THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is found in the plant called marijuana. THC marijuana (9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the primary active ingredient in cannabinoids (marijuana). When ingested or smoked, it produces euphoric effects. Users have impairment of short-term memory and a reduced ability to learn. Also, it may cause transient episodes of confusion, anxiety, or even toxic delirium. Long term effects are uncommon, but relatively heavy use may be associated with behavioral disorders. Marijuana is used by millions of users every year, and that number continues to grow as more and more evidence uncovers its positive medical effects and disproves the negative publicity the drug receives. Marijuana has been proved to be less harmful then alcohol and cigarettes. With the increase of marijuana smokers the increase in the cover up and detoxification of marijuana increases as well. This leads to more and more urinary cleansers being marketed and used.

The most popular employer and goverment drug test for THC is urine tests. Marijuana is absorbed into our fatty tissues and the liver, and eventually end up in our urine. Elevated levels of the urinary metabolite 11-nor-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carb oxylic acid are found within hours of exposure and remain detectable for 3-10 days after smoking. The THC / marijuana drug test is based on the principle of the highly specific immunochemical reactions between antigens and antibodies, which are used for the analysis of specific substances in biological fluids. The sensitivity is 50 ng/ml of THC marijuana.

Heated Prescription Pot Users To Prosecute County

Medical marijuana users said they will sue the county over the closure of local pot shops. They’re angry because Sheriff Donny Youngblood, with the blessing of Board of Supervisors, has stopped issuing permits for the medical pot clinics.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/67139-heated-prescription-pot-users-prosecute-county.html

Another Medical Marijuana Dispensary Casualty

Despite our weekend report that the California Patients Group was doing all that it could to stay open, and continue to aid the sick and the needy with care and medical cannibis, they will be closing their doors.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/67121-another-medical-marijuana-dispensary-casualty.html

Ideology Over Compassion

Cancer-stricken folks on the Central Coast have been saved from the perils of the evil weed marijuana, thanks to the single-minded battle against the pernicious plant by our ever-vigilant federal government. Of course, those who were using the herb said they needed it to reduce pain and other symptoms from cancer, glaucoma and other ailments. But Uncle Sam’s minions apparently know the suffering these maladies cause better than those who are actually suffering.

read more: Ideology Over Compassion

Claremont Takes A Stand: Medical Marijuana Approved

Cheers erupted from the council chamber just past midnight Wednesday morning as medical marijuana advocates celebrated the city council’s decision to permit medical marijuana in Claremont.

read more: Medical Marijuana Approved

Medical-Pot Protest In Riverside

About 30 medical-marijuana advocates shouting slogans and carrying signs picketed outside the Riverside office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration Friday protesting recent raids on medical-marijuana dispensaries.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/67054-medical-pot-protest-riverside.html

DEA Serves 10 Warrants In LA Medical Marijuana Crackdown

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration served search warrants at 10 different locations throughout Los Angeles County in connection with its crackdown on medical marijuana facilities.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/66990-dea-serves-10-warrants-la-medical-marijuana-crackdown.html

LA City Council Votes To End Raids On Same Day As DEA Invades Dispensaries

On July 25th, the Los Angeles City Council voted to move forward with the regulation of medical cannabis (marijuana) dispensaries. At nearly the same time, federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were conducting raids on at least 6 dispensaries in the Los Angeles area.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/67008-la-city-council-votes-end-raids-same-day-dea-invades-dispensaries.html

Medical Pot Users Storm Meeting

A large group of Kern County medical marijuana users and supporters demanded county supervisors uphold state law Tuesday. They said they struggle with ulcers, migraines, glaucoma, nervous-system disorders, heart problems and arthritis.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/66967-medical-pot-users-storm-meeting.html

Activists March For Medicinal Marijuana

Supporters of medical marijuana were out in numbers Saturday, marching for the fight to keep medicinal pot legal. Saturday afternoon at Beach Park in central Bakersfield, dozens from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also known as NORML, gathered to hold signs and march for medicinal marijuana.

read more: March For Medicinal Marijuana

L.A. Landlords Risk Arrest, Loss Of Properties

Raising the stakes in their war against medical pot, federal officials have warned more than 150 L.A. landlords that they risk arrest and the loss of their properties if they continue renting to marijuana dispensaries, it was reported Tuesday.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/66802-l-landlords-risk-arrest-loss-properties.html

O.C. To License Medical Marijuana

Orange County will begin licensing medical marijuana use and issuing identification cards to patients who are entitled to it under a plan approved by county supervisors Tuesday.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/66777-o-c-license-medical-marijuana.html

Santa Barbara Loses Legal Effort To Dump Pot Law

A judge on Tuesday threw out a City Council challenge to a voter initiative that made busting adults for marijuana crimes the lowest priority for police.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/california-cannabis-news/66579-santa-barbara-loses-legal-effort-dump-pot-law.html

Two scientific studies provide further evidence that medical marijuana laws don't increase marijuana use, and that even weak marijuana works in some ways better than high-dose Marinol, the THC pill sometimes touted as a substitute for marijuana.

In a study published online by the International Journal of Drug Policy, researchers from the Texas A&M Health/Science Center analyzed two sets of data designed to monitor emerging drug-use trends, the ADAM and the DAWN, from locations where medical cannabis laws have been put into effect. ADAM is based on urine tests of adult and juvenile arrestees, while DAWN tracks mentions of drug use in records of hospital emergency departments. Both sets of data, from before and after implementation of the medical cannabis laws, were looked at in a "time-series analysis" based on the premise that "if the law in question has an impact (either positive or negative) then the series of observations that follow its implementation will have a different slope or trend than those that occurred before."

In both sets of data (California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) the researchers found no change in the trend after medical cannabis laws went into effect. "Consistent with other studies of the liberalization of cannabis laws," they wrote, "[the results] indicate that medical cannabis laws do not increase use of the drug."

A second study, in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and also published online ahead of its appearance in print, compared the THC pill marketed as Marinol to smoked marijuana supplied by the NIDA. While both medications proved effective at stimulating appetite, reducing the need for other medications to combat gastrointestinal problems, and helping patients sleep, it took eight times the recommended dose of Marinol to roughly equal the efficacy of weak marijuana, with 3.9 percent THC, supplied by NIDA. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the average THC content of cannabis seized by law enforcement during the first quarter of 2007 was 8.5 percent.

The study's "double-dummy" design successfully prevented patients from identifying which active treatment they were receiving at any given time, overcoming a common problem with cannabis and THC studies. Although researchers characterized the efficacy of Marinol and whole marijuana in the study as "similar," only whole cannabis produced statistically significant improvements in patients' levels of hunger, desire to eat, and quality of sleep. Marijuana also produced a higher daily caloric intake than even the highest Marinol dose, although in this small and relatively brief study, that difference did not reach statistical significance.

Neither treatment produced significant negative side effects. Strikingly, when patients were given a series of tests measuring learning, memory and other cognitive functions, neither cannabis nor oral THC produced any significant changes in performance.

website:BBSNews - New Studies: Medical Marijuana Laws Don't Increase Use