'The motive of science was the extension of man, on all sides, into
nature, till his hands touch the stars, his eyes see through the earth,
his ears understand the language of beast and bird, and the sense of the
wind; and through his sympathy, heaven and earth should talk with him.
But that is not our science. These geologies, astronomies, seem to make
wise, but they leave us where they found us. The invention is of use to
the inventor, of questionable help to any other. The formulas of science
are like the papers in your pocket-book, of no value to any but the
owner. Science in England, in America, is jealous of theory, hates the
name of love and moral purpose.'
- Beauty, The Basic Writings
of America's Sage, Ralph Waldo Emerson
'For a long period of time there was much speculation and controversy about where the so-called 'missing matter' of the Universe had got to. All over the Galaxy the science departments of all the major universities were acquiring more and more elaborate equipment to probe and search the hearts of distant galaxies, and then the very centre and the very edges of the whole Universe, but when eventually it was tracked down it turned out in fact to be all the stuff which the equipment had been packed in.'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
'And on their part, of course, the specialists (if any of them aspire to
be genuine men of science and complete human beings) should turn, out
of their respective pigeon-holes, to the artist, the sibyl, the
visionary, the mystic - all those, in a word, who have had experience of
the Other World and who know, in their different ways, what to do with
that experience.'
- Heaven and Hell, Aldous Huxley
The word scientist means one who studies a science. Sciences are as numerous as one can think of. To study a science: following rational and logical thinking; theorizing; studying facts; determining patterns; postulating; arriving at conclusions and theorems; verifying and validating these conclusions and theorems with reality; as well as making the subject of study more clear to others and oneself, can be called some of the actions of a scientist. In that regard, all of us are scientists, only our subjects of study, and our methods of study, vary.
Unfortunately, in today's world, the term scientist denotes only one whose studies are limited to a recognized field of study. A recognized field of study is usually one which has practical applications in industry or has monetary benefit. Often the recognized field of scientific study has institutions, research funding, published materials, peer reviews and formal career roles attached to it. So there is a formal system that decides who is a scientist and who is not. It is a frat pack that chooses who belongs and who does not. Increasingly, the focus of scientific study has become skewed towards what can make the scientist wealthier, which is essentially study that enables rich industries to become richer. Powerful industries vastly influence the direction that scientific thinking takes by: offering substantial scholarships and research grants; influencing the research material and results in the leading scientific institutions; and offering lucrative careers for scientists in their organizations. Independent scientific research - with purely altruistic motives that benefit the planet and life as a whole - are few. For most persons in the scientific community, the pay and recognition matter more than the true value to humanity and the planet of the scientific study. The elitist nature of many of the universities have been written about in the past. Emerson wrote in English Traits, regarding Oxford University in Britain that, 'No doubt the foundations have been perverted. Oxford, which equals in wealth several of the smaller European states, shuts up the lectureships which were made "public for all men thereunto to have concourse"; misspends the revenues bestowed for such youths "as should be most meet for towardness, poverty and painfulness"; there is gross favoritism; many chairs and many fellowships are made beds of ease; and it is likely that the university know well know how to resist and make inoperative the terrors of parliamentary inquiry; no doubt their learning is grown obsolete'. This elitism of Oxford was no better evident than when it played a key part in the fake Covid pandemic, developing a so-called vaccine to fight the supposed killer disease. Using this vaccine, the elitists in Britain and India amassed huge amounts of wealth, and increased the inequality gap between rich and poor tremendously, besides causing vast harms to public health and the environment. Regarding the elitist and corrupt nature of the scientific community in general, Rachel Carson wrote in The Silent Spring that, 'Over the past decade these problems have cast long shadows, but we have been slow to recognize them. Most of those best fitted to develop natural controls and assist in putting them into effect have been too busy laboring in the exciting vineyards of chemical control. It was reported in 1950 that only 2 per cent of all the economic entomologists in the country were then working in the field of biological controls. A substantial number of the remaining 98 per cent were engaged in research on chemical insecticides. Why should this be? The major chemical companies are pouring money into the universities to support research on insecticides. This creates attractive fellowships for graduate students and attractive staff positions. Biological control studies, on the other hand, are never so endowed - for the simple reason that they do not promise anyone the fortunes that are to be made in the chemical industry. These are left to state and federal agencies, where the salaries paid are far less.' Regarding the type of scientists that the world produces typically, Emerson writes 'What manner of man does science make? The boy is not attracted. He says, I do not wish to be such a kind of man as my professor is. The collector has dried all his plants in his herbal, but he has lost weight and humor. He has got all snakes and lizards in his phials, but science has done for him also, and has put the man in a bottle.' Leo Tolstoy says in The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays 'Hypocrisy in our time is supported by two things - pseudo-religion and pseudo-science - and has reached such colossal dimensions that were we not living in the midst of it, it would be impossible to believe, that men could reach such a degree of self-deception. They have now reached such a strange condition and their hearts are so hardened that though they have eyes they see not, and having ears they hear not, neither do they understand.'
