Dr. Bob Melamede | Patients for Medical Cannabis

Robert Melamede first used marijuana at age 16 — just as “a goof,” he said.

“It was fun,” he said. “You’d laugh, you’d do silly things.”

These days, though, he’s quite serious about marijuana and what he sees as its myriad benefits.

Melamede, a biology professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is president and CEO of Cannabis Science, “an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company.” The startup, which is looking to establish its offices in the Springs, has about 10 employees, including a lab director. The company’s goal: to tap into the growing use of medical marijuana in Colorado and elsewhere by developing cannabis-based medicines. (Cannabis is the botanical name for the plant that marijuana comes from.) Continue reading →

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Biology of Democracy – Dr. Melamede

(Source) We all know that cannabis is great, fuel, fiber, food and, fun. Anyone who has used marijuana medically knows that it is wonderful medicine. How is it possible that for so many decades the government comes to the opposite conclusion? After 43 years of cannabis consumption, I finally figured out a reasonable explanation. I want to talk about the biology of democracy.

Marijuana not only promotes the health of individuals, but of our democracy and our species, of mankind.

First we have to consider some science. Fundamental physical laws of the universe are responsible for all creative forms, from galaxies to humanity. Even man’s economic, political and social systems have evolved by a common underlying process. Intrinsically, the yin and yang of ongoing creation may be found everywhere; capitalism vs. socialism, conservatives vs. liberals, democracies vs. fascism. In all manifestations of life, a tension between opposites is the functional reality.

All levels of life must maintain balance between the nourishment extracted from the environment and the waste returned to the environment in order to create and maintain health. The production of free radicals is a common denominator that signals an imbalance between a life form and its sustaining environment. Free radicals are highly reactive and modify the chemistry of life. They are believed to be responsible for aging and age-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, auto-immune disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and cancers. Marijuana-like compounds, known as endocannabinoids, are produced by all humans and are central players in life’s biochemical balancing act, known as homeostasis. They are the oil of life because they counter life’s friction, the free radicals.

Using this platform, we can speculate on the biology of democracy and the role played by endocannabinoids and marijuana. Mankind is engaged in an evolutionary genetic battle between more primitive, cannabinoid deficient people who are backward looking people, BLPs, and evolutionarily more advanced cannabinoid endowed people, who are forward looking people, FLPs. BLPs appear to be found in a high concentration in the United States government, whereas FLPs are excluded from our government, both naturally and by law.

I propose that BLPs are deficient in endocannabinoid activity in the areas of the brain that allows for change, Bush being a extreme example. He is incapable of change. BLPs look backwards and therefore tend to agree with each other. Through this consensus BLPs gain power. In contrast, FLPs look to the future with optimism because they are wired to embrace change. They have no unity of thought, other than cooperative acceptance of diverse opinions. [Forward looking people] therefore historically tend not to gain power.

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Mankind’s survival may depend on FLPs taking control before environmental change causes the extinction of Homo sapiens. In this rapidly changing world, we need to be responsive as new information becomes available. Mankind cannot make the evolutionary shift to cannabinoid sufficiency quickly enough. Therefore, we need to increase the cannabinoid activity of the population by external means. More wisely motivated cannabis consumption may be necessary to save the species.

There are additional benefits that may occur if this path develops. One hundred years ago people in the US were predominantly dying from infectious diseases. Since cannabinoids reduce the inflammatory arm of the immune system, relatively lower levels could have been beneficial. However, today the main causes of death in the United States and many other so called advanced countries are age related illnesses. In animal models of diseases, the onset and severity of illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, arteriosclerosis, and many cancers are helped by cannabinoids.

Leaders who are BLPs cannot lead. Think of the insanity. BLPs have outlawed the use of an anti-aging, health promoting plant. They incarcerate good human beings for defying stupidity. FLPs have a fundamental moral obligation to participate in, and improve our society for the sake of survival. We need a revolution of consciousness for a new world. We must embrace positive change in all aspects of our lives especially in the voting booths. We must demand that political candidates address marijuana prohibition.

We must all work together to bring about the necessary changes that will end the current insanity that characterizes our relationship with mother earth.