Drug War

Prohibition helped give rise to organized crime, mob bosses and gangs, which proved that some laws do more harm than good. Nixon's 1968 War on Drugs was created as a political weapon to terrorize minorities and victimize people who were against the Vietnam War. "By getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did" - As quoted by John Ehrlichman in "Legalize it all" Harper's Magazine, April 2016. (In 1970, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 drug in the United States).



"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself." - Jimmy Carter. 

Draconian are laws that are excessively harsh and severe.

Unconstitutional Laws - Tyranny - Abuse - Threats - Violence - Due Process - Right to a Fair Trial

Cruel and Unusual Punishment is the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment that states that punishment is considered unacceptable when it afflicts suffering, pain, or humiliation. It prevents the government from imposing a penalty that is either barbaric or far too severe for the crime committed.

The war on drugs is filled with contradictions, lies and deceit. Powerful people in America flooded the streets with drugs and then used the police to punish the small time sellers and the users. Charlatan scumbags in power want to arrest small time drug dealers, but not arrest the big time drug dealers who work for pharmaceutical companies. I guess if small time drug dealers would give money to politicians they too might get away with murder and mayhem.

"Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal"- Friedrich Engels.

Prison System Racket - Corporate Rackets - War Racket - Hypocrisy - Biased Research - Corruption

Punishing people is not helping people. The Justice System is for protecting people. The Justice System is not supposed to be used by criminals to attack people. So why are we allowing these as*holes to exploit our justice system at the peoples expense. WTF? These atrocities should not be happening anymore, this behavior was supposed to die with hitler.

Drug Wars are still one of the worlds most deadliest wars since the opium wars, which was perpetrated by corrupt governments, judges and the justice system. Our supposedly public servants were bought and manipulated by wealthy interests, and American citizens were accessories to this crime, with most people being unaware and unknowingly contributing to the deaths and the abuse of millions of people. We were fed a false belief. And American tax dollars paid for it. America is now suffering because of these heinous acts, while many other countries in the world our now living healthier and more quality lives than ever before. America has been raped by abusive unjust laws, and your super predators are still walking around freely and continuing to rape Americans at will. Time to end this war on people, and stop pretending that this was a war on drugs. You lying scumbags need to wake up. We have a country to save, we have a planet to save.

Drug Enforcement Administration is tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the United States. Oversight.

WHO Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis in International Law for First Time in History in 2019. Cannabis should be downgraded from a schedule IV to a schedule I drug under international law.

Alcohol - Tobacco - Pharmaceuticals - Marijuana Research - Hemp

It's cheaper to treat people than to incarcerate them. People want to feel better, did you ever think of asking them why? And what kind of moron would attack someone who is trying to make themselves feel better? It's more productive, logical and moral to help people find better choices then trying to force your judgment upon them.

Portugal Proved that when you're not an ignorant scumbag to people you have better outcomes.

Portugal Drug Policy decided to treat drug use as a medical issue, not a crime. Portugal's drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the European Union average. Cabaz's team of 10 counselors handles all of Lisbon's roughly 2,500 drug cases a year. It may sound like a lot, but it's actually a 75 percent drop from the 1990s. Drug-related HIV infections in Portugal have dropped 95 percent. But it was less effective in curtailing consumption, which is an education problem that can be solved by improving education. People in Portugal are now 45 times less likely to die from drug overdoses, compared with people in the U.S. — and street crime in cities like Lisbon has dropped. During that same period, U.S. drug deaths exploded by more than 500%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U.S., drug deaths are shatteringly common, killing roughly 112,000 people a year. In Portugal, weeks sometimes go by in the entire country without a single fatal overdose. New Jersey alone sees nearly 3,000 fatal drug overdoses a year, Portugal averages around 80. What's different in Portugal? In the late 1990s, the country faced an explosion of heroin use. The drug was causing roughly 350 overdose deaths a year and sparked a wave of HIV/AIDS and other diseases linked to dirty needles. Portugal's leaders responded by pivoting away from the U.S. drug war model, which prioritized narcotics seizures, arrests and lengthy prison sentences for drug offenders. Instead, Portugal focused scarce public dollars on health care, drug treatment, job training and housing. The system, integrated into the country's taxpayer-funded national health care system, is free and relatively easy to navigate. Someone who has problematic drug use isn't someone who is a criminal or someone who has a moral failing. when you make addiction treatment services available to people who are struggling with problems of drugs, you get a lot of good outcomes. Beginning in 2001, Portugal's national addiction strategy decriminalized personal drug use and reinvented the role of police. Cops still work aggressively to break up major drug gangs and arrest people committing drug-related crimes like theft. They also disrupt open-air drug markets like the ones that have emerged in some U.S. cities. But when street cops in Portugal encounter people using small, personal-use amounts of drugs, there's no arrest. Instead, police schedule meetings for drug users with teams of counselors. In Oregon, for example, where small amounts of drugs were decriminalized in 2020, police regularly hand out information cards referring people to a drug counseling hotline. Court data shows drug users rarely call. In Portugal, by contrast, government data shows roughly 90% of people referred to drug counseling sessions by police do turn up, at least for an initial session. As a consequence, people living with addiction face far less stigma, rarely serve jail or prison time, and don't live with criminal records.

Marijuana Legalization (PDF) - Hemp

Estonian Municipality Government Symbol will now be a Pot Leaf. (2018)

Police Arrested Someone For Weed Possession Every 51 Seconds In 2014. Law enforcement officers made just over 700,000 arrests on marijuana-related charges in 2014, according to data released by the FBI on Monday. 2013 saw 609,570 people booked on possession charges alone. 2007 reached an all-time high of 775,137. Alcohol.

Authorities spend more than $3.6 billion each year enforcing laws against marijuana possession, according to a frequently cited report by the American Civil Liberties Union.

1 in 106 white men have been behind bars, compared to 1 in 35 Hispanic men and 1 in 15 African American Men. The number of White Americans in America is around 223,553,265 - 72.4 %. Hispanic or Latinos 50,477,594  - 16.3 %. Black Americans 38,929,319 - 12.6 %. Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native 2,247,098  - 0.7 %.

Systematic Attack on Minorities - Profiling

San Francisco To Dismiss Thousands Of Marijuana Convictions. Marijuana-related convictions of thousands of residents dating back to 1975. The measure will give people convicted of crimes the ability to petition to have their records cleared. Prosecutors will also review up to 4,940 felony convictions and consider reducing them to misdemeanors. Petitioning to have a record expunged can be costly and it can require legal help. A criminal conviction can be a barrier to employment, housing and other benefits. African-Americans were 7.8 percent of San Francisco's population but comprised 41 percent of marijuana arrests. By 2010 and 2011, African-Americans made up about half of marijuana-related arrests, yet represented 6 percent of the city's population, according to the district attorney's office.

In the UK, One million hours of police time a year 'wasted enforcing cannabis prohibition. 87,247 police caseloads relating to the drug were opened in 2015, with the average cost to the taxpayer per case estimated at £2,256. The estimate says that in total £31m was spent on 1,044,180 police hours.

In 2015, After 40 years and a Trillion Dollars, the nation has little to show for its war on drugs. Prisons are beyond crowded and there's a new outbreak in the heroin epidemic. 21 million Americans are addicted to drugs or alcohol. And half of all federal inmates are in for drug crimes. And the number of opioid prescriptions has risen from 76 million in 1991 to 207 million today. More than 120 Americans die of drug overdoses each day, that is more than car wrecks or gun violence. Addiction is not a brain disease, the disease is the ineffective and dysfunctional education system that fails to teach 21st century skills. People are not born addicts, people are born with vulnerabilities, and if we don't teach our youth about these vulnerabilities, they too will be victimized, whether they become drug addicts or not.

Rainbow Farm was a pro-marijuana campground in Newberg Township, Cass County, Michigan, that was involved in a fatal police standoff on September 3, 2001. The campground was run by Tom Crosslin and his life partner Rolland "Rollie" Rohm, and was home to two annual festivals, "HempAid" and "Roach Roast", which ran from 1996 through 2001. The operation ended with the burning down of all the structures on the property and the deaths of both Tom Crosslin and Rolland Rohm.

The Drug war needs to be about education, and not about making drugs illegal, because as everyone knows, drugs come in many forms, and kids get high on all types of stuff, which I would list, but that would be extremely dangerous to list ways of getting high, especially when they do more harm then good, and also that kids are not educated enough or knowledgeable enough. When searching for something that you believe will make you feel alive, will actually be killing you slowly, mentally and physically. You would be a moron and a criminal to think that you can stop drug use by making certain drugs illegal, "a moron and a criminal walk into a bar...they pass a law to make money, and not to benefit people." Besides that, most of the damage comes from food, and you can't make food illegal, but you could ask the FDA to stop food manufacturers from making food that has very little nutritional value that does more harm then good. And you can also ask schools to teach students more about human development and the reality of the world in which we all live. We can do that now, and we can also stop criminals in our government from restriction human rights and freedoms, especially the right to a high quality education and the freedom to live life without persecution from criminals in our own government.

Low social status increases risk of health problems from alcohol problems. People with low income or education levels may benefit from screening for alcohol-related conditions. Men and women with lower income or education levels are more likely to develop medical conditions related to alcohol abuse compared to similar individuals with a higher socioeconomic status, according to a new study.

Marijuana and Hemp is illegal in America because our government is corrupted by criminals and corporations. If we were to have an open and honest public debate about marijuana, it would be legal tomorrow.

Politicians and Judges are bought and paid for by criminals and corporations, which is pure ignorance. The DEA are puppets for corporations and corrupt wealthy people in power, just like most politicians are. The DEA does not represent the people of the U.S., they represent ignorance and the criminal behavior of their puppet masters.

American Drug War: The Last White Hope (youtube)

Prohibition is the illegality of the manufacturing, storage in barrels or bottles, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol including alcoholic beverages, or a period of time during which such illegality was enforced. A Big Failure just like now.

Controlled Substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated a Controlled Drug in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration is responsible for suppressing illegal drug use and distribution by enforcing the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates both the drugs themselves and certain precursors.

Controlled Substances Act was passed by the 91st United States Congress as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. List of Controlled Substances.

Schedule 1 Drugs is a drug that has a high potential for abuse and has no recognized medical uses. Pharmaceuticals.
Schedule 2 Drugs have a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
Schedule 3 Drugs may still experience moderate physical dependence or high psychological dependence, but, in general, Schedule 3 drugs have less potential for abuse than Schedule 1 or 2 drugs do. Schedule 3 drugs are often prescribed for medical purposes.
Schedule 4 Drugs are chemicals are defined as drugs with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence. Dosage - CBD

Social Crimes

"What You Should Know About Drug Prohibition" | Learn Liberty (youtube)
Pineapple Express "Item 9" (youtube)

Drug Policy - Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

Prisons - Schools not Prisons

Harm Reduction is a range of public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Harm reduction policies are used to manage behaviors such as recreational drug use and sexual activity in numerous settings that range from services and education.

Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City (youtube) - 58 percent to 30 percent Believe in Legalized Drugs 

Legal Marijuana Hasn’t Caused Any Of The Problems Opponents Said It Would A new report finds that youth use rates and traffic fatalities have remained stable, marijuana arrests have dropped and revenue is flowing in by the millions.

Drug testing has tested positive for ignorance, thus disqualifying all drug tests all over the world. The main problem with drug tests is that they do not fully explain anything other then they found a particular element in someone's body.

Background Check

Five Reasons why Cops want to Legalize Marijuana.

UN Office of Drugs and Crime.

International Centre for Science in Drug Policy.

Global Commission on Drugs.

Scribd - Open Society Foundations

Three-Strikes Law was first implemented on March 7, 1994. These laws require both a severe violent felony and two other previous convictions to serve a mandatory life sentence in prison. The purpose of the laws is to drastically increase the punishment of those convicted of more than two serious crimes. The three-strikes law significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of a felony who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, and limits the ability of these offenders to receive a punishment other than a life sentence. The expression "Three strikes and you are out" is derived from baseball, where a batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. Some criticisms of three-strikes laws are that they clog the court system with defendants taking cases to trial in an attempt to avoid life sentences, and clog jails with defendants who must be detained while waiting for these trials because the likelihood of a life sentence makes them a flight risk. Life imprisonment is also an expensive correctional option, and potentially inefficient given that many prisoners serving these sentences are elderly and therefore both costly to provide health care services to, and statistically at low risk of recidivism. Dependents of prisoners serving long sentences may also become burdensome on welfare services. Prosecutors have also sometimes evaded the three-strikes laws by processing arrests as parole violations rather than new offenses, or by bringing misdemeanor charges when a felony charge would have been legally justified. Likewise, there is potential for witnesses to refuse to testify, and juries to refuse to convict, if they want to keep a defendant from receiving a life sentence; this can introduce disparities in punishments, defeating the goal of treating third-time offenders uniformly. Three-strikes laws have also been criticized for imposing disproportionate penalties and focusing too much on street crime rather than white-collar crime. Punishment is not a good teaching method, and recidivating is proof of that. Sentencing Rules.

Commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics Harry J. Anslinger lied in 1930, which murdered millions.

Until 1913, marijuana was legal throughout the United States under both state and federal law. Beginning with California in 1913 and Utah in 1914, however, states began outlawing marijuana, and by 1930, 30 states had adopted marijuana prohibition. In 1937, Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which effectively outlawed marijuana under federal law by imposing a prohibitive tax; stricter federal laws followed. The 1952 Boggs Act and the 1956 Narcotics Control Act established mandatory sentences for drug related violations; a first ​time offense for marijuana possession carried a minimum sentence of 2–10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. While those mandatory sentences were mostly repealed in the early 1970s, President Ronald Reagan reinstated them under the Anti ​Drug Abuse Act of 1986. The current federal legislation controlling marijuana possession, use, and distribution is the Controlled Substances Act, which was published in 1971 and classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. This category is for drugs that, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” as well as a risk of creating “severe psychological and/​or physical dependence.

Reefer Madness was a 1936 propaganda film that tried to justify the abusive and unjustified laws against marijuana and hemp. The film about drugs, revolved around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana – and upon trying it, they become addicted, and their addiction leads them to become involved in various crimes such as a hit and run accident, manslaughter, murder, conspiracy to murder and attempted rape. While this is all happening they suffer hallucinations, descend into insanity, associate with organized crime and (in one character's case) commit suicide. Reefer Madness was originally made as Tell Your Children and sometimes titled The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth, and Love Madness.

How do critics know that Marijuana use increases when legalized? How do people know that cannabis use increases when know one would admit that they used the drug becuase it was illegal. Advocates and critics are substantially overstated and in some cases entirely without real world support. Limited post ​legalization data prevent us from ruling out that marijuana legalization causes small changes in marijuana use or other outcomes. Reviews of the literature on the first wave of marijuana decriminalization's in the 1970s note that marijuana use did not change in response to relaxed restrictions.

The War on Drugs is a Failure

The Federal Prison Population has increased almost 790 percent since 1980. Illegal drugs have become cheaper and more concentrated, which suggests the world supply is actually increasing. According to United Nations estimates, global consumption of opiates, cocaine and marijuana increased by 35 percent, 27 percent and 9 percent, respectively, between 1998 and 2008. Amount spent annually in the U.S. on the war on drugs is more than $51,000,000,000. Drug War Statistics.

Do people in the US still get arrested for marijuana? About 750,000 people are arrested every year for marijuana offenses in the U.S.  About 40,000 inmates of state and federal prison have a current conviction involving marijuana, and about half of them are in for marijuana offenses alone; In 2000, a total of 734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 646,042 (40.9%) were for possession. Although the intent of a 'War on Drugs' may have been to target drug smugglers and 'King Pins,' according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reports, of the 1,552,432 arrests for drug law violations in 2012, 82.2% (1,276,099) were for mere possession of a controlled substance. Only 17.8% (276,333) were for the sale or manufacturing of a drug. Further, nearly half (48.3%) of drug arrests in 2012 were for marijuana -- a total of 749,825. Of those, an estimated 658,231 arrests (42.4% of all drug arrests) were for marijuana possession alone. Drug War Facts.

Number of people arrested in 2013 in the U.S. on nonviolent drug charges: 1.5 million

America is the largest importer of cocaine in the world. 30 billion dollars go to drug dealers, drug traffickers and drug cartels. Trillions are lost annually from lost productivity and human potential. Authorities confiscate 20 to 50 tons a year coming in, but the flow and availability of drugs has steadily increased. Officials are corrupted and people are victims. Every 18 seconds someone is arrested for drugs. Legalize all drugs, and make them affordable, high grade and available from the pharmacist, as long as you have a medical card and are educated about the drug that you need to use.

China says economic losses from drug abuse hit $81 billion a year. China has more than 14 million drug users. As many as 49,000 deaths in 2014. China's share of synthetic drug users eclipsed heroin users for the first time in 2014. By the end of 2014, China had about 1.2 million users of methamphetamine, up almost 41 percent from a year earlier. Drug crimes carry harsh penalties in China, including death or life imprisonment in serious cases. Punishment does not work, but improving education will.

According to the ACLU’s original analysis, marijuana arrests now account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States. Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simply having marijuana. Nationwide, the arrest data revealed one consistent trend: significant racial bias. Despite roughly equal usage rates, Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana. Number of people killed in Mexico's drug war since 2006: 100,000+

Governments must use science to decide what is illegal and not base it on ignorance and corruption. You have to look at the environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison. Mexico's Drug Violence has claimed almost 30,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006. 

So the war on drugs cannot be fought with laws. Drug use can only be effectively controlled by fully educating the public about addiction and the dangers of drug use, and also by correctly treating the undereducated victims who have fallen into the trap of addiction and a perverted distortion of reality that certain drugs create.

In America the prison population is growing 13 times faster than the general population. We spent $68 billion in 2010 on Corrections, 300 percent more than 25 years ago. Half of the prisoners released this year are expected to be back in prison within three years.

Bureau of Justice Statistics - More Prison Facts

It seems that Rehabilitation is not being understood. Just like treating most diseases, there is no money in the cure.
How ignorant can we be? 

Palliative is alleviating a problem without dealing with the underlying cause. Cure.

America's Backyard: Colombia (youtube) = Afghan Opium Poppies Hit Record High Despite $7 Billion US Campaign.

War on Drugs Report The global war on drugs has failed with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. Evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem. End criminalization of drug use and use legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users in need, which will lead to better health and promote economic and social development.

What to say if your Adult Child wants to Smoke Marijuana

I do not indorse drug use or do I condone drug use. I believe that everyone should have a choice as long as they are responsible and follow some common sense guidelines and make a few promises to themselves and to the people who care about them. You can smoke marijuana as long as you do your research on the amounts needed and the different types available. This also includes foods and other things that you might consume. You need to learn self-control. You need to learn how monitor your health accurately. You need to respect other peoples air space. And you don't use it front of children or use it openly where it might offend someone. You need to keep educating yourself and seek out good guidance. You need to promise to be aware of when it's time to make changes, especially when things are not having the desired beneficial effects. You need to promise not to use it when you are operating dangerous machines or when you are in situations that require your full attention, your full awareness and full control of your physical abilities. You need to promise to keep learning about other choices and other options that might be better for you. And as always, I wish the best for you and that I will always have faith in you. But please remember that there are no guarantees in life and that there will always be Risks. I no longer want to punish you for the mistakes that you make, as long as you learn from your mistakes and that you explain why the mistake happened, this way both of us can be aware of this vulnerability and so that we can both make the necessary efforts needed to avoid repeating this mistake. And if you like, please feel free to share with me what you have learned from your experiences so that I too can become more educated and more up to date, and also have a better understanding about you and this particular drug, for there might be a day when I might need this drug for what ever the reason. And one more thing, I love you always with all my heart.

