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Nov-11-2012 13:59printcomments

Medical Marijuana Error and Paranoia in Newspapers:
Monstrous Disinformation

40% of High School students have used Cannabis

Dr Phil Leveque
Dr Phillip Leveque is an expert on Cannabis use and therapies. Photo: Salem-News.com

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - I don't understand the anti-Cannabis/marijuana diatribes recurring in the major newspapers. It reminds me of the YELLOW JOURNALISM of the Hearst newspapers that everything bad and nothing good was in Cannabis. Even after knowing it has been used successfully and safely for at least 4,000 years with no deaths and rare, if any, bad reactions. Just feeling dizzy after use is not harmful. Try three martinis or smoking a strong cigar. Get a little dizzy?

The Oregonian printed its own diatribe about cannabis October 9, 2012, in an editorial stating a series of misinformation. First it decried the "medical need". Chronic pain is the most used reason for 70% of the patients. Patients use it to replace Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and Morphine which are the most addicting, most lethal, of the pain killers.

Question: What's wrong with that? Previous doctors made the pain diagnosis and prescribed the strongly addicting drugs. Cannabis helps!

The Oregon legislature wrote the 9 acceptable conditions into the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program based upon results in California.

The Oregonian seems to think that medical marijuana is ONLY for serious conditions like cancer, HIV/AIDS and glaucoma (which doesn't belong here, more later).

The Oregonian quotes "hoards of recreational card holders". There are NO SUCH PERSONS, at least in Oregon. California has an open view of this and their legislature made it that way. Other articles I will quote later indicate that 40% of high schoolers have used marijuana (more later).

Another article in the New York Times Nov 8 2012, decries cannabis use. The title, A Bad Trip for Democrats, by psychiatric doctor Ed Gogek in Arizona, vilifies the entire concept of marijuana use. Mainly because he is an anti-marijuana psychiatrist drumming up business in the New York Times. He prints several errors. He says "Cannabis was approved mostly for cancer".

No. Cancer is way down the list, and besides, the US government owns the patent for Cannabis treatment for cancer!

He does point out that pain is the most common disease for Cannabis therapy but he got his figures wrong. He states that men are the most common users. Men do almost all of the dangerous work-producing injuries, that's why pain is high on the list.


He also decries Cannabis use for glaucoma. I personally had about 50 of 5,000 patients who swore that Cannabis was better than any other combination of medicines.

His comments about dangers of cannabis addiction are equally foolish. He should compare Cannabis to morphine drugs, Valium drugs, alcohol, to tobacco or Starbucks latte' ---- no contest!

He quotes the noble attributes of the Food and Drug Adminstration and the DEA. There are probably no more corrupt and useless branches of the government.

Dr. Gogek quotes some source that 40% of teens use pot and heavy use is up by 80%. I ask from what? What's his baseline? These are HIS patients. (Plead guilty and take the treatments, or go to jail, and treatments cost beaucouts bucks! $$$$)

Dr. Gogek and the Oregonian editors would both profit mightily by reading some of the non-governmental research to displace some of their brain garbage.

CANNABIS ----- NOW AND FOREVER!!!!!

________________________________________

Dr. Phillip Leveque

Dr. Phillip Leveque has degrees in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and minors in physiology and biochemistry. He was a Professor of Pharmacology, employed by the University of London for 2 years, during which time he trained the first doctors in Tanzania. After training doctors, he became an Osteopathic Physician, as well as a Forensic Toxicologist.

Before any of that, Phil Leveque was a Combat Infantryman in the U.S. Army in WWII. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder more than 60 years after the war, and specialized in treating Veterans with PTSD during his years as a doctor in Molalla, Oregon. Do you have a question, comment or story to share with Dr. Leveque?
Email him:
ASK DR. LEVEQUE

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole". Order the book by mail by following this link: DOGFACE SOLDIER OF WWII If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.




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Anonymous November 12, 2012 1:06 pm (Pacific time)

According to the CDC, alcohol kills 80,000 people every year in the U.S. while marijuana kills none, and marijuana's addiction potential is only about that of coffee. Since marijuana is far safer and far less addictive than alcohol, we could GREATLY reduce the amount of harm and addiction in society by giving people the right to switch from the more harmful drug, alcohol, to the less harmful drug, marijuana. Let's do ourselves and our communities a favor and just tell our legislators to legalize marijuana like beer and wine at the federal level.


