Regarding his religious beliefs, Rogan has stated that he is not completely opposed to the concept of a “higher power” such as a god. However, Rogan stated in September 2010, during a guest appearance on the Alex Jones radio show, that he does not follow any organized religion.[27]
One of the recurring themes in his work and life is the use and support of entheogens, such as cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms and DMT, toward the exploration and enhancement of consciousness.[28] Rogan supports the medical and recreational use of cannabis.[29] He has also starred in the marijuana documentary The Union: The Business Behind Getting High.[30] Rogan was featured in the History Channel documentary, Marijuana: A Chronic History, as an advocate of legalized medical use of marijuana. He is also the presenter of the 2010 documentary DMT: The Spirit Molecule.[31]
Another recurring theme is his interest in the use of sensory deprivation and the isolation tank.[32] In a number of recent videos on YouTube and his own podcast, Rogan describes his personal experiences with isolation tanks and shares his insights into using them for various purposes, such as exploring the nature of consciousness and improving performance, health, well being and creativity.[33][34]
Medical marijuana is now legal in 18 states, but it’s clear we’ve discovered a fraction of its potential for health.
There are now legal medical cannabis programs in 18 states plus Washington, DC, with pot fully legal for adults in two other states. Ironically, however, the actual healing power of the plant has barely been tapped. Smoking marijuana with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), or better, vaporizing it (using a device to bake the plant material and inhale the active ingredients), has an indisputably palliative effect and can be medically useful for pain relief, calming and appetite stimulation. It already has confirmed benefits against glaucoma, epilepsy and other specific diseases and disorders. It also gets people high. THC triggers cannabinoid receptors in the brain and this produces the sensation of being stoned. These receptors are found in the parts of the brain linked to pleasure, memory, concentration, and time perception.
But, based mostly on research overseas there is an increasing consensus that the medicinal benefits of psychoactive THC pale in comparison to the non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) from the leaves of the same plant–raw and unheated. Depending on the strain, some plants are high in CBD but also contain a lesser amount of THC which is said to enhance the healing potentiality. CBD does not make people feel “stoned” and actually counters some of the effects of THC (for example, suppressing the appetite vs. stimulating it). CBD is beginning to be recognized by researchers at mainstream medical institutions around the world as a potentially very powerful weapon against cancer.
Researchers Sean D. McAllister and Pierre Desprez, who conducted studies of CBD’s effect on cancer cells for California Pacific Medical Center, suggest that these non-psychoactive compounds from the cannabis plant might, in short order, render chemotherapy and radiation distant second and third options for cancer patients. Based on a more recent study, McAllister and Desprez feel that CBD’s “could stop breast cancer from spreading.”
Dr. Donald Abrams, a cancer specialist and professor of integrative medicine at UCSF, conducted early trials involving THC medical cannabis, and now he is excited about the powerful impacts of CBD on cancer cells. The National Cancer Institute was busy researching this in the 1970s, Abrams explains, but restrictions on the use of cannabis for research in the United States resulted in most of the research on this subject disappearing in the U.S., and being picked up in other countries, such as Israel, Spain and Italy. He says existing studies point to a remarkable ability of CBD to arrest cancer cell division, cell migration, metastasis, and invasiveness.
Other studies point to CBD as having great promise as a defense against Alzheimer’s disease. In a 2006 study published in Molecular Pharmaceutics, a team of University of Connecticut researchers reported that cannabis “could be considerably better at suppressing the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease than any currently approved prescription.” The research team predicted that cannabinoid-based medications “will be the new breakout medicine treatments of the near future.”
Medical cannabis has a long history of use, starting in India, and then in China and the Middle East some 6,000 years ago. It came to the West in the 1800s, where it was listed in the U.S. Pharmacopeia until the 1930s. Used for over 100 ailments, cannabis was a favorite of our grandparents for cough remedies, analgesics, and tonics and was available over the counter at every local drugstore as well as companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Co. Banned in 1937 via the Marijuana Tax Act as part of a politically and racially driven prohibition craze, it was gradually removed from the pharmacopeia and research was discouraged and later prohibited via drug scheduling. The FBI linked the herb with insanity and claimed a direct correlation between cannabis and violence, and even death, especially when used by people of color.