Everything is about the Dosage. So remember that drugs are not the only danger. Junk Foods and a bad diet kill more people then all drugs combined. So don't forget to talk about all the other dangers in life too. Everything should be scientifically examined. Even micro dosing can not be used everyday. You have to take a break and check your baseline every now and then.

Remember that pot is like most drugs, they are not a cure for depression. A temporary fix is just temporary, and can sometimes do more harm then good. Learning how to be happy and learning to understanding what happiness is, will be the most successful way to control your emotions. It's not a good idea to transfer your responsibilities to a drug.

Marijuana for medical use may result in rapid onset of cannabis use disorder. A new study shows that using cannabis products to treat pain, anxiety and depression can fail to improve these symptoms while doubling the risk of developing the addictive symptoms of cannabis use disorder. People seeking cannabis to treat symptoms of anxiety and depression were at greatest risk of CUD. Contrary to evidence-based medicine, people with medical marijuana cards choose their own products and dosing, suggesting the need for better controls over dispensing, use, and professional follow-up of these patients, and of course we need better education, because a bad education is the root of almost every problem.

Don't fly to high to quickly and peak to soon, because you will crash hard, like an hour after drinking a strong coffee. It's better to gradually get high and then slowly come down. And always take breaks and take days off to reconnect with your baseline and to do a complete systems check. It's more than being responsible, it's about being logical and being aware. You can easily lose yourself and lose touch with reality. So please keep educating yourself and learn as much as you can. Knowledge and information is where the real high comes from, not the drug, or any other chemicals that your brain can not produce on its own.

Indorse is to approve of. Judge to be right or commendable; think well of. Support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm. Health Benefits from Weed may not be the same for everyone.

Condone is to excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with. Passive.

Effects of Cannabis from the chemical compounds in the Cannabis plant, including 400 different cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), allow its drug to have various psychological and physiological effects on the human body. Different plants of the genus Cannabis contain different and often unpredictable concentrations of THC and other cannabinoids and hundreds of other molecules that have a pharmacological effect, so that the final net effect cannot reliably be foreseen. Acute effects while under the influence can include euphoria and anxiety. Although some assert that Cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabinoid found in cannabis in varying amounts, may alleviate the adverse effects of THC that some users experience, little is known about CBD's effects on humans. The well-controlled studies with humans have a hard time showing that CBD can be distinguished from a placebo, or that it has any systematic effect on the adverse effects of cannabis. When ingested orally, THC can produce stronger psychotropic effects than when inhaled. At doses exceeding the psychotropic threshold, users may experience adverse side effects such as anxiety and panic attacks that can result in increased heart rate and changes in blood pressure.

Why does certain social gatherings make you want to drink more, eat more and do more drugs then you would normally do on your own? You just can't say that you're celebrating. If you have more self control on your own, then you need to be more aware of where you are and what you're doing. You don't need a lot of something in order to maximize your experience. You need to do the right amount at the right time of day. Anything else is a waste. So don't waste yourself on social events. When you learn how to be good at something, you definitely want to be good at something around other people.

Recreational Drug Use is the use of a psychoactive drug to alter one's mental state in a way that modifies emotions, perceptions, and feelings for recreational purposes. When a substance enters the user's body, it brings on an intoxicating effect, often referred to as a "high". Generally, people use recreational drugs that fall into three categories: depressants (these drugs produce a feeling of relaxation and calmness); stimulants (these drugs give the user a sense of energy and alertness); and psychedelic drugs (these cause hallucinations and perceptual distortions that some users find appealing). In popular usage, it is generally considered to be a tolerated social behaviour rather than a serious medical condition such as self-medication.

Party s a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration of a special occasion. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing or other forms of entertainment. In many Western countries, parties for teens and adults are associated with drinking alcohol such as beer, wine or distilled spirits.

Bar is a retail business establishment that serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such as mineral water and soft drinks and often sell snack foods such as crisps (potato chips) or peanuts, for consumption on premises. Some types of bars, such as pubs, may also serve food from a restaurant menu. The term "bar" also refers to the countertop and area where drinks are served. (also known as a saloon or a tavern or sometimes a pub or club, referring to the actual establishment, as in pub bar or savage club etc.).

Conservative estimates show that 20% of crashes in the US are caused by drugged driving. This translates into about 6,761 deaths, 440,000 injuries and $59.9 billion in costs each year.

Self-Medication is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological ailments.

Let the facts speak for themselves. And for everyone else, let there be an explanation. To call any one drug a “Gateway Drug” is just an ignorant statement that only confuses the truth. There are hundreds of legal drugs, and other things in our world, that can easily be considered gateways to more deviant behavior. So what we are really talking about is our Addictions. So what came first, the addiction or the Drug? Drugs are not the problem. The problem is our inadequate education system that never teaches students about addictions. This is why so many people have Addictions. Whether it would be an addiction to money, an addiction to sex, an addiction to food, an addiction to TV, an addiction to fame or an addiction to power. And any one of those addictions can create much more damage then any drug could ever do. Yes marijuana opens New Pathways of Thought and yes it Temporally Changes Your Perspective, and yes it's like waking up twice in the same day, except that you only went to sleep once. But it's not for everyone or is it the same for everyone. Just like everything else in this world, people like different things. And you still have to consider the amount, the type, and the correct time to take it, just like any other drug or food. And the fact that marijuana has Medical qualities and also makes 100's different products, and is Sustainable, that is what you call "The Icing on the Cake" and a "Double Bonus". You would be stupid not to grow hemp. That of course being if hemp were the most logical crop for your area for that particular time of year. After all we are only talking about legalizing a drug and not about legalizing stupidity, which seems to be legal already if you just take a look at our government. Shaking my head in disgust or SMHID.

Marijuana History - Wisdom Weed

History of Cannabis. The history of cannabis and its usage by humans dates back to at least the third millennium BCE in written history, and possibly far further back by archaeological evidence. For millennia, the plant has been valued for its use for fiber and rope, as food and medicine, and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use. In China. cannabis was used in Taiwan for fiber starting about 10,000 years ago.

Research (THC)

Medical Cannabis is cannabis and cannabinoids that are recommended by doctors for their patients. History of Medical Cannabis (wiki).

Cannabis as a drug is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant intended for medical or recreational use. The main psychoactive part of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); one of 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids. Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.

Cannabis, weed, or marijuana refers to the dried leaves of a group of plants called cannabis Sativa, cannabis Indica, and cannabis ruderalis. They can be smoked, eaten, or brewed as tea. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), better known as THC, is the marijuana plant's primary component for causing psychoactive effects.

Cannabis, called má (meaning "hemp; cannabis; numbness") or dàmá (with "big; great").

Ganga is a term of Sanskrit origin for cannabis (drug), also called ganja.

Bhang is an edible preparation of cannabis. It was used in food and drink as early as 1000 B.C. in the South Asia. Bhang is traditionally distributed during the spring festival of Holi.

Sheeba is a slang term for Marijuana.

In China the word 'ma' means Hemp.

Magu is a name that compounds two common Chinese words: ma "cannabis; hemp" and gu "aunt; maid".

Cannabis interferes with the full range of conscious awareness. Certain sensory processing channels in the brain are temporally muted. So you don't have full access to high level thinking, which is not all bad, because new ways of thinking can be utilized, and it can also be good because it will also quiet the mind to a certain degree. But this is all relative, because there is so many variables that would depend on the person, the dosage and the particular type of substance that was consumed.

Cannabis Scientist Answers Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED (youtube) - What's the difference between indica and sativa? Does CBD actually do anything? Why does weed smell like THAT? Is it really okay to smoke weed every day? Dr. Wise answers all these questions and much more!

The difference between eating marijuana and smoking marijuana. When eating marijuana the liver converts THC delta 9 to 11 hydroxy THC. Even when you smoke marijuana, your liver still sees some delta-8 or delta-9 and turns it into 11-hydroxy-THC, but you get way more 11-OH when you eat cannabis. First pass metabolism is the phenomenon that causes 11-OH-THC to exert such strong effects on the brain. It's because delta 8 THC becomes 11-hydroxy-THC when digested and metabolized by your liver. This is exactly the same thing that happens when you digest a marijuana gummy with traditional (delta 9) THC. Ingesting cannabis or vaping cannabis is less harmful to your lungs than smoking cannabis, just as long as you fully understand dosage and strength.

When someone smokes marijuana, the main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). THC goes from the lungs into the bloodstream. From there, it ends up in the brain and other organs. THC connects with a receptor on nerve cells in the brain. The marijuana "high" results from THC's effects on the nerve cells that control sensory perception and pleasure. THC also connects with receptors on nerve cells in other parts of the brain that affect thinking, memory, coordination, and concentration. This can cause unwanted side effects, including, trouble thinking and problem solving, problems with memory and learning, loss of coordination, distorted perception. These side effects are temporary, but they can make it dangerous to do things like drive while under the influence of marijuana.

Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis produce two major active compounds, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (d-9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD); however, they contain 60 cannabinoids and over 400 compounds in total. THC is the psychoactive compound, but it is modulated by CBD. The sativa-dominant strains have higher THC content, whereas the C. Indica-dominant strains have higher CBD content. Ruderalis-dominant strains contain even lower THC concentrations than indica-dominant strains. There is also ‘skunk-like’ cannabis, named for its smell, containing very high THC concentrations.

Studies on Marijuana - Active Ingredients

In 1944, the New York Academy of Medicine issued an extensively researched report declaring that, contrary to earlier research and popular belief, use of marijuana did not induce violence, insanity or sex crimes, or lead to addiction or other drug use.

La Guardia Committee was the first in-depth study into the effects of smoking cannabis in the United States. An earlier study, the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, was conducted by the colonial authorities in British India in 1893–94. The reports systematically contradicted claims made by the U.S. Treasury Department that smoking marijuana results in insanity, deteriorates physical and mental health, assists in criminal behavior and juvenile delinquency, is physically addictive, and is a "gateway" drug to more dangerous drugs. The report was prepared by the New York Academy of Medicine, on behalf of a commission appointed in 1939 by New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia who was a strong opponent of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. Released in 1944, the report infuriated Harry Anslinger, who was campaigning against marijuana. Anslinger condemned it as unscientific. Anslinger went on an offensive against what he saw as a "degenerate Hollywood" that was promoting marijuana use. After high-profile arrests of actors like Robert Mitchum, Hollywood gave Anslinger full control over the script of any film that mentioned marijuana.

Testing the effects of pure THC in 1970 (video on reddit)

Marijuana acts on the body’s cannabinoid system, which has receptors all over the brain and body. Molecules native to the body, called endocannabinoids, also act on these receptors. We don’t totally understand the cannabinoid system, but it has one feature that provides a big clue to its function. Most neurotransmitters travel from one neuron to the next through a synapse to propagate a message. But endocannabinoids travel in the opposite direction. When a message passes from the one neuron to the next, the receiving neuron releases endocannabinoids. Those endocannabinoids travel backward to influence the sending neuron— essentially giving it feedback from the receiving neuron. This leads scientists to believe that the endocannabinoid system serves primarily to modulate other kinds of signals— amplifying some and diminishing others. Feedback from endocannabinoids slows down rates of neural signaling. That doesn’t necessarily mean it slows down behavior or perception, though. For example, slowing down a signal that inhibits smell could actually make smells more intense. Marijuana contains two main active compounds, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, and cannabidiol, or CBD. THC is thought to be primarily responsible for marijuana’s psychoactive effects on behavior, cognition, and perception, while CBD is responsible for the non-psychoactive effects. Like endocannabinoids, THC slows down signaling by binding to cannabinoid receptors. But it binds to receptors all over this sprawling, diffuse system at once, whereas endocannabinoids are released in a specific place in response to a specific stimulus. This widespread activity coupled with the fact that the cannabinoid system indirectly affects many other systems means that each person’s particular brain chemistry, genetics, and previous life experience largely determine how they experience the drug. That’s true much more so with marijuana than with other drugs that produce their effects through one or a few specific pathways. So the harmful effects, if any, vary considerably from person to person. And while we don’t know how exactly how marijuana produces specific harmful effects, there are clear risk factors that can increase peoples’ likelihood of experiencing them. The clearest risk factor is age. In people younger than 25, cannabinoid receptors are more concentrated in the white matter than in people over 25. The white matter is involved in communication, learning, memory, and emotions. Frequent marijuana use can disrupt the development of white matter tracts, and also affect the brain’s ability to grow new connections. This may damage long-term learning ability and problem solving. For now, it’s unclear how severe this damage can be or whether it’s reversible. And even among young people, the risk is higher the younger someone is— much higher for a 15 year old than a 22 year old, for instance. Marijuana can also cause hallucinations or paranoid delusions. Known as marijuana-induced psychosis, these symptoms usually subside when a person stops using marijuana. But in rare cases, psychosis doesn’t subside, instead unmasking a persistent psychotic disorder. A family history of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia is the clearest, though not the only, risk factor for this effect. Marijuana-induced psychosis is also more common among young adults, though it’s worth noting that psychotic disorders usually surface in this age range anyway. What’s unclear in these cases is whether the psychotic disorder would have appeared without marijuana use— whether marijuana use triggers it early, is a catalyst for a tipping point that wouldn’t have been crossed otherwise, or whether the reaction to marijuana is merely an indication of an underlying disorder. In all likelihood, marijuana’s role varies from person to person. At any age, as with many other drugs, the brain and body become less sensitive to marijuana after repeated uses, meaning it takes more to achieve the same effects. Fortunately, unlike many other drugs, there’s no risk of fatal overdose from marijuana, and even heavy use doesn’t lead to debilitating or life-threatening withdrawal symptoms if use stops. There are more subtle forms of marijuana withdrawal, though, including sleep disturbances, irritability, and depressed mood, which pass within a few weeks of stopping use. So is marijuana bad for your brain? It depends who you are. But while some risk factors are easy to identify, others aren’t well understood— which means there’s still some possibility of experiencing negative effects, even if you don’t have any of the known risk factors. Is marijuana bad for your brain? Anees Bahji/TED-Ed (video and text).

Your body's own cannabinoid molecules calm you during stress. Scientists discover how stress activates the same receptors as THC. When you're under stress, your brain may release its own cannabinoid molecules to calm you, activating the same brain receptors as THC derived from cannabis plants. But the brain activity regulated by these cannabinoid molecules were not well known. A new study in mice has discovered a key emotional brain center, the amygdala, releases cannabinoid molecules under stress that dampen the incoming stress alarm from the hippocampus, a memory and emotion center in the brain. The finding may reveal novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of stress-related disorders.

Chemical found naturally in cannabis may reduce anxiety-inducing effects of THC, researchers show. Study finds an essential oil, d-limonene, significantly reduces feelings of anxiety and panic. The substance, called d-limonene, is one of the most abundant terpenes, or essential oils, in the cannabis plant, and has shown promise in rodent studies in reducing anxiety behaviors. However, there has been little research on d-limonene or other terpenes in humans. As a group, terpenes are responsible for the taste, aroma and color of plants. without altering the desired effects of marijuana's active ingredient. In the study, 20 healthy adults with a median age of 26 participated in up to 10 outpatient sessions, during which they inhaled vaporized d-limonene alone, vaporized THC alone, vaporized THC and d-limonene together, or vaporized distilled water (as a placebo).

Why Cannabis Smells Skunky? Researchers have discovered a new family of prenylated volatile sulfur compounds or VSCs that give cannabis its characteristic skunky aroma. The plant produces a pungent, skunk-like odor that is pleasing to some but repulsive to others. The findings open up opportunities to investigate the molecules for medicinal benefits, the researchers say. Cannabis sativa L. produces more than 200 known aroma compounds. Prior studies have focused mainly on terpenoids -- molecules that range in odor from fuel-like to woody, citrusy or floral. Different cannabis cultivars have diverse mixtures of these compounds that contribute to their unique aromas. However, although terpenoids are the most abundant aroma compounds in cannabis, there is little evidence that they provide the underlying skunk-like smell of many cultivars. Skunks use several VSCs in their smelly defense sprays, so Iain Oswald and colleagues suspected that there could be similar molecules in cannabis. The team decided to use sensitive analytical techniques to find out. The researchers analyzed flowers from 13 cannabis cultivars using a custom-built 2D gas chromatography system with three different types of detectors. Then, a four-person panel ranked the pungency of the cultivars on a scale from 0 to 10. The most pungent one, called Bacio Gelato, had the highest concentration of VSCs. The team identified seven VSCs in this cultivar, some of which were also present in other cultivars. Five of the VSCs contained the prenyl functional group and had skunk-like or sulfuric aromas. One compound in particular, 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, referred to as VSC3, was the most abundant VSC in the cultivars that the panel reported to be most pungent. This compound has previously been implicated in the flavor and aroma of "skunked beer" -- beer that goes bad after being exposed to UV light. To confirm that VSC3 was the main source of the skunk-like aroma, the team added it to a mixture of 10 other major aroma compounds from cannabis, producing a combined odor very similar to the characteristic scent of cannabis. They also detected VSC3 in cannabis concentrates, such as those used for vaping. Finally, in greenhouse experiments, the researchers determined that the prenylated VSCs increased significantly toward the end of the flowering stage of cannabis growth, reached a maximum during curing and then dropped substantially after 10 days of storage. Because the molecular structures of the VSCs resemble compounds from garlic that have anti-cancer and cardioprotective effects, the new family of prenylated odor molecules should be investigated for medicinal properties, the researchers say.

GW Pharmaceuticals has already produced a cannabinoid drug called Sativex, an oromucosal spray for relieving cancer pain and treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. Investigators now announce they have discovered two substances--cannabidiol and THCV-- in marijuana leaves that can increase the amount of calories the body burns. Test results show that these two substances can treat type 2 diabetes in animals, will hopefully lead to drugs that treat people who have metabolic syndrome--the combination of diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure that significantly increase a person's chances of having a stroke or heart disease. "WEED" - CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta (youtube).

A recent study at Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Plymouth University, found that a component of marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol or THC had a mixed effect on patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients reported up to a 50 percent reduction in pain and an improvement in range of motion.  At the University of Haifa, investigators working with animals have suggested cannabinoids may be helpful in treating patients who have post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that has become of increasing concern as many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with the disorder.

Bedrocan is the world’s most experienced producer of legal medicinal cannabis. We are currently the only company in the world producing standardized medicinal cannabis flos (the whole, dried flower) with a constant composition of cannabinoids and terpenes. Because of its pharmaceutical quality, the variety of products we offer, and the possibility to export these products, many governments, scientists and pharmaceutical companies have chosen to work with Bedrocan.

Cancer Cure - Cannabis & Cannabinoids (youtube)

A Doctor's case for Medical Marijuana: David Casarett (video and interactive text)

Mitogenic is a chemical substance that encourages a cell to commence cell division, triggering mitosis. A mitogen is usually some form of a protein. Mitogenesis is the induction (triggering) of mitosis, typically via a mitogen. Mitogens trigger signal transduction pathways in which mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is involved, leading to mitosis.

