agree it is a very innocuous drug, nonpoisonous, nonaddicting, and does not even produce a hangover. As an example of prohibitive legislation at its worst, the Marihuana Tax Act can hardly be improved upon. It is founded on ignorance, nourished by superstition, and pervaded by a spirit of vindictive self-righteousness that places it on a level with the old laws relating to witcheraft. A myth, the Marihuana Menace, has been created that has about as much substance as a medieval succubus. In the name of this myth otherwise respectable citizens are thrown into jail like common criminals for having it in their possession, a relatively harmless weed. Even the most puritanical must have doubts about the rightness of legislation which makes un-licensed possession of a handful of hemp flowers equivalent, as regards the penalty it carries, to the crime of treason.

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by twigs

[twigs]

On 25/11/2021 at 10:31 AM, twigs said:

not read all of it yet but so far is an excellent book from one of my favourite modern cannabis Dr’s

 

Respectively not disregarding James B Bakalar’s work and input into this and his 27 other publications  

 

 

[twigs]

should probably put this picture here because it’s historically interesting. From MARIJUANA  MEDICINE - A World Tour of the Healing and Visionary Powers of Cannabis. by Christian Ratsch

 

A picture of Germania, the personified spirit of the 1848 German revolution, holds a hemp branch, a symbol of peace and liberation.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by twigs

[Gaijin]

@twigs  19.6 million year old pollen. Stoners been stoning for millennia  

[twigs]

@Gaijin I think they’ve found trace amounts of thc in some varieties of pollen too 

 

do you have a link or reference for that hemp pollen age, thanks dude   

[Gaijin]

On 05/11/2021 at 11:16 AM, twigs said:

 

SR: Can you explain a bit about the fossilized cannabis pollen samples you've researched? 

JMcP:  The oldest Cannabis pollen in Europe appeared during a previous Ice Age, known as the Olduvai cold stage, about 1.8 million years ago. That's young compared to Asia, where Cannabis pollen dates back to 19.6 million years ago. The European population may be the ancestor of C. sativa subsp. sativa, and the Asian population may be the ancestor of C. sativa subsp. indica.

  

 

I got the info from the OP's post  

[twigs]

thought i’d read it somewhere   

[Gaijin]

 When you asked the question I had a moment of panic myself  

 

"Fuck. I don't know. Why'd I type that? Oh thank fuck, it's right there in the post. Whew"  

[twigs]

 I was thinking the stone age wasn’t 19 million years ago  for some reason i was trying to stretch out our existence to 20 million years, and thinking, fuck, really, what? er.. forgetting for a second that plants existed before us  

 

e2+ i’m not great with history   probably why i wanted to start this thread!

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by twigs

[twigs]

common knowledge for us all here, but it’s good to remember and there may be some green horns that don’t know.. Also Pfizer just spent $6 billion buying a cannabis research company.

 

from Forbes of all people  

Pfizer, Eli Lilly Were The Original Medical Cannabis Sellers

 

 

Today’s major pharmaceutical companies were the original medical cannabis sellers. Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis (now owned by Pfizer) and Squibb of Bristol-Myers Squibb all sold medical cannabis at the turn of the century. In a 1919 medical catalog, these companies listed several cannabis products.

Back then, most medicines were the same – the original generics. So it was up to good marketing and brand recognition to get people to buy one particular company’s drug over another.

 

According to the Antique Cannabis Book, almost 6% of all manufactured drugs at the turn of the century contained cannabis in one form or another. For example, Squibb sold cannabis in powder form, tablets, fluid extracts and tinctures. However, Squibb wasn’t even the leader at the time with only 15 cannabis products in its lineup.

 

UpJohn & Co. listed 30 different cannabis entries in its medical catalog, while Parke Davis came in at 27. Eli Lilly sold 23 different versions and Abbott Laboratories sold 4 in 1935. Abbot is the only company that is still associated with medical cannabis.

It’s research arm Abbvie Pharmaceuticals was recently spun off as a separate company and it manufactures the synthetic pot pill Marinol.

 

The cannabis was prescribed for a variety of ailments including epilepsy, female problems, migraines, stomach worms, mental illnesses and addiction.

It was used as an aphrodisiac as well as a treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, so they attended to all your sexual problems with cannabis.

 

While some people are concerned about the new cannabis products for pets, back then cannabis was also used a veterinary medicine. Parke Davis sold cannabis extracts to vets for use as a pain reliever and sedative for animals to relieve coughs and stomach ailments.

Parke Davis even worked with Eli Lilly to create its own plant strain called Cannabis Americana, which was a domesticated indica strain. Parke Davis was once the largest drug company in America, but is now a subsidiary of Pfizer.

 

No stranger to recreational drugs, Parke Davis originally sold various forms of cocaine before it was illegal and was also the patent holder for the drug PCP and the developer of ketamine, another drug used for recreational purposes.

 

According to a spokesman at Pfizer, the company is no longer involved in any cannabis research and hasn’t been for years.

- (original story is 6 years old and they just spent $6 billion getting back into cannabis research! - 2021)

 

Neither Eli Lilly or Bristol-Myers Squibb would comment on whether their companies would reenter the field of medical cannabis. In fact, the companies won’t even discuss medical marijuana while other pharmaceutical companies like GW Pharmaceutical and Insys Therapeutics push ahead in their cannabis research studies.

Eli Lilly does do a drug test for cannabis for prospective employees and that seems to be the extent of its cannabis testing, for now..

 

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by twigs