Chuck November 12, 2012 12:30 pm (Pacific time)

This is mostly a matter of liberty! Prohibition of Marijuana was born in fear and hatred; absent science. It is the prohibition that causes harm, not Marijuana.


Hugh Yonn November 12, 2012 9:37 am (Pacific time)

With all of the rhetoric surrounding the marijuana debate, the concept most overlooked: Freedom of the individual. “…over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”.” — from the essay On Liberty by John Stuart Mill What happened to, "This is a FREE country"? That is what we have been telling the rest of the world for decades. Please, let us live up to it. Lead by example. After spending 5 years in Federal Prison for a marijuana offense, I wrote: Shoulda Robbed a Bank No, it is not a treatise on disproportionate sentences. I wrote about the escapades that led to my incarceration. I admit, I had a great time. No one was injured, no one was killed, firearms were not involved...there were no victims. We were Americans pursuing happiness in our own way. Harming no one...nor their property. That’s my contribution to helping point out just how ludicrous our pot laws truly are. I would be honored by your review.


Malcolm Kyle November 12, 2012 4:26 am (Pacific time)

In 1988, after reviewing all scientific evidence brought forth in a lengthy lawsuit against the government’s prohibition of medical marijuana, the DEA’s own administrative law judge (Judge Francis Young) wrote: “MARIJUANA, IN ITS NATURAL FORM, IS ONE OF THE SAFEST THERAPEUTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES KNOWN. IN STRICT MEDICAL TERMS, MARIJUANA IS SAFER THAN MANY FOODS WE COMMONLY CONSUME.” http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/109464

No person of any age, in all of recorded history, has ever died from marijuana, marijuana is nontoxic. Many have died from marijuana prohibition and tens of millions have been caged or otherwise seriously harmed. The US arrests someone on marijuana charge every 38 seconds. In 2010, 52.1% of the 1,638,846 total arrests for prohibition violations were for marijuana, making a calculated total of 853,839. Would you rather have your kid locked up with killers and child molesters or would you prefer to do your own proper parenting? http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Marijuana#Total

The World Health Organization Documents Failure of U.S. Drug Policies—according to the world's leading substance abuse researchers, the US has the highest rates of marijuana and cocaine use. http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/90295/

Cannabis Reduces Infant Mortality: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june272010/marijuana-infants-sc.php The "cannabis" infants have a mortality rate almost half of what the "No drugs" infants have!

Mothers who use cannabis during pregnancy have healthier smarter kids: http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/marijuana-cannabis-use-in-pregnancy-dr-melanie-dreher/

Here's a documentary about marijuana curing cancer. There are 7 parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhT9282-Tw

If you still doubt that marijuana is good medicine then kindly check out Granny Storm Crow's Amazing MMJ Reference List:
http://beyondchronic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Grannys-List-July-2012.pdf
It’s more like a library than a list!


MARIJUANA CURES CANCER:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4

http://www.nowpublic.com/thc_marijuana_helps_cure_cancer_says_harvard_study

http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/marijuana-cures-cancer-us-government-has-known-since-1974/

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/08/pbs-documentary-sheds-light-on-marijuanas-cancer-killing-properties/


Marijuana promotes brain cell growth by 40% and protects it from damage: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051016083817.htm

Marijuana promotes healthy lungs: http://dailycollegian.com/2012/02/01/marijuana-health-claims-go-up-in-smoke/

Marijuana when used by HIV patients Inhibits virus replication: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120320195252.htm


MARIJUANA HALVES MORTALITY RATE IN PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AND RELATED DISORDERS:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22595870


Peer-Reviewed Studies on Marijuana
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000884


J B November 11, 2012 6:25 pm (Pacific time)

Sign a petition to let states experiment with marijuana:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/suspend-now-enforcing-federal-marijuana-policy-states-colorado-and-washington/rWGZy0y6

Text of the petition:

We propose that enforcement of federal marijuana regulations be suspended -temporarily- in the states of Colorado and Washington in order to allow time for these states to experiment with an alternative form of marijuana regulation.

We are not petitioning for a change in federal regulation, and certainly not legalization, at this time.

We feel that this is an appropriate middle ground for the federal government to take at this time, given that a sizable portion of the People support a similar form of regulation in addition to the people of the aforementioned states.

(See http://www.gallup.com/poll/150149/record-high-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana.aspx)

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