Apoptosis - Cytostasis

Angiogenesis Inhibitor is a substance that inhibits the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). Some angiogenesis inhibitors are endogenous and a normal part of the body's control and others are obtained exogenously through pharmaceutical drugs or diet. Cancer.

Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels. In precise usage this is distinct from vasculogenesis, which is the de novo formation of endothelial cells from mesoderm cell precursors, and from neovascularization, although discussions are not always precise (especially in older texts). The first vessels in the developing embryo form through vasculogenesis, after which angiogenesis is responsible for most, if not all, blood vessel growth during development and in disease.

Antiproliferative relates to a substance used to prevent or retard the spread of cells, especially malignant cells, into surrounding tissues.

Run From the Cure - The Rick Simpson Story (youtube)

Low Doses of THC (cannabis) can halt Brain Damage, study suggests.

May also reduce brain damage after a stroke.

Cannabis Reverses Ageing Processes in the Brain.

Endocannabinoid System is a group of endogenous cannabinoid receptors located in the mammalian brain and throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems, consisting of neuromodulatory lipids and their receptors. Known as "the body’s own cannabinoid system", the ECS is involved in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, and memory, and in mediating the psychoactive effects of cannabis. The ECS is also involved in voluntary exercise and may be related to the evolution of the runner's high in human beings and related aspects of motivation or reward for locomotor activity in other animals.

Cannabidiol or CBD is one of at least 113 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis. It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40% of the plant's extract. CBD modulates the transcription of over 1,000 genes that reduce inflammation.

Cannabinoid is one of a class of diverse chemical compounds that acts on cannabinoid receptors in cells that alter neurotransmitter release in the brain. Ligands for these receptor proteins include the endocannabinoids (produced naturally in the body by animals), the phytocannabinoids (found in cannabis and some other plants), and synthetic cannabinoids (manufactured artificially). The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. Cannabidiol or CBD is another major constituent of the plant. There are at least 113 different cannabinoids isolated from cannabis, exhibiting varied effects.

Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events proliferation, growth, and differentiation, and the psychological or behavioral activities of metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sleep, digestion, respiration, excretion, mood, stress, lactation, movement, reproduction, and sensory perception caused by hormones. Specializations include behavioral endocrinology and comparative endocrinology. The endocrine system consists of several glands, all in different parts of the body, that secrete hormones directly into the blood rather than into a duct system. Therefore, endocrine glands are regarded as ductless glands. Hormones have many different functions and modes of action; one hormone may have several effects on different target organs, and, conversely, one target organ may be affected by more than one hormone. Thyroid disease is a general term for a medical condition that keeps your thyroid from making the right amount of hormones. Your thyroid typically makes hormones that keep your body functioning normally. When the thyroid makes too much thyroid hormone, your body uses energy too quickly. This is called hyperthyroidism. Body and Mind Connections.

Cannabidiol - CBD

Scientific Research and Real Facts about the Cannabinoids in Cannabis (youtube)

Cannabinoid Pharmacology: the first 66 years.

CBG is more effective than CBD for treating migraines and easing muscle soreness. CBD may be better suited for reducing inflammation because it has less psychoactivity than CBG.

CBN interact with the same receptors in your body, they produce different effects

Cannabinoids as Therapeutic Agents.

International Cannabinoid Research Society.

Raphael Mechoulam is an Israeli organic chemist and professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Mechoulam is best known for his work (together with Y. Gaoni, C. Trips, and S. Benezra) in the isolation, structure elucidation and total synthesis of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active principle of cannabis and for the isolation and the identification of the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide from the brain and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) from peripheral organs together with his students, postdocs and collaborators. Raphael was President, International Cannabinoid Research Society from 1999-2000.

The Scientist (youtube - 1:02:15)

Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is the principal psychoactive constituent or cannabinoid of cannabis. It can be a clear, amber or gold colored glassy solid when cold, which becomes viscous and sticky if warmed. Like most pharmacologically-active secondary metabolites of plants, THC in Cannabis is assumed to be involved in self-defense, perhaps against herbivores. THC also possesses high UV-B (280–315 nm) absorption properties, which, it has been speculated, could protect the plant from harmful UV radiation exposure. THC, along with its double bond isomers and their stereoisomers, is one of only three cannabinoids scheduled by the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances (the other two are dimethylheptylpyran and parahexyl). It was listed under Schedule I in 1971, but reclassified to Schedule II in 1991 following a recommendation from the WHO. Based on subsequent studies, the WHO has recommended the reclassification to the less-stringent Schedule III. Cannabis as a plant is scheduled by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (Schedule I and IV). It is specifically still listed under Schedule I by US federal law under the Controlled Substances Act signed by the US Congress in 1970. A pharmaceutical formulation is available by prescription in the U.S. and Canada under the brand name Marinol.

Delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol is a psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis plant. It is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC, Δ9-THC), the compound commonly known as THC. ∆8-THC is under preliminary research for its biological properties. Delta-8 THC has a lower affinity for the CB1 receptor of the endocannabinoid system in our brains. Delta 9 is considerably more potent than Delta 8. Some believe it to be about twice as strong overall. Side effects are also more considerable with Delta 9. These can include paranoid delusions, mental fog, impaired motor skills, and increased feelings of anxiety.

Anandamide is a fatty acid neurotransmitter derived from the non-oxidative metabolism of eicosatetraenoic acid (arachidonic acid) an essential ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid.

More Benefits - Chemistry - Happiness

Cannabigerol is one of more than 120 identified cannabinoid compounds found in the plant genus Cannabis. Cannabigerol is the non-acidic form of cannabigerolic acid, the parent molecule from which other cannabinoids are synthesized. Cannabigerol is a minor constituent of cannabis. During growth, most of the cannabigerol is converted into other cannabinoids, primarily tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabidiol, usually leaving somewhere below 1% cannabigerol in the plant. As of 2017, cannabigerol was under laboratory research to determine its pharmacological properties. In vitro studies indicate it has high affinity as a α2-adrenergic receptor agonist, moderate affinity as a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, and low affinity as a CB1 receptor antagonist. Other in vitro research shows it has low-affinity binding at CB2 receptors.

Doctors warn that marijuana use during pregnancy may have harmful effects on the development of a fetus, in part because the cannabinoid receptors activated by the drug are known be critical for enabling a developing brain to wire up properly. Cannabinoid receptors help the brain’s dopamine system establish key connections after birth, a new mouse study suggests. Cannabinoid receptor 1, the cell-surface receptor that mediates the psychoactive effects of marijuana, is essential for normal development of the dopamine system. The finding raises concern that marijuana use by nursing moms, who pass the CB1R-activating compound THC to their infants when they breastfeed, might interfere with brain development by disrupting cannabinoid signaling. Dopamine exerts a powerful influence over our motivations and behavior, and changes to the dopamine system contribute to disorders from Parkinson’s disease to addiction. Thus, the researchers say, it is vital to understand whether postnatal drug exposure might put developing dopamine circuits at risk. Cannabinoid receptors in the brain are important mediators of mood, memory, and pain. While investigating the receptor’s distribution in the brain, they discovered that in the adult mice, CB1R is abundant within small compartments within the striatum called striosomes. The receptor was particularly concentrated within the neurons that connect striosomes to a dopamine-rich area of the brain called the substantia nigra, via structures that Graybiel’s team has dubbed striosome-dendron bouquets. Striosomal neurons form these bouquets by reaching into the substantia nigra, whose cells use dopamine to influence movement, motivation, learning, and habit formation. Clusters of dopamine-producing neurons form dendrites there that intertwine tightly with incoming axons from the striosomal neurons. The resulting structures, whose intimately associated cells resemble the bundled stems of a floral bouquet, establish so many connections that they give striosomal neurons potent control over dopamine signaling. By tracking the bouquets’ emergence in newborn mice, Graybiel’s team found that they form in the first week after birth, a period during which striosomal neurons are ramping up production of CB1R. Mice genetically engineered to lack CB1R, however, can’t make these elaborate but orderly bouquets. Without the receptor, fibers from striosomes extend into the substantia nigra, but fail to form the tightly intertwined “bouquet stems” that facilitate extensive connections with their targets. This disorganized structure is apparent as soon as bouquets arise in the brains of young pups and persists into adulthood. This suggests that those very strong controllers over the dopamine system function abnormally when you interfere with cannabinoid signaling
Now that they have shown that CB1R is needed for postnatal brain development, it will be important to determine the consequences of disrupting cannabinoid signaling during this critical period — including whether passing THC to a nursing baby impacts the brain’s dopamine system.

There is a difference between CBD Oil or Cannabidiol and Hemp Seed Oil. Hemp seed oil is extracted from the seeds of the hemp plant typically using a cold-press process. This type of oil can actually be extracted from all plants in the cannabis genus, but only industrial hemp is used in production. Industrial hemp is used primarily because they have been specifically bred for seed and stalk. Common usages of hemp seed oil include: Substitute for olive oil and other cooking oils in various recipes and in salad dressings. Natural moisturizer to use on your skin after a shower. Base for various forms of plastic as an alternative to petroleum. Bio-diesel fuel source (similar to other vegetable oils). Production of eco-friendly paints. Lotions, soaps and other skin products. CBD oil is an oil rich in phytocannabinoids that has a high content of cannabidiol (CBD), a natural component of hemp and other cannabis plants. Rather than being made from the seeds of the plant, it is made from the flowers, stalks and leaves. CBD has become an extremely popular product in the health and nutritional products industries, as well as in the medical marijuana industry, as it can be helpful in treating certain conditions without having to worry about the psychoactive or intoxicating effects associated with using marijuana. The types of conditions that can be treated with CBD oil are many and varied. For example, the product has been shown to help in the treatment of epilepsy, various inflammatory disorders, depression, cancer, neurological disorders, seizures and much more. So the primary difference is the amount of CBD that each contains. Hemp seed oil, although rich in omega acids, contains very low levels of CBD (typically less than 25 parts per million or none at all), while CBD oil can range anywhere from 2% to 99.9% CBD depending on product, purity and source.

Know the difference between hash oil and hempseed oil.

Hemp Oil
How To Make Cannabis Oil (youtube)
How to make Medical Marijuana Oil

Brain Resin - Shroomery
Marijuana Tea - Phoenix Tears

Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone also known as corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) or corticoliberin is a peptide hormone involved in the stress response. It is a releasing hormone that belongs to corticotropin-releasing factor family. In humans, it is encoded by the CRH gene. Its main function is the stimulation of the pituitary synthesis of ACTH, as part of the HPA Axis.

Dosage - Micro-Dose - Small Amounts - Big Effects

Microdosing or microdispensing refers to precise dispensing of small amounts of a drug substance for therapeutic effects.  Microdose is around 10% of a normal dose, which depends on your tolerance, your past experiences, your diet, an empty stomach, or any other combination of influences that could have an effect on your particular reaction. Small doses of a particular substance may help improve your mood, increase creativity, increase your awareness and widen your perspective. It could also help increase motivation, reduce cravings, and make it easier to meditate or to relax, and it may also mask or counter balance other effects that are happening in the body, or, it may increase anxiety or not give you the desired effects you were searching for, because everyone can react a little differently. So you need to do your own research, and don't expect any miracles. Try once and then try again a couple of days later. The right amounts at the right times can have benefits, but wrong amounts at the wrong times can do more harm than good, just like learning the wrong things at the wrong times can do more harm than good. So it's not just about moderation, it's also about the implementation. Seek guidance if needed. And don't forget to micro-dose knowledge everyday. Microdosing is also a technique for studying the behavior of drugs in humans through the administration of doses so low they are unlikely to produce whole-body effects, but high enough to allow the cellular response to be studied. This allows the observation of a drug's pharmacokinetics with a low risk of side effects. This is called a "Phase 0 study" and is usually conducted before clinical Phase I to predict whether a drug is viable for the next phase of testing. Human Microdosing aims to reduce the resources spent on non-viable drugs and the amount of testing done on animals. Sub-therapeutic is a dose or concentration of a drug lower than that usually prescribed to treat a disease effectively.

Side Effects - Over Eating (big amounts, big effects) - Food Chemistry - Vitamins

This is why medicine has a recommended dosage, because being able to measure is extremely important.

Drug Interactions - Drugs Buildup in the Body - Over Dose - Withdrawal

Abate is to make something less active or intense and become less in amount.

Adverse effects of cannabis disrupting the formation of neuronal circuits in the cerebral cortex?

Remember, there are different potencies and types of cannabis, some types have high THC and others with low THC and higher amounts of cannabidiol or cannabinol. You should know the differences between cannabis indica, hemp and cannabis sativa. You don't need to get high, you can just take it for medicinal purposes. So you have to be very aware of how much you actually need based on your current health and your current drug tolerance. If you are under the age of 18 years you should not take Marijuana unless medically needed. Not that occasional use of small amounts can cause damage, but repeated use of large amounts of high potency weed can have adverse effects on the teenage brain because the Prefrontal Cortex, which controls focus, planning, and efficient action, takes almost 20 years to mature. Be Wise, White Matter Matters and The Brain Matters. More Research.

Decision making - Awareness - Information Literacy - Mental Health - Know Thyself - Nutrition

Shiva is believed to have used marijuana, both to relax and to focus better for meditation.
Weed Cookbook - Medical Marijuana Recipes and Cannabis Cooking Tips (amazon)

Marijuana and Alzheimer's

Non-psychoactive cannabis ingredient could help addicts stay clean. Preclinical study using rats shows that Cannabidiol can reduce the risk of relapse. So the cannabis sativa plant can reduce the risk of relapse among recovering drug and alcohol addicts.

Cannabis is more of an Exit Drug for Major Addictions then it is a Gateway drug to more dangerous drug abuse. Patients can curb their use of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and sleep aids after initiating cannabis use.

Having several versions of the same drug has many benefits. One being that doing different versions of the same drug can train a person not to need the drug at all. So ask yourself "What is getting high?" Once you define what getting high really means you'll find that getting high has many versions. But why keep doing the same version over and over again? Is the experience that much different each time? Is the high enhancing your abilities? Or is it lowering your potential and making you're awareness cloudy and vulnerable? Is the high delaying you from finding answers? Or is it helping you find answers? What if you could do the drug just for the medicinal qualities? Only when needed.

Scans found that daily users of High-Potency Skunk Cannabis had a 2% greater mean diffusivity in the corpus callosum. This means that the white matter becomes less efficient in transferring information. So don't over do it. Drug Scope.

If eating Hemp seeds improves your memory then maybe you can cross breed Hemp with Cannabis to make a special Kind. But besides that, there are numerous combinations of different types of Cannabis that can eventually be grown custom just for you, and for what ever the physical or mental need you may have. So it doesn't have to be about getting high. Brain Food.

Cannabis species and cannabinoid concentration preference among sleep-disturbed medicinal cannabis users.

Individuals using cannabis to manage nightmares preferred sativa to indica. Sativa users were less likely than indica users to endorse cannabis dependence. Insomnia and greater sleep latency are associated with using higher CBD cannabis. Weekly hypnotic medication use is associated with using cannabis with lower THC.

Seeing things differently and feeling things differently is a form a learning. But there are many ways to learn, so don't limit yourself. Like all things, you have to do the right amount based on the quality of the product and your know response to it, meaning you have to experience something several times and have calculated the correct amounts. When I smoke weed life becomes fascinating. You become aware of things that you are normally not aware of, your mind wakes up to expose thousands of other possibilities. In mathematical terms, normal brains have a well-ordered correlation state. There’s not much cross-linking between networks. That changes after you get high. Suddenly the networks are cross-linking like crazy, but not in random ways. New types of order emerge. But you can't do a drug all the time or do to much. In order to enjoy life you have to have balance. I wonder how can I repeat these feelings without doing the drug? How can I have the best of both worlds? Before you get high, examine your state of mind and take a close look at the things that you're thinking about. Then when you do get high, ask these questions. What are you thinking about now? And what are the differences from what you were thinking before? Not just the thoughts change, but also the emotions and feelings change. So how much do your emotions effect your thinking? Can you think with out any emotion? Try being emotionless and see how it effects your thoughts. Do it in the morning hours and evening hours, because there's a difference. Start working on something before you get high, and then write about the differences between being high and not being high. Are you more distracted? Do you have trouble focusing? Do you spend more time repeating the same action?  Weed does not stop you from learning, but it can slow down learning, which might not be so bad for people who have attention disorders, but that depends of the type and the amount of weed that would work the best.

Recreational Marijuana is an ignorant phrase. I'm just doing it for fun because I'm an idiot with no purpose or reasoning.

A Story about one Persons Experience with Drug use over 40 years.

The main problem with Self Medicating is that there may be no second opinion, no oversight and no accurate observation that is free from bias, which could lead to waste, abuse, unneeded suffering, a lack of control, and possibly death. PDF.

I would never say that weed is harmless. Example, weed increases your appetite, so if you have a problem with overeating, or have a problem with eating too much junk food, then weed will make your food addiction a lot harder to control. So the bad eating habits will do the damage, and not the weed, but the weed is part of the problem. There's nothing in this world that is totally free of risk. There's always this one scenario where cause and effect will be more negative then positive. So again, this is something that we can easily teach and educate people about.

Chasing the High is when you try to experience the same feelings that you had previously felt, and you want to feel good and euphoric like you did before. Sometimes consuming more drugs than you need or doing more drugs than your body and mind can handle. Taking more unnecessary risks just to feel good or to feel alive is not a good plan. Be a scientist and be a researcher, just don't be a fool. You don't need to burn in order to learn, or to enjoy yourself.

Heroin Overdose Deaths in U.S. Have Tripled Since 2010. More than 8,200 Americans—an average of 23 people each day—died of heroin overdoses in 2013. The RAND Corp. in 2010 estimated that America’s heroin market was worth $27 billion. That's more than what is spent in the U.S. at hardware stores ($22 billion) or specialty food retailers ($21 billion), according to Census Bureau data. 2016 Heroin epidemic that kills two hundred people a week.

The Anointed One

Anoint is to administer an oil or ointment to someone.

Ointment is a semisolid preparation containing a medicine that is applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation.

Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or other fat. Scented oils are used as perfumes and sharing them is an act of hospitality. Their use to introduce a divine influence or presence is recorded from the earliest times; anointing was thus used as a form of medicine, thought to rid persons and things of dangerous spirits and demons which were believed to cause disease.

Essential Oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (defined as "the tendency of a substance to vaporize") aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetherolea, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it contains the "essence of" the plant's fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. The term essential used here does not mean indispensable as with the terms essential amino acid or essential fatty acid which are so called since they are nutritionally required by a given living organism. In contrast to fatty oils, essential oils evaporate completely without leaving a stain (residue) when dabbed onto filter paper. Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam. Other processes include expression, solvent extraction, absolute oil extraction, resin tapping, and cold pressing. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps and other products, for flavoring food and drink, and for adding scents to incense and household cleaning products.

CBD Oil (Cannabidiol) and Hemp Seed Oil - Psychoactive Plants

Fragrance Oil are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils that are diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil. To allergic or otherwise sensitive people, synthetic fragrance oils are often less desirable than plant-derived essential oils as components of perfume. Aromatic oils are used in perfumery, cosmetics, flavoring of food. Some include (out of a very diverse range): Ylang ylang, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Cedar wood, Mandarin orange, Cinnamon, Lemongrass, Rosehip, Peppermint. Fragrance Oil is also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, and flavor oils.

