420 Girls

[420RedHead]

Cannabis buds are typically harvested when fully ripe. Generally, ripeness is defined as when the white pistils start to turn dark yellow, orange, light to mid red, etc. and the trichomes, (vernacular: crystals), barely begin to turn milky from clear. These trichomes can range from completely clear (generally deemed underdeveloped), to amberish-red. Ideally, professionals use a decent power magnifying glass, a brix meter to measure "sugar" content, and a microscope. The potential seed pods swell with resins usually reserved for seed production, thus improving the quality of the buds (called colitas, Spanish for "little tails"), which swell to form full "colas" (Spanish for "tails"). Harvesting slightly early will maximize the THC content. Harvesting later reduces the THC content and maximizes the sleep inducing effect desired by some medical users.

 

[420RedHead]

Owner of the Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center in Thousand Oaks, California, tends to her marijuana garden. New Jersey is considering legalizing marijuana for medical use as well.

 

[420RedHead]

It seemed too good to be true, but President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the first woman president in the history of Argentina, had expressed on numerous occasions her intention to experiment with decriminalization. After five young men arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana argued that their imprisonment was anti-constitutional, the high court decided in their favor, citing article 19 of the Argentine Constitution, which, similar to our constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness, states, "The private actions of men which in no way offend public order or morality, nor injure a third party, are only reserved to God and are exempted from the authority of judges." It was a victory that, although it wouldn't actually change the law, laid the groundwork for higher courts to make the same decision. Then on August 25, the Supreme Court followed suit and handed down a ruling that declared, "Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state," leading the way for Congress to amend current drug laws. Although other Latin American countries like Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Colombia have already decriminalized marijuana, only Argentina has decriminalized all drugs for personal use.

 

[420RedHead]

Historic references regarding the use of therapeutic cannabis for a variety of female medical conditions, including difficult childbirth, date back to the 7th century BC. According to "Cannabis Treatments in Obstetrics and Gynecology: A Historical Review" by Dr. Ethan Russo, various parts of the plant, including cannabis flowers and seeds, were used by Chinese and Persian societies to induce contractions, prevent miscarriages, and reduce incidences of post-partum hemorrhage. By the mid-19th century, the use of cannabis tinctures became prevalent in Western cultures to hasten pregnancy and reduce pre-partum nausea. The historical use of cannabis use for pregnancy associated pain and other complications is also referenced in African, Indian, and Southeast Asian cultures. - NORML

 

[420RedHead]

One of the numerous things pregnant women have to be concerned with is what goes into their bodies. No caffeine, no smoking, no alcohol, and traditionally, no marijuana either. But did you know that pregnant women in Jamaica have been known to use marijuana to relieve nausea, as well as some of the stress and depression that goes along with pregnancy? To be clear, they tend to use it in the form of a tea or a tonic, not smoking it. Melanie Dreher, a grad student in the late 1960′s, was chosen to perform an ethnographic study on the use of marijuana in Jamaica to document its usage and any possible consequences among pregnant women. She studied 24 Jamaican babies exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 infants who weren't. Dreher found that in Jamaica, infants exposed to marijuana didn't have any negative impact on children according to the Brazelton Scale, which is a neonatal behavioral assessment. On the contrary, some of the children seemed to excel.

 

[420RedHead]

Depression is a variety of disorders that affect more than 18 million Americans. Women are at double the risk as men to experience depression. Depression is the leading cause of disability in America today which costs the nation in excess of $47 billion dollars a year in lost efficiency and health costs. The people who have taken cannabis made medicines for depression have found that the properties presented in medical marijuana helps to slow down the anxiousness that often occurs due to depression, and it also helps to increase the appetite and allows for peaceful sleep. Traditionally, various societies have used cannabis to treat symptoms of depression for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In that entire period of time, there has never been any deaths due to the overdose of cannabis. More recently, scientists have been examining "cannabinoids" for their beneficial budding in the treatment of depression. Cannabinoids are the molecules in the cannabis plant that are named for its higher medicinal qualities. Moderate doses are preferable while treating the symptoms of depression. Exercise, on-time sleep, self-education, proper diet, yoga, meditation and massage therapy are all added benefits for treating depression.

