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Dr. William Creighton Woodward, M.D., LL.M., LL.D., served as legal counsel to the American Medical Association from 1922 to 1939. In his testimony before Congress in the infamous 1937 "Marihuana Tax Act" hearings, where he represented the medical community, Dr. Woodward clearly stated his disagreement with the prejudiced tactics and conclusions of Harry Anslinger. “There is nothing in the medicinal use of Cannabis that has any relation to Cannabis addiction. I use the word ‘Cannabis’ in preference to the word ‘marihuana’, because Cannabis is the correct term for describing the plant and its products…. In other words, marihuana is not the correct term. It was the use of the term ‘marihuana’ rather than the use of the term ‘Cannabis’ or the use of the term ‘Indian hemp’ that was responsible, as you realized, probably, a day or two ago, for the failure of the dealers in Indian hempseed to connect up this bill with their business until rather late in the day. So, if you will permit me, I shall use the word ‘Cannabis’, and I should certainly suggest that if any legislation is enacted, the term used be ‘Cannabis’ and not the mongrel word ‘marihuana.’ ~ from Taxation of Marihuana, hearings before the House Committee on Ways and Means, 75th Cong., lst Sess. (April 27-30 and May 4, 1937), as quoted on Doctors for Cannabis Regulation website

News sources (Newsweek and others) are reporting today that "Scientists [have] discovered low doses of its main psychoactive ingredient—cannabinoid THC—can reverse the age-related decline in cognitive abilities, a finding that could lead to scientists figuring out a way of slowing brain aging in humans." The reference is to a "... a study published in Nature Medicine on Monday, researchers led by Andreas Zimmer." The study results can be found here. In the study, scientists "... created a task where mice had to locate a specific object. Older mice treated with THC performed to the same standard as young mice that had not been given the drug. A third test relating to partner recognition also showed THC led to improved memory in mature and older mice. [Why mice? Thank you for asking...] “Together, these results reveal a profound, long-lasting improvement of cognitive performance resulting from a low dose of THC treatment in mature and old animals,” the scientists write. With 10,000 American turning 65 every single day, such studies on the effect of cannabis on aging could have profound impacts. Stay tuned. READ MORE

At the American Cannabis Report we look at state-by-state maps a lot. No, this is not just your garden-variety cartographical urge... We in the cannabis industry NEED a good, simple, easy-to-use, current(!!) map to help us keep up with the ever-changing political landscape. There are a few "standards" out there from the really big cannabis media companies, but we've always found those maps... insufficient. (Who knew there were so many shades of green?) So imagine our delight this morning when we happened on THIS EXCELLENT INTERACTIVE MAP AT CIVILIZED . Also digging their web-address: (www.civilized.life) The map-quest is over. Bravo, CIVILIZED.