How safe is medical marijuana? You should definitely know who's growing your weed, just like you should know where your food comes from, and who your farmer is. I don't trust corporations, especially when someone says that they tested Medical Marijuana in Ct. and discovered that the weed is being sprayed with pharmaceutical drugs. Need to verify.

TOP Golden Buzzer America's Got Talent (youtube) - The Bong Hit that changed the world.

"What's that Smell? That's the smell of someone's consciousness being altered"

Legalization

Uruguay Legalizes Marijuana:  A country of 3.3 million (Finally a Country with Brains) - 12/12/2013. - Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are Uruguayan residents over the age of 18 and registered on a government database that will monitor their monthly purchases. When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or as much as 480 grams (about 17 ounces), and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year. Registered drug users should be able to start buying marijuana over the counter from licensed pharmacies in April. The legislation is expected to fuel momentum for wider legalization of marijuana elsewhere, including the United States and in Europe. Decriminalization of all drug possession by Portugal in 2001 is held up as a success for reducing drug violence while not increasing drug use. 

Growing Your Own

Legalizing will free up money, time and resources to help educate people instead of incarcerating people. Legalizing will also keep drug money out of the criminals hands who use money to undermine society instead of helping society, the same thing that most politicians do. Plus you can't allow legal drugs that are known to kill and ruin lives while making other drugs illegal that might offer a better alternative. Of course no drugs will always be the best choice but if you have to make a choice let it be without corrupt, biased and ignorant interference. Legalizing marijuana will not be popular, but at the least, Legalizing marijuana will not be corrupt, biased, ignorant, unfair or unjust. If you are against the legalization of marijuana your are either a liar, corrupt or completely ignorant. Why is our Government acting like Gestapo? Fear and Greed are not reasons to act like Criminals, just because you believe you have the right. Your prejudice and discrimination makes you look really insane. Maybe you need to smoke some weed because what ever medication you're on, it's not working. So please see another Doctor, one who isn't corrupt like you, good luck.

Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Prescription Medication Use.

Marijuana Could Replace These 5 Prescription Drugs Vicodin (painkillers) - Xanax (anti-anxiety medication) - Adderall (stimulants) - Ambien (sleep aids) - Zoloft (antidepressants).

Substituting cannabis for prescription drugs, alcohol and other substances among medical cannabis patients: The impact of contextual factors

More than 300 economists, including three nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling attention to the findings of a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually by not having to enforce the current prohibition on the drug. The report added that legalization would save an additional $6 billion per year if the government taxed marijuana at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco. That's as much as $13.7 billion per year. Eatson guesses that legalizing the drug could bring in $45 to $100 billion per year. This of course does not include growing Hemp, which could ultimately save America over a trillion dollars.

Drug Trials and Research - Prescription Drugs Warnings

Colorado recently awarded grants, using marijuana tax revenue, to help school districts hire nurses, psychologists, counselors and social workers — but they did not use any of the money to improve education, what a bunch of morons. Hey, if you improve education then you won't need so many nurses, psychologists, counselors and social workers. That's because people will be intelligent enough to solve their own problems. You weren't supposed to use weed profits on stupidity, that defeats the whole purpose of not wasting money on a stupid drug war. We need to make stupidity illegal. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Supreme Court has been compromised, They can no longer justify the process or explain their lack of Reasoning. A law without Science is not a law, it is only a Menace to the State. What ignorant moron would give more power to a corporation then a human being? Criminals in robes, that's who.

Bad Judges - Injustice - Due Process

Government Crimes - Move to Amend

Another reason why improving education is so extremely important is drugs. Pot is great if used correctly, but people to often abuse drugs, making them more harmful instead of helpful. If you were to analyze pot for it's chemical compounds and the quantity of those chemicals, and then do a full physical examination on your body, you can then find the perfect weed for your particular body needs as well as the perfect amount to consume. And you don't have to smoke it, for there are many other healthier ways to consume pot. That would also apply for cocaine and heroine. The only problem with these drugs is that people abuse them and consume way to much, just like some people do with food, and Over Eating of bad foods kills more people then all drugs combined, and you don't see laws making food illegal.

Cannabis use can be prevented, reduced or delayed.

Medicinal Genomics - Cannabis Genomics

The Cannabis Evolution Project - The Research

Cannabis Foods (wiki)
Bakked
High-Times Cannabis Cookbook (amazon)
Dixie Elixirs
Elixir (wiki)
Canna Honey

Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality Cannabinoids. Synthetic biologists have created an enzymatic network in yeast that turns sugar into cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, but also novel cannabinoids not found in the marijuana plant itself. The yeast factories would be more environmentally friendly and less energy intensive than growing the plant and separating out the psychoactive and non-psychoactive ingredients. They may also yield cannabinoid derivatives with unexpected medical uses. To produce cannabinoids in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), UC Berkeley synthetic biologists first engineered yeast's native mevalonate pathway to provide a high flux of geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) and introduced a hexanoyl-CoA biosynthetic pathway combining genes from five different bacteria. They then introduced Cannabis genes encoding the enzymes involved in olivetolic acid (OA) biosynthesis, a previously undiscovered prenyl transferase enzyme (CsPT4) and cannabinoid synthases. The synthases converted cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) to the cannabinoid acids THCA and CBDA, which, upon exposure to heat, decarboxylate to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), respectively.

"Being competent in one area of knowledge does not make you intelligent"

Then there's the Gateway Drug Theory. If there is such a thing as a Gateway Drug it's probably Sucrose, or just a bad education.

Weed Information Resources

Norml
Drug Science
Just Say Now
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Farming
Cannabis Foods
Marijuana Beer
Activism
Global Marijuana March
Types of Weed
Marijuana Strains
Weed Maps
Synthetic Cannabis

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is characterized by recurrent nausea, vomiting and crampy abdominal pain. These symptoms have been reported to be improved temporarily by taking a hot shower or bath or more fully by stopping the use of cannabis.

Videos about Marijuana

WHEN WE GROW...This is what we can do (video)
The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007 Movie) (youtube) - Buy (amazon)
Ethan Nadelmann: Why we need to End the War on Drugs (ted talks)
High: The True Tale of American Marijuana (2008 Movie) (hulu) - Buy (amazon)
Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis (youtube)
Hempsters: Plant the Seed (Hulu) - Website
Hemp Revolution (1995 Movie) (youtube) Buy(amazon)
National Geographic- Effects of Marijuana (youtube)
Family Feud "Name something that gets passed around" (youtube)
Anonymous #Op Cannabis April 20th - 420
Kings of Cannabis (youtube)
The House I Live In
Breaking The Taboo (youtube)
Canada's War on Weed - Vice
Parody Prescription Marijuana Commercial - Weedino (youtube)

Growing Pot

Marijuana Seeds - Green House Seeds - Seed Finder - Seed Knowledge

Indoor Growing Kits - Enviro Grow modular grow system fabricator - Outdoor Growing Tips

High Times Presents Jorge Cervantes: Grow Film (youtube) everything you need to know to grow your own

Flushing - The grower would give the plant just plain ph-adjusted water for days or weeks before harvest time. This lets the plant use up the nutrients in the soil/coco, and then - theoretically - start leaching extra nutrients from the buds. They consume the nutrients they have stores in their leaves.....this process also contributes to the flavor and smoothness of the final product. Forum Grass City The plant that hadn't been flushed burn poorly and crackled, formed a black ash, and tasted like absolute sh*t, a definite chemical taste. I can't even smoke the stuff and I've saves it for making some hash oil. The plant flushed for a week was better, but did not compare to the plants flushed for 2 weeks. These plants burned smoothly to a fine white ash, and tasted absolutely amazing. Flushing is free and easy technique that may improve the quality and smoothness of your cannabis buds before harvest. Sounds good, right? Of course it does! But growers must also be careful with flushing before harvest because if you do it too early you can actually hurt your quality (and reduce your yields)! The process of flushing involves giving your plants just plain water with no nutrients for a period of time before harvest. For growers who normally give water to their plants with nutrients in it, you would water your plants as normal with the same type of water you normally use, but you don't add any nutrients. Depending on the setup, growers usually flush their plants this way for a few days up to about 2 weeks. Note: You still need to pH the water during the flush, because too high or too low pH can cause your plant to absorb extra aluminum and salt out of the water! (flowering time, feeding schedule).

Cannabis Cup - Cannabis Festival. Founded in 1987 (wiki)

Legal Buds

Briteside Cannabis Delivery. Discover the Best Cannabis at brtside.com (youtube)

Gifting provisions allow for the exchange of small amounts of marijuana, so long as it's given away or "gifted" from one adult to another. (Craigslist ad offering plastic sandwich bags costing up to $325 apiece, but the marijuana inside the bag was free).

SC Laboratories - Cannabis Training Institute

How to know when a pot plant is Male or Female? Let the plants grow for roughly six weeks before sexing them. You can purchase "feminized" seeds as well, which usually create close to 100% female plants. Female cannabis pre-flowers grow as tiny bracts with hair-like stigma peeking out. Male plants produce small, round balls at the nodes. Cannabis plants show their sex by what grows in between their nodes (where leaves and branches extend from the stalk). What starts as a pollen sac on a male plant or a stigma on a female will become what either spreads or catches pollen, respectively. Luckily, we can see these differences weeks before they actually start serving their purposes in the reproduction cycle. These are known as “pre-flowers.” Pre-flowers begin to develop four weeks into growth, but they may take a little longer depending on how quickly the sprouting phase occurred. By the sixth week, you should be able to find the pre-flowers and confidently determine the sex of your plant. Pre-flowers can initially be extremely small and hard to identify with the naked eye, but you can use a small jeweler’s magnifying glass to get a better look. Examine the nodes of the plant and look for either the early growth of small sacs (male) or two bracts (female), which will eventually produce the hair-like stigma. Though there are other methods to determine what sex the plant is, examining pre-flower formation is the most reliable. Removing males early on is important for two reasons: it frees up space in your garden so females grow bigger and stronger, and it prevents males from pollinating female. When a female plant develops both male and female sex organs, it is considered hermaphrodite. This means your cannabis plant is now capable of producing pollen that can pollinate your entire garden. “Herming out,” as some call it, is something that generally happens when a plant becomes excessively stressed.

Strains

Leafly - Marijuana Strain Reviews. - Wiki Leaf - Marijuana Strain Reviews.

There are currently over 1,420 Cannabis Strains. Image of some of the Strains (photo)

Blueberry Haze: A hybrid cross of Blueberry and Haze, provides a sweet smoke and pleasant high. Pace yourself with this one, overdoing it can send you to dreamland. CascadeHigh's Blueberry Haze offers a floral arrangement of terpenes while delivering soothing and relaxing effects. Crossing Blueberry and Haze, this strain's killer genetics give Blueberry Haze a dreamy floral smell and blueberry flavors. On the first hit, relaxation flows through the body and all bad moods effortlessly melt away. Happy 100% | Uplifted 70% | Relax 60% | Euphoric 60% | Creative 50%. Relieves Depression and Pain, Low Paranoia, Side Effect: Dry Mouth.

Sour Kush: This cross between Sour Diesel and OG Kush from DNA Genetics is a winning combination. For those looking for daytime pain relief, Sour Kush might be one of the best choices out there. Providing consumers with an uplifting experience without overwhelming sedative effects, this hybrid is great for day-to-day consumption. Sour Kush is slightly sativa-dominant, igniting a giggly and euphoric feeling. The indica effects, however, present themselves a few minutes after consumption. This strain is extremely pungent, so it’s best stored in tightly sealed containers. Relax 100% | Uplifted 80% | Happy 60% | Energetic and Focus 50%. Relieves Depression. Side Effect: Dry Mouth.

Sunset Sherbet: An indica-leaning hybrid with intoxicatingly potent effects. Sunset Sherbet exhibits powerful full-body effects elevated by a jolt of cerebral energy. A complex aroma colors Sunset Sherbet with notes of skunky citrus, sweet berry, and that candy-like smell redolent of its Girl Scout Cookies parent. Stress, tension, and sour moods melt away with the carefree mindset and physical relaxation that comes with this rich hybrid. Sunset Sherbet inherits the genetic lineage of its Girl Scout Cookies parent, whose ancestors include the famed OG Kush, Cherry Pie, and Durban Poison. Crossed with an indica known as Pink Panties, Heir to the Girl Scout Cookies throne is Sunset Sherbet (or Sunset Sherbert). Relax 100% | Happy 65% | Euphoric 60% | Uplifted 50% | Creative 40%. Relieves Stress.

Blue Dream is a sativa-dominant hybrid that balances full-body relaxation with gentle cerebral invigoration that eases you gently into a calm euphoria. Happy 100% | Relaxed 95% | Euphoric 75% | Uplifted 70% | Creative 50% | Stress 100% | Depression 80% | Pain 70% | Headaches 40% | Fatigue 35% | Dry mouth.

Lavender Jones also called Purple Jones, is a hybrid strain that expresses itself in vibrant hues of purple and green. Its Purple Urkle parent passes on more than just its colorful display and dense bud structure; deep relaxation typical of indica varieties comes through, coupled with dreamy cerebral euphoria inherited from its hybrid parent, Casey Jones. Relaxed 100% | Happy 60% | Euphoric 40% | Creative 40% | Uplifted 40% | Stress 100% | Depression 90% | Pain 50% | Insomnia 35% | Lack of Appetite 25% | Dry mouth 100% | Dry eyes 70% | Anxious 25% | Paranoid 15% | Dizzy 10%.

Marijuana Breeding Pioneers - Weed's Favorite Strains

The top five strains average prices 4/1/2014: Diesel ($281), Kush ($296), Purps ($277), Jack Herer ($360), Haze ($347).

Sativa - Indica

Know what type of weed is good for you? There's a type of weed for everyone. You could easily engineer a weed that is made perfectly for you and personalized for your mind and your body. Your needs are your responsibility, so you have to do your research. Individual plants produce varying effects, even among the same type of cannabis. It all depends on the plant's chemical composition and the growing technique used.

Indica vs. Sativa Medical Marijuana Strain Differences

Cannabis 101: What's the difference between Indica, Sativa & Hybrid? (youtube)  Leafly.

Indica strains possess a higher CBD-to-THC ratio, which adds to their sedative effects. Indica tends to have higher amounts of the terpene myrcene, which is thought to contribute to sedation and the more intense “couch-lock” effect. Indica is more relaxing and calming. Indicas are often the best for pain and inflammation and, thus, are beneficial for patients with arthritis, fibromyalgia, and cancer. Indica is good for Insomnia and pain relief. The plant is shorter and bushier, born in the mountains and has high resin production and a shorter flowering time. Indica plants also grows faster.

Sativa strains are well-known for their stimulating and uplifting properties. Sativa strains have a greater THC-to-CBD ratio, which adds to their stimulating properties. Sativa has higher amounts of sweet and herbal terpenes, like farnesene and bergamotene. The often-applied rule of thumb is that sativa is more invigorating and energizing, while. Sativa strains are more suitable for daytime use, as they don't have the instant sleepy-time effects that Indica strains do. Sativa strains cause a boost of serotonin, a neurotransmitter which is involved in our brain's regulation of sleep, appetite, anxiety, movement, learning, and overall mood.
Sativas tend to be less potent, with lower THC levels. Sativa strains tend to be better for psychological disorders like depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Sativa's initial stimulating effects are more pronounced than Indica's. Because of this, you may find that the elevation in blood pressure that you experience afterward is difficult to tolerate. It could also prove dangerous if you're in the earlier phases of your condition. Sativa is good for depression and fatigue. The plants are taller, prefer equatorial climates and a longer time to grow.

Analyzer Sensors (measuring compounds)

Hybrid Marijuana is the combination of Indica vs. Sativa strains

Know the Grower - Growing Green should be Green Clean Green Certified and Organic

Cannabis Safety Institute - illicit Marijuana Cultivation Cost

Green Rushers - Farmers should get their strains genetically sequenced and put their strain data in the public domain. This will help monopoly criminals like Monsanto from controlling the quality and the availability of Marijuana.

Live Resin is a type of cannabis concentrate that is manufactured using a technique that takes freshly harvested cannabis and freezes it to subcritical temperatures prior to and throughout the extraction process. Where these methods differ from other extraction processes is in the amount of time harvested cannabis plants are allowed to dry and cure before the extraction. The drying and curing process that a cannabis plant typically undergoes can have a devastating impact on terpenes, the flavorful factory molecules present within the trichomes that line virtually every corner of a mature cannabis flower and its surrounding foliage. With cured concentrates, the cannabis plant is allowed a certain amount of time to wick itself of moisture and chlorophyll before the extraction occurs. During this time, trichomes are subjected to conditions not conducive to terpene preservation. Interactions such as increased exposure to heat, oxygen, physical agitation, and light all play a role in degrading terpenes. However with live resin, the plant is flash frozen immediately following harvest and kept at freezing temperatures throughout the extraction process.. By doing this, the cannabis plant retains its valuable terpene profile, thus retaining the plant’s original flavor and fragrance that can then be carried over into the final product. The distinguishing factor that separates live resins from other concentrate products is the elevated terpene content that these extracts tend to contain. Live resins, on average, carry a more robust terpene concentration than traditional cured BHO extracts. In addition to producing a more pungent aroma, higher and more complex terpene profiles can also deliver an elevated psychoactive experience because terpenes can interact with cannabinoids such as THC and CBD. Both of these factors have influenced why live resins have risen to the top of cannabis concentrate market. Fans of cannabis extracts tend to place a high value on flavor and aroma as well as effect. Typically, concentrates bearing the name “live resin” sell for higher premium in the recreational market as a result of this.A live resin doesn’t necessarily contains a higher concentration of cannabinoids or terpenes than an extract made using a cured flower. Due to the plethora of strain types and extraction techniques used to make live resins, a spectrum of varieties exists today. Products that are labeled as live resins can often differ in viscosity, ranging anywhere between saps to sugars, jellies, butters, and even more solid shatters. While terpene concentration can play an effect on viscosity, oftentimes products are mechanically altered post-extraction, such as when viscous saps are “whipped” into butters. There are over 100 identifiable terpenes found in cannabis plants, all ranging in molecular weight and structure. Many live resins only contain blowouts of certain lighter monoterpenes such as as pinene and myrcene compared to their flower counterpart.

Terpene are a large and diverse class of organic compounds, produced by a variety of plants, particularly conifers, and by some insects. They often have a strong odor and may protect the plants that produce them by deterring herbivores and by attracting predators and parasites of herbivores. Although sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes", terpenoids (or isoprenoids) are modified terpenes as they contain additional functional groups, usually oxygen-containing. Terpenes are hydrocarbons. Terpenes are the major components of rosin and of turpentine produced from resin. The name "terpene" is derived from the word "terpentine", an obsolete spelling of the word "turpentine". Terpenes are also major biosynthetic building blocks. Steroids, for example, are derivatives of the triterpene squalene. Terpenes and terpenoids are the primary constituents of the essential oils of many types of plants and flowers. Essential oils are used widely as fragrances in perfumery and traditional medicine, such as aromatherapy. Synthetic variations and derivatives of natural terpenes and terpenoids also greatly expand the variety of aromas used in perfumery and flavors used in food additives. Vitamin A is a terpenoid.