Unfortunately, in today's world, the term scientist denotes only one whose studies are limited to a recognized field of study. A recognized field of study is usually one which has practical applications in industry or has monetary benefit. Often the recognized field of scientific study has institutions, research funding, published materials, peer reviews and formal career roles attached to it. So there is a formal system that decides who is a scientist and who is not. It is a frat pack that chooses who belongs and who does not. Increasingly, the focus of scientific study has become skewed towards what can make the scientist wealthier, which is essentially study that enables rich industries to become richer. Powerful industries vastly influence the direction that scientific thinking takes by: offering substantial scholarships and research grants; influencing the research material and results in the leading scientific institutions; and offering lucrative careers for scientists in their organizations. Independent scientific research - with purely altruistic motives that benefit the planet and life as a whole - are few. For most persons in the scientific community, the pay and recognition matter more than the true value to humanity and the planet of the scientific study. The elitist nature of many of the universities have been written about in the past. Emerson wrote in English Traits, regarding Oxford University in Britain that, 'No doubt the foundations have been perverted. Oxford, which equals in wealth several of the smaller European states, shuts up the lectureships which were made "public for all men thereunto to have concourse"; misspends the revenues bestowed for such youths "as should be most meet for towardness, poverty and painfulness"; there is gross favoritism; many chairs and many fellowships are made beds of ease; and it is likely that the university know well know how to resist and make inoperative the terrors of parliamentary inquiry; no doubt their learning is grown obsolete'. This elitism of Oxford was no better evident than when it played a key part in the fake Covid pandemic, developing a so-called vaccine to fight the supposed killer disease. Using this vaccine, the elitists in Britain and India amassed huge amounts of wealth, and increased the inequality gap between rich and poor tremendously, besides causing vast harms to public health and the environment. Regarding the elitist and corrupt nature of the scientific community in general, Rachel Carson wrote in The Silent Spring that, 'Over the past decade these problems have cast long shadows, but we have been slow to recognize them. Most of those best fitted to develop natural controls and assist in putting them into effect have been too busy laboring in the exciting vineyards of chemical control. It was reported in 1950 that only 2 per cent of all the economic entomologists in the country were then working in the field of biological controls. A substantial number of the remaining 98 per cent were engaged in research on chemical insecticides. Why should this be? The major chemical companies are pouring money into the universities to support research on insecticides. This creates attractive fellowships for graduate students and attractive staff positions. Biological control studies, on the other hand, are never so endowed - for the simple reason that they do not promise anyone the fortunes that are to be made in the chemical industry. These are left to state and federal agencies, where the salaries paid are far less.' Regarding the type of scientists that the world produces typically, Emerson writes 'What manner of man does science make? The boy is not attracted. He says, I do not wish to be such a kind of man as my professor is. The collector has dried all his plants in his herbal, but he has lost weight and humor. He has got all snakes and lizards in his phials, but science has done for him also, and has put the man in a bottle.' Leo Tolstoy says in The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays 'Hypocrisy in our time is supported by two things - pseudo-religion and pseudo-science - and has reached such colossal dimensions that were we not living in the midst of it, it would be impossible to believe, that men could reach such a degree of self-deception. They have now reached such a strange condition and their hearts are so hardened that though they have eyes they see not, and having ears they hear not, neither do they understand.'
Nowhere is the elitist leaning of the scientific community, and their goals for personal wealth and security, more evident than in the stance that the community has taken with regard to cannabis. Despite all the evidence - both historic and current - regarding the immense value of cannabis for public health, economics, crime prevention, business, agriculture, industry, society and the environment, the scientific community remains largely a bastion of the elitist mentality of the ruling and upper classes. It belongs to the reefer madness generation. For every scientific paper that comes out regarding the falsity of the anti-cannabis propaganda, there are probably a hundred papers released that intend to strengthen the falsehood and benefit the entities opposed to cannabis. What Carl Sagan's understudy Neil Tyson Degrasse said about US President Joe Biden can be largely applied to the scientific community as well. Marijuana Moment reports that 'Despite the historic use of cannabis as a medicine, it was banned and demonized during during a period of hysteria driven by the 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness,” when the nation “really fell under this spell” that marijuana was dangerous and warranted criminalization.While many myths about cannabis have been debunked and there’s a growing scientific literature demonstrating its therapeutic value, the government—and sports associations—have stalled on enacting reform that reflects that reality. StarTalk co-host Chuck Nice pointed out that while Biden has emphasized the need to follow the science when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, the same can’t be said with respect to his marijuana policy position. The president remains opposed to federally legalizing cannabis. Tyson said that makes sense “because he’s the Reefer Madness generation—that’s why, that’s why.”' The near complete ignorance - and bias of the scientific community - is summed up by Hunter S Thompson, in his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, where he describes a talk in which a so-called scientific expert is addressing law enforcement officers at a anti-cannabis seminar. He writes 'Here were more than a thousand top-level cops telling each other "we must come to terms with the drug culture," but they had no idea where to start. They couldn't even find the goddamn thing. There were rumours in the hallways that maybe the Mafia was behind it. Or perhaps the Beatles. At one point somebody in the audience asked Bloomquist if he thought Margaret Mead's "strange behavior," of late, might possibly be explained by a private marijuana addiction. "I really don't know," Bloomquist replied. "But at her age, if she did smoke grass, she'd have one hell of a trip." The audience roared with laughter at this remark.'
Recognized fields of scientific study cover a range of sciences, from the physical to the natural to data to theoretical to medical sciences, and so on. Focus and concentration, as well as a clear mind free of anxiety and stress, are some of the desirable qualities in a scientist. In this regard, cannabis can be said to be a great tool for a person involved in scientific study, helping to maintain a scientific mind and focus, as well as to think creatively. Every scientist is susceptible to the same harms as any other human being. The lack of access to cannabis and the easy availability of alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids, opioids, cocaine and prescription medication have the same harmful effects on a scientist as it has on a non-scientist.
Recognized fields of scientific study cover a range of sciences, from the physical to the natural to data to theoretical to medical sciences, and so on. Focus and concentration, as well as a clear mind free of anxiety and stress, are some of the desirable qualities in a scientist. In this regard, cannabis can be said to be a great tool for a person involved in scientific study, helping to maintain a scientific mind and focus, as well as to think creatively. Every scientist is susceptible to the same harms as any other human being. The lack of access to cannabis and the easy availability of alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids, opioids, cocaine and prescription medication have the same harmful effects on a scientist as it has on a non-scientist.
