This link has been bookmarked by 6 people . It was first bookmarked on 24 Apr 2007, by marquis.
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07 May 15
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Harm reduction-the cannabis paradox
Robert Melamede
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11 Nov 14
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28 Jan 14
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evolution does not make moral distinctions in the selection process, but utilizes a cannabis-based approach to harm reduction in order to promote survival of the fittest.
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More specifically, endocannabinoids homeostatically regulate all body systems (cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, excretory, immune, nervous, musculo-skeletal, reproductive). Therefore, the health of each individual is dependant on this system working appropriately.
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oday most European countries and Canada have embraced the idea that society benefits most when drug policy is designed to help people with drug problems to live better lives rather than to punish them.
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the recent global trend towards harm reduction has resulted from the acknowledgement that drug use has been a part of all societies throughout history and the realization that repressive policies are expensive, ineffective, and often harmful.
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The homeostatic action of cannabinoids on so many physiological structures and processes is the basis for the hypothesis that the endocannabinoid system is nothing less than a naturally evolved harm reduction system.
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All life is dependant upon the maintenance of its dynamic organization through sufficient input of nutrients and removal of wastes.
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The role of cannabinoids in neurological health and disease goes beyond the prevention of cell death and regulates neuronal differentiation.
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Thus cannabinoids are important homeostatic modulators of the immune system.
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The use of cannabinoids in the treatment of Parkinson's disease is an example of a condition where excessive or deficient cannabinoid activity may prove problematic.
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Although much has been learned about the therapeutic value of cannabinoid agonists and antagonists in different situations, scientific understanding of how to appropriately modulate the endocannabinoid pathways remains preliminary, with much remaining to be learned.
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Human trials have established that co-administration of cannabinoids can dramatically lower opioid use and can provide pain relief for neurogenic symptoms where other treatments have failed [85].
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despite the fact that cannabis smoke does produce cellular changes that are viewed as precancerous, a major epidemiological study does not find that cannabis smoking is associated with tobacco related cancers
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Thus far, both endo- and exocannabinoids are seen to reduce harm in numerous circumstances.
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The cannabinoids help to regulate an amazingly broad range of biochemical events. All of these effects have genetic foundations. As such, natural genetic/biochemical variation in a population can be expected to have significant effects on health and behavior. It should be expected that in a population distribution of cannabinoid levels and sensitivities, as a function of an individual's health/disease status, some individuals would naturally need to increase their cannabinoid activity while others would need theirs lowered.
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Are cannabinoids addictive, is pleasure addictive, or is a low stress state addictive?
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Cannabinoids control the extinction of painful memories [119]. What a blessing for those suffering from debilitating or life threatening illnesses: cannabinoids may help them to forget their misfortune.
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These results show both positive and negative feedback relationships between the endocannabinoid and opiate systems. They also suggest that cannabinoids might serve to reduce the symptoms of opiate withdrawal [124].
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We must learn to identify individuals who would be negatively affected by cannabis use; they are the people that an intelligent drug policy would help to identify and assist. In contrast, our policy criminalizes the majority of users and further harms them, perhaps psychologically as well as medically, through its repercussions.
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Evolution has selected the endocannabinoids to homeostatically regulate numerous biological phenomena that can be found in every organized system in the body, and to counteract biochemical imbalances that are characteristic of numerous damaged or diseased states, in particular those associated with aging.
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the harmful consequences of cannabis use, however exaggerated they often appear to be, are likely to represent significant potential risk for a minority of the population for whom reduced cannabinoid levels might promote mental stability, fertility or more regulated food consumption.
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20 Oct 09
Áine MacDermotThis article examines harm reduction from a novel perspective. Its central thesis is that harm reduction is not only a social concept, but also a biological one. More specifically, evolution does not make moral distinctions in the selection process, but u
Is appropriate use of #cannabis better than no use? Harm Reduction Journal 2005, 2:17 http://bit.ly/gTl7z8 #marijuana #research #mmotresearch mmot tweeted marijuana cannabis neuroscience medical-marijuana sociology
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24 Apr 07
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Biological science can be more objectively evaluated than social science. The central theme that will be presented in this article is that appropriate cannabis use reduces biological harm caused by biochemical imbalances, particularly those that increase in frequency with age.
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In essence, it is proposed that the endocannabinoid system, selected by 600 million years of evolution, is a central mediator of biological harm reduction through its homeostatic activities. The social implications of cannabis use will be viewed as emerging from the biological platform.
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