Currently, science increasingly recognizes the role that cannabinoids play in almost every major life function in the human body. It wasn’t until 1990 that endocannabinoids, produced by the human body, were discovered to act as a bio-regulatory mechanism for most human life processes and have receptors sites throughout the human body. CB2 receptors are found almost exclusively in the immune system, with the greatest density in the spleen. These CB2 receptors appear to be responsible for the anti-inflammatory and other newly recognized and very significant therapeutic effects of cannabis.
Cannabis medicine has distinct advantages. CBD, as well as THC, can be given in massive doses with no side effects. In fact, it has performed very effectively as an anti-psychotic when given in high doses. CBD selectively targets and destroys tumor cells while leaving normal healthy cells unmolested. On the other hand, chemotherapy and radiation are highly toxic and indiscriminately injure healthy cells in the brain and the body. Industrial hemp is often high in healing CBD and very low in THC. Hemp CBD is a waste product — it’s thrown out by the ton every year when it could easily be harvested for tumor shrinking.
Medical cannabis farm Tikun Olam in Israel has been developing a strain of cannabis that is high in CBD (15.8%) but very low in THC (1%). This new strain is called Avidekel and seems to have the highest CBD to THC ratio of any other variant strain. Zack Klein of Tikun Olam told Reuters: “Sometimes the high is not always what is needed. Sometimes it is an unwanted side effect. For some of the people it’s not even pleasant.”
The THC industry and its users worry that once CBD medicine grows in popularity, the medical badge might be torn from the sticky buds that makes being “stoned” possible. Aside from THC’s significant medical benefits, surely its ability to make people feel happier and less stressed should not be considered without therapeutic value. More likely, all options will thrive, and 1,000 cannabis flowers will blossom: Indica, Sativa, CBD + THC, CBD Only, etc.
Meanwhile, it’s useful to note that since 2003, the U.S. federal government has held a “medical patent” for the marketing of cannabinoids as antioxidants or neuroprotective agents. The patent states that cannabinoids are “useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases such as inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”
However, stoners may have it all wrong, medically speaking. It is unlikely a person can get a sufficient level of cannabidiol (pronounced kan-nəbə-dī’-ˌȯl) from smoking the raw plant to impact diseases like cancer in a curative manner, says Desprez. The marijuana plant offers many uses, but it may come as a surprise to most users that you have to choose early in a plant’s life if you want it to make you high or to heal you. Research suggests that cannabis is most beneficial when the whole spectrum of cannabinoids are represented, including some THC. It is the ratio of cannabinoids in a specific strain of cannabis that most determines its therapeutic potential. Juicing the cannabis leaves raw, along with some carrots or other green veggies, has proven very beneficial as it involves the ingestion of the acid form of cannabinoids, which are non-psychoactive (even the THC). Cannabis oil also has enthusiastic fans who claim it has cured their cancers.
In India there are still large numbers of people who partake in an ancient practice of having a fresh raw cannabis drink called “Thandai” in which fresh cannabis leaves are made into a paste along with almonds, milk and sugar. This tasty drink is often consumed at religious festivals, and in some cities the government maintains distribution points for cannabis. A rolled sweet ball with similar ingredients is called “Bhang,” familiar for over a century to many Western seekers walking the ghats of sacred Banaras.
Cannabis edibles in the West are emerging as one of the fastest growing new sectors of the food industry. Dispensaries in 18 states offer such goodies as ice cream, cough drops, peanut butter, honey, saliva tea, and myriad baked goods and savory snacks–all dosed with THC. Given the huge potential market for non-psychoactive cannabis, the introduction of CBD-rich medicine at the dispensary level has been surprisingly sluggish. Owners have been reluctant to stock CBD-rich strains or edibles because their present customers are seeking —or are not adverse to— cannabis that provides euphoria or sedation. THC content is a known seller. Once the medical benefits of non-psychoactive cannabis become more widely known, one can only imagine the variety and volume of CBD-rich foods that will rush to market.
Smoking, as opposed to vaporization, may be the least effective method of using cannabis as a medicine. But many raw cannabis users are convinced that CBD is the source of medical miracles. Restrictions on research have impacted the accuracy with which we can prescribe cannabis and determine the most effective and least harmful ways to utilize its benefits. Perhaps in the very near future, instead of smoking cannabis to reduce nausea from chemotherapy, cancer patients will be consuming raw non-psychoactive cannabis, and be healed without having to suffer the additional damage of radiation and chemotherapy at all.