Much has been made of Governor Christie’s anti-cannabis remarks during a speech at a forum on substance abuse hosted by the New Jersey Hospital Association in Princeton yesterday. The energy in the online anti-Christie vitriol is profound. Did anyone think he would speak differently to medical executives? As hunters of anti-cannabis propaganda, we were saddened by his remarks but not surprised – after all, the 54-year old governor has been fed a propaganda diet for his entire lifetime. And the nascent NJ medical cannabis program has not yet posted the massively good results of say, Colorado , Washington, or Oregon. And it's well known that the Governor lost a friend to "drugs”, a word he seems to have conflated with cannabis yesterday. The American Cannabis Report feels it’s critical to counter ALL propaganda that helps cannabis remain stuck on the DEA’s Schedule I, rather than Schedule III where it belongs. In the spirit of Judge Louis Brandeis, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”, throw open the blinds on Governor Christie’s themes. Confusing Medical Cannabis with the Worldwide Opiate Crisis "We are in the midst of the public health crisis on opiates. But people are saying pot's OK. This is nothing more than crazy liberals who want to say everything's OK. Baloney,” he said. This statement is a little like saying getting hit by a bicycle is the same as by a Mack Truck because they both have wheels. Of the many differences between medicinal cannabis and opioids, there is NO OVERDOSE POTENTIAL with cannabis. With opioids, 93 Americans die every day. Are we done here? Addiction: Cannabis addiction potential estimated at 9% vs. alcohol (15%), tobacco (32%), and opiate-addiction occurs within 2 weeks. The opiate crisis is called an "epidemic" by many. (This article on opioid problems will probably turn your stomach) A 2014 study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found a 25 percent decrease in prescription drug overdoses in states with medical marijuana laws that allow chronic pain patients to participate. Furthermore, from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine, “Marcus Bachhuber, then at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pennsylvania, found that the annual rate of deaths due to overdose on an opioid painkiller was nearly 25% lower in states that permitted medical marijuana. In 2010, that translated into 1,729 fewer deaths in those states. The researchers also found that the effect grew stronger in the 5 to 6 years after the states approved medical marijuana.” Cannabis is “Poisoning our kids…” “We're going to poison our kids for 1 percent more money that they can spend on some God awful, stupid program that they can put in the mailer and send out and say, 'I delivered $300 million more for this.'" First of all, anyone who repeats the cannabis canard that kids are going to START to have access to cannabis if it’s legalized don’t have kids, or never were kids themselves… as in no one at all. It’s just a lie. Next, who is more likely to “poison kids” – a drug dealer selling to middle and high school kids or a licensed cannabis dispensary owner with $2 million invested in the business and his fingerprints with the FBI?” Cannabis’ Tax Revenues are Not Worth the Effort “… [some say] legalization could raise $300 Million in taxes. That’s a rounding error, less than 1% of the NJ budget.” Here are a few thoughts on enhancing tax revenues for the State of New Jersey from the State of Colorado: Over $1 Billion in estimated cannabis sales means over $1 Billion out of the hands of drug dealers New money to build and improve schools, hire teachers and aides, purchase technology and supplies, fund in-school and after school programs, fund college scholarships... Fund state Infrastructure projects Increase public safety budgets Reduce the costs of crime prevention, restoring focus on murders, rapes and other deadly crimes All revenues stay in the state Here's an example: In 2015, Colorado raised $121M in cannabis taxes, or about 1/3 the number Christie doesn’t want to bother with. The TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS of $121 M in Colorado’s tax revenue was $2.3 Billion (Billion-with-a-B) in direct, indirect and induced spending, as well as 18,000 jobs. That would make the cannabis industry (as a whole) the LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE STATE. White People Will Never Stand for It "People aren't going to scream when the first head shop opens in Newark or Paterson or Camden or Trenton," Christie said. "But man, I can't wait for the first one to open in Short Hills.” Excuse us while we back away from this statement so that it can crawl back under its rock. "Blood Money“ Earlier, Governor Christie called revenue from the legalization of marijuana “blood money” during the November edition of “Ask the Governor.” The suggestion is that "cannabis is equivalent to violence". But that’s exactly what legalization is intended to stop. If New Jersey keeps cannabis illegal, it will be only delivered and sold by drug dealers and (violent) traffickers. LAST but not least: Cannabis is Just a Drug, and All Drugs Are “Poison” "People … want to bring this poison, legalized, into this state under the premise that, well, it doesn’t matter because people can buy it illegally anyway. Then why not legalize heroin? I mean, their argument fails just on that basis. Let’s legalize cocaine. Let’s legalize heroin. Let’s legalize angel dust. Let’s legalize all of it. What’s the difference? Let everybody choose.” Let’s quickly zoom past the voters of 29 states and the District of Columbia and the 90% of the American Public who approve medical cannabis, that disagree with the archaic and discredited notion that cannabis is ‘just a drug’ with no medicinal value. Let’s jump the shark and look at “legalizing all of it” by looking at a very reasonable comparison: the country of Portugal. Portugal’s population is 10.35 M, while New Jersey’s Population 8.96 M. So Portugal is larger than New Jersey, and one might surmise, would have a bigger drug problem, right? That was once true: “In 1974, Portugal's dictatorship fell after a coup … the country soon became flooded with drugs. By 1999, a full 1% of the population was actively addicted to heroin, and the country had the highest rate of drug-related AIDS deaths in the European Union.” Portugal reacted to its crisis in a very counter-intuitive way: in 2001 it legalized all drugs. Why? It realized that criminalization wasn’t working, and that drug abuse should be seen as a public health issue, not a police issue. Has a drug apocalypse occurred in Portugal? Exactly the OPPOSITE: Drug-related HIV infections have plummeted by over 90% since 2001, according to the drug-policy think tank Transform. Drug-related deaths in Portugal are the second-lowest in the European Union. Just three in a million people die of overdoses there, compared with the EU average of 17.3 per million. The number of adults who have done drugs in the past year has decreased steadily since 2001. Compared to rest of the EU, young people in Portugal now use the least amount of "legal high" drugs like synthetic marijuana, which are especially dangerous. The percentage of drug-related offenders in Portuguese prisons fell from 44% in 1999 to 21% in 2012. The number of people in drug-treatment increased 60% from 1998 to 2011 from 23,600 to 38,000.