Cannabis Concentrate is a highly potent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or Cannabidiol (CBD) concentrated mass. Marijuana concentrates contain extraordinarily high THC levels that could once range from 40 to 80%, up to four times stronger in THC content than high grade or top shelf marijuana, which normally measures around 20% THC levels. By 2017, distilled concentrate was reportedly available at 99.58% THC content. Volatile solvents such as ethanol, butane, propane and hexane are often used to prepare extracts, leading to fire and explosion hazards in uncontrolled environments. Super-critical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide alleviates concerns of fire and explosion and results in a high quality product. Legally produced concentrates for retail sale in legalized states are often packaged in small lip-balm sized containers. In states like Colorado, because the legality of the cannabis concentrates there are heavy regulations on the containers that hold the concentrate. They must be child- resistant, opaque, and have a multitude of legal text warning the consumer of the risks of consumption. Along with the regulation on the containers that hold the concentrate, the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) regulates almost every facet of the cannabis seed to sale process. This of course encompasses the creation or extraction of cannabis extract.

BioTrack is a cannabis and hemp traceability system has extensive tracking and reporting capabilities to assist state and local governments with enforcing regulations, collecting taxes, verifying product quality, and preventing illegal cannabis diversion and inversion. The system allows regulatory agencies to view every gram of legal cannabis or hemp throughout the production life cycle. Having emerged from the medical software industry, the technology was originally developed as a prescription drug and methamphetamine precursor tracking system to assist state government and law enforcement agencies in preventing drug diversion and promoting public safety. Logistics.

Tracking means a record keeping system that identifies when the sender begins delivery of Confidential Information to the authorized and intended recipient, and when the sender receives confirmation of delivery from the authorized and intended recipient of Confidential Information.

Scientists modify yeast cell and turn it into a cannabis tracker. Researchers have modified a yeast cell to sense the active substances in cannabis and get it to turn red when it does. The result paves the way for more actors to discover new medicinal substances and for a new type of drug test that can be done with a smartphone. Yeast cells are simple organisms. They do two things in life: eat and propagate. The researchers substituted the yeast cell's sex drive with a sense of taste and smell that allows it to detect cannabinoids, the active substances in cannabis. Going one step further, the researchers made the yeast turn red or glow when it successfully detects cannabinoids. The study has been published in Nature Communications.

Vaping - Vaporizers

You don't have to smoke weed to get the benefits, you can use a vaporizer. But it's not without risk. Certain types of vaporizers can be harmful.

Vaporizer or vape, is a device used to vaporize substances for inhalation. Plant substances can be used, commonly cannabis, tobacco, or other herbs or blends of essential oil. However, they can also be filled with a combination propylene glycol, glycerin, and drugs such as nicotine (e.g. extract from tobacco) or tetrahydrocannabinol as a liquid solution. Vaporizers contain various forms of extraction chambers including straight bore, venturi, or sequential venturi, and are made of materials such as metal or glass. The extracted vapor may be collected in an inflatable bag, or inhaled directly through a hose or pipe. When used properly, cooler temperatures due to lack of combustion result in significantly more efficient extraction of the ingredients. Hence, the irritating and harmful effects of smoking are heavily reduced, as is its secondhand smoke.

Electronic Cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales aerosol. As such, using an e-cigarette is often called "vaping". The atomizer is a heating element that atomizes a liquid solution called e-liquid. E-cigarettes are activated by taking a puff or pressing a button. Some look like traditional cigarettes, and most versions are reusable.

Vape World - Vaporizer Depot - Magic Flight

Hippie Vaporizer - Fez - Grinder (amazon)

Best Torch for Dabs

Scientists Lay the Groundwork for a Reliable Marijuana Breathalyzer.

Spray-Dried Dispersion - Spray Drying

Heating in vaping device as cause for lung injury, study shows. Nicotine, THC or Vitamin E oil may not be the primary factor in e-cig or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Early results of an experimental vaping study have shown significant lung injury from e-cigarette devices with nickel-chromium alloy heating elements.

Vaping illnesses - Study implicates flavored e-cigs in the teen Vaping Epidemic. Sweet and fruity e-cigs associated with heavier use. Vaping Illness Main Factors: The type of vaporizer used? The quality of the drug that was used? The dosage that was used? How often was it used daily? And what was the persons health history and other behavioral factors that may have contributed to any negative side effects from using the product?

Hemp - Biomass Plants - Fiber Crops

What's the difference between cannabis marijuana and hemp? Hemp could build a house and make thousands of products. Besides food and clothing an estimated 50,000 products can be produced from Hemp in the United States. Hemp is one of the faster growing biomasses known. Hemp makes better clothing without the hazardous waste that cotton produces, plus Hemp uses a lot less water then the cotton process. Clothing made from hemp is naturally UV protective, Anti-bacterial, 3 times stronger then cotton, 4 times warmer then cotton, 7 times more durable then cotton and flame retardant. And when you use hemp to make paper it last longer and doesn't yellow like paper made from Trees. One acre of Hemp can produce more paper then 4-10 acres of trees over a 10 year cycle. Hemp can take only 4 months to mature while trees can take up to 80 years to mature. Stinging Nettle has also been explored as an eco-friendly alternative to cotton. Though more difficult to cultivate than cotton, it produces a silky and soft fabric that is even more pleasant than hemp. Health Benefits.

Hemp plants are rich in cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, and cannabigerol, or CBG, chemicals that have calming effects and provide pain relief. The plant's fiber is used to make clothing, paper products, plastics and biofuel. Although they look identical to marijuana plants, hemp plants have a negligible amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that makes people high. Typhoon Farma, based in Montrose, sells its hemp flower to manufacturers that turn it into therapeutic oils, tinctures and edibles. The farm planted 70 acres this year in 2023.

Hemp Legalization in America 2018. Congress just quietly passed a law. The US Farm Bill passed on Wednesday December 12th that legalizes hemp. The bill defines hemp as an agricultural product for the first time and amends a major drug law that hadn't been altered in 50 years. Thanks to the US Farm Bill, which the House passed on Wednesday in a 369 to 47 vote, American farmers will be able to plant and harvest hemp, a strain of the same plant species from which marijuana originates. The bill passed the Senate Tuesday in an 87 to 13 vote, and President Donald Trump has indicated his support.

Hemp farming exploded after the 2018 Farm Bill passed last December. The bill decriminalized the plant at the federal level, opening the door for many U.S. farmers to grow and sell hemp. Over the past year, licensed hemp acreage increased more than 445%, according to the advocacy and research group Vote Hemp. More than 510,000 acres of hemp were licensed in 2019, versus about 112,000 acres in 2018. CBD.

Fiber Crop are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper, cloth, or rope. Fiber crops are generally harvestable after a single growing season, as distinct from trees.

Bast Fibre is plant fibre collected from the phloem (the "inner bark", sometimes called "skin") or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. It supports the conductive cells of the phloem and provides strength to the stem. Some of the economically important bast fibres are obtained from herbs cultivated in agriculture, as for instance flax, hemp, or ramie, but also bast fibres from wild plants, as stinging nettle, and trees such as lime or linden, wisteria, and mulberry have been used in the past. Bast fibres are classified as soft fibres, and are flexible. Fibres from monocotyledonous plants, called "leaf fibre", are classified as hard fibres and are stiff.

Hemp is a strain of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of its derived products. It is one of the fastest growing plants and was one of the first plants to be spun into usable fiber 10,000 years ago. It can be refined into a variety of commercial items including paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food, and animal feed.

Arundo Donax (wiki) - Kudzu (wiki) - Kenaf (wiki) - Switch Grass (wiki)

Bamboo Sustainability - Bamboo - Bamboo

Elora Hardy: Magical Houses made of Bamboo (video)

How is Bamboo Flooring made? (youtube)

BAMBOO - The industry of the future, now (youtube)

Bamboo Trading Company - Moso Bamboo

Click System Wood Flooring Explained (youtube) - (male, female boards no glue or nails needed, fast and efficient)

Supercomputing Improves Biomass Fuel Conversion. Pretreating plant biomass with THF-water causes lignin globules on the cellulose surface to expand and break away from one another and the cellulose fibers. The expanded lignin is also more exposed to catalytic fragmentation by dilute acid. As a result, lignin can be more efficiently depolymerized, solubilized, and transported out of the cell wall at milder treatment conditions. Co-solvents allow easier recovery of both lignin and sugars, making renewable fuel production easier and more cost-effective. Waste Energy.

Lignocellulosic Biomass refers to plant dry matter (biomass), so called lignocellulosic biomass. It is the most abundantly available raw material on the Earth for the production of biofuels, mainly bio-ethanol. It is composed of carbohydrate polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose), and an aromatic polymer (lignin). These carbohydrate polymers contain different sugar monomers (six and five carbon sugars) and they are tightly bound to lignin. Lignocellulosic biomass can be broadly classified into virgin biomass, waste biomass and energy crops. Virgin biomass includes all naturally occurring terrestrial plants such as trees, bushes and grass. Waste biomass is produced as a low value byproduct of various industrial sectors such as agriculture (corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, straw etc.) and forestry (saw mill and paper mill discards). Energy crops are crops with high yield of lignocellulosic biomass produced to serve as a raw material for production of second generation biofuel; examples include switch grass(Panicum virgatum) and Elephant grass.

Thinopyrum Intermedium is known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass, is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae. It is part of a group of plants commonly called wheatgrasses because of the similarity of their seed heads or 'ears' to common wheat. However the wheatgrasses in general are perennial, while wheat is an annual. The grass is native to Europe and Western Asia. Trials with intermediate wheatgrass, the product of which is trademarked by the Land Institute as "Kernza," show that it can be grown as a “multi-functional” crop, yielding various commodities as well as ecosystem services. Whereas annuals such as corn tend to deplete soil organic matter and require inputs, a perennial grain such as intermediate wheatgrass can yield crops while building soil organic matter.

U.S. farmers harvested 47 million acres of wheat and 3.1 million acres of barley in 2015.

Green Building

Hemp Building Material - Houses built with hemp use less energy, create less waste, and cost less money to heat or cool. Hemp can be fashioned into fiberboard, lightweight cement roofing tiles, wallboard and other wood-like materials. 

Hempcrete is better then concrete. Brick Houses

Benefits from using Hemp Building Material: Thermal Mass Insulation, High Thermal Resistance, High Thermal Inertia, Vapour Permeable (breathable), Negative Carbon, Low Density, Clean Air, Design Flexibility (adjustable thickness), Fire and Pest Resistant (NO Termites), Significantly Reduce Co2 Emissions, Inherently Airtight, No Waste, No Mold, No Dry Rot, Natural Substrates for Plasters, Renders Low Air Infiltration, ZERO LAND FILL.

Hemp Technologies
S.134 - Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015
Industrial Hemp Farming Act
Industrial Hemp
Hemp Protein Guide

Food Bytes Summit.

Moringa Oleifera grows in hot, dry tropical climates around the globe, and is prized for its high level of nutrients, especially protein.

Alcohol - Liquor - Intoxication

Alcoholic Beverages is a drink that contains a substantial amount of ethanol (informally called alcohol), a depressant which in low doses causes euphoria, reduced anxiety, and sociability and in higher doses causes intoxication (drunkenness), stupor and unconsciousness. Long-term use can lead to alcohol abuse, physical dependence, and alcoholism.

Harmful use of alcohol causes more than 5 per cent of the world’s disease burden. Alcohol can weaken the immune system.

Hangovers Cost the Economy $224 Billion in 2006.

Drinking linked to a decline in brain health from cradle to grave. The evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol on brain health is compelling, but now experts have pinpointed three key time periods in life when the effects of alcohol are likely to be at their greatest. Researchers in Australia and the UK say evidence suggests three periods of dynamic brain changes that may be particularly sensitive to the harmful effects of alcohol: gestation (from conception to birth), later adolescence (15-19 years), and older adulthood (over 65 years). Globally, around 10% of pregnant women consume alcohol, with the rates considerably higher in European countries than the global average. Heavy alcohol use during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, associated with widespread reductions in brain volume and cognitive impairment. But data suggest that even low or moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy is significantly associated with poorer psychological and behavioral outcomes in offspring. 63% of severe alcoholics exhibit significant cognitive improvements within 18 days of abstinence or stopping.

Alcohol use can alter gut microbes, but not in the way you might think. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause bacterial overgrowth in gut, but mouse studies found this imbalance doesn't appear to play major role in alcoholic liver disease risk. Chronic alcohol use is a major cause of liver damage and death: Approximately 30,000 persons in the United States die annually from alcoholic liver diseases, such as cirrhosis. Among the negative impacts of excessive alcohol use is its ability to adversely affect the gut microbiome, though how that happens has been a mystery, since the majority of consumed alcohol is absorbed in the mouth and stomach and does not reach the intestines.

More Alcohol, Less Brain. Researchers analyzed data from more than 36,000 adults that found a link between drinking and reduced brain volume that begins at an average consumption level of less than one alcohol unit a day -- the equivalent of about half a beer -- and rises with each additional drink.

Alcohol kills 40,000 people every year in the U.S., and Cannabis has no evidence of directly causing the death of anyone. Alcohol-related deaths have doubled in recent decades as of 2020.

In 2016, more than 3 million people died from the harmful use of alcohol, according a World Health Organization report. The harmful use of alcohol also caused 5.1 percent of the worldwide toll of disease and injuries.

Alcohol-Related Deaths is estimated to be around 88,0006 people, approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity.

Alcohol Deaths. The rate of deaths that can be directly attributed to alcohol rose nearly 30% in the U.S. during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new government data. A report released Friday focused on more than a dozen kinds of "alcohol-induced" deaths that were wholly blamed on drinking. Examples include alcohol-caused liver or pancreas failure, alcohol poisoning, withdrawal and certain other diseases. There were more than 52,000 such deaths in 2021, up from 39,000 in 2019. In 2020, they rose 26%, to about 13 deaths per 100,000 Americans. That's the highest rate recorded in at least 40 years, said the study's lead author, Merianne Spencer. Such deaths are 2 1/2 times more common in men than in women, but rose for both in 2020, the study found. Alcohol consumption in the U.S. was rising before 2020. Excessive drinking is associated with chronic dangers such as liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. And health officials say alcohol is a factor in as many as one-third of serious falls among the elderly. It's also a risk to others through drunken driving or alcohol-fueled violence. Surveys suggest that more than half the alcohol sold in the U.S. is consumed during binge drinking episodes.

Alcohol is any organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group (–OH) is bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term alcohol originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the predominant alcohol in alcoholic beverages.

Distillation

Ethanol also called alcohol, ethyl alcohol, and drinking alcohol, is the principal type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid with a slight characteristic odor. Its chemical formula is C2H6O, which can be written also as CH3-CH2-OH or C2H5-OH (an ethyl group linked to a hydroxyl group), and is often abbreviated as EtOH. Ethanol is mostly produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts, or by petrochemical processes. It is an addictive psychoactive drug (indeed one of the oldest and most common recreational drugs), causing a characteristic intoxication ("drunkenness") and neurotoxicity when consumed in sufficient quantities. It is widely used as a solvent, as fuel, and as a feedstock for synthesis of other chemicals; as well as in many other minor uses.

Drugs that are legal cause at least as much damage, if not more, than drugs that are illegal. Alcohol can damage nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin. The World Health Organization reports that Alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence. Approximately 3.3 million people die each year from alcohol related causes. Alcohol is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries linked to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, poisonings, road traffic accidents, violence, and several types of cancer, including cancers of the colorectum, breast, larynx and liver.

Alcoholism in the Family Info-Graphic (image) - Cost of Alcohol Abuse Info-Graph (image)

Legal Drinking Age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcohol beverages. The most commonly known reason for the law behind the legal drinking age is the effect on the brain in adolescents. Since the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have a negative effect on the memory and long-term thinking. Alongside that, it can cause liver failure, and create a hormone imbalance in teens due to the constant changes and maturing of hormones during puberty. Young people are also especially at increased risk of injury when drinking alcohol. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between different countries and many laws have exemptions or special circumstances. Most laws apply only to drinking alcohol in public places with alcohol consumption in the home being mostly unregulated (an exception being the UK, which has a minimum legal age of five for supervised consumption in private places). Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcohol drinks.

Drunk Drivers in the U.S kill 17,000 people in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents each year. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. people driving under the influence of alcohol are referred to as drunk drivers or drink-drivers.

Drunk Driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle with the operator's ability to do so impaired as a result of alcohol consumption, or with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit. For drivers 21 years or older, driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher is illegal. For drivers under 21 years old, the legal limit is lower, with state limits ranging from 0.00 to 0.02. Lower BAC limits apply when operating boats, airplanes, or commercial vehicles. Among other names, the criminal offense of drunk driving may be called driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated or impaired (DWI), operating [a] vehicle under the influence of alcohol (OVI), or operating while impaired (OWI).

Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Driving while Impaired / Driving while Intoxicated (DWI), Drunk Driving, Operating while Intoxicated (OWI), operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs (OVI) in Ohio, drink-driving (UK), or impaired driving (Canada) is currently the crime or offense of driving or operating a motor vehicle while Impaired by alcohol or other drugs (including recreational drugs and those prescribed by physicians), to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely.

Impaired - Ignorant - Processed Food

Only a fraction of the costs of excessive drinking are paid for by alcohol taxes. The total harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption is a staggering $2.05 per drink in the United States, and, of this, the government ends up paying about $0.80 per drink. However, the federal government and states only bring in about $0.21 per drink on average in alcohol taxes, according to new research. This leaves the majority of the cost of alcohol's harms borne by those who don't drink excessively or who don't drink at all.

Minimum Unit Price for alcohol sets a level below which a 'unit' (10 ml or 8 g of pure alcohol) cannot be sold, and the level set by the Scottish Parliament in 2012 was 50p.

Sobriety Checkpoints: Sobriety checkpoints only reduce alcohol related accidents by 10%. Any moron would know that is an ineffective method for deterring people from drinking and driving. Only improved education and a more informed public can stop this drug abuse.

Highway Robbery (police abuse)

Blood Alcohol Content also called blood alcohol concentration, blood ethanol concentration, or blood alcohol level, is most commonly used as a metric of alcohol intoxication for legal or medical purposes. Blood alcohol concentration is usually expressed as a percentage of ethanol in the blood in units of mass of alcohol per volume of blood or mass of alcohol per mass of blood, depending on the country. For instance, in North America a BAC of 0.1 (0.1% or one tenth of one percent) means that there are 0.10 g of alcohol for every 100 mL of blood.

Breathalyzer to check yourself (smartphones)

Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.

Alcohol Intoxication is a physiological state (that may also include psychological alterations of consciousness) induced by the ingestion of ethanol (alcohol).

Intoxication is when you consume too much of a chemical substance, like alcohol, and become stupefied or overly excited with high spirits and optimism and sometimes depression. Narcotic substances become poisonous and damaging, especially at high levels. Too much of a good thing can be bad. Alcohol Intoxication is the negative behavior and physical effects due to the recent drinking of ethanol (alcohol). Symptoms at lower doses may include mild sedation and poor coordination. At higher doses, there may be slurred speech, trouble walking, and vomiting. Extreme doses may result in a decreased effort to breathe (respiratory depression), coma, or death. Complications may include seizures, aspiration pneumonia, injuries including suicide, and low blood sugar.

