We’ve made a mistake. You and I specifically? Perhaps not, but collectively we’ve shot ourselves in the foot. Treating children with cannabis is not a new concept, but when I grew up I was told quite the opposite. It was something that did only harm, it was a “drug”, but little did I know prior to prohibition, major pharmaceutical companies produced a wide variety of cannabis-based medicines from 1840 to 1937, the “golden age” for cannabis medicine in North America.
The ultimate eye-opener was when I had encountered the children whose lives have been saved (treating children with cannabis) from this plant. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be born into this world and to suffer mind crippling seizures over and over and over again, to endure hellish pain and utter confusion, with the faint presence of your loved ones nearby. I cannot imagine undergoing all of this and being robbed of the opportunity of play, learning, making friends and exploring the world absolutely carefree when all of this could have been prevented with just one plant- treating children with cannabis. Not 25 different complex pharmaceutical medications, but just one plant. A plant that was never made illegal based on medical sciences, but rather through racist fear-mongering and propaganda stemming from the 1920s and 1930s. When you read this quote from Harry J. Anslinger, the 1st Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics…
“Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, jazz musicians, and entertainers. Their satanic music is driven by marijuana, and marijuana smoking by white women makes them want to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and others. It is a drug that causes insanity, criminality, and death — the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind”
…and you then see treating children with cannabis with the same plant, something is obviously wrong. CBD oil, the non-psychoactive compound derived from cannabis has shown potential to help ADHD, Addiction, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma, Austism, Cancer, Chron’s, Depression, Diabetes, Glaucoma, Migraines, MS, Parkinson’s, PTSD, Spinal Injuries, the list goes on. I want to make it clear I am not a doctor and you should always seek professional help, but keep in mind not all doctors are not educated on the appropriate science of cannabis as of yet.
What to do then?
1. Research
Always have reasonable doubt and check many sources before coming to a conclusion, keeping in mind the science is nearly 100 years behind, thanks to prohibition.
2. Share and Discuss
The time to speak up is now, with legalization happening across many states and a federal legalization on the horizon for Canada, there isn’t time to waste when lives across the entire planet are being lost.
3. Vote with your dollars
Money does make the world go round, and buying everything from CBD extract products (which is legal despite what the DEA says), to hemp seeds, hemp milk, hemp clothing, and more will accelerate this movement, and will accelerate the collective realization of the grave mistake we’ve made. From Medicine to Industrial materials the plant is more than beneficial for humanity.
Together we can make the earth a happier, healthier, greener place to live.
Learn more here about Children for Cannabis.
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Sources
Rappaport, Tina, and Steven RN PhD. Leonard-Johnson. Cannabis Medicine is Back. Charleston, SC: Publisher not identified, 2014. Print.
“Hemp Farming Legislation, Hemp Information and Advocacy – Vote Hemp.” Hemp Farming Legislation, Hemp Information and Advocacy – Vote Hemp. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. <https://www.votehemp.com/index.html>.
“Historical Timeline – Medical Marijuana – ProCon.org.” ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. <https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026>.
“Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance » CHTA.” Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance » CHTA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. <https://www.hemptrade.ca/>.
“Harry J. Anslinger Quotes/Quotations from Liberty Quotes.” LibertyQuotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. <https://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_by/harry j. anslinger>.
“Many Uses of Hemp Poster.” National Hemp Association. N.p., 15 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. <https://nationalhempassociation.org/many-uses-of-hemp-poster/>.
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Dana Carrabon is a Cannabis Advocate and university student based in Toronto, Canada. He seeks to amalgamate the historical, medicinal, and industrial aspects of Cannabis and help humanity move forward, towards a brighter future. Subscribe to the Cannabis Monk on Youtube, and Follow him on Twitter @KidCarra
