Pubdate: Sun, 11 Jul 2010
Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI)
Copyright: 2010 Kalamazoo Gazette
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/vggfBDch
Website: http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/588
Author: Chris Killian

MARIJUANA IS "ANTI-AGING" AND "CURATIVE" DRUG, SPEAKERS SAY AT 
KALAMAZOO SEMINAR

KALAMAZOO -- Twenty years ago, Julie Falco was diagnosed with 
multiple sclerosis.

And for years after her diagnosis, she tried 30 different 
prescription medications to ease the pain and discomfort of the 
disease, with little to no success.

But in 2004, she tried medical marijuana, and she started to feel 
better. Her mood improved, as well as her mobility. The pain lessened 
considerably.

Since 2007, medical marijuana is the only drug she uses.

"I got off everything," said Falco, 45, of Chicago. "Now I feel 
better than ever."

Falco was one of about 50 people who attended the first day of the 
two-day "Science and Compassionate Care Seminar," put on by 420 
University at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites in downtown Kalamazoo.

The seminar features several workshops on a wide variety of medical 
marijuana issues, from how to properly cultivate marijuana plants to 
the therapeutic value of the drug to understanding Michigan's medical 
marijuana law.

Video cameras hooked-up to computer equipment broadcasted the seminar 
around the world in the form of an Internet stream.

One of the first speakers Saturday was Robert J. Melamede, president 
and chief executive officer of Cannabis Science Inc., associate 
professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and 
nationally recognized expert on the science of marijuana.

Melamede said that the human brain contains what's called the 
endocannabinoid system, a series of receptors that are involved with 
a variety of physiological processes ranging from memory to mood to 
appetite, among several others.

"It's like a thermostat that regulates the body," he said.

And it's also a system that can be heightened by the use of 
marijuana, he said, which he called "an essential nutrient" that 
provides anti-aging properties by "smoothing out" free radicals in 
the body, which contribute to a host of diseases.

Apart from the therapeutic use of marijuana by those like Falco, or 
others with a wasting disease, cancer or AIDS, Melamede touted the 
use of marijuana -- "a puff or two a day" -- by healthy people as a 
way to live a longer, more healthful life.

Marijuana -- and more specifically the cannabinoids in it -- staves 
off inflammation, delays the onset of auto-immune diseases, inhibits 
the formation of Alzheimer's disease and can help treat or even cure 
some types of cancer, he said.

"Cannabinoids have curative or at least palliative properties," 
Melamede said. "It should be the first line of treatment."

But even though Michigan and several other states have medical 
marijuana laws that enable those who qualify to possess and use the 
drug to treat a host of illnesses, the drug is still illegal.

And for Melamede, that's not just a problem, it's negligent 
considering the myriad positive properties of the drug, he said.

"The fact that we have an anti-aging drug that kills cancer is proof 
of their (the government's) incompetence" in terms of marijuana still 
being illegal, he said.

This weekend's seminar is the first for 420 University, said Michelle 
Martin, vice president for development for the university. It is 
planning seminars in Chicago and cities in Wisconsin in coming 
months, spreading its message of the benefits of marijuana. And the 
group believes it can make an impact.

"It gives people more confidence that marijuana is useful as they 
speak to people who have been in the industry for a long time," 
Martin said. "We're starting to build a platform for a discussion of 
the issues." 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake