15/10/2007 00:00:00
US: Another medical marijuana facility raided in a state where it's
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On Thursday night, federal agents seized cannabis and funds from a
medical marijuana dispensary in downtown Los Angeles. Twenty agents
from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided the Arts
District Healing Center on East 1st Street. They searched the two-story
building for over three hours.
The affidavit from the DEA stated marijuana is a schedule-one controlled
substance, "which under federal law means that is not recognized for
having any medicinal value." The state of California, where the raid
took place, disagrees. California is one of eleven states in the US
that allow the use of medical marijuana. The laws recognizing
marijuana's medicinal value are also enacted in New Mexico, Florida,
Louisiana, and Illinois, and then spread through more states in the past
20 years since the passage of Proposition 215, a California initiative
that was voted on by CA voters in 1996. This was the first medical
marijuana legislation the USA had seen. (Edited - thank you, Jon!)
In April of 2007, the American Association for Cancer Research published
the following findings from researchers at Harvard University, who
tested THC - the actice compound in cannabis - in both lab and mouse
studies: They found the active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor
growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the
ability of the cancer to spread.
They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound,
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in
epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung
cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually
highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy.
THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in
function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally
produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers
suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors
might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.
"The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of
abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung
cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of
Experimental Medicine.
http://www.connietalk.com/laraid123.html
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12910
Author:
Connietalk via UKCIA
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