Allan Badiner is a writer, activist, and editor of three books: Dharma Gaia: A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology, Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, and Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism.
Stoners aren’t known for their memory prowess but a new review suggests that drugs similar to marijuana’s active ingredients may hold promise for preventing— or even reversing— brain aging and possibly Alzheimer‘s and other degenerative brain diseases.
Since the mid 2000′s researchers have been building an appreciation for the power of marijuana-like substances that make up the brain’s cannabinoid systems. In animal experiments, for example, synthetic compounds similar to THC—marijuana’s main psychoactive component—have shown promise in preserving brain functions. A 2008 study even demonstrated that a THC-like substance reduced brain inflammation and improved memory in older rats.
The latest review, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, suggests that activating the brain’s cannabinoid system may trigger a sort of anti-oxidant cleanse, removing damaged cells and improving the efficiency of the mitochrondria, the energy source that powers cells, ultimately leading to a more robustly functioning brain.
Previous studies have linked cannabinoids to increased amounts of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a substance that protects brain cells and promotes the growth of new ones. Since new cell growth slows or stops during aging, increasing BDNF could potentially slow the decline in cognitive functions.
Activation of cannabinoid receptors can also reduce brain inflammation in several different ways, which may in turn suppress some of the disease processes responsible for degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Andras Bilkei-Gorzo of the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn in Germany and an author of the study, is encouraged by the expanding knowledge of the brain’s cannabinoid system and its potential for leading to new understanding of aging in the brain. “[C]annabinoid system activity is neuroprotective,” he wrote, and increasing it “could be a promising strategy for slowing down the progression of brain aging and for alleviating the symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders.”
Still, Gary Wenk, professor of neuroscience, immunology and medical genetics at Ohio State University, who conducted some of the research Bilkei-Gorzo included in the review, is aware of the delicate nature of cannabinoid research, given the controversial nature of medical marijuana issues. “The literature is a mess and he’s done a nice job organizing it,” he says. “He was positive about developing cannabinoid drugs without going overboard.”
Other studies covered in the review showed that mice bred to lack the cannabinoid receptors have better memories early in life but have more rapid cognitive decline as they age, including inflammation in the hippocampus, a key region for memory. “This finding suggests that, at some point during aging, cannabinoid activity helps maintain normal cognitive functions in mice,” says Daniele Piomelli, professor of neurobiology, anatomy and biological chemistry at the University of California – Irvine, who was not associated with the study.
Piomelli cautions that the review doesn’t support the idea of using marijuana to improve brain aging among the elderly, not least because of its psychoactive effects. “This is definitely an important area of investigation but we are still far from a consensus,” he says.
Moreover, some of the research covered in the review had conflicting results. Although three clinical trials studied cannabinoids for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, these studies “did not provide a clear answer whether cannabinoids modify the progression or the outcome of the disease,” wrote Bilkei-Gorzo. He found similar results for Huntington’s Disease, which, like Parkinson’s, is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder. And for the most common form of dementia, “Despite the promising preclinical results, the detailed clinical evaluation of cannabinoids in [Alzheimer’s] patients is missing,” he said in the paper.
The social and political challenges to conducting such research, however, mean that it may be a while before we see such scientific gaps filled. Scientists have yet to conduct, for example, a solid study in which they follow marijuana smokers to see if they are more or less likely to develop Alzheimer’s— or to compare the cognitive decline of marijuana smokers to those who do not smoke. Doing so is too controversial to attract funding.
“In my experience, working in this area is like touching the third rail,” says Wenk, “I get hate and love mails that are bizarre and phone messages from people too high to talk. Some of my colleagues have left the area after seeing their names in the National Enquirer… I do not blame a war on marijuana but rather the public’s prejudice and extreme bias. I’ve now discontinued my research on this system.”
He and others in the field are not completely pessimistic, however. He says, “I’ve been trying to find a drug that will reduce brain inflammation and restore cognitive function in rats for over 25 years; cannabinoids are the first and only class of drugs that have ever been effective. I think that the perception about this drug is changing and in the future people will be less fearful.”
Given that Alzheimer’s already affects one in eight people over 65— and nearly half of those over 85—and there have been few successes at treating or preventing it so far, that would certainly be a welcome change.