 

[420RedHead]

The Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Barcelona is dedicated to the cannabis plant and its uses. All aspects of this controversial plant are explained in detail using a variety of media, including short films and photo collections. One of the artworks is a rare watercolor painting by Piet Mondrian. The Museum Collection consists of over 6000 cannabis related items. From cultivation to consumption, from ancient ritual to modern medicine, every aspect of cannabis in human culture is represented in some way.

 

[420RedHead]

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Because it is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide, affecting over 12,000 American women annually, there is no better time to discuss ways you can prevent a recurrence of cervical cancer and options for support. HC and another cannabis derivative compound slow the spread of cervical cancer. The new results add to the fast growing number of animal and cell-culture studies viewing different anticancer effects for cannabinoids, chemical compounds derived from marijuana. Cannabinoids, and occasionally marijuana itself, are at present used to lessen the nausea and pain experienced by many cancer patients. An experiment explained in which insidious cervical cancer cells made their way through a tissue-like gel. Even at very low concentrations, the marijuana compounds THC and methanandamide (MA) significantly slowed the invading cancer cells.

 

[420RedHead]

Historic references regarding the use of therapeutic cannabis for a variety of female medical conditions, including difficult childbirth, date back to the 7th century BC. According to "Cannabis Treatments in Obstetrics and Gynecology: A Historical Review" by Dr. Ethan Russo, various parts of the plant, including cannabis flowers and seeds, were used by Chinese and Persian societies to induce contractions, prevent miscarriages, and reduce incidences of post-partum hemorrhage. By the mid-19th century, the use of cannabis tinctures became prevalent in Western cultures to hasten pregnancy and reduce pre-partum nausea. The historical use of cannabis use for pregnancy associated pain and other complications is also referenced in African, Indian, and Southeast Asian cultures. - NORML

 

[420RedHead]

Farmers in Colorado made history this month when they harvested a hemp crop, the first in the United States since the late 1950s. Springfield, Colorado farmer Ryan Loflin who planted the 55-acre hemp crop back in May, led hemp advocates across the nation who came to his farm in October to help harvest the historic crop. And this is what the end of hemp prohibition looks like. - The Huffington Post

 

[420RedHead]

Certain chemicals in the brain (e.g. dopamine and serotonin) may be responsible for the onset of migraines. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters because they spread signals in the brain. Neurotransmitters can cause blood vessels to act in unusual ways if they are present in irregular amounts or if the blood vessels are mainly sensitive to them. Different people typically have different triggers, such as certain foods, stress or tension or even birth control pills. Medical Cannabis was a standard treatment for migraines from the mid-19th century until it was outlawed in the early 20th century in the USA. It has been reported to help people through an attack by relieving the nausea and dulling the head pain, as well as possible preventing the headache completely when used as soon as possible after the onset of pre-migraine symptoms, such as aura. There is some indication that semi-regular use may reduce the frequency of attacks.

 

[420RedHead]

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Because it is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide, affecting over 12,000 American women annually, there is no better time to discuss ways you can prevent a recurrence of cervical cancer and options for support. HC and another cannabis derivative compound slow the spread of cervical cancer. The new results add to the fast growing number of animal and cell-culture studies viewing different anticancer effects for cannabinoids, chemical compounds derived from marijuana. Cannabinoids, and occasionally marijuana itself, are at present used to lessen the nausea and pain experienced by many cancer patients.Even at very low concentrations, the marijuana compounds THC and methanandamide (MA) significantly slowed the invading cancer cells.