Well written article by Bart Schaneman in Marijuana Business Daily today about the benefits of the recently proposed cannabis regulations for the State of California. Includes very thoughtful comments by Lance Rogers, of the San Diego-based law firm Greenspoon Marder, and Avis Bulbulyan, of cannabis consultant SIVA Enterprises. "For the industry as a whole, it’s going to translate into an explosion,” {said Bulbulyan], predicting many opportunities for entrepreneurs given the California market. "Compared with other states launching medical marijuana markets for the first time, California already has a substantial base of registered patients, willing doctors, and other infrastructure to hit the ground running.... We’ve got the patients ready to go. We’ve got the industry that’s already there. The only thing missing for that explosion to occur was the formal licenses. Come 2018, once these state licenses start being issued, it’s going to be a monster of a market.” Come and get it... READ MORE

From the Lodi News-Sentinel: "The California Department of Food and Agriculture has released proposed regulations for the state medical cannabis cultivation and licensing program. Release of the draft regulations marks the official start of a 45-day public comment period provided under California law. All interested parties are encouraged to submit comments about the proposed regulations to CalCannabis, the branch of CDFA that is overseeing the cannabis cultivation regulatory framework. Comments may be submitted in writing until 5 p.m. June 12. Verbal public comment is also invited at a meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. June 14 at the California Department of Food and Agriculture Auditorium, 1220 N St., Sacramento. To read the proposed regulations, visit cannabis.ca.gov

With decades of pioneering and critical work unlocking the potential medicinal benefits of cannabis - from discovering THC to the body's cannabinoid system - should Israeli Dr. Raphael Mechoulam be awarded a Nobel Prize? Check out these videos and make your own decision.

Marijuana Business Daily reports that legal sales of cannabis in Colorado are up 30% from 2016. "Colorado’s marijuana industry – one of the most mature in the nation – continues to thrive, posting record-setting sales figures through the first two months of 2017. Combined sales of medical and recreational marijuana in January and February 2017 totaled over $235 million, up 30% from the same period in 2016." This includes a combination of medical and recreational cannabis, though the recreational side is showing higher percentage growth. No reports yet on the tax results from the $235M in sales. READ MORE

The NFL, a billion-dollar sporting and entertainment enterprise, has recently spent more time in the press for negatives (concussions, lawsuits, youth injuries) than positives (the recent Super Bowl thriller). One might argue that neither Commissioner Roger Goodell nor NFL doctors have much credibility left on player health issues. Yet his comments on cannabis were widely quoted in today's media. The headline at CBS Sports, "Roger Goodell says NFL still concerned marijuana 'addictive,' 'might not be healthy'" struck a Cannabis-Canard-Chord with the American Cannabis Report because of the startling and archaic claims made by the Commissioner. We'll give the Commissioner a break and acknowledge that many interviews are edited "for brevity"; that "sound-bytes" are selected while context and depth are sacrificed. We reviewed 6 different articles for this post and NO TWO captured the quotes in the same order, which means NONE are completely accurate. Nevertheless, here are some of Commissioner Goodell's most troubling statements: "You're ingesting smoke, so that's not usually a positive thing." Perhaps someone could whisper in Goodell's ear about the vast array of ingestion alternatives now available to medical cannabis patients worldwide. "It does have an addictive nature" Addiction is an historically controversial point amongst cannabis advocates, but which we at the American Cannabis Report readily concede. Cannabis IS potentially addictive, and should be handled as such. However, it's important to make the distinction between substances with addiction potential (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, and opiates) and those with overdose potential, for which cannabis has never been named. This is especially relevant because many of the painkillers currently prescribed by NFL doctors are opiates. (See here or here, paywall on the second one at Washington Post.) "There are a lot of compounds in marijuana that might not be healthy for players long term. It's not as simple as someone just wants to feel better after a game. Not healthy compounds? Which ones? Let's name names and have a look at this claim, but not throw out generalized canards about the secret dangers of cannabis. It's just plain irresponsible in 2017. Licensed medical doctors in the 29 US states (plus District of Columbia) that have approved medical cannabis can prescribe it for pain. Every day, CBD and THC are prescribed by doctors for more than 200 medical conditions. His second statement about 'not as simple as feeling better after games'.. well considering the NFL's little opiate issue, that statements got 99 problems and cannabis ain't one. "We've been studying that through our advisers," Goodell said. "To date, they haven't said, 'This is a change we think you should make that is in the best interest of the health and safety of our players.' If they do, we're certainly going to consider that. But to date, they haven't really said that.​ Fair point, Commissioner. Cannabis-as-medicine is at a tipping point in the US and worldwide, and its many benefits are not completely understood. And (since it's on Schedule I and not allowed to be studied) there is an unacceptable lack of science on the plant and its components. The solution: Prohibition and Schedule I - status must end. In the meantime, the NFL Commissioner's statements do nothing to help NFL players find alternatives to powerful, addictive opiate painkillers. And that's tragic.