The cannabinoid compounds naturally found in many varieties of cannabis, also known more commonly as marijuana, may help children with autism spectrum disorders experience dramatic behavioral improvements, and potentially even full recovery from their symptoms. These are the findings of a new study published in the journal Nature Communications that help reinforce the growing body of evidence which shows that medicinal cannabinoids hold incredible potential in both treating and potentially curing chronic illness.
Daniele Piomelli from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and her colleague Olivier Manzoni from Inserm, a French research agency, observed that marijuana cannabinoids are very closely related to the endocannabinoid transmitters naturally found in the brain that facilitate the transport of electrical signals between neurons. Known as 2-AG, these transmitters are responsible for regulating a whole host of important bodily processes, which include things like telling the body when it is hungry or when it is experiencing pain.
Children with autism spectrum disorders; however, including those who developed these disorders as a result of Fragile X syndrome, which is said to be the most commonly-known genetic cause of autism, often have poorly or non-functioning 2-AG, which necessitates chronic synaptic failure in the brain. Many children with Fragile X-induced autism end up becoming mentally disabled as a result of this synaptic failure, and have trouble developing basic motor skills like walking and talking, or learning how to behave in various social situations.
But taking marijuana cannabinoids, which as we pointed out in an earlier article are not psychoactive in the same way that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is (http://www.naturalnews.com/035759_cannabis_juicing_health.html), can help effectively block the enzymes that inhibit the proper function of 2-AG. In essence, marijuana cannabinoids essentially restore synaptic communication by feeding an ailing body the cannabinoids it lacks, which are absolutely vital for proper cell function and communication.
“Endocannabinoid compounds are created naturally in the body and share a similar chemical structure with THC … (and) are distinctive because they link with protein molecule receptors — called cannabinoid receptors — on the surface of cells,” explains the UCI report. “Because the body’s natural cannabinoids control a variety of factors — such as pain, mood and appetite — they’re attractive targets for drug discovery and development.”
Can non-psychoactive cannabinoid compounds actually cure chronic illness?
Though the researchers were quick to deny that cannabinoids hold any potential at actually curing autism, which more than likely was a politically-motivated denial rather than a factual admission, other research and actual case studies suggest that cannabinoid compounds are, indeed, powerful enough to mitigate many or all of the symptoms associated with autism, as well as many other diseases.
“Sam’s Story,” for instance, explains how one young boy with severe autism symptoms experienced dramatic improvements as a result of his parents giving him medical cannabis (http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/cmu/SamsStory.htm). Another young boy named Joey has also responded incredibly well to treatments with medical cannabis which, unlike pharmaceutical drugs, does not elicit any harmful side effects. (http://abcnews.go.com)
The group Cannabis International has also been conducting extensive research into medical marijuana, and particularly the non-psychoactive cannabinoid compounds found abundantly in many cannabis strains that have exhibited powerful benefits in treating autoimmune disorders, chronic inflammatory conditions, cellular and neurological dysfunction, and cancer, among others: http://www.naturalnews.com/035759_cannabis_juicing_health.html
A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco has found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever.
“It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited,” said Pierre Desprez, one of the scientists behind the discovery, to The Huffington Post. “We want to get started with trials as soon as possible.”
The Daily Beast first reported on the finding, which has already undergone both laboratory and animal testing, and is awaiting permission for clinical trials in humans.
Desprez, a molecular biologist, spent decades studying ID-1, the gene that causes cancer to spread. Meanwhile, fellow researcher Sean McAllister was studying the effects of Cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-toxic, non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. Finally, the pair collaborated, combining CBD and cells containing high levels of ID-1 in a petri dish.
“What we found was that his Cannabidiol could essentially ‘turn off’ the ID-1,” Desprez told HuffPost. The cells stopped spreading and returned to normal.
“We likely would not have found this on our own,” he added. “That’s why collaboration is so essential to scientific discovery.”
Desprez and McAllister first published a paper about the finding in 2007. Since then, their team has found that CBD works both in the lab and in animals. And now, they’ve found even more good news.
“We started by researching breast cancer,” said Desprez. “But now we’ve found that Cannabidiol works with many kinds of aggressive cancers–brain, prostate–any kind in which these high levels of ID-1 are present.”
Desprez hopes that clinical trials will begin immediately.
“We’ve found no toxicity in the animals we’ve tested, and Cannabidiol is already used in humans for a variety of other ailments,” he said. Indeed, the compound is used to relieve anxiety and nausea, and, since it is non-psychoactive, does not cause the “high” associated with THC.