Some noted scientists in the world have been consumers and serious advocates of cannabis. I am of the firm belief that Albert Einstein was a cannabis smoker. Reading Einstein, The Life and Times by Ronald W
Clark some time back, I found a couple of references made by his
colleagues to the cigar that Einstein smoked. David Reichinstein, one of the Zurich
professors had this to say "I entered Einstein's room. He was calmly
philosophic with one hand rocking the bassinet in which there was a
child. In his mouth Einstein had a bad, a very bad cigar and in the
other hand an open book". Another reference to quote from the book is as
follows 'Their long discussion, continued as the two men walked back to
Einstein's home from the office, increased Von Laue's understanding of
relativity. Recalling the occasion, he[Von Laue] remembered that the
cigar which he had been offered was so unpleasant that he "accidentally"
let it fall from the bridge into the Aare.' I've wondered about the
nature of this cigar of Einstein's a few times, probably nearly as many
times as I've thought about relativity. Let's call it a theory that needs further study to prove true or false. I believe Einstein's move to Switzerland and then the US was also influenced by the availability of good cannabis, besides the support he got from the establishment for his work. Noted scientists that I am aware of that were cannabis lovers include the eminent scientist Carl Sagan and his protege Neil Tyson DeGrasse. Leafly reports about the Harvard physician Lester Grinspoon's conversion to cannabis advocacy after his interactions with Carl Sagan. Lester Grinspoon was one of the leading advocates of cannabis, besides the author of the book Marihuana Reconsidered written in 1971. Leafly says, 'Yes, of course, reasoned arguments and statistical data have their place in fomenting political change, and we never could have gotten this far in the legalization movement without them. But all the same salient facts existed back in 1971, when a Harvard Medical School professor named Dr. Lester Grinspoon published his seminal book, Marihuana Reconsidered. Grinspoon originally set out to research the subject in an effort to convince his best friend, famed astronomer Carl Sagan, to stop smoking so much weed. Instead, the good doctor came away convinced that the government’s case against cannabis was based on lies and propaganda. Assuming that an impeccably sourced scholarly work exposing this terrible injustice would lead to rapid societal change, he first gave a private mea culpa to his best bud, then set out to share his findings with the world.' In remembrance of Dr. Grinspoon soon after his demise, NORML reports 'Lester Grinspoon, M.D., the longtime Harvard professor, psychiatrist,
and author of twelve books — including Marihuana Reconsidered, the
single most comprehensive and thoughtful and convincing explanation of
the crucial need to end marijuana prohibition and establish a legal
marijuana market — passed away early this morning. He was 92 years old. For
the last five decades, Dr. Grinspoon was the intellectual leader of the
marijuana legalization movement. Like most of his generation, he began
with an assumption that marijuana was a dangerous drug and should be
prohibited. But those biases were initially challenged by Dr.
Grinspoon’s close friend, (then) Harvard colleague astronomer Carl
Sagan, who convinced him that his initial negative views about marijuana
were likely mistaken, and that he might personally find the marijuana
experience to be a positive one.' Raphael Mechoulam is the discoverer on endocannabinoid receptors in humans in the 1990s, setting up the basis for the path breaking research that has happened on cannabis since then. Any record of cannabis advocacy by scientists would be incomplete without mentioning the Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary who challenged cannabis prohibition in the US Supreme Court, and successfully managed to get it overturned. Unfortunately, the then US President Richard Nixon - one of the foremost proponents of cannabis prohibition - then created the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, and included cannabis in it, where it remains to this day. The US magazine Leafly reports that - 'In 1965, Timothy Leary (who would go on to be an advocate for
psychedelics) was arrested for possession of cannabis while crossing the
border from Mexico into Texas. Leary argued that the Marihuana Tax Act
required him to self-incriminate—registering for the act showed intent
to possess marijuana, which would violate the fifth amendment. The US
Supreme Court agreed with him in 1969 and struck down the Marihuana Tax
Act. However, with the loss of the Tax Act, President Richard
Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, setting up a
framework for the federal regulation and criminalization of drugs. The
Controlled Substances Act created five categories of drugs and
classified cannabis under Schedule I—drugs considered dangerous with no
medical use and a high potential for abuse, such as heroin and cocaine. Nixon
appointed former Pennsylvania Republican governor Raymond Shafer as the
head of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse—later
called “The Shafer Commission”—to review all research and literature on
cannabis to correctly classify it in the Controlled Substances Act. Shafer’s
1972 report debunked damaging myths about marijuana, found that the
plant did not threaten society, and recommended decriminalizing the
plant. Nixon ignored the report, and the plant stayed on Schedule I,
where it remains today.' Besides these famous scientists, who were open advocates of cannabis, numerous other scientists involved in scientific study and research are surely consumers and lovers of cannabis. They may not openly advocate cannabis - probably out of fear of losing their research funding, especially when they are funded by industries that have a conflict of interest with regard to cannabis and who view it as a threat. There is also social stigma and fear of law enforcement action.