Did we miss the memo about April Fool's Month? From a headline in yesterday's Business Insider, "Congressman says North Korea could smuggle a nuke into the US in a bale of marijuana", one might think there was a late-night session in the hallowed halls of Congress. To their credit, Business Insider kept tongue-firmly-in-cheek while reporting this story. See their caption below: Turns out, Congressman Sherman - a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles - is NOT THE ONLY PERSON IN CONGRESS TRYING TO PASS OFF THIS STEAMING PILE AS GOLD. Arizona Republican Congressman Trent Franks has been making this bizarre claim since 2012 (the Iranians were doing the smuggling in his theory. See also: "GOP Rep.: Bales Of Marijuana Concealing Nukes Can Cross Border") Dear readers, this wacky nuclear weapon/drug smuggling claim pegs the Bullshit Meter at 11, but it's important to recognize it as a just another example of Cannabis Canard #6, which states: "Cannabis puts the whole community in danger." What better way to sew fear in the community than to link cannabis to smuggled nukes? And while you're pondering how deeply cannabis canards are embedded in the culture of government, use the link provided by Congressman Sherman on his website:

Is cannabis medicine? Judging from the multiple sources, news reports, and documents we've reviewed, and specifically the information-rich website Marijuana Doctors, there is little question that the cannabis plant provides health benefits and should be studied with great vigor. Here is exhaustive list of more than 225 medical conditions for which cannabis has been used, or shows promise for treatment. Their list includes diseases, conditions, and medical-related events such as chemotherapy or being placed in hospice. (States that have legalized medical cannabis typically include a short list (about 20) of "qualifying conditions" for which cannabis can be recommended by doctors in those states.) ** NOTE: We've edited the Marijuana Doctors' list slightly for clarity. By all means, visit the site and click around. Amazing resource! Admittance into hospice care Agoraphobia AIDS Related Illness Alcohol Abuse Alcoholism Alopecia Areata Alzheimer's Disease Amphetamine Dependency Amyloidosis Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Angina Pectoris Ankylosis Anorexia Anorexia Nervosa Anxiety Disorders Any Chronic Medical Symptom that Limits Major Life Activities Arachnoiditis Arnold-Chiari Malformation Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease Arthritis Arthritis (Rheumatoid) Arthritis, Degenerative Arthropathy (gout) Arthropathy, Degenerative Asthma Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) Auditory Neuropathy Autism with Self-injurious or Aggressive Behavior Autism/Aspergers Autoimmune Disease Autonomic Neuropathy Back Pain Back Sprain Bell's Palsy Bipolar Disorder Brain Tumor, Malignant Bruxism Bulimia Cachexia Cancer; Adrenal Cortical, Endometrial, Prostate, Testicular, Uterine Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Causalgia Cerebral Palsy Cervical Disk Disease Cervicobrachial Syndrome Chemotherapy Chemotherapy Induced Anorexia Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Chronic Pain Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Cocaine Dependence Colitis Colitis, Collagenous Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Conjunctivitis Constipation Cranial Neuropathy Crohn's Disease CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type II) Cystic Fibrosis Darier's Disease Decompensated Cirrhosis Delirium Tremens Depression, Major Dermatomyositis Diabetes, Adult Onset Diabetes, Insulin Dependent Diabetic Neuropathy Diabetic Peripheral Vascular Disease Diarrhea Diverticulitis Dysthymic Disorder Dystonia Eczema Elevated Intraocular Pressure Emphysema Endometriosis Epidermolysis Bullosa Epididymitis Epilepsy Failed Back Surgery Syndrome with reoccurring back pain (Post-Laminectomy Syndrome with chronic radiculopathy) Felty's Syndrome Fibromyalgia Fibrous Dysplasia Focal Neuropathy Friedreich's Ataxia Gastritis Gastritis, Acute Genital Herpes Glaucoma Glioblastoma Multiforme Graves Disease Headaches, Cluster Headaches, Tension Hemophilia A Henoch-Schonlein