While marijuana advocates will surely praise the discovery, Desprez explained that it’s not so easy as just lighting up.
“We used injections in the animal testing and are also testing pills,” he said. “But you could never get enough Cannabidiol for it to be effective just from smoking.”
Furthermore, the team has started synthesizing the compound in the lab instead of using the plant in an effort to make it more potent.
“It’s a common practice,” explained Desprez. “But hopefully it will also keep us clear of any obstacles while seeking approval.”
While Americans petition state senators to legalize medical marijuana, and the Dutch simply go to an Amsterdam café to self-medicate, thousands of Israelis are enrolled in a regulated medical marijuana program. As talk-show veteran Montel Williams recently saw for himself, Israel is one of the most progressive countries in the world to “legalize it.”
Israel’s inroads into legalizing cannabis for pain relief and managing terminal illness rest on the seminal research of Prof. Raphael Mechoulam of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem’s Center for Research on Pain.
Back in 1964, working from bags of hashish seized by the local police, Mechoulam isolated the active compound from cannabis, THC. He came to be a trusted consultant on the topic to governments and individuals — even to a US senator who was worried about his child’s use of pot at jazz clubs — and urged that derivative compounds called cannabinoids be legalized for medical purposes in Israel.
Mechoulam’s work has inspired generations of research teams around the world to look to marijuana for alleviating medical conditions from chemo-induced nausea to chronic pain. His work led to the discovery of ananamides, naturally occurring THC-like materials in the brain.Mechoulam was recently awarded the Rothschild Prize in physical and chemical sciences in recognition of his contributions. With the help of his efforts, Israel started to develop policies so that medical marijuana can be accessed by those who need it most.
Reducing the reliance on opiates
Mechoulam’s lab was one of the stops on a recent tour of Israel’s medical marijuana researchers by US celeb Montel Williams, who told reporters that the United States could learn a few things from Israel’s approach.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1999, Williams advocates for research and education on new directions in treatment, including medical marijuana, through his MS Foundation. Williams says that medical marijuana helps ease his neuropathic pain and he’s working to legalize it in the United States.Mechoulam acknowledges that Israel’s approach is probably the most advanced in the world, considering the numbers of patients taking medical marijuana in a supervised way.
“At present, about six or seven thousand people get it for various reasons, for [chronic] pain and for cancer, as it’s helping the symptoms of cancer by lowering the amount of opiates patients have to take,” Mechoulam tells ISRAEL21c. That number is expected to rise to about 40,000 by 2016.
“People who are in great pain who are taking opiates aren’t really functional anymore. Taking THC as a medical marijuana, or in its pure form, means that the opiates can be lowered, and then this person will have a better way of life,” he says.
Rigorous screening
The Health Ministry slowly began the program in 1994, but it really got going in 2002 under the direction of Dr. Yehuda Baruch from Abarbanel Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Bat Yam.
Patients of all ages may apply for approval through their own medical doctor or through the Sheba Medical Center, and must pass a rigorous screening process. Those eligible include cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy; cancer patients with final-stage tumors; patients enrolled in an Israeli HIV center; and people under treatment for chronic pain, Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, MS and post-traumatic stress disorder.
When properly dispensed under medical supervision, medical cannabis has a very low rate of abuse, says Mechoulam.
Still working as a researcher, Mechoulam is asked periodically to test the levels of THC in pot grown by licensed Israelis. And while he’s happy with the country’s progress, he says more research needs to be done on standardizing the dosages and incorporating missing elements in the medical strain used in Israel.
“Basically Israel is moving in the right direction. [THC] has to be better quantified, and cannabidial, a potent anti-inflammatory agent, needs to be present in the doses used in Israel,” he says. Cannabidial alleviates possible undesirable side-effects of THC.
These room-to-grow tips not withstanding, “Israel is one of the leading cannibinoid centers of research in the world. There are about two dozen groups working on it and people come from all around the world to see what we do,” Mechoulam concludes.
Joseph James “Joe” Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, martial artist, and UFC color commentator.[4] He is best known for playing Joe Garrelli on the NBC sitcomNewsRadio, commentating for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as hosting the NBC reality showFear Factor and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. His new show, Joe Rogan Questions Everything, premiered on Syfy in July 2013.[5]
