Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer

Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe has welcomed the decision by celebrity doctor and chief medical correspondent of the Cable News Network (CNN), Sanjay Gupta, to join those endorsing the medical properties of ganja.

Gupta, who was President Barack Obama's pick for Surgeon General, previously strongly opposed the use of ganja for any reason.

But he recently admitted that he has been part of those misleading individuals on the medical uses of the weed.

"Gupta has seen the light and although his apology is late, it is welcomed," said Lowe in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner.

Independent Newspapers.

Hemp is increasingly emerging on the radar of businesses and farmers, says a partner in a hemp company.

Tony Budden, a partner with Duncan Parker in Hemporium, a company that imports hemp materials and then creates items out of these, said more and more farmers, from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, were expressing interest in hemp.

He said a number of companies were also interested in using hemp, which he described as a “zero waste” plant as all of it could be used.

Hemp, a fibre crop, is a member of the same family as dagga, which is illegal in South Africa.

THC’s ability to regulate the immune system was first identified in the 1970′s. Now, research suggests that THC could improve the outcome of organ transplants

TruthOnPot.com – Organ transplants have saved thousands of lives, but getting them right isn’t easy. The problem is the body’s immune system, which is programmed to fight off intruders. Often, this includes outside organs. But new research out of Temple University suggests that THC – the main chemical in marijuana – may be able to help.

A recent study conducted by Andras Biokei-Gorzo at the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn in Germany is suggesting that marijuana(or the activation of the brain’s cannabinoid system) triggers the release of antioxidants, which act as a cleansing mechanism. This process is known to remove damaged cells and improve the efficiency of mitochondria. Mitochondria is the energy source that powers cells.  The study was published in Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society, B. You can read the entire study here.

Toking up may help marijuana users to stay slim and lower their risk of developing diabetes, according to the latest study, which suggests that cannabis compounds may help in controlling blood sugar.

Marco Torres, Prevent Disease
Waking Times

Medical marijuana is mostly prescribed for pain in the 18 states and District of Columbia that allow it. Yet it continues to provoke adolescent snickers and inevitable bong jokes.

And addiction to opioid painkillers is anchored in concern about its abuse leading to addiction.

Common to both is public fixation on the illicit and the seamy rather than the humane and the responsible.

Drug pressure groups today welcomed a call to legalise cannabis by former Conservative Party deputy leader Peter Lilley.

Mr Lilley, writing in today's Daily Telegraph, urged Tory leadership contenders to urgently think about liberalising the laws on cannabis.

His comments were welcomed by drugs charity Release, which said a change in cannabis laws was "long overdue."

Mr Lilley argued, in a move likely to shock many Tory traditionalists, that one of the biggest handicaps the Conservatives faced during the General Election was the perception that their policies were negative and punitive.

"On crime and asylum-seekers as well as drugs, Conservatism seemed to be about locking people up," he wrote.

"It ought to be about setting people free.