 

[420RedHead]

Legal recreational marijuana use is now in full swing in both Colorado and Washington, and much of the media attention has focused on the idea that social acceptance of pot in America is steadily growing. A recent New York Times/CBS Poll shows that 51 percent of Americans believe marijuana should be legal. Colorado is reaping massive tax revenue from recreational retailers, now estimated at $134 million for the next fiscal year. In California, Girl Scouts cookie sellers are setting up shop outside at least one medical marijuana dispensary, and the first ads for medical pot started airing in New Jersey and Chicago this week. - Aljazeera America

 

[420RedHead]

Hillary Clinton supports the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes "under appropriate circumstances" and thinks medical marijuana should be researched, she said in a Tuesday interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Clinton said she's taking a "wait and see" approach to recreational use. "At the risk of committing radical candor, I have to say I think we need to be very clear about the benefits of marijuana use for medicinal purposes," Clinton said on CNN. "I don't think we've done enough research yet, although I think for people who are in extreme medical conditions and who have anecdotal evidence that it works, there should be availability under appropriate circumstances." - CNN

 

[420RedHead]

As Washington plows toward the legal pot promised land, it's finding that getting the cannabis market off the ground has been even tougher than anyone imagined. Among the frustrated are growers who have been waiting months for permission to start raising their bar-coded plants. Advocates who wish more public health messaging had been done by now, and would be pot vendors who say bad luck, minor oversights on their applications, or errors by state officials have torpedoed otherwise promising efforts.

 

[420RedHead]

Just like soda machines spit out Coke by the can, automated pot vending devices may be the future of self-service marijuana purchases. "Why wait 10 minutes in line if you can walk right over?" Stephen Shearin, the president and COO of American Green, said. He demonstrated the first ever machine in Denver for CBS4 at the Doctors Orders dispensary. "They press to start, and swipe their ID. It sends a message out to the legal age software we work with who checks against DMV and a national database to ensure that the ID is valid. "That software is the same some pharmacies use to verify identity. State regulation says the vending machines can only be used inside a dispensary, not a recreational shop. Customers whose age is verified at the front door must still use their ID to access the vending machine.

 

[420RedHead]

Medical marijuana (or medical cannabis) refers to the use of marijuana as a physician prescribed therapy to reduce the pain or discomfort associated with some medical conditions or to lessen the side effects of some traditional medical treatments. Medical marijuana is used for a variety of ailments and conditions, including easing nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite in chemotherapy and/or AIDS patients, reducing eye pressure in glaucoma patients, managing chronic pain and treating gastrointestinal illnesses. Recent research has also suggested that some of the compounds in marijuana may have beneficial qualities for patients suffering from a variety of other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, brain cancer, Lou Gehrig's Disease, insomnia, and even asthma.

 

[420RedHead]

To stay within the letter of the law in L.A., such as it is, weed dispensary owners and their employees today are trained by lawyers and consultants on how to operate and how to speak, such as customers are patients. Doctors don't prescribe marijuana, they recommend it. Pot is medicine, or meds, or sometimes flowers. Owners might be called consultants, while employees often are volunteers who aren't paid a salary. Doctors are torn because the federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule I drug on par with heroin and cocaine, many doctors are loath to recommend it. But a crop of doctors has sprung up in medical marijuana states to fill the need. - LA Weekly - February 16, 2012

 

[420RedHead]

States which have legalized medical marijuana for chronic pain have significantly fewer overdose deaths from prescription painkillers, according to a new study published on Monday in the JAMA Internal Medicine, the journal of the American Medical Association. Scientists looked at medicinal cannabis laws and death certificate data in all 50 states between 1999 and 2010, reports Saundra Young at CNN. During that period, 13 states had medical marijuana laws in place. "We found there was about a 25 percent lower rate of prescription painkiller overdose deaths on average after implementation of a medical marijuana law," said lead study author Dr. Marcus Bachhuber. In 2010 alone, marijuana saved 1,700 lives in states which permit its medicinal use, based on the number of overdose deaths that would have been expected before such laws were passed, according to the study. - CNN

 

[420RedHead]