Purpura Hepatitis C, also if currently receiving antiviral treatment Hereditary Spinal Ataxia HIV/AIDS Hospice Patients Huntington's Disease Hydrocephalus Hydromyelia Hypertension Hyperventilation Hypoglycemia Hypothyroidism, Acquired Impotence Inflammatory autoimmune-mediated arthritis Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Injuries that significantly interfere with daily activities as documented by the patient's provider Insomnia Insomnia, Persistent Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) Interstitial Cystitis Intractable nausea or vomiting Intractable Pain Intractable Seizures Intractable Vomiting Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lipomatosis Lou Gehrig's Disease Lupus Lyme Disease Lymphocytic colitis Lymphoma Melanoma, Malignant Mania Melorheostosis Meniere's Disease Migraine, Chronic Mitochondrial disease Motion Sickness Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Muscle Spasms Muscular Dystrophy Myasthenia Gravis Myeloid Leukemia Myoclonus Nail-Patella Syndrome Nausea, Severe Neurofibromatosis Neuropathy Nightmares Obesity Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Opiate Dependence Optic Neuropathy Osteoarthritis Pain, Severe Pancreatitis, Chronic Panic Disorder Parkinson's Disease Peripheral Neuropathy Peritoneal Pain Porphyria Post Concussion Syndrome Post Polio Syndrome Post-Laminectomy Syndrome with chronic radiculopathy Post-traumatic arthritis Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) Prostatitis Psoriasis, Severe Psoriatic Arthritis Pulmonary Fibrosis Quadriplegia Radiation Therapy Raynaud's Disease Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Reiter's Syndrome Renal Failure, Chronic Residual Limb Pain Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis Rosacea RSD (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1) Schizoaffective Disorder Schizophrenia Scoliosis Sedative Dependence Seizures Senile Dementia Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin, or in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective Shingles (Herpes Zoster) Sickle Cell Anemia Sickle Cell Disease Sinusitis Sjoren's Syndrome Skeletal Muscular Spasticity Sleep Apnea Sleep Disorders Small Fiber Neuropathy Spasticity Spasticity, Intractable; or Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity Spinal Cord Disease Spinal Cord Injury Spinal Cord Injury with spasticity Spinal Cord Nervous Tissue Damage Spinal Stenosis Spinocerebellar Ataxia Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS) Stuttering Syringomyelia Tardive Dyskinesia (TD) Tarlov Cysts Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) Tenosynovitis Terminal Illness, including those requiring end-of-life care Thyroiditis Tic Douloureux Tietze's Syndrome Tinnitus Tobacco Dependence Tourette's Syndrome Traumatic Brain Injury Trichotillomania Ulcerative Colitis Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder Viral Hepatitis Vomiting, Severe Wasting Syndrome Whiplash Wittmaack-Ekbom's Syndrome Writers' Cramp

An article in today's Leafly, one of the cannabis industry's leading publications (admire!) covers Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comments on the progress in developing the country's legal cannabis market. In addition to Canada being one of three countries with government-supported cannabis research programs, its cannabis program is developing with a thoughtful and principled approach, "Nearly all of Trudeau’s talking points on legalization stressed public safety as the legislation’s driving principle. (Banning edibles until dose data is available and regulated, for example.) "US states have approached cannabis legalization very much with a commercial mindset and already thinking about profits and revenue,” [Trudeau] said. “We’re approaching it purely from a health and safety standpoint.” Among many countries worldwide with medical cannabis programs, and decriminalization/legalization processes underway, the country of Uruguay has legalized and is in the process of regulating every level of the cannabis market, a first in the region. Efforts are underway in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Germany, and Switzerland. READ MORE FROM CNN