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Associated terms: Cannabis Sativa, Hashish, Hash, Kief, Ganja, Thai Sticks, Skunk, Bhang, Dagga.
It has a poisonous social history in human society beyond addiction issues
associated with ancient military preparation for battle and for cruel assassinations.
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| The subtle enemy of human society which effectively hides its cruelty |
volunteer for several years in the forensic section of a large psychiatric hospital in South Africa as a group therapy leader, mostly in their maximum security ward. Many of my friends in that group were multiple murderers serving life-sentences and the focus of my therapy was the development of a sense of responsibility for their personal actions.
I called it 'nouthetic counselling', from the New Testament Greek word for confront/correct/admonish (encouraged by Jay Adam's in his book Competent to Counsel) because my therapy was aimed to confront individuals with their responsibility for personal choice and therefore the consequences.
common factor among these men was not race, education, or background. It was the high level of consistent marijuana use, particularly in combination with alcohol, during their brain's formation phase, from late childhood into early adulthood.
Their natural empathy for other human beings was simply non-functioning.
that the following applies to
the OIL of Marijuana/Cannabis
which appears to have
medicinal value
idea has often been expressed that marijuana relaxes the smoker and so promotes peace. It does 'seem' to do that, but this is as a side-effect of a don't-care attitude with ominous social implications.
Yet, in spite of this 'calming' effect of a don't-care attitude, marijuana/hashish's history in Africa is specially associated with vicious actions.
impis (regiments) are reported to have used it before each battle in earlier times, and in more recent conflict, associated with the independence of the Congo from Belgium, marauding groups calling themselves 'Simbas' stoked themselves high on marijuana before attacking towns with wildly care-free violence and vicious cruelty.
Some Congo skulls
In my forensic psychiatry therapy group, those with a heavy use of marijuana/dagga during their teenage brain-development phase (up to the age of 25) seemed to not need to be aroused in order to perpetrate the worst of crimes.
Cutting someone's throat while smiling after shaking hands was quite easy.
Their natural human empathy was totally and irrecoverably gone!
Then I discovered the origin of the word assassin (حشّاشين Ḥashshāshīn): from their necessary use of 'hashish', the Arabic word for marijuana, because of its psychopathic-effect of suppressing empathy in the human brain. So it has a long and very cruel history of violence!
In the International Criminal Court (ICC), Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor's Body-guard gave sworn testimony at his Hague tribunal of the ICC, that they were required to eat human flesh once a week in order to destroy any empathy/feeling for other humans.
Marijuana can achieve a similar result in young brains over time far more gently if less dramatically!
(South African marijuana/dagga is also known to have an even stronger effect when smoked through a bottle-neck because the venturi effect raises its burn temperature to where it undergoes a chemical transition that gives it a far greater impact in leaping the natural blood-brain barrier.)
argument of the 'anti-prohibition lobby' then (which includes many well-meaning but foolishly ignorant persons), consistency is called for –
therefore the total lifting of the prohibition on the free sale of medicines without a doctor's authorisation/prescription, should also follow. Legal restrictions and their policing take a lot of time and money that could be spent on other things. Unrestricted merchandising of medicines would certainly bring the prices down and save the cost of a medical consultation unless the person really wanted it. Perhaps..?
therefore the total lifting of the prohibition on the free sale of medicines without a doctor's authorisation/prescription, should also follow. Legal restrictions and their policing take a lot of time and money that could be spent on other things. Unrestricted merchandising of medicines would certainly bring the prices down and save the cost of a medical consultation unless the person really wanted it. Perhaps..?
Prohibition of marijuana and many other drugs only began in the twentieth century. |
Concerning legalising cannabis/dagga/marijuana/hashish: could we do that to our neighbour in the vote we register?
in South Africa, Julian Stobbs (52) and his partner Myrtle Clarke (45), who style themselves The Dagga Couple, ask the North Gauteng High Court to remove marijuana from the list of banned substances in terms of South Africa's Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. The couple face charges in the lower court relating to the use of marijuana.