In terms of cannabis as a field of scientific study, it is interesting to note that cannabis is emerging as one of the top research areas in recent times, with an exponential rise in the number of scientific papers being published in the recent past on cannabis in the areas of sociology, industry, recreation, medicine, business and economics. NORML reports, in the US, that 'For the third consecutive year, researchers worldwide published over 4,000 scientific papers specific to cannabis, its active constituents, and their effects, according to the results of a keyword search of the National Library of Medicine/PubMed.gov website. “Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.” Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant — with researchers publishing more than 32,000 scientific papers about cannabis since the beginning of 2013. Much of this uptick is a result of researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.' This is adding to the growing mountain of cannabis related scientific findings, which are sooner or later bound to convince even the biggest skeptic that the plant is beneficial, and that it should be legalized globally to enable further scientific study to progress on it unhindered, and for the greater well-being of life on earth. So far it has not been easy. As an illegal plant in almost all places world wide, cannabis for research purposes is very difficult to obtain in most places, a key constraint often highlighted by many scientists and research organizations. Raphael Mechoulam's ground breaking studies on cannabis was said to have been done on a batch of Lebanese hashish that the Israeli police had seized. Government research in the US until recently used a specific variety of cannabis, grown in a government facility, which differed greatly from the varieties of cannabis available in the open legal and illegal markets. One of the most comprehensive studies on cannabis was done by the Indian Hemp Drug Commission in 1894-95. This is probably the most extensive study on cannabis and its usage ever done. Since cannabis was legal in India at that point and widely used for thousands of years till then, this study helped researchers gain valuable information on the use of cannabis and its relationship to human society. More than a thousand witnesses - medical experts, judiciary,law enforcement and excise, administrative heads, and members of high standing in society - responded to an extensive questionnaire with detailed answers covering areas as diverse as: social usage, gender and age demographics; the asceticism - eroticism paradox; the use of ganja as entheogen; cannabis related regulation, taxation and revenue systems; medical uses for humans and animals; how the 'cannabis causes insanity' myth was created; methods of cultivation; areas of cannabis cultivation and wild growth; the manner and forms of cannabis consumption; conditions suitable for cannabis cultivation; post-harvest processing, packaging and storage; the classes that consumed and cultivated ganja; findings on the immediate effects of cannabis consumption; myths of harmful physical and moral effects; the names by which cannabis was known; trade and movement; chemical, physiological and biological analyses of Indian cannabis; investigation of the myth that cannabis causes crime; consumption trends, amounts, associated costs and addiction; warnings by experts on the harms of alcohol if cannabis was substituted with it; and the public opinion farce and near-total opposition to the proposed ganja prohibition in India. Today, research on cannabis is happening at government, industrial and university levels in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Caribbean countries and Israel. The persons in opposition to cannabis continue to pose hurdles to scientific studies, and at the same time demand more scientific studies to be able to make a proper judgement about whether cannabis should be legalized or not. In nearly every one of the tens of thousands of research papers that highlight the benefits of cannabis, one can find a statement at the end which says that further scientific studies are required to provide conclusive evidence of the benefits of cannabis. This is despite thousands of years of cannabis usage by billions of person across the world. As an example, William S Burroughs writes about the scientific community's stance on cannabis as an aphrodisiac, in his book Junk. 'There has been a lot said about the aphrodisiac effect of weed. For some reason, scientists dislike to admit that there is such a thing as as aphrodisiac, so most pharmacologists say there is "no evidence to support the popular idea that weed possesses aphrodisiac properties." I can say definitely that weed is an aphrodisiac and that sex is more enjoyable under the influence of weed than without it. Anyone who has used good weed will verify this statement.' The evidence in favor of cannabis as an aphrodisiac is vast, and it is not just personal experience but numerous scientific studies that show this, including studies from 19th century India.
In terms of cannabis as a field of scientific study, it is interesting to note that cannabis is emerging as one of the top research areas in recent times, with an exponential rise in the number of scientific papers being published in the recent past on cannabis in the areas of sociology, industry, recreation, medicine, business and economics. NORML reports, in the US, that 'For the third consecutive year, researchers worldwide published over 4,000 scientific papers specific to cannabis, its active constituents, and their effects, according to the results of a keyword search of the National Library of Medicine/PubMed.gov website. “Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.” Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant — with researchers publishing more than 32,000 scientific papers about cannabis since the beginning of 2013. Much of this uptick is a result of researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.' This is adding to the growing mountain of cannabis related scientific findings, which are sooner or later bound to convince even the biggest skeptic that the plant is beneficial, and that it should be legalized globally to enable further scientific study to progress on it unhindered, and for the greater well-being of life on earth. So far it has not been easy. As an illegal plant in almost all places world wide, cannabis for research purposes is very difficult to obtain in most places, a key constraint often highlighted by many scientists and research organizations. Raphael Mechoulam's ground breaking studies on cannabis was said to have been done on a batch of Lebanese hashish that the Israeli police had seized. Government research in the US until recently used a specific variety of cannabis, grown in a government facility, which differed greatly from the varieties of cannabis available in the open legal and illegal markets. One of the most comprehensive studies on cannabis was done by the Indian Hemp Drug Commission in 1894-95. This is probably the most extensive study on cannabis and its usage ever done. Since cannabis was legal in India at that point and widely used for thousands of years till then, this study helped researchers gain valuable information on the use of cannabis and its relationship to human society. More than a thousand witnesses - medical experts, judiciary,law enforcement and excise, administrative heads, and members of high standing in society - responded to an extensive questionnaire with detailed answers covering areas as diverse as: social usage, gender and age demographics; the asceticism - eroticism paradox; the use of ganja as entheogen; cannabis related regulation, taxation and revenue systems; medical uses for humans and animals; how the 'cannabis causes insanity' myth was created; methods of cultivation; areas of cannabis cultivation and wild growth; the manner and forms of cannabis consumption; conditions suitable for cannabis cultivation; post-harvest processing, packaging and storage; the classes that consumed and cultivated ganja; findings on the immediate effects of cannabis consumption; myths of harmful physical and moral effects; the names by which cannabis was known; trade and movement; chemical, physiological and biological analyses of Indian cannabis; investigation of the myth that cannabis causes crime; consumption trends, amounts, associated costs and addiction; warnings by experts on the harms of alcohol if cannabis was substituted with it; and the public opinion farce and near-total opposition to the proposed ganja prohibition in India. Today, research on cannabis is happening at government, industrial and university levels in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Caribbean countries and Israel. The persons in opposition to cannabis continue to pose hurdles to scientific studies, and at the same time demand more scientific studies to be able to make a proper judgement about whether cannabis should be legalized or not. In nearly every one of the tens of thousands of research papers that highlight the benefits of cannabis, one can find a statement at the end which says that further scientific studies are required to provide conclusive evidence of the benefits of cannabis. This is despite thousands of years of cannabis usage by billions of person across the world. As an example, William S Burroughs writes about the scientific community's stance on cannabis as an aphrodisiac, in his book Junk. 'There has been a lot said about the aphrodisiac effect of weed. For some reason, scientists dislike to admit that there is such a thing as as aphrodisiac, so most pharmacologists say there is "no evidence to support the popular idea that weed possesses aphrodisiac properties." I can say definitely that weed is an aphrodisiac and that sex is more enjoyable under the influence of weed than without it. Anyone who has used good weed will verify this statement.' The evidence in favor of cannabis as an aphrodisiac is vast, and it is not just personal experience but numerous scientific studies that show this, including studies from 19th century India.