Three Sheets to the Wind is a figure of speech for being drunk. It's a twist on a nautical term. The sheet is the line that controls the sails on a ship. If the line is not secured, the sail flops in the wind, and the ship loses headway and control. If all three sails are loose, the ship is out of control.

Three Sheets to the Wind is when the 'sheet' in the phrase uses the nautical meaning, of a rope controlling the trim of sail. A sail (usually a jib sail) is said to be sheeted to the wind, when it is set to backfill (set to the opposite side of the ship from normal use). A jib sail is not normally kept in backfill position. But in a major storm when a ship must be kept “hove-to” (kept as much as possible in a standstill position and not being blown forward) the helm or wheel is lashed to windward, and the jib(s) are sheeted to the windward side of the ship (sheeted to the wind). This causes the ship to hold sideways to the wind and waves to minimize the distance the ship is blown off course during a storm. While hove-to, the ship is at the mercy of the wind and waves it is being held against, and the crew has no control of the ship, other than to hold it in place while it is rolled by waves. As a storm gets stronger, more backfill counterbalancing is required to hold the ship in position and additional jibs are sheeted to the wind to maintain the ship at a standstill. When a ship has three jibs sheeted to the wind, it is being held sideways to wind and waves in strong storm conditions with very high waves, causing it to roll wildly from side to side with each wave, in continuous danger of rolling over or capsizing. Hence 'three sheets to the wind' has been used to describe a highly inebriated person who is no longer in control, and is in danger of upending and falling over. (Sheets to the wind, should not be confused with the idea of sheets in the wind, the latter which refers simply to sheets that have come loose from their moorings and are flapping in the wind like a flag - a condition which does not cause a ship to dangerously roll from side to side, as when one or more of its sheets are being held in a backfill windward position in a storm.)

Slang Words for being Drunk - Trashed, Shitfaced, Hammered, Wrecked, Wasted, Plastered, Loaded, Blasted, Totaled, Toasted, Fried, Pie-eyed, Cockeyed, Oiled, Embalmed, Skunked, Steamed, Canned, Juiced-up, Jarred, Tanked, Buzzed, Sloshed, three sheets to the wind, Basted means high and drunk at the same time.

Brain regions responsible for intoxicating effects of alcohol. Research could pave way for future treatments for alcohol use disorder. The slurred speech, poor coordination, and sedative effects of drinking too much alcohol may actually be caused by the breakdown of alcohol products produced in the brain, not in the liver as scientists currently think. It is well known that the liver is the major organ that metabolizes alcohol, using the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to convert alcohol into a compound called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde, which has toxic effects, is quickly broken down into a more benign substance called acetate. This occurs through a different enzyme called acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2). Until now, alcohol and acetaldehyde, produced by the liver, have been considered important players in triggering the cognitive impairment associated with imbibing. Acetate, on the other hand, was considered relatively unimportant in producing effects like motor impairment, confusion, and slurred speech. Researchers also did not know which brain region or particular brain cells were most important for alcohol metabolism. To learn more about the role played by the brain in alcohol metabolism, the researchers measured the distribution of ALDH2 enzyme in the cerebellum, using magnetic resonance (MR) scanners in both mice and in human tissue. They observed that ALDH2 was expressed in the cerebellum, in a type of nerve cell called an astrocyte, in both human brain tissue and in living mice. The researchers found that this enzyme controlled the conversion of acetaldehyde into acetate in the brain. They also found alcohol-induced cellular and behavioral effects in specific regions of the brain where this enzyme was expressed. Acetate was found to interact with the brain messenger chemical called GABA, which is known to decrease activity in the nervous system. This decreased activity can lead to drowsiness, impair coordination, and lower normal feelings of inhibition. We found ALDH2 was expressed in cells known as astrocytes in the cerebellum, a brain region that controls balance and motor coordination, we also found that when ALDH2 was removed from these cells, the mice were resistant to motor impairment inducted by alcohol consumption. Su Xu, PhDHe and his team also found the enzyme ALDH2 in other brain regions responsible for emotional regulation and decision-making (both impaired by excess alcohol consumption), including in the hippocampus, amydala, and prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that certain brain regions are important for alcohol metabolism and that abnormalities in the enzyme production in these brain regions can lead to detrimental effects associated with alcohol misuse. They also suggest that acetate produced in the brain and in the liver differ in their ability to affect motor and cognitive function.

Research Society on Alcoholism serves as a meeting ground for scientists in the broad areas of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. The Society promotes research and the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge.

Even Light Drinking increases Risk of Death. At any age, daily drinkers 20 percent more likely to die prematurely than less frequent drinkers. Consuming one to two drinks four or more times per week — an amount deemed healthy by current guidelines — increases the risk of premature death by 20 percent, compared with drinking three times a week or less. The increased risk of death was consistent across age groups.

Just a Few Drinks of Alcohol can change how Memories are formed. Researchers have found that alcohol hijacks a conserved memory pathway in the brain and changes which versions of genes are made, forming the cravings that fuel addiction. Alcohol changes the proteins expressed in the neurons, forming cravings. Just a few drinks in an evening changes how memories are formed at the fundamental, molecular level.

Addictions - Drug Abuse - Knowledge Rehab

Heavy drinking may change DNA -- Leading to increased craving for alcohol.

Scientists discover key neural circuit regulating alcohol consumption. Scientists have known that a region of the brain called the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a role in behaviors related to alcohol use and consumption in general. It's been less known which precise populations of brain cells and their projections to other brain regions mediate these behaviors. Now, UNC School of Medicine scientists discovered that specific neurons in the CeA contribute to reward-like behaviors, alcohol consumption in particular.

Brake Mechanism that helps to Modulate Overdrinking. A mechanism in a small brain structure called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) that helps sense alcohol’s negative effects and modulates the urge to drink. When it doesn’t function properly, however, we lose the ability to perceive when we’ve had enough in the amygdala the increased glutamate signaling is going to possibly generate negative emotions, and maybe you start feeling depressed or anxious, and then that will translate to a higher motivation to drink coming out of the nucleus accumbens. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK, for short) is another of the usual suspects in the realm of addictive disorders. In a mouse model that carried a mutation in its mGlu5 receptors resulting in their inability to be activated by ERK, the researchers found that the mutation had an unexpectedly significant impact on alcohol preference and consumption.

Things that Reduce Alcohol Cravings - Herbal supplements like Ashwagandha, kudzu, milk thistle, and St. John's wort may reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms and prevent cravings. Lifestyle changes, better nutrition, exercise, meditation, mindfulness, and relaxing hobbies can also help you feel better while living alcohol-free. Foods that may Reduce Alcohol Cravings include Chicken and Fish, Nuts and Nut Butters, Dairy Products, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Brown Rice, Whole Grain Bread and Pasta.

Ozempic seems to curb cravings for alcohol.
semaglutide, which belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 (a.k.a. "glucagon-like peptide 1"). These drugs regulate your blood sugar and make you feel satisfied after eating. They appear to reduce people's cravings for alcohol, nicotine and opioids. Exenatide once weekly for alcohol use disorder investigated in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Alcohol Intolerance is characterized by immediate unpleasant reactions after drinking alcohol. The most common signs and symptoms of alcohol intolerance are stuffy nose and skin flushing. Alcohol intolerance is caused by a genetic condition in which the body is unable to break down alcohol efficiently. Alcohol intolerance is due to a genetic polymorphism of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme that metabolises ingested alcohol. This polymorphism is most often reported in Asian patients. It can also be an effect or side effect associated with certain drugs such as disulfiram, metronidazole, or nilutamide. Stuffy nose and skin flushing are the most common symptoms when ingesting alcohol. It may also be characterized as intolerance causing hangover symptoms similar to the "disulfiram-like reaction" of aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency or chronic fatigue syndrome. Severe pain after drinking alcohol may indicate a more serious condition. If people are intolerant, some nearly non-alcoholic beverages may be a problem, similar to alcohol-containing medications, vinegar, inhalation of alcohol or the vapour of alcohol-containing cleaning agents. Drinking alcohol first or afterwards together with Calcium cyanamide, an inorganic compound used as a fertilizer, can cause permanent or long lasting intolerance (nitrolime disease), contributing together with other substances to the accumulation of harmful Acetaldehyde by inhibiting the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase.

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that excessive drinking cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2010, a significant increase from the $223.5 billion reported in 2006. Over $100 billion of these costs were paid by the government, or us.

Methyl Group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms — CH3. In formulas, the group is often abbreviated Me. Such hydrocarbon groups occur in many organic compounds. It is a very stable group in most molecules. While the methyl group is usually part of a larger molecule, it can be found on its own in any of three forms: anion, cation or radical. The anion has eight valence electrons, the radical seven and the cation six. All three forms are highly reactive and rarely observed.

Methylene Group is any part of a molecule that consists of two hydrogen atoms bound to a carbon atom, which is connected to the remainder of the molecule by a double bond. The group may be written =CH2, where the '=' denotes the double bond. This structural element is also called methylidene.

Hydroxyl is the entity with the formula OH. It contains oxygen bonded to hydrogen. In organic chemistry, alcohol and carboxylic acids contain hydroxy groups. The anion [OH−], called hydroxide, consists of a hydroxy group.

Rectified Spirit also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol, or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin is highly concentrated ethanol which has been purified by means of repeated distillation, a process that is called rectification. In some countries (e.g. India), denatured alcohol or denatured rectified spirit may commonly be available as "rectified spirit", but it is poisonous and ingestion can be fatal.

Denatured Alcohol also called methylated spirits or denatured rectified spirit, is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad tasting, foul smelling or nauseating, to discourage recreational consumption. In some cases it is also dyed. Pyridine, methanol, or both can be added to make denatured alcohol poisonous, and denatonium can be added to make it bitter.

Beer Effects Info Graph (image)

Alcohol Use (PDF)

Alcohol Attributable Deaths  (AAD)  2006-2010

The World Health Organization’s Global Monitoring System on Alcohol and Health

The CDC reports that about six people die from alcohol poisoning each day in the United States. The findings are based on data from 2010 through 2012. During that period, there was an annual average of 2,221 alcohol poisoning deaths among people older than 15.

Alcohol Drinking can Cause Cancer

Emotions related to alcohol consumption differ by alcohol type. An international survey has revealed that spirits are often associated with feelings of energy, confidence and sexiness – but on the flip-side anger and tearfulness – while red wine is the drink most commonly linked to relaxation, but also tiredness. Almost 30,000 participants who had reported consuming both red and white wine as well as beer and spirits in the past year, reveal that certain types of alcoholic drink appear to be linked to particular emotions. Almost 53% of participants said drinking red wine made them feel relaxed – an emotion that was also linked to beer by nearly 50% of participants, and white wine by nearly 33%. By contrast, spirits were linked to feelings of confidence by just over 59% of participants, energy by more than 58% and sexiness by just over 42%. However, spirits were also more likely to be linked to negative feelings including tearfulness, with almost 48% of participants linking such tipples to feeling ill and nearly 30% to aggression. Meanwhile, more than 60% of participants said they linked red wine to feeling tired. White wine was the tipple least often linked to tearfulness, with only 10% saying they associated it with becoming weepy. Further analysis, taking into account age and other factors, revealed that women were generally more likely to report feeling the various emotions on drinking alcohol, with men more likely to report feelings of aggression. The proportion of participants reporting the various emotions, both positive and negative, generally increased with overall heaviness of drinking. Further differences were found for the various drinks when participants’ age, educational background and sex were considered. Drinking was found more likely to be linked to feelings of relaxation and tiredness when done at home; confidence, sexiness, energy – and feeling ill or aggressive – were more likely when out. However, the study had limitations, not least that it drew on a self-selecting group of participants, meaning it might have appealed to those more likely to take drugs and drink. It also did not take into account how much participants drank on any one occasion or whether they mixed drinks, and relied on participants thinking back to how they felt at the time. What’s more, it is not clear whether the alcohol itself triggered the emotions, or whether the social situation also played a role, while the concentration of the alcohol, presence of other ingredients, and people’s expectations of the drinks could also be important factors.

Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long-term damage. This damage is characterized by the replacement of normal liver tissue by scar tissue. Typically, the disease develops slowly over months or years. Early on, there are often no symptoms. As the disease worsens, a person may become tired, weak, itchy, have swelling in the lower legs, develop yellow skin, bruise easily, have fluid build up in the abdomen, or develop spider-like blood vessels on the skin. The fluid build-up in the abdomen may become spontaneously infected. Other complications include hepatic encephalopathy, bleeding from dilated veins in the esophagus or dilated stomach veins, and liver cancer. Hepatic encephalopathy results in confusion and may lead to unconsciousness. Alcohol-Related Cirrhosis Deaths skyrocket in young adults.

Gene could decrease likelihood of developing alcoholic cirrhosis. Our key finding is a gene called Fas Associated Factor Family Member 2, or FAF2. There's this convergence of findings now that are pointing to the genes involved in lipid droplet organization pathway, and that seems to be one of the biological reasoning's of why certain people get liver disease and why certain people do not.

High Altitude and Alcohol: When alcohol is present in the blood, it interferes with hemoglobin's absorption of oxygen. Because higher altitudes have less oxygen in the air to begin with, it is thought that the effect is magnified, so you get even less oxygen to your brain.

Hangover: Excessive amounts of alcohol can cause dehydration to your body in a number of ways. Alcohol decreases the bodies ability to produce anti-diuretic hormones, which is used by the body to reabsorb water. Drinking too much can also cause an imbalance of cells that can lead to cramps and muscle pulls. A severe reaction to sulfites can cause pain in the chest, along with chest. An allergic reaction may also cause pain in various parts of the body shortly after someone drinks the beverage. If you have a painful reaction, avoid drinking red wine until you consult your doctor. Hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol, such as wine, beer, and distilled spirits. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than 24 hours. Typical symptoms of a hangover may include headache, drowsiness, concentration problems, dry mouth, dizziness, fatigue, gastrointestinal distress (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea), absence of hunger, light sensitivity, depression, sweating, nausea, hyper-excitability, irritability, and anxiety. While the causes of a hangover are still poorly understood, several factors are known to be involved including acetaldehyde accumulation, changes in the immune system and glucose metabolism, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, disturbed prostaglandin synthesis, increased cardiac output, vasodilation, sleep deprivation and malnutrition. Beverage-specific effects of additives or by-products such as congeners in alcoholic beverages also play an important role. The symptoms usually occur after the intoxicating effect of the alcohol begins to wear off, generally the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Though many possible remedies and folk cures have been suggested, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that any are effective for preventing or treating hangovers. Avoiding alcohol or drinking in moderation are the most effective ways to avoid a hangover. The socioeconomic consequences of hangovers include workplace absenteeism, impaired job performance, reduced productivity and poor academic achievement. A hangover may also impair performance during potentially dangerous daily activities such as driving a car or operating heavy machinery.

Histamine Intolerance. Histamine is a naturally occurring hormone in the body that helps to protect against infections, but it can cause problems throughout the body when produced in excess. Some foods containing histamine can trigger allergy-like symptoms. Red wine and beer are considered high-histamine beverages by the British Allergy Association. If you’re histamine intolerant, drinking red wine may cause pain in your head, abdomen, skin, eyes, throat and chest. When you drink red wine, the extra histamine can cause your blood vessels to dilate, which leads to swelling and inflammation in soft tissues.

Sulfite Sensitivity. Sulfites are commonly found in red wine. This can cause pain throughout the body if you have sulfite sensitivity. Sulfites are chemicals used in some foods and beverages as a preservative. They were banned from use in fruits and vegetables in 1986, but are still permitted in alcoholic beverages. A severe reaction to sulfites can cause pain in the chest, along with chest tightness, shortness of breath and wheezing.

Anaphylaxis. All of these conditions could possibly trigger anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe reaction that affects the entire body. If anaphylaxis is not treated, it can lead to serious complications or be fatal. During anaphylaxis, your blood vessels dilate to an unhealthy size, causing a drop in blood pressure, increased heart rate and shock. Call 911 if you suspect that you’re developing signs of anaphylaxis. Another prime suspect when it comes to a red wine hangover is acetaldehyde (bonus points if you can type it with the spellchecker off). Acetaldehyde is a noxious compound accumulates as a by-product when our bodies process alcohol, and it is believed to be more harmful than alcohol by several orders of magnitude. Alcohol affects the production of a broad spectrum of small proteins called cytokines in our bodies. It’s exactly these proteins that help us fight off inflammation and infections (among other things) by enabling communication among neighboring cells. And here’s where we come to our last suspect (but certainly not the least nasty) – congeners. This is an umbrella term for all sorts of chemical compounds often mentioned when discussing alcohol. Unlike acetaldehyde (which is a byproduct of your body’s deconstructing alcohol), congeners are already present in your booze (Sorry!). There are two ways congeners get there – either during the process of fermentation (alcohol production) or they get added later on in the process. In any case, they’re in your red wine when you drink it. Scientists believe that congeners contribute to the intoxicating effects of wine (woohoo!), but they also contribute (if not outright cause) to your most severe red wine hangovers. The more congeners in your red wine, the stronger the hangover contribution. In other words, it would appear that the severity of your hangover very much depends on the poison you pick. Congeners are what scientists call biologically active compounds, meaning they affect (drumroll, please) your body or brain, or both. The key ingredient of every alcoholic beverage is, of course, ethanol, whereas congeners are found only in trace elements. They are produced as the wine ferments and/or ages, or they can be added artificially after the fact (to change the flavor, among other uses). The most common congeners are: acetaldehyde – the percentage is insignificant until your metabolism starts breaking down the ethanol from your drink; furfural – often added during fermentation, serves to inhibit yeast growth; fusel oil – produced during distillation, contributes to the flavor in small amounts; methanol – literal poison, metabolizes into formic acid and formaldehyde, both natural in our bodies, but dangerous in high concentrations; Researchers have posited a correlation between libations rich in congeners and the severity of hangover symptoms, and red wines, along with dark spirits such as bourbon, brandy, tequila, and whiskey, have the highest content of congeners. Fizzy reds are probably even more dangerous, as carbonation speeds up the absorption of alcohol. tannins – textural elements in wine which contain powerful antioxidants, suspected to have a connection to migraines (the jury is still out on this one).

When alcohol enters the brain, it causes neurons in a specialized region called the ventral tegmental area, or VTA -- also known as the "pleasure center" -- to release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that produces those feel-good sensations, and tells the brain that whatever it just experienced is worth getting more of.

ABV - Alcohol By Volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) of pure ethanol present in 100 mL (3.4 fl. oz) of solution at 20 °C (68 °F). The number of millilitres of pure ethanol is the mass of the ethanol divided by its density at 20 °C, which is 0.78924 g/mL (105.3 fl oz/gallon). The ABV standard is used worldwide. The International Organization of Legal Metrology has tables of density of water–ethanol mixtures at different concentrations and temperatures.