Their case was struck from the court roll, pending the outcome of their challenge to the legality of the dagga-prohibition legislation in the High Court after they served summons on seven government departments to account for the "unlawful" legislation. |
The High Court earlier placed their criminal trial on hold, pending the outcome of their constitutional challenge (which failed). They will ask the court to put all marijuana-related trials of consenting adults on hold for two years to enable the government to pass appropriate legislation to regulate the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale, possession and use of cannabis. The matter was expected to come before court early in 2014.
| Schizophrenia* |
| There is evidence that certain metabolic types of people have a greater sensitivity in their adrenal glands to prolonged high intake of a combination of sugar and caffeine, resulting in adrenal-gland production of adrenochrome and adrenolutin in their blood-streams, which causes hallucinations and the resultant diagnosis of schizophrenia. |
| But eliminating all caffeine and sugar from the diet, and adding a high daily dosage of vitamin B3 also called niacin/nicotinic-acid/nicotinamide (a minimum of 1,000 mg three times per day) has been shown to stop the problem permanently, except where the patient has been on medication for more than a year. |
| I tested this remedy on a long-term patient in his early twenties and it worked completely, but his self-pitying self-indulgence led him back to a medication dependent lifestyle. |
| Dr Emanuel Cheraskin did some ground-breaking research in this regard. (his book Psychodietetics) |
| See also: Orthomolecular Medicine |
| The difference in length of the paracingulate sulcus brain wrinkle is also suspected to be involved in the hallucinogenic symptoms of schizophrenia. |
| Colorado state, USA: | It is legal to possess, use, distribute and cultivate marijuana. Over 21s can legally possess up to an ounce of cannabis and once the pot shops begin to open for business on January 1 2014, locals and tourists will be able to buy one quarter of an ounce in a single transaction. For those under 21, cannabis possession, use and sale is still illegal, although if caught only for possession, they are likely to be dealt with in the same way as under-age drinkers.. |
| Netherlands: | Marijuana is tolerated, though it is still illegal. Possession of small amounts has been decriminalised and the drug can be bought from licensed 'coffee shops'. You will need to be over 18 and required to show ID to buy it in one of the country's many coffee shops, and purchases should be limited to five grams a day. However, it is illegal to buy cannabis on the street. As for consumption, smoking cannabis is tolerated in most public places, as long as it's not near a school, or near children. |
| Portugal: | All drugs, including cannabis, cocaine and heroin, have been decriminalised since 2001. Although lots of countries in Europe have been experimenting with various degrees of decriminalisation, Portugal was the first country to go all the way. This does not mean drugs are legal, but personal use (under certain restrictions) will not lead to prosecution. There are no legal marijuana cafés in Portugal |
| Uruguay: | Citizens over 18-years and on a government register may grow, sell and consume marijuana limited to 40g (1.4oz) per month. |
| Washington state, USA: | It is legal to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, but it remains an offence to possess larger amounts, or to grow it. Over 21s can legally possess up to one ounce of cannabis, but unlike in Colorado it won't be possible to grow your own without a licence. Under 21s will face penalties if caught in possession of the drug, however it is likely to be a misdemeanour charge. And smokers are expected to puff in private; it's still illegal to spark up in public. |
In South Africa in 2014 –
• Dr Jan Chabalala (former President of the South African Psychiatry Association) says –
"It makes people very, very aggressive.
Some of the most aggressive acts I’ve seen
have been committed by people under the influence of cannabis";
(13 October 2014)
Some of the most aggressive acts I’ve seen
have been committed by people under the influence of cannabis";
(13 October 2014)
• Julian Stobbs in apparent total contradiction says –
"Cannabis makes people more benign than anything else.
It’s better to be in that condition than, say, to be under the influence of other legal substances such as alcohol",
It’s better to be in that condition than, say, to be under the influence of other legal substances such as alcohol",
| The study indicates that high levels of cannabis use can also affect the brain’s white matter, interfering and retarding communication between the right and left brain hemispheres. |
in that the suppression of the empathy area of the human brain can make a person feel utterly care-free
and at the same time capable of the most vicious behaviour imaginable
without needing to become emotionally aroused to commit such crimes.
In February 2015, Paola Dazzan, a neurobiologist at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, and others at the Institute of Psychiatry report that the ready availability of high THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis/skunk/hashish in south London might be behind a rise in the proportion of new cases of psychosis being attributed to cannabis. He states regarding this that –
"If you look at the corpus callosum, what we’re seeing is a significant difference in the white matter between those who use high potency cannabis and those who never use the drug, or use the low-potency drug". (emphasis mine). |
The corpus callosum is rich in cannabinoid receptors, on which the THC chemical then acts.
in 2015 – the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) outlaws the possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana except for authorized research. More than 20 states have regulatory schemes that allow possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Four have revenue regimes that allow possession, cultivation, and sale generally.
Marijuana users may not possess a firearm or ammunition. They may not hold federal security clearances. They may not operate commercial trucks, buses, trains, or planes. Federal contractors and private employers may be free to refuse to hire them and to fire them. If fired, they may be ineligible for unemployment compensation. They may be denied federally assisted housing.
U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause pre-empts any state law that conflicts with federal law. Although there is some division, the majority of state courts have concluded that the federal-state marijuana law conflict does not require pre-emption of state medical marijuana laws. The legal consequences of a CSA violation, however, remain in place.