An increasing number of nations have taken heed of the scientific evidence available and have legalized cannabis for recreational use in the past few years. Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany and South Africa have all taken the right steps by legalizing it, primarily keeping in mind public health harms and the increasing crime that black market sales due to cannabis prohibition causes. Uruguay was the first country to legalize cannabis in 2014 after global prohibition began in the 20th century. In the US, Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational use in 2012, setting the precedent for the global reform of cannabis policies. 24 out of the 50 US states have legalized cannabis for adult recreational use at the time of writing, with the federal legalization of cannabis now inevitable and imminent. This is significant because the US has been the greatest proponent of cannabis prohibition in the 20th century, bullying numerous other nations to impose cannabis prohibition and sign up to global treaties in order to protect its own vested interests. According to a recent report by Marijuana Moment - 'A whopping 91 percent of Americans believe that marijuana prohibition
should end and cannabis should be legal for either medical or
recreational purposes, according to a new Pew Research Center poll
released on Friday.' Based on the World Health Organization's recommendation that cannabis was relatively harmless, and had some perceived medical benefits, the UN
met in December 2020 and voted successfully with a narrowly margin to
remove cannabis from
Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention Treaty. It however did not
completely remove cannabis from international control, as it continues
to exist in the least restrictive Schedule I, while THC remains more
tightly controlled, in Schedule III I think. This, by itself, is a
landmark moment in cannabis legalization, where the world recognizes
that it is nowhere near as dangerous as it has been made out to be all
these years. However, keeping cannabis in the Schedule 1 - in the company
of heroin and cocaine - means that it is still controlled and regulated,
with absolutely no improvement for the common man. The global cannabis laws,
and the national cannabis laws of every nation, still need urgent
complete reform as they continue to treat the plant as a dangerous drug,
rather than the beneficial natural herb that it is. For this the scientific community needs to change its narrative when it comes to cannabis.
The varieties of natural cannabis growing
world wide are still largely
unknown. Most studies focus on two compounds - cannabidiol (CBD)
and delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) - while many other cannabis compounds
still remain largely unknown. These may hold immense medicinal, industrial, environmental, economic and recreational
value but are fast depleting due to unscientific cannabis laws, indiscriminate law enforcement
action, uncontrolled illegal breeding to increase THC levels (and now legal breeding to increase CBD levels) and collective ignorance. The indiscriminate destruction of vast areas of natural cannabis and innumerable cannabis varieties - in the name of the war on cannabis - poses one of the greatest threats to cannabis and the scientific study of cannabis. One of the most urgently required actions is the global legalization of cannabis for all purposes, by removing all references to it from the 1961 Single Convention Treaty, as well as from all national drug laws of every nation. This needs to be followed up with treating cannabis as a critically endangered plant - along the lines of the IUCN lists that protect critically endangered animals. The protection of cannabis biodiversity needs to be made a primary goal of science and society. Governments and the scientific communities must look to revive, protect and enhance the growing and sustenance of the various varieties of cannabis found world wide. The scientific community must change the negative perception that pervades governments, policy making and society through the decades of propaganda against the plant by vested interests.
Cannabis is an incredible plant that offers solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing humans today. Industrial cannabis can reduce and mitigate the fast approaching climate catastrophes and environmental collapse that the petrochemical industry has brought about. Medicinal cannabis can mitigate the devastation to human health and contamination of food, air, water and land that synthetic pharmaceutical industry have caused. Recreational cannabis can lessen the harms being wrought on humans through industrial alcohol, tobacco and the very dangerous synthetic recreational drugs. Cannabis as an agricultural crop can address food, fiber, fabrics and other issues, significantly reducing crops such as rice, wheat and cotton that are increasingly unsustainable in water-stressed areas of the world. The workings of the endo-cannabinoid system and its relation to cannabis is just starting to be understood.