IBU - International Bittering Units - Bitterness Scale. Bitterness scales attempt to rate the relative bitterness of beer. The bitterness of beer is provided by compounds such as humulones, or alpha acids from hops used during brewing. During the brewing process, humulone undergoes isomerization to form both cis- and trans- isohumulone which are responsible for the bitter taste of the beer. Likewise, hops contain lupulones, or beta acids. The International Bittering Units scale, or simply IBU scale, is used to approximately quantify the bitterness of beer. This scale is not measured on the perceived bitterness of the beer, but rather the amount of iso-alpha acids. There are several methods to measure IBU. The most common and widely used way is through spectrophotometry. In this process, hops are boiled in wort to promote isomerization. Since the iso-alpha acids are slightly hydrophobic, a reduction of the pH by adding acid increases the hydrophobicity of the iso-alpha acids. At this point, an organic solution is added and the iso-alpha acids shift to the organic layer out of the aqueous wort. This new solution is then placed in a spectrophotometer and the absorbance is read at 275 nm. At this wavelength, the iso-alpha acids have their highest absorbance which allows for the calculation of the concentration of these bittering molecules. This technique was adopted at the same time as another method based on measuring the concentration (in milligrams per litre; parts per million w/v) of isomerized α acids (IAA) in a beer, causing some confusion among small-scale brewers. The American Society of Brewing Chemists, in the introduction to its methods on measuring bitterness, points out some differences between the results of the two methods: While the results of the IAA methods are practically identical to those obtained by the [I]BU method for beer brewed with fresh hops, the IAAs of beer brewed with old or poorly stored hops, and with certain special hop extracts, can be significantly lower than the [I]BU figure. Additionally, HPLC, mass spectrometry, and fluorescence spectroscopy can be employed to measure the amount of iso-alpha acids in a beer. A beer's bitterness is gauged by its International Bittering Units (IBU). Your standard Budweiser has 7 IBU, while Avery's IPA has 70 and the Maharaja, an imperial IPA, has right around 100. Bittering hops get added early on in the boil.

2020 Pandemic: While the masses are buying more alcohol from grocers and liquor stores to drink at home, that hasn't been enough to fill the gaping hole created by declines in shipments to restaurants, bars and sporting venues that were closed to slow spread of the virus.

Teetotaler is a person who never drinks alcohol. Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of complete personal abstinence from alcoholic beverages.

More young adults are abstaining from alcohol. Fewer college-age Americans drink alcohol, compared to nearly 20 years ago, according to a new study. Between 2002 and 2018, the number of adults aged 18-22 in the U.S. who abstained from alcohol increased from 20% to 28% for those in college and from about 24% to 30% for those not in school, say researchers at the University of Michigan and Texas State University. And alcohol abuse among both groups decreased by roughly half. However, the study found that the number of young adults using marijuana, as well as co-using alcohol and marijuana, has increased.

Bill W. is a 2012 American biographical film directed by Dan Carracino and Kevin Hanlon, about William Griffith Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the first feature length documentary on Wilson. William Griffith Wilson also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide belonging to over 123,000 A.A. groups, associations, organizations, cooperatives, and fellowships of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. (Born November 26, 1895 – Died January 24, 1971 from smoking cigarettes).

Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Twelve Traditions of twelve-step programs provide guidelines for relationships between the twelve-step groups, members, other groups, the global fellowship, and society at large. Questions of finance, public relations, donations, and purpose are addressed in the Traditions. They were originally written by Bill Wilson after the founding of the first twelve-step group.

Admitting that one cannot control one's alcoholism, addiction, or compulsion; Coming to believe in a higher power that can give strength; Examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member); Making amends for these errors; Learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior; Helping others who suffer from the same alcoholism, addictions, or compulsions.

"Telling a person that they are powerless is a step in the wrong directing. Fatalism and fear mongering are old outdated teaching methods of ignorant people." Control is a learned skill.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot is a 2018 American comedy-drama film about a paralyzed alcoholic. After John quits drinking with help from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor Donnie, John builds a new life, drawing off-color newspaper cartoons.

Shopaholics Anonymous or consumerholics anonymous is for people who can't stop buying products they never use or use very little.

Debtors Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who want to stop incurring unsecured debt.

Sexaholics Anonymous is one of several twelve-step programs for compulsive sexual behavior based on the original twelve steps of Alcoholics. There is also Sex Addicts Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Sexual Compulsives Anonymous and Sexual Recovery Anonymous.

Marijuana Anonymous is a 12-step program that helps chronic users nip addiction in the bud.

There are many reasons to stop an addiction, especially an addiction that does more harm than good. There are many incentives, like keeping your job, staying out of the hospital, staying out of prison, saving your marriage and having healthier relationships with friends, family and people, pursuing other dreams and goals that your addiction has interfered with, being smarter and more clear headed, and continually educating yourself, these are just some of the incentives to quit.

Twelve-Step Program - We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Twelve Traditions - Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers. AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always to maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Tobacco - Smoking Cigarettes

Then of course there's cigarettes. The biggest killer of them all. Why are cigarettes legal? Is there any health benefits from smoking? You are either very ignorant or a criminal. Smoke inhalation kills people.

Tobacco Body side-effects - Smoking and Mortality

Smoking kills 7 million people a year and scars the planet through deforestation, pollution and littering. More than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. And the smokers who don't die from smoking cost the healthcare system billions of dollars. And lost productivity from smokers cost countries billions of dollars. Wasting people, resources, energy, time and money.

Unless urgent action is taken, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030. Nearly 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Consumption of tobacco products is increasing globally, though it is decreasing in some high-income and upper middle-income countries. So education does work, no kidding.

When poisoning yourself feels good, you then have a serious problem. This is more than an addiction, more than a disease or sickness, and it's more than a process of conformity, this is a clear example of what ignorance does to people. And it's not just our Schools and Universities that are under-educating people and misinforming them, it's also our media tools, our books, our news outlets, and our movies and shows, all of them guilty of misinformation in the most destructive and in the most abusive way. And most people are totally unaware that they are being poisoned in their minds as well as in their bodies.

The Tobacco Conspiracy (youtube)

Children of Tobacco - Malawi's shocking plantation exploitation (youtube)

John Oliver: Tobacco (HBO) (youtube)

Someone Asked Smokers in 1962 if they were worried about cigarettes giving them lung cancer, and their answers were intriguing. (youtube) Beliefs - Invalid Arguments - Ignorance.

Smoking killed 4.4 million Men and 1.4 million Women worldwide in 2013.

Dangers of Cigarette Smoking (CDC)

Cancer - Cancer - Health Effects of Tobacco

130,000 cases of lung cancer diagnosed each year are attributed to smoking.

Smoking Changes Your DNA and Increases Your Risk of Disease DNA Methylation Affects Development of Cancers and Chronic Diseases. DNA Dethylation is a process by which methyl groups are added to DNA. Methylation modifies the function of the DNA. When located in a gene promoter, DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription. DNA methylation is essential for normal development and is associated with a number of key processes including genomic imprinting, X-chromosome inactivation, repression of repetitive elements, aging and carcinogenesis.

Some Academics Quietly Take Side Jobs Helping Tobacco Companies In Court. Individual smokers continued to sue and to this day the tobacco industry remains tied up in hundreds of court fights with sickened smokers, with family members who lost a loved one to cancer, heart disease, or other smoking-related illness. Common Knowledge Defense is the argument that nearly everyone was aware of the dangers, even back in the 1950s, so people should known better. Many of the industry's witnesses lean heavily on the same Gallup poll from 1954 that indicates 90% of Americans had heard smoking could cause lung cancer. But Hearing and Learning are two different things, especially when the Media and Marketing scumbags want you to ignore the dangers. And most schools don't seem to care about educating students about dangers, so common knowledge does not yet exist. How would you test for that? Just getting the right answer does not prove understanding. Why do so many politicians end up working for criminal corporations after they leave office?They were supposed to help defend Americans from criminals, not work for them?

Side Effect of Nicotine Use (youtube)

Third-Hand Smoke results when exhaled smoke gets on surfaces -- clothing, hair, etc. THS has been shown, in mice, to damage the liver and lungs, complicate wound-healing and cause hyperactivity. Add to this list type 2 diabetes.

Passive Smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke, by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke enters an environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes disease, disability, and death. The health risks of secondhand smoke are a matter of scientific consensus. These risks have been a major motivation for smoke-free laws in workplaces and indoor public places, including restaurants, bars and night clubs, as well as some open public spaces. Concerns around secondhand smoke have played a central role in the debate over the harms and regulation of tobacco products. Since the early 1970s, the tobacco industry has viewed public concern over secondhand smoke as a serious threat to its business interests. Harm to bystanders was perceived as a motivator for stricter regulation of tobacco products. Despite the industry's awareness of the harms of secondhand smoke as early as the 1980s, the tobacco industry coordinated a scientific controversy with the purpose of stopping regulation of their products.

Gun Control - Pollution - Smoke Inhalation

Smoking Cessation is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Within 20 minutes after quitting, blood pressure and heart rate decrease. Within 12 hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood decrease to normal. Within 48 hours, nerve endings and sense of smell and taste both start recovering. Within 3 months, circulation and lung function improve. Within 9 months, there are decreases in cough and shortness of breath. Within 1 year, the risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half. Within 5 years, the risk of stroke falls to the same as a non-smoker, and the risks of many cancers (mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix) decrease significantly. Within 10 years, the risk of dying from lung cancer is cut in half, and the risks of larynx and pancreas cancers decrease. Within 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease drops to the level of a non-smoker; lowered risk for developing COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Cessation.

Tobacco Crop Insurance Scams. Between the years of 1997 and 2003, tobacco farmers swindled the government and insurance companies out of more than $9 million in bogus insurance claims. The farmer reports to the insurance company that they planted 10 or even 100 acres of tobacco. Then the farmer does a really bad job of farming on purpose so they don’t incur very many costs, they put in half the seed and put in half the fertilizer. They sometimes even just throw some seeds onto the hillside with half a stand. Then, sometime in the summer, the farmer reports that the weather was bad and tells the insurance company that there was a hailstorm or the climate was too dry, or too wet, or the field was too flooded, and the crops were destroyed.

100 Reasons to Quit Tobacco..
1. Smokers have a greater risk of developing a severe case and dying from COVID-19.
Tobacco affects your looks almost immediately.
2. Everything stinks! From your skin, to your whole house, your clothes, and your fingers and breath.
3. Tobacco causes teeth to yellow and creates excess dental plaque.
4. Smoking tobacco and the use of smokeless tobacco cause bad breath.
5. Tobacco makes your skin wrinkly, making you look older faster. Smoking prematurely ages the skin by wearing away proteins that give the skin elasticity, depleting it of vitamin A and restricting blood flow.
6. These wrinkles are more apparent around the lips and eyes and tobacco also makes skin leathery and dry.
7. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of developing psoriasis, a noncontagious inflammatory skin condition that leaves itchy, oozing red patches all over the body.
Tobacco threatens the health of your friends and family – not just you.
8. Over 1 million people die every year from exposure to second-hand smoke.
9. Non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk of developing lung cancer.
10. Cigarettes remain an important cause of accidental fires and resulting deaths.
11. E-cigarettes also expose non-smokers and bystanders to nicotine and other harmful chemicals.
12. Being exposed to second-hand smoke may increase the risk of progression from tuberculosis infection to active disease.
13. Being exposed to second-hand smoke is associated with type 2 diabetes.
Smoking or using e-cigarettes around children compromises their health and safety
14. Smokers’ children suffer reduced lung function, which continues to affect them in the form of chronic respiratory disorders in adulthood.
15. Exposure of children to e-cigarette liquid continues to pose serious risks. There is a risk of the devices leaking, or of children swallowing the liquid.
16. E-cigarettes have been known to cause serious injuries, including burns, through fires and explosions.
17. School-aged children exposed to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke are also at risk for asthma through inflammation of the airways to the lungs.
18. Children under 2 years of age who are exposed to second-hand smoke in the home could get middle-ear disease possibly leading to hearing loss and deafness.
19. Quitting smoking decreases the risk of many diseases related to second-hand smoke in children, such as respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma) and ear infections.
Tobacco use has negative social consequences.
20. You want to be a good example for your kids, friends, and loved ones.
21. Tobacco use can affect social interactions and relationships negatively.
22. Quitting means there are no restrictions on where you can go – you can mingle socially, without feeling isolated or having to go outside to smoke.
23. Quitting can make you more productive – you won’t have to stop what you are doing to have a smoke all the time.
It’s expensive - you could be spending your money on more important things
24. One study found that smokers burn through an average of $1.4 million in personal costs, includes spending on cigarettes, medical costs and lower wages brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
25. Tobacco use affects the health and productivity of workers making them prone to missed days at work.
26. Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco.
27. Tobacco use burdens the global economy with an estimated US$ 1.4 trillion in healthcare costs for treating the diseases caused by tobacco and lost human capital from tobacco-attributable sickness and death.
All forms of tobacco are deadly.
31. Every year, over 8 million people die from tobacco.
32. Tobacco kills half of its users. Use of tobacco in any form robs you of your health and causes debilitating diseases.
33. Smoking shisha is just as harmful as other forms of tobacco use.
34. Chewing tobacco can cause mouth cancer, tooth loss, brown teeth, white patches and gum disease.
35. The nicotine in smokeless tobacco is more easily absorbed than by smoking cigarettes enhancing its addictiveness.
When you buy tobacco, you are financially supporting an industry that exploits farmers and children and pedals sickness and death.
36. Tobacco growers are exposed to ill health by nicotine that is absorbed through the skin, as well as exposure to heavy pesticides and exposure to tobacco dust.
37. In some countries, children are employed in tobacco farming, which impacts not only their health, but also their ability to attend school.
38. Tobacco use can worsen poverty since tobacco users are at much higher risk of falling ill and dying prematurely of cancers, heart attacks, respiratory diseases or other tobacco-related diseases, depriving families of much-needed income and imposing additional costs for health care.
39. The vast majority employed in the overall tobacco sector earn very little, while the big tobacco companies reap enormous profits.
Heated tobacco products are harmful to health.
40. Heated tobacco products (HTPs) expose users to toxic emissions many of which can cause cancer.
41. Heated tobacco products are themselves tobacco products, therefore, switching from conventional tobacco products to HTPs does not equal quitting.
42. There is insufficient evidence to support the claim that heated tobacco products (HTPs) are less harmful relative to conventional cigarettes
E-cigarettes are harmful to health and not safe
43. Children and adolescents who use e-cigarettes at least double their chance of smoking cigarettes later in life.
44. E-cigarette use increases your risk of heart disease and lung disorders.
45. Nicotine in e-cigarettes is a highly addictive drug that can damage children’s developing brains.
46. Tobacco use is responsible for 25% of all cancer deaths globally.
47. Smokers are up to 22 times more likely to develop lung cancer in their lifetime than non-smokers. Tobacco smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, causing over two thirds of lung cancer deaths globally.
48. One in five tobacco smokers will develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in their lifetime, especially people who start smoking during their childhood and teenage years, since tobacco smoke significantly slows lung growth and development.
49. Smoking can exacerbate asthma in adults, restricting their activity, contributing to disability and increasing the risk of severe asthma attacks requiring emergency care.
50. Tobacco smoking more than doubles the risk of transforming tuberculosis from a latent state to an active state, and is also known to worsen the natural progression of the disease. About one quarter of the world’s population has latent tuberculosis.
51. Just a few cigarettes a day, occasional smoking, or exposure to second-hand smoke increase the risk of heart disease.
52. Tobacco smokers have up to twice the risk of stroke and a fourfold increased risk of heart disease.
53. Tobacco smoke damages the arteries of the heart, causing the build-up of plaque and development of blood clots, thereby restricting blood flow and eventually leading to heart attacks and strokes.
54. Use of nicotine and tobacco products increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Tobacco causes over 20 types of cancer.
55. Smoking and smokeless tobacco use cause oral cancer, cancers of the lips, throat (pharynx and larynx) and oesophagus.
56. Surgical removal of the cancerous larynx can lead to the need for tracheostomy, the creation of a hole in the neck and windpipe that allows the patient to breathe.
57. Smokers are at a significantly higher risk of developing acute myeloid leukaemia; cancer of the nasal and paranasal sinus cavities; colorectal, kidney, liver, pancreatic, stomach or ovarian cancer; and cancer of the lower urinary tract (including the bladder, ureter and renal pelvis).
58. Some studies have also demonstrated a link between tobacco smoking and an increased risk of breast cancer, particularly among heavy smokers and women who start smoking before their first pregnancy.
59. Smoking is also known to increase the risk of cervical cancer in women infected with human papillomavirus.
Smokers are more likely to lose their vision and hearing
60. Smoking causes many eye diseases which, if left untreated, can lead to permanent vision loss.
61. Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to develop age-related macular degeneration, a condition that results in irreversible vision loss.
62. Smokers also have a higher risk of cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens that blocks light. Cataracts cause vision impairment, and surgery is the only option to restore vision.
63. Some evidence suggests that smoking also causes glaucoma, a condition that increases pressure in the eye and can damage eyesight.
64. Adult smokers are more likely to suffer hearing loss.
Tobacco harms almost every organ of the body.
65. Lifelong tobacco smokers lose at least 10 years of life on average.
66. With every puff of a cigarette, toxins and carcinogens are delivered to the body, at least 70 of the chemicals are known to cause cancer.
67. The risk of developing diabetes is higher in smokers.
68. Smoking is a risk factor for dementia, a group of disorders that result in mental decline.
69. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and an estimated 14% of Alzheimer’s cases globally can be attributed to smoking.
70. Women who smoke are more likely to experience painful menstruation and more severe menopausal symptoms.
71. Menopause occurs 1–4 years earlier in female smokers because smoking reduces the production of eggs in the ovaries, resulting in a loss of reproductive function and subsequent low estrogen levels.
72. Tobacco smoke reduces the delivery of oxygen to the body’s tissues.
73. Tobacco use restricts blood flow which, if left untreated, can lead to gangrene (death of body tissue) and amputation of affected areas.
74. Tobacco use increases the risk of periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory disease that wears away at the gums and destroys the jawbone, leading to tooth loss.
75. Tobacco smokers are at significantly higher risk than non-smokers for post-surgical complications.
76. Tobacco smokers are harder to wean off mechanical ventilation. This often lengthens their intensive care unit (ICU) and overall hospital stay, potentially exposing them to other infection.
77. Smokers are likely to experience gastrointestinal disorders, such as stomach ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, associated with abdominal cramps, persistent diarrhea, fever and rectal bleeding, and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
78. Smokers are more likely to lose bone density, fracture more easily and experience serious complications, such as delayed healing or failure to heal.
79. Components of tobacco smoke weaken the immune system, putting smokers at risk of pulmonary infections.
80. Smokers with a genetic predisposition to autoimmune disorders are at an increased risk of several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, bacterial meningitis, postsurgical infection, and cancers.
81. Smoking also puts immune-compromised individuals, such as those living with cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis or cancer, at a higher risk of disease-related comorbidities and premature death.
82. The immunosuppressive effects of tobacco put people living with HIV at an increased risk of developing AIDS. Among HIV-positive smokers, the average length of life lost is 12.3 years, more than double the number of years lost by HIV-positive non-smokers.
Tobacco and nicotine use harm your baby.
83. Tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy increase the risk for fetal death.
84. Women who smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy are at an increased risk of miscarriage.
85. Stillbirths (the delivery of fetuses that have died in the womb) are also more common owing to fetal oxygen deprivation and placental abnormalities induced by carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke and by nicotine in tobacco smoke and smokeless tobacco.
86. Smokers are at higher risk of ectopic pregnancy, a potentially fatal complication for the mother in which the fertilized egg attaches outside the uterus.
87. Smoking cessation and protection from exposure to second-hand smoke are especially important for women of reproductive age planning to become pregnant and during pregnancy.
88. E-cigarettes pose significant risks to pregnant women who use them, as they can damage the growing fetus.
89. Infants born to women who smoke, use smokeless tobacco, or are exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy have a higher risk of preterm birth and low birth weight.
Tobacco pollutes the environment.
90. Governments and local authorities pay to clean up tobacco waste, not the tobacco companies themselves. Quit tobacco to protect the environment.
91. Cigarette butts are among the most commonly discarded piece of waste globally and are the most frequent item of litter picked up on beaches and water edges worldwide.
92. Hazardous substances have been identified in cigarette butts – including arsenic, lead, nicotine and formaldehyde. These substances are leached from discarded butts into aquatic environments and soil.
93. Tobacco smoke can measurably contribute to air pollution levels in a city.
94. A single tobacco smoker could contribute over 24,000 metric tons of methane or 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the planet per year.
95. Most cigarettes are lit using matches or gas-filled lighters. If, for example, one wooden match is used to light two cigarettes, the six trillion cigarettes smoked globally each year would require the destruction of about nine million trees to produce three trillion matches.
96. E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products may contain batteries that require special disposal as well as chemicals, packaging and other non-biodegradable materials.
97. Currently, the majority of plastic e-cigarette liquid cartridges are not reusable or recyclable – transnational companies tend to sell disposable ones, presumably to boost sales via repeat customers.
98. Tobacco production emissions are estimated to equate 3 million transatlantic flights.
99. Tobacco smoke contains three kinds of greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides and pollutes indoor and outdoor environments.
100. Worldwide, approximately 200 000 hectares are for tobacco agriculture and curing each year.
101. Deforestation for tobacco growing has many serious environmental consequences – including loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and degradation, water pollution and increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
102. Tobacco growing usually involves substantial use of chemicals – including pesticides, fertilizers and growth regulators. These chemicals may affect drinking water sources as a result of run-off from tobacco growing areas.
103. For every 300 cigarettes produced (roughly 1.5 cartons), one tree is required to cure the tobacco leaf alone.
104. With 6 trillion cigarettes manufactured annually, about 300 billion packages (assuming 20 cigarettes per pack) are made for tobacco products. Assuming each empty pack weighs about six grams, this amounts to about 1 800 000 tonnes of packaging waste, composed of paper, ink, cellophane, foil and glue. The waste from cartons and boxes used for distribution and packing brings the total annual solid post-consumption waste to at least 2 000 000 tonnes.

