Loren W (updating) ..
16 August, 2018
Melbourne Australia (Earth 1)
- When Australia legalised Cannabis for medical use in 2016 they also redefined it, per the law (see the white box above) as a result Cannabis need not include “real Cannabis” but can include pharma, CBD, GMO, and even synthetics (as not from a plant). This was even the subject of a class action law suit in 2017 against the government by the Australia hemp industry saying the government “over stepped”. The government won, hemp threw the Cannabis cause under the bus at the same time (EVE Hemp vs Australia (TGA / ODC) none reported by the media. The media also continues to write about sound bites even when they are partially or totally inaccurate.
- Specifically, multiple reports that Cannabis is legal for medical use is FACTUAL, as is that Cannabis need not include Cannabis. The media offers addresses the 1st part as does the government.
- It is easy to point at the deception of all of this but keeping it positive (peace and love is supposed to be at the basis of this), then lets say the Government legalised pharma Cannabis and now it is time for the real stuff. The USA & Canada legalised real Cannabis for medical use in 1996 & 2001 repetitively. The testing is done dusted and the world has moved on. the trouble is 22 years on the real Cannabis market is flooded, so folks are looking for the next thing. For some that is the new pharma products that might compliment real Cannabis, but has shown to be 5% effective compared to the existing market I will explain more in a moment.
How Cannabis Works – per Wiki
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological system composed of endocannabinoids, which are endogenous lipid-based retrograde neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors, and cannabinoid receptor
- This is why pro cannabis folks say Cannabis is natural as our body is full of these receptors. Other drugs like panadaol / paracetamol also work on the ECS (more on that later)
So what is the difference between Cannabis / Pharma Cannabis / Hemp Cannabis / THC Cannabis / Synthetic Cannabis / Medical Marijuana / Cannabinoids CBD & THC Etc ?
Cannabinoids / THC / CBD –
- Cannabis has about 110 Cannabinoids, and 400 other elements. The dominant cannabinoid is THC in Cannabis and CBD is an antagonist to the THC acting like a ying to the yang balancing the THC. This is why those using CBD, only need a VERY VERY small amount. IMPORTANT Hemp may or may not have CBD (more on that later)
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Marijuana –
- The “M” word. Living 1/2 my life in the USA I never heard the word Cannabis until after 2013. The word marijuana / marihuana was used with racist overtones dating back to the original prohibition. However 90% of those targeted by those words really do not care / are not aware. They do not care on such a great level, that videos have been produced to explain this to people so they stop using the word Marijuana. Now politicians tend to use it randomly to talk negative about Cannabis or just because no one really cares. I have seen Aussies freak out over the word but never an American / Person of color. – Usually Cannabis and Marijuana are EXACTLY the same, Australia confuses it as we will see.
Cannabis / Marijuana –
- This can be simple or complicated. Let’s go simple. The United Nations (and 99% of the world) leaving out Australia defines Cannabis as of the botanical genus Cannabis Sativa L. AND has 10% or higher THC and LOW CBD –
Hemp –
- At less than 1% THC in most places including Australia. Genus Cannabis Sativa L is is also the botanical genus of Hemp. Let the confusion begin. Most botanists believe this is a mistake that hemp and Cannabis are share a botanical genus. Hemp as a plant has been used industrially, and as a food etc. It can be high in omega 3-6-9 but as it has no THC it is neither psychoactive nor the same medicine as real Cannabis.
NOTE: So we have Hemp being 1% or less THC and Cannabis being typically above 10% THC. SO what about 1.2 to 9.9% THC (we call that crap weed) .
- What about Cannabis with high CBD and no THC – That is industrial hemp – but called medical cannabis / medical marijuana in Australia.
- What about Cannabis with low / high / zero CBD and THC over 10% – That is Cannabis
Medical Cannabis / Medical Marijuana – (NOT IN AUSTRALIA)
- When Cannabis was legalised in 1996 in California and Canada in 2001 – All legal access was for medical use only. This meant all legal cannabis / marijuana was medical Cannabis or medical marijuana the same as recreational Cannabis but being it was “medical” the % of THC and CBD etc were tested and known, otherwise medical and recreational Cannabis is the same. So much so Canada is talking about how to withdraw the medical model once recreational is settled in as it is a better process for patients to access it via the recreational methods.
Medical Cannabis / Medical Marijuana – (ONLY IN AUSTRALIA) –
- When Cannabis was legalised in Austrlaia in 2016 as mentioned the definition was changed. Now hemp, cannabis, GMO, synthetics as not from a plant and worse anything that acts like Cannabis is deemed Medical Cannabis by the Australia Government.
So in Australia if ANYTHING that acts like Cannabis can be called medical Cannabis then what is legal and what is illegal?
- Good question me, so the government has nicely put up a list of ALL legal medical Cannabis, products and suppliers. – http://bit.ly/ODC-List2018
Why is real Cannabis Illegal to grow for medical use in Australia and why can people only access pharmaceuticals called medical Cannabis?
- Licenses, manufacturing, permits, import and export of “medical Cannabis” is managed by the Department Of Health (DOH !) ODC / TGA – Licenses are available for growing product and access for patients is based on the “demand” of the product to be grown for legal conditions. SO demand is further defined as “legal demand”. That is, there is high demand for real Cannabis for medical use for everything from cancer to epilepsy etc. However the TGA / DOH, ODC working with state governments have made it so there are ZERO conditions where real Cannabis is appropriate outside of some pallative conditions. This means there are only 2 main license types, those for legal patient access (ONLY HEMP PRODUCTS) or R&D for those wishing to grow / export real Cannabis.
Summary – There are no conditions where real Cannabis is allowed so there are no licenses / permits / scripts for patient access. Further the only 2 real Cannabis products on the government website are not currently allowed to be imported into Australia.
Not all CBD / THC / Cannabis / Hemp / Pharma is the same. – This gets a little more complicated. Starting off, if anyone got legal CBD, Cannabis, Marijuana, THC, or HEMP in 2015-2018 NONE came from “real Cannabis” that is a sad truth. This continues today as products are only available if a GP can script it. That is an almost impossible process but remember even if you get approved you wont get Cannabis it is still illegal / not available.
Doctors Do Not Want or Cannot Script Real Cannabis – SO the New Bill Addresses That –
There is a new Cannabis bill in 2018 in NSW – At only 20 pages it is an enabler bill and can be copied or edited. Cannabis law reform is a state issue of course, so some of the main issues addressed were that doctors cannot script real Cannabis either do to pressures from the AMA, insurance issues, or as there is nothing to script as there are no products in Australia. Otherwise insurance wise, doctors have to be culpable for patients using Cannabis, that hen is underwritten by insurance. Insurance companies are not helping, preventing many pro Cannabis doctors unable to script real Cannabis, even if real product existed.
Legalizing Real Cannabis for Medical Use. – So, real Cannabis is not available for medicne only CBD products. According to the media, government, anti Cannabis, hemp industry, etc. this means Cannabis laws come down to the states, so far no states are making moves to legalise real Cannabis for medical use, except for NSW. NSW has a bill since 2017 now into a new version for 2018. It bypasses the ODC / TGA / DOH! and more importan
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