There is a tendency in the scientific community to only consider what emerges from the laboratory as worthwhile and perfect, rejecting the whole of what exists in nature as imperfect. What Douglas Adams writes about the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, can be applied to the scientific community as a whole these days, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in a moment of reasoned lucidity which is almost unique among its current tally of five million, nine hundred and seventy-five thousand, five hundred and nine pages, says of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation products that 'it is very easy the be blinded by the essential uselessness of them by the sense of achievement you get from getting them to work at all.' In other words - and this is the rock-solid principle on which the whole of the Corporation's Galaxy-wide success is founded - their fundamental design flaws are completely hidden by their superficial design flaws.' This is the root cause of most of the harms done by the discoveries of the scientific community to the world today. This reliance on, and supreme confidence in the things that humans create, is evident even in Aldous Huxley's hope that the scientist will create the perfect drug in the laboratory. He writes, in The Doors of Perception, that 'Although obviously superior to cocaine, opium, alcohol and tobacco,
mescalin is not yet the ideal drug. Along with the happily transfigured
majority of mescalin takers there is a minority that finds in the drug
only hell or purgatory. Moreover, for a drug that is to be used, like
alcohol, for general consumption, its effects last for an inconveniently
long time. But chemistry and physiology are capable nowadays of
practically anything. If the psychologists and sociologists will define
the ideal, the neurologists and pharmacologists can be relied upon to
discover the means whereby that ideal can be realized or at least (for
this kind of ideal can never, in the very nature of things, be fully
realized) more nearly approached than in the wine-bibbing past, the
whisky-drinking, marijuana- smoking and barbiturate-swallowing present.' Huxley misses a point or two here. By including cannabis in his list of non-ideal drugs, Huxley throws the baby out with the water. No drug will be universally
perfect for all. There will always be a minority (better that than a
majority) for whom any drug will be incompatible, given different mental
and physical constitutions. Also, Huxley's obsession and faith in the Western
system of synthesizing something that can be had in measured doses like
pills or alcohol is unnecessary for natural intoxicants where safety margins
are much larger. Cannabis is the closest to the ideal...peyote and psilocybin
too, where they available but not to the extent of cannabis. Nature
has done the work of creating the perfect drug already, creating the cannabis plant 28 million years ago, and there is no better creator than nature. And humans enjoyed cannabis for thousands of years, before the foolishness and greed of those who believe humans are superior to nature, and the amassing of wealth is the most important ideal prohibited this wonderful plant. There is no need for pharmacologists and neurologists
to re-invent the wheel. The obsession of the scientific community with human made synthetics that they can monetize is highlighted in the article in Nature that says, 'The technological provenance of cannabinoids might not matter as much
to the pharmaceutical sector, where consumers tend to be less averse to
genetic engineering. But according to Ethan Russo, director of research
and development at the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute
in Prague, biochemically derived cannabinoids, even when mixed and
matched into therapeutic formulations, will probably never equal the
botanical synergy of the hundreds of molecules that are found in
cannabis. The existence of this ‘entourage’ effect is not
universally accepted. But to Russo, “The plant is nature’s design for
this panoply of chemicals.”'
The study of science has no meaning unless it furthers our understanding of the world we live in, and makes the world a better place. It has even greater meaning when it enables us to apply its finding to learn to live with nature better, and improve the condition of humans and other living beings on earth. Emerson says, 'Light and darkness, heat and cold, hunger and food, sweet and sour,
solid, liquid, gas, circle us round in a wreath of pleasures, and, by
their agreeable quarrel, beguile the day of life. The eye repeats every
day the first eulogy on things - "He saw that they were good." We know
where to find them; and these performers are relished all the more,
after a little experience of the pretending races. We are entitled also
to higher advantages. Something is wanting to science until it has been
humanized. The table of logarithms is one thing, and its vital play in
botany, music, optics and architecture, another. There are advancements
to numbers, anatomy, architecture, astronomy, little suspected at first,
when, by union with intellect and will, they ascend into the life and
reappear in conversation, character, and politics.' A focus on the study of cannabis and its relation to the many aspects of science represents a paradigm shift for scientists. It entitles looking at nature and science with altruistic motives - like a true scientist - rather than looking at science as a business for profit making. Whether the global scientific community can make this paradigm shift, or not, will be a key factor determining whether humans can reverse the damage they have caused to the planet and heal it, or if we will all only rush faster to the end of life as we know it. As Rachel Carson said in Silent Spring, quoting an eminent physician 'Dr. Briejer says: It is more than clear that we are traveling a
dangerous road....We are going to have to do some very energetic
research on other control measures, measures that will have to be
biological, not chemical. Our aim should be to guide natural processes
as cautiously as possible in the desired direction rather than to use
brute force...We need a more high-minded orientation and a
deeper insight, which I miss in many researchers. Life is a miracle
beyond our comprehension, and we should reverence it even where we have
to struggle against it...The resort to weapons such as insecticides to
control it is a proof of insufficient knowledge and of an incapacity so
to guide the processes of nature that brute force becomes unnecessary.
Humbleness is in order; there is no excuse for scientific conceit
here.'
Related articles
Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.
For the third consecutive year, researchers worldwide published over 4,000 scientific papers specific to cannabis, its active constituents, and their effects, according to the results of a keyword search of the National Library of Medicine/PubMed.gov website.
“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”
Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant — with researchers publishing more than 32,000 scientific papers about cannabis since the beginning of 2013. Much of this uptick is a result of researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.
https://norml.org/blog/2023/12/19/scientists-have-published-over-30000-papers-on-cannabis-over-the-past-decade/
“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”
Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant — with researchers publishing more than 32,000 scientific papers about cannabis since the beginning of 2013. Much of this uptick is a result of researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.
https://norml.org/blog/2023/12/19/scientists-have-published-over-30000-papers-on-cannabis-over-the-past-decade/
'Yes, of course, reasoned arguments and statistical data have their place in fomenting political change, and we never could have gotten this far in the legalization movement without them. But all the same salient facts existed back in 1971, when a Harvard Medical School professor named Dr. Lester Grinspoon published his seminal book, Marihuana Reconsidered.
