textfiles/drugs/MARYJANE/h_health.txt

HEMP FOR  HEALTH    Compiled  by  the  Business  Alliance  for
Commerce in Hemp (BACH).
 
Hemp has  a long, Proud history of medical use and hundreds of
therapeutic applications.
 
     For more  than 3,500  years, Hemp  has been (depending on
the culture or nation) either the most used or one of the most
widely used plants for medicines. This includes: China, India,
the Middle  and Near  East, Africa  and Europe.  From 1850  to
1937, Hemp  was America's  prime medicine  for more  than  100
separate illnesses or diseases.
 
     Research by  Dr. Raphael  Mechoulam, etc.  indicates that
when Cannabis  Hemp is  legally available,  it  will  directly
replace some  10-20% of  all prescription pharmaceutical drugs
and  that   probably  40-50%   of  all   medicines  could  use
derivatives of the cannabis plant.
 
     Hemp For  Health -  Medical uses of Hemp include treating
back pain,  asthma, glaucoma, epilepsy, cancer, muscle spasms,
migraines, tumors,  stress, depression  and anorexia. It is an
antibiotic and  expectorant, useful in muscle ointments and to
treat arthritis  and rheumatism. Hundreds of other therapeutic
uses are  likely, but  health   permits are required to use
it, and  the federal  government banned  research into medical
use  of  Hemp,  so  millions  of  people  continue  to  suffer
needlessly, and  a valuable herbal medicine with minimal side-
effects is held hostage by out-of-date laws.
 
     Cannabis users statistically live one or two years longer
than  non-users.   Hemp  offers  affordable  health  care  for
America.
 
     Hemp Helps  Children -  Medicines based  on hemp would be
most beneficial  to young  children, bringing  a  lifetime  of
relief and  ad ing years to their lives. Asthma symptoms could
be permanently  reduced. Hemp  eases the  symptoms of epilepsy
and prevents  glaucoma  from  developing,  bringing  effective
relief to  those  unfortunate  enough  to  suffer  from  these
illnesses.
 
     Hemp for  Cancer -  Hemp reduces  the nausea  suffered by
chemotherapy  patients.  This  same  characteristic  has  also
recently been  utilized by  AIDS  patients  and  is  sometimes
indicated for motion sickness (sea sickness).
 
     Hemp Saves  Eyes - Medical Hemp would benefit some 90% of
victims of  glaucoma, a  blinding disease.  Cannabis does  not
cure it  or reverse  the loss  of vision,  but  can  halt  the
glaucoma sufferer's progressive deterioration of eyesight.
 
     Hemp for arthritis & Rheumatism - A traditional treatment
for these ailments is to soak cannabis in alcohol and apply it
locally in a poultice.
 
     Hemp Relieves  Stress - Cannabis reduces mental agitation
and ulcers.  One out  of two American marriages end in divorce
and domestic  violence is  on the  increase. Studies  indicate
that these problems often result from the stress and depressed
sex drive  associated with  the fast pace of modern life. Hemp
is well  known for  its ability  to reduce  stress and promote
relaxation, and  has long been regarded as an aphrodisiac, yet
it is not available on the open market.
 
     Cannabis was  withdrawn from  the American Public in 1938
against the  advice of  the medical  community. Hemp was moved
from the  Class  2  schedule  of  drugs  (having  demonstrated
medical value) and listed as Class 1 (dangerous substance with
no  known  medical  value)  by  the  Nixon  administration  in
1970-despite all  evidence to the contrary-and was retained as
Class 1 by the Bush administration in 1989.
 
     In 1972  the Nixon-appointed Shafer Commission urged that
cannabis be  re-legalized, which  was not done. Still, medical
research
continued -often  with remarkable  results. Cannabis was shown
to help  treat numerous  health problems  with very  few  side
effects.
 
     Eleven  states   went  on   to  adopt   laws  authorizing
prescription use of medical marijuana.
 
     More Research  Is Needed - At the 1975 National Institute
of Drug  Abuse (NIDA)  Asilomar Conference,  participants were
amazed at  the documented  results of  marijuana research  and
agreed that  a massive national research project was in order.
Instead, all  federal research  grants were terminated in 1976
and subsequent private research has been heavily restricted.
 
     By late 1983 the Reagan/Bush administration had destroyed
large  amounts   of  data  compiled  in  government  sponsored
marijuana research  and put  out a feeler to private and state
universities and  others to  destroy their  own records.  Most
refused to do so.
 
     In September,  1988,  DEA  Administrative  Judge  Francis
Young concluded  that cannabis should be re-scheduled as Class
2 and  made available  for medical use. It has not been. Write
to your  representatives and ask that Hemp be re-legalized for
use in America.
 
     There are  thousands of  other uses  for Hemp:  textiles,
paper, fiber, food, fuel, medicine and more.
 
     For more  information, we  recommend that  you  read  The
Emperor Wears  No Clothes,  by  Jack  Herer  and  The  Medical
Marijuana Papers by Dr. Tod Mikurya.
 
     For more  information on  hemp  or  to  support  the  re-
legalization of  hemp/marijuana, send  $1 +  SASE to: Business
Alliance for  Commerce in Hemp (BACH), P.O. Box 71093, L.A. CA
90071-0093.