Give Plants A Chance

Have you ever wondered what ‘natural’ means on a package of meat in the supermarket? I always assumed it meant naturally raised, naturally produced, naturally processed. You know, natural.

Not so! In fact, that label only applies to how food is processed. So animals raised in horrific conditions on factory farms — with no room to turn around, no sunlight, and pumped full of drugs — can be called ‘natural’.

That doesn’t sound right to me — and thankfully, the US Department of Agriculture (who deals with food labeling) have heard the message. They’ve opened up a public comment period on these labels, and what they mean. So take a minute right now, and tell them that natural means natural, and our food needs to be properly labeled:

http://www.environmental-action.org/USDA-comment?id4=ES

As the health care issue is debated in our country, we need to make sure a voice rises up, letting people know that our food supply, how food is made and consumed, are health issues as much as they are environmental issues.

Factory farms choke off resources, poison water supplies, and greatly harm the public’s health — as you may have read about in the NY Times this weekend. We need to make sure people know what they’re buying, how it’s produced, and what those effects are.

And it starts with proper labeling. So take a minute right now, and make your public comment:

http://www.environmental-action.org/USDA-comment?id4=ES

And when you’re done invite friends and family to take action as well.

Sincerely,

Dan Stafford
Environmental Action Organizer
DanS@environmental-action.org

http://www.environmental-action.org

Unleash the DEA to Limit Medical Cannabis Boom
The Prohibitionists’ Manifesto

By FRED GARDNER

“Marijuana Dispensaries and the Federal Government: Recommendations to the Obama Administration” is a well researched, smoothly argued, copiously annotated Prohibitionist position paper that recently appeared on the California Police Chiefs Association website. The authors of the paper were not listed in the CPCA version; the title page simply said “Presented by Friends of the DEA.”

In addition to CPCA and the California Police Officers Assocation, the paper was “endorsed by” some 25 front groups promote the Drug War.

This is the paper’s bottom-line message: “Requiring the DEA unequivocally to take a ‘hands-off’ approach, no matter how egregious the dispensary’s practices, will not serve the best interests of patients. Uncontrolled proliferation of these dispensaries will seriously undercut our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug approval system and deprive patients of important regulatory protections. Such a result will defeat the Administration’s avowed desire to support and follow the results of sound science.”

FODEA turns out to be an Arlington, Virginia lobbying group run by a lawyer named Michael Barnes who had been a Bush appointee to the Drug Czar’s office.

Barnes told CounterPunch that FODEA is changing its name but we didn’t ask “To what?” Barnes said he had co-authored the position paper with Andea Barthwell, MD (also a former Drug Czar operative with ties to the drug-treatment industry), and that it was published in the Summer 2009 Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice.

The paper is a salvo in the battle being waged for the hearts and minds of Barack Obama and Eric Holder. The Prohibitionist strategists understand that their best chance of containing the medical cannabis industry is in the name of “Science” and, to use the jargon of Barthwell and Barnes, “within the parameters of modern regulatory oversight.”

Pre-empting any critics who might point out that modern regulatory oversight routinely allows the foisting of deadly pharmaceuticals on the American people, the authors primly note, “the FDA drug approval process is not perfect, as demonstrated by recent news about previously-unknown dangers of marketed medications, such as Vioxx.” This is a gross lie pretending to be an expression of humility. The dangers of Vioxx were not unknown to Merck, they were ignored because profits loomed.

The reference to Vioxx is footnoted, of course -Barthwell and Barnes document every lie- and the citation itself a lie, too. (“FDA Estimates Vioxx Caused 27,785 Deaths,” Nov. 4, 2004).

The figure of 27,785 deaths caused by Vioxx is about half the number projected by Dr. David Graham, the FDA scientist who blew the whistle on Merck. Even so, it’s almost 10 times the number of people killed by terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. And 27,785 is but the number of deaths caused by Vioxx -it doesn’t take into account the estimated 100,000 people disabled by heart attacks and strokes.

This year on Sept. 11 the TV news showed a woman reading aloud the names of those killed in the attack eight years ago. No one ever reads aloud the names of Merck’s victims. Merck was not denounced as a terrorist organization. The U.S. government continues to do business with Merck.

Terrorists wreak death and destruction intentionally, claiming they have some noble purpose. Merck execs knew from an early clinical trial that Vioxx caused coronary damage. The execs’ response was to exclude from future trials anyone with a history of heart trouble! Once the drug was on the market, Merck intentionally suppressed data showing it caused strokes and heart attacks at twice the normal rate. Dorothy Hamill twirled on the ice and “It’s a beautiful morning” lilted from every TV in the land as Merck pushed a drug that CEO Ray Gilmartin and the other top bosses knew would kill people.

Now Merck is pushing Gardasil. Thirty-two deaths reported so far. They can’t give it to the boys because it’s too painful, the boys won’t come around for the second injection… They want to make it mandatory for girls!

Fred Gardner edits O’Shaughnessy’s, the journal of cannabis in clinical practice. Email fred@plebesite.com.

the study below may initially seem to be “taking things way too far with this medical marijuana thing,” but if so, it may be time to rethink your position. i’m not saying cannabis isn’t overused like other drugs, but at least this one is green and organic, cheaper and safer (if you grow it yourself) than buying those pricey pink and blue and white synthetics on the market. i dunno, maybe it’s just me, but i always choose honey or agave to sweeten my tea, before choosing Sweet ‘N Low, Equal, or that Splenda crap.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2009) — When legal therapies let them down, some teens turn to cannabis. A new study, published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy suggests that around a third of teens who smoke cannabis on a regular basis use it as a medication, rather than as a means of getting high.

great great article in FORTUNE MAGAZINE.
read it here.

“In California, where the fiscal crisis is so grave that the state has had to issue vendors more than $1 billion in IOUs, a Field Poll published in April showed that 56% of the state’s population favored legalizing marijuana, prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to call for an “open debate” on the question. A legalization bill has been introduced in the state legislature, and the state board of equalization has estimated that if passed, it would bring in $1.4 billion in new revenue, a seemingly conservative estimate.

It’s even possible that legalization would reduce national health-care costs, by easing demand for costly pharmaceuticals.

In the most recent issue of O’Shaughnessy’s, one doctor reported that his cannabis patients had either stopped or cut back their use of “analgesics of all kinds [including] Tylenol, aspirin, and opioids; psychotherapeutic agents including anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants, anti-panic, obsessive-compulsive, anti-psychotic, and bipolar agents; gastrointestiminal agents including anti-spasmodics and anti-inflammatory medications; migraine preparations; anticonvulsants; appetite stimulants; immuno-modulators and immunosuppressives; muscle relaxants; multiple sclerosis management medications; ophthalmic preparations; sedative and hypnotic agents; and Tourette’s syndrome agents.”

again, read the entire article here.

kenny’s note: (Jeffrey Hergenrather, MD, provided that list as part of a recent O’Shaughnessy’s survey. His colleagues report a similar pattern among their patients. Cannabis is in many ways an anti-drug —which is why the pharmaceutical companies fund lobbyists and think-tank intellectuals to turn out position papers like “Marijuana Dispensaries and the Federal Government.”)

a fabulous event at the ecology center in san juan capistrano… check out the list of food producers participating and jump onboard. looks to be a soulful event with an amazing meal in a great setting. regardless , it is not too late to jump in! i will hook you up. read about it here

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