Grinspoon originally set out to research the subject in an effort to convince his best friend, famed astronomer Carl Sagan, to stop smoking so much weed. Instead, the good doctor came away convinced that the government’s case against cannabis was based on lies and propaganda. Assuming that an impeccably sourced scholarly work exposing this terrible injustice would lead to rapid societal change, he first gave a private mea culpa to his best bud, then set out to share his findings with the world.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/chronic-chronology-great-moments-in-4-20-history
Grinspoon originally set out to research the subject in an effort to convince his best friend, famed astronomer Carl Sagan, to stop smoking so much weed. Instead, the good doctor came away convinced that the government’s case against cannabis was based on lies and propaganda. Assuming that an impeccably sourced scholarly work exposing this terrible injustice would lead to rapid societal change, he first gave a private mea culpa to his best bud, then set out to share his findings with the world.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/chronic-chronology-great-moments-in-4-20-history
'To understand the sports ban, it’s important to look at the broader origins of marijuana prohibition in the U.S., Gruber said. Despite the historic use of cannabis as a medicine, it was banned and demonized during during a period of hysteria driven by the 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness,” when the nation “really fell under this spell” that marijuana was dangerous and warranted criminalization.
While many myths about cannabis have been debunked and there’s a growing scientific literature demonstrating its therapeutic value, the government—and sports associations—have stalled on enacting reform that reflects that reality.
StarTalk co-host Chuck Nice pointed out that while Biden has emphasized the need to follow the science when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, the same can’t be said with respect to his marijuana policy position. The president remains opposed to federally legalizing cannabis.
Tyson said that makes sense “because he’s the Reefer Madness generation—that’s why, that’s why.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-opposes-marijuana-legalization-because-hes-from-the-reefer-madness-generation-neil-degrasse-tyson-says/
While many myths about cannabis have been debunked and there’s a growing scientific literature demonstrating its therapeutic value, the government—and sports associations—have stalled on enacting reform that reflects that reality.
StarTalk co-host Chuck Nice pointed out that while Biden has emphasized the need to follow the science when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, the same can’t be said with respect to his marijuana policy position. The president remains opposed to federally legalizing cannabis.
Tyson said that makes sense “because he’s the Reefer Madness generation—that’s why, that’s why.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-opposes-marijuana-legalization-because-hes-from-the-reefer-madness-generation-neil-degrasse-tyson-says/
'If people tell you that all this is necessary for the maintenance of the existing order of life and that this social order, with its destitution, hunger, prisons, executions, armies and wars, is necessary for society, that still more miseries will ensue were that organization infringed; all that is said only by those who profit by such an organization. Those who suffer from it - and they are ten times as numerous - all think and say the contrary. And in the depth of your soul you yourself know it is untrue, you know that the existing organization of life has outlived its time and must inevitably be reconstructed on new principles, and that therefore there is no need to sacrifice all human feeling to maintain it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'In fact, according to advocates of small cannabis businesses, if the sector evolves under the right conditions, craft will be the future of the marijuana sector.
Conversely, they say, under the wrong conditions, craft will perish and leave the space to a handful of cannabis conglomerates.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'In fact, according to advocates of small cannabis businesses, if the sector evolves under the right conditions, craft will be the future of the marijuana sector.
Conversely, they say, under the wrong conditions, craft will perish and leave the space to a handful of cannabis conglomerates.'
'The full scope of the dangerous interaction of chemicals is as yet little known, but disturbing findings now come regularly from scientific laboratories. Among this is the discovery that that the toxicity of an organic phosphate can be increased by a second agent that is not necessarily an insecticide. For example, one of the plasticizing agents may act even more dangerously than another insecticide to make malathion more dangerous. Again, this is because it inhibits the liver enzyme that would normally 'draw the teeth' of the poisonous insecticide.
What of other chemicals in the normal human environment? What, in particular, of drugs? A bare beginning has been made on this subject, but already it is known that some organic phosphates (parathion and malathion) increase the toxicity of some drugs used as muscle relaxants, and that several others (again including malathion) markedly increase the sleeping time of barbiturates.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Cannabidiol (CBD) is an illegal drug with no redeeming value. It is also a useful prescription medicine for epilepsy, with considerable potential for treating numerous other conditions. And it is a natural dietary supplement or ‘nutraceutical’ with countless evangelists in the health and wellness community. Although contradictory, all three statements are true from different perspectives, and clinical researchers are frustrated.'
What of other chemicals in the normal human environment? What, in particular, of drugs? A bare beginning has been made on this subject, but already it is known that some organic phosphates (parathion and malathion) increase the toxicity of some drugs used as muscle relaxants, and that several others (again including malathion) markedly increase the sleeping time of barbiturates.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Cannabidiol (CBD) is an illegal drug with no redeeming value. It is also a useful prescription medicine for epilepsy, with considerable potential for treating numerous other conditions. And it is a natural dietary supplement or ‘nutraceutical’ with countless evangelists in the health and wellness community. Although contradictory, all three statements are true from different perspectives, and clinical researchers are frustrated.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02524-5
'The technological provenance of cannabinoids might not matter as much to the pharmaceutical sector, where consumers tend to be less averse to genetic engineering. But according to Ethan Russo, director of research and development at the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute in Prague, biochemically derived cannabinoids, even when mixed and matched into therapeutic formulations, will probably never equal the botanical synergy of the hundreds of molecules that are found in cannabis.
The existence of this ‘entourage’ effect is not universally accepted. But to Russo, “The plant is nature’s design for this panoply of chemicals”.'
'Unfortunately for all of us, opportunities for this sort of thing to happen are legion. A few years ago a team of Food and Drug Administration scientists discovered that when malathion and certain other organic phosphates are administered simultaneously a massive poisoning results - up to 50 times as severe as would be predicted on the basis of adding the toxicities of the two. In other words, 1/100 of the lethal dose of each compound may be fatal when the two are combined.
The discovery led to the testing of other combinations. It is now known that many pairs of organic phosphate insecticides are highly dangerous, the toxicity being stepped up or 'potentiated' through the combined action. Potentiation seems to take place when one compound destroys the liver enzyme responsible for detoxifying the other. The two need not be given simultaneously. The hazard exists not only for the man who must spray this week with one insecticide and the next week with another; it exists also for the consumer of sprayed products. The common salad bowl may easily present a combination of organic phosphate insecticides. Residues well within the legally permissible limits may interact.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
The discovery led to the testing of other combinations. It is now known that many pairs of organic phosphate insecticides are highly dangerous, the toxicity being stepped up or 'potentiated' through the combined action. Potentiation seems to take place when one compound destroys the liver enzyme responsible for detoxifying the other. The two need not be given simultaneously. The hazard exists not only for the man who must spray this week with one insecticide and the next week with another; it exists also for the consumer of sprayed products. The common salad bowl may easily present a combination of organic phosphate insecticides. Residues well within the legally permissible limits may interact.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'For years, the popular image of cannabis growers has been scruffy hippies getting high on their own supply in a disorganized underground economy, rather than shiny white industrial agriculture facilities. Even larger-scale operations involved minimal quality control or lacked formal record keeping.
But as legal medical — and increasingly, recreational — cannabis becomes more widespread, the cannabis industry is becoming more professional. By adopting the methods and rigour of plant science and analytical chemistry, it is ensuring that it can produce safe, consistent and high-quality products for a fast-growing and lucrative market.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02527-2
But as legal medical — and increasingly, recreational — cannabis becomes more widespread, the cannabis industry is becoming more professional. By adopting the methods and rigour of plant science and analytical chemistry, it is ensuring that it can produce safe, consistent and high-quality products for a fast-growing and lucrative market.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02527-2
'The stereotypical image of a cannabis smoker is someone who sprawls on the sofa for hours surrounded by a haze of smoke and half-eaten snacks. The scene is played up for laughs in films, but social psychologist Angela Bryan thought it could be cause for concern. After all, cannabis is known to increase appetite and aid relaxation, which might put people at risk of health conditions such as obesity, says Bryan, who is at the University of Colorado Boulder.
But digging into health trends revealed the opposite. Nationwide US studies report that, compared to non-users, cannabis users actually have a lower prevalence of obesity.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02529-0
'Malathion, another of the organic phosphates, is almost as familiar to the public as DDT, being widely used by gardeners, in household insecticides, in mosquito spraying, and in such blanket attacks on insects as the spraying of nearly a million acres of Florida communities for the Mediterranean fruit fly. It is considered the least toxic of this group of chemicals and many people assume they may use it freely and without fear of harm. Commercial advertising encourages this comfortable attitude.
The alleged 'safety' of malathion rests on rather precarious ground, although - as often happens - this was not discovered until the chemical had been in use for several years. Malathion is 'safe' only because the mammalian liver, an organ with extraordinary protective powers, renders it relatively harmless. The detoxification is accomplished by one of the enzymes of the liver. If, however, something destroys this enzyme or interferes with its action, the person exposed to malathion receives the full force of the poison.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Proponents and doubters agree that further research, including double-blind clinical trials, is needed to confirm whether the entourage effect exists and, if so, to understand how it works. “That way, you are taking out bias and expectation,” Wilson-Poe says.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02528-1
'For many adults, researchers say, moderate use is probably fine. “I compare it to alcohol,” says Earl Miller, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory in Cambridge. “Too much or the wrong situation can be bad, but in other situations it can be beneficial. I think we’re going to find the same thing with cannabis.”'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02530-7
'Highlights from laboratory studies and clinical trials.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02532-5
'Researchers interested in the history of marijuana and medicine will appreciate learning about the Tod Mikuriya Papers (1933–2015), a newly-available archival collection here at the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Tod Mikuriya (1933–2007) was a psychiatrist and medical marijuana activist. In addition to his work in addiction medicine and biofeedback, he is well-known for compiling Marijuana: Medical Papers, 1839–1972, a master bibliography of historical resources on marijuana, and for campaigning for California Proposition 215 (Prop 215) which legalized medical marijuana in the state in 1996. Dr. Mikuriya conducted research on marijuana use and founded the California Cannabis Research Medical Group, a non-profit educational organization.'
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/02/25/tod-mikuriya-papers-now-available-for-research/
The alleged 'safety' of malathion rests on rather precarious ground, although - as often happens - this was not discovered until the chemical had been in use for several years. Malathion is 'safe' only because the mammalian liver, an organ with extraordinary protective powers, renders it relatively harmless. The detoxification is accomplished by one of the enzymes of the liver. If, however, something destroys this enzyme or interferes with its action, the person exposed to malathion receives the full force of the poison.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Proponents and doubters agree that further research, including double-blind clinical trials, is needed to confirm whether the entourage effect exists and, if so, to understand how it works. “That way, you are taking out bias and expectation,” Wilson-Poe says.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02528-1
'For many adults, researchers say, moderate use is probably fine. “I compare it to alcohol,” says Earl Miller, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory in Cambridge. “Too much or the wrong situation can be bad, but in other situations it can be beneficial. I think we’re going to find the same thing with cannabis.”'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02530-7
'Highlights from laboratory studies and clinical trials.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02532-5
'Researchers interested in the history of marijuana and medicine will appreciate learning about the Tod Mikuriya Papers (1933–2015), a newly-available archival collection here at the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Tod Mikuriya (1933–2007) was a psychiatrist and medical marijuana activist. In addition to his work in addiction medicine and biofeedback, he is well-known for compiling Marijuana: Medical Papers, 1839–1972, a master bibliography of historical resources on marijuana, and for campaigning for California Proposition 215 