Cigarette smoking is still the single greatest cause of lung cancer, which is why screening recommendations apply only to current and former smokers and why 84% of U.S. women and 90% of U.S. men with a new diagnosis of lung cancer have ever smoked, according to a study published in December in JAMA Oncology. Still, 12% of U.S. lung cancer patients are never-smokers.

Tobacco causes 8 million deaths every year. The benefits of quitting tobacco are almost immediate. After just 20 minutes of quitting smoking, your heart rate drops. Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. Within 2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and lung function increases. Within 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Within 5-15 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker. Within 10 years, your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker. Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is that of a non-smoker. If that’s not enough here are a few more reasons! New Gadget to help you Quit Smoking - The Whitest Kids U' Know - Nic-O-Dick (youtube).

Prescription Drugs - Pills - Opioids

America has an epidemic of prescription drug abuse and deaths that is extremely sickening. Prescription overdoses kill more people than heroin and cocaine. Teen drug overdoses doubled from 1999 to 2015, CDC Reveals. 70K opioid-related deaths likely went unreported due to incomplete death certificates. Several states are likely dramatically underestimating the effect of opioid-related deaths because of incomplete death certificate reporting, with Pennsylvania leading the pack, according to a new analysis. In 2024, 42% of American adults know someone who died from an overdose.

Big Pharma is "in your face" illegal activity. Too many meds and not enough education.

The Foster Care System is flooded with children of the opioid epidemic. So this is not just about all the deaths from pharmaceuticals. More than 320,000 children across the United States lost a parent due to a drug overdose between 2011 and 2021. That's according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry Wednesday. Orphaned by Covid19.

81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, according to recent provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl, appear to be the primary driver of the increases in overdose deaths, increasing 38.4 percent from the 12-month period leading up to June 2019 compared with the 12-month period leading up to May 2020. More than a million Americans have died from overdoses during the opioid epidemic.

U.S. Sees Deadly Drug Overdose Spike During Pandemic. Because the U.S. government doesn't collect comprehensive overdose data, the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program reports — based on information submitted by more than 1,200 agencies nationwide — offer the best snapshot of how the pandemic is affecting Americans at risk of drug overdose. Nationally, in 2018, there were over 67,000 drug overdose deaths with opioids representing nearly 70% of all overdose deaths. 67% of all opioid-involved overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids.

Overdose Opioid Help (drug deaths) - 70,000 overdoses in 2017 - Drug Overdose Deaths.

The Real Cost Of The Opioid Epidemic: An Estimated $179 Billion In Just 1 Year.

America's Manufactured Opioid Crisis - The Hidden History of The Heroin Pushers (youtube)

Manufactured Controversy

Between 40% and 60% of a person's “vulnerability to addiction” is related to genetic factors, including the impact of environmental factors on how those genes work, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

State Sponsored Opioid Crisis. Massive increase in unhoused homeless people dying in LA, mostly from overdoses caused by fentanyl. Overdoses account for 37% of all deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined. That’s about two deaths per day. In 2021, 71% of fentanyl deaths among people experiencing homelessness also involved methamphetamine. Fentanyl took in combination with another drug or taken because it was added to another drug without their knowledge. Fentanyl is being found everywhere now. It's being found in illicit drugs, it's being found in counterfeit pills. The individuals who are being exposed are very broad now, it’s not just people experiencing homelessness. The third leading cause of death was traffic injuries. The homicide rate increased by 49% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Coronary heart disease was the second leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness. Coronary heart disease deaths accounted for 14% of all deaths among persons experiencing homelessness in 2020 and 2021 combined — about 5 deaths per week on average. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the general population. The report relied on data from the 2022 homeless count and from medical examiners who tend to investigate non-natural deaths, such as deaths caused by suspicious circumstances including overdoses, homicides and suicides.  Compared to the general population, people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County in 2020 and 2021 were: 38 times more likely to die from an overdose, 20 times more likely to die from a transportation-related injury, 15 times more likely to die from homicide, 8 times more likely to die from suicide, 4 times more likely to die from coronary heart disease and 1.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 up 70% between just 2019 and 2021, according to county health officials. Statistics released by the L.A. County Department of Public Health: 2014: 658, 2015: 766, 2016: 884, 2017: 1,027, 2018: 1,129, 2019: 1,289, 2020: 1,811, 2021: 2,201.

Fentanyl crisis in San Francisco (video reddit)

90% of illicit fentanyl is seized at official border crossings, not from migrants crossing illegally. Nearly all of that is smuggled by people who are legally authorized to cross the border, and more than half by U.S. citizens, someone who is authorized to cross the border, and goes back and forth often because they won't attract attention from customs officers at the port. Sometimes fentanyl and other drugs are concealed inside tractor-trailers carrying loads of legitimate cargo into the U.S. More often, authorities say, it's hidden in passenger cars or on the bodies of pedestrians.  The Border Patrol in Tucson Arizona, 10,000 pounds of fentanyl seized in Nogales and other ports in Arizona. Carpet shoes are like slippers made of carpet that go over regular shoes. Migrants regularly use them in an effort to make it harder for the Border Patrol to track footsteps.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a 2022 documentary film which explores the career of Nan Goldin and the fall of the Sackler family.

Scumbags in the justice system are holding families accountable for drug over doses but not the the pharm companies that made the pain drugs extremely addictive. Pharm companies didn't have to make pain medicine extremely addictive, they only did it for the money, like most criminals do.

The Pharmacist is an American true crime documentary series about the heroic activist efforts of Dan Schneider, who was a small-town pharmacist in Poydras, Louisiana. When Dan lead an investigation to identify his son's killer, this eventually led to his gathering evidence against a prolific "pill mill" doctor in New Orleans, long before the opioid epidemic gains nationwide attention. Dan Schneider grew up in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. The film was released in February 2020 on Netflix. The Pharmacist | Official Trailer | Netflix (youtube).

Dopesick is an American drama miniseries that shows the negligence, corruption and greed of Purdue Pharma when they pushed the drug Oxycotin, which was a semi-synthetic opioid that was highly addictive. Purdue Pharma lied about the dangers and mislead doctors, nurses and patients, and ended up killing over 400,000 people and ruining millions of lives of friends and families across America.

Dope Sick is slang for opiate withdrawal symptoms.

Pseudo Addiction is the miss-treatment of pain, rather than the addiction.

Drug Diversion is the illegal distribution or abuse of prescription drugs or their use for purposes not intended by the prescriber. Prescription drug diversion may occur at any time as prescription drugs are distributed from the manufacturer to wholesale distributors, to pharmacies, or to the patient.

Victim Blaming is like you making a car with faulty breaks and then blaming the driver for driving the car without being aware of the risks and the dangers that you were negligent in creating. Relaxed Status.

Breakthrough Pain is a sudden and brief flare-up of pain even when on medication. Breakthrough Infection.

Holy Trinity is a combination of opioids, benzodiazepines and carisoprodol, which is a muscle relaxant also known as Soma.

DEA attacks pharmacies trying to dispense addiction medicine that halves the risk of overdose and doubles people's chances of entering long-term recovery. Buprenorphine, a controlled substance sold under the brand names Subutex and Suboxone, is a medication to treat opioid use disorder. Research shows it halves the risk of overdose and doubles people's chances of entering long-term recovery. The Drug Enforcement Administration raided Njoku's pharmacy and accused the facility of contributing to the opioid epidemic rather than curbing it. The agency revoked the pharmacy's registration to dispense controlled substances, claiming it posed an "imminent danger to public health and safety." Although two judges separately ruled in Njoku's favor, the DEA's actions effectively shuttered his business. "I lost everything that I worked for." Drug overdose deaths hit record highs last year, and despite medical experts considering medications like buprenorphine the gold standard, less than 20% of people with opioid use disorder typically receive them. The federal government has taken steps to increase the number of clinicians who prescribe buprenorphine, but many patients struggle to get those prescriptions filled. A recent study found that 1 in 5 U.S. pharmacies do not provide buprenorphine.

Marino Bill was named after Rep. Tom Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican who is now President Trump’s nominee to become the nation’s next drug czar. The bill weakened the DEA’s ability to go after drug distributors, even as opioid-related deaths continue to rise. In April 2016, at the height of the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, amid a targeted lobbying effort by drug companies, congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nation’s streets. By 2016, the opioid war had claimed 200,000 lives, more than three times the number of U.S. military deaths in the Vietnam War. Overdose deaths continue to rise. There is no end in sight. A handful of members of Congress, allied with the nation’s major drug distributors, prevailed upon the DEA and the Justice Department to agree to a more industry-friendly law, undermining efforts to stanch the flow of pain pills, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and “60 Minutes.” The DEA had opposed the effort for years. The law was the crowning achievement of a multifaceted campaign by the drug industry to weaken aggressive DEA enforcement efforts against drug distribution companies that were supplying corrupt doctors and pharmacists who peddled narcotics to the black market. The industry worked behind the scenes with lobbyists and key members of Congress, pouring more than a million dollars into their election campaigns. The chief advocate of the law that hobbled the DEA was Rep. Tom Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican who is now President Trump’s nominee to become the nation’s next drug czar. Marino spent years trying to move the law through Congress. It passed after Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) negotiated a final version with the DEA. For years, some drug distributors were fined for repeatedly ignoring warnings from the DEA to shut down suspicious sales of hundreds of millions of pills, while they racked up billions of dollars in sales. The new law makes it virtually impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotic shipments from the companies, according to internal agency and Justice Department documents and an independent assessment by the DEA’s chief administrative law judge in a soon-to-be-published law review article. That powerful tool had allowed the agency to immediately prevent drugs from reaching the street. Political action committees representing the industry contributed at least $1.5 million to the 23 lawmakers who sponsored or co-sponsored four versions of the bill, including nearly $100,000 to Marino and $177,000 to Hatch. Overall, the drug industry spent $102 million lobbying Congress on the bill and other legislation between 2014 and 2016, according to lobbying reports.

Legal intoxicants are those intoxicating drugs which are either completely legal or not commonly prohibited by various drug laws. The most widely consumed legal intoxicant is alcohol.

Off-Label Use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication or in an unapproved age group, dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although most studies of off-label use focus on prescription drugs. Off-label use is generally legal unless it violates ethical guidelines or safety regulations. The ability to prescribe drugs for uses beyond the officially approved indications is commonly used to good effect by healthcare providers. For example, methotrexate is commonly used off-label because its immunomodulatory effects relieve various disorders. However, off-label use can entail health risks and differences in legal liability. Marketing of pharmaceuticals for off-label use is usually prohibited. But scumbag pharmaceutical companies think they are above the law.

Fentanyl is an opioid used as a pain medication and together with other medications for anesthesia. Fentanyl was first made by Paul Janssen in 1960 and approved for medical use in the United States in 1968. In 2015, 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb) were used in healthcare globally. As of 2017, fentanyl was the most widely used synthetic opioid in medicine. In 2016, it was the 218th most prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 2 million prescriptions. Only 2 milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose for most people. Many overdose deaths were due to illegally made fentanyl where the person is not aware that they are taking the drug. Cephalon (wiki) - McKesson Corporation (wiki) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (wiki). Insys Therapeutics (wiki) - Companies are guilty of overstating or exaggerating the benefits and while downplaying the risks and dangers.

Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl (TIRF) Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program is an FDA-required program designed to ensure informed risk-benefit decisions before initiating treatment, and while patients are treated to ensure appropriate use of TIRF medicines. The purpose of the TIRF REMS Access program is to mitigate the risk of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and serious complications due to medication errors with the use of TIRF medicines.

Sufentanil is sold under the brand names Dsuvia and Sufenta, is a synthetic opioid analgesic drug approximately 5 to 10 times more potent than its parent drug, fentanyl, and 500 times as potent as morphine, which is a pain medication of the opiate family which is found naturally in a number of plants and animals.

Reducing Addiction Cravings (addictions)

In 2012 alone, more than twice as many people died from prescription narcotic overdoses as died from heroin in certain states. Most people addicted to prescription painkillers don't move on to heroin, but three out of four new heroin users began by using narcotic painkillers. Opioid Prescriptions Decreased In States With Legalized Marijuana.

Doctors Reduced Opioid Prescriptions After Learning a Patient Overdosed. Doctors confronted with information about patient deaths by opioid overdose became more careful in prescribing the painkillers once they learned the risks first-hand. A new study shows many clinicians do not know about patient overdose deaths once they leave their care. Overcoming the disconnect by sharing news of losing a patient makes the opioid crisis more personal and leads doctors to reduce.

But despite increased attention to opioid abuse, prescriptions have remained relatively unchanged for many US patients.

Babies Born Addicted to Drugs has increased substantially—500 percent—in the last half decade or so. A child is born with NAS about every half hour in the U.S. that one baby is born addicted to some sort of opiate every hour in the U.S. and that 13,539 babies are born with NAS [Neo-Natal Abstinence Syndrome] each year. A new study conducted by the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that the number of babies born with addictions to prescription painkillers has more than tripled in the past decade. Special Needs.

Two major drug distributors, also known as wholesalers, have formally agreed to pay millions of dollars to settle claims that they failed to report suspicious orders for controlled substances to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as required by law.

Cardinal Health Agrees to $44 Million Settlement for Alleged Violations of Controlled Substances Act

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported in December how drug companies shipped nearly 9 million hydrocodone pills over two years to one pharmacy in the town of Kermit, W. Va., population 392. All told, the newspaper reported, drug wholesalers distributed 780 million pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone in the state over six years. "The unfettered shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia," the story said.

The death toll from drug overdoses topped 52,000 in 2015, including 33,000 involving an opioid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Nation of the Walking Dead: Big Pharma and Casinos Earn Millions While Tens of Thousands Die From Addiction. The United States consumes 80 percent of opioids used worldwide.

There are 300 million prescriptions written and $24 billion spent annually in the U.S. for painkillers. Americans supplement this mostly legal addiction with over $100 billion a year in illicit marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. And nearly 14 million U.S. adults, one in every 13, regularly abuse alcohol.

78 People Die everyday From Opioid Overdose, now it's 91 a day in 2017: Surgeon General

Purdue Pharma a privately held pharmaceutical company founded by physicians and now based in Stamford, Connecticut, known for its highly addictive and dangerous pain treatment products, such as MS Contin, OxyContin, hydromorphone, oxycodone, fentanyl, codeine, and hydrocodone. In May 2007, the company pleaded guilty to misleading the public about Oxycontin's risk of addiction, and agreed to pay $600 million in one of the largest pharmaceutical settlements in U.S. history. On October 4, 2007, Kentucky officials sued Purdue because of widespread Oxycontin abuse in Appalachia. A lawsuit filed by Kentucky then-Attorney General Greg Stumbo and Pike County officials demanded millions in compensation. Eight years later, on December 23, 2015, Kentucky settled with Purdue for $24 million. No intervention was made by Purdue to contact the DEA for years despite knowing of the practice and the overuse and sale of their product. Communities are seeking reimbursement related to costs of policing, housing, health care, rehabilitation, criminal justice system, park and recreations department, as well as to the loss of life or compromised quality of life of the citizens of the city directly. And since many people addicted to pain killers end up on Heroin, I'm sure that it was just another business decision to flood the streets of America with Heroin. Criminal Scumbags mass murder people everyday just for money. Our justice system is dysfunctional, just like our schools.

Ohio Sues 5 Major Drug Companies For 'Fueling Opioid Epidemic'. The five manufacturers which are listed as defendants include: Purdue Pharma, which sold OxyContin, MS Contin, Dilaudid, Butrans, Hyslingla, and Targiniq. Endo Health Solutions, which sold Percocet, Percodan, Opana, and Zydone. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and its subsidiary Cephalon, which sold Actiq and Fentora. Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which sold Duragesic and Nucynta. Allergan, which sold Kadian, Norco, and several generic opioids.

Attorney General DeWine Files Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers for Fraudulent Marketing; Fueling Opioid Epidemic

Over the Counter Drug - Cause and Effect

The Organization of American States estimates that 2.5 million hectares of Amazonian forest in Peru have been destroyed to grow coca, while more than 1 million hectares of forest in Colombia have been culled to grow illicit drugs, including opium poppies for heroin.

"I think my girlfriend's a secret drug dealer. I just answered her phone, and this man said "is that dope still there?"

Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving China and the British Empire over the British trade of opium and China's sovereignty. The clashes included the First Opium War (1839–1842) and the Second Opium War (1856–1860). The wars and events between them weakened the Qing dynasty and forced China to trade with the other parts of the world.

The Organization of American States is a continental organization founded on 30 April 1948, for the purposes of regional solidarity and cooperation among its member states. Headquartered in Washington, United States, the OAS's members are the 35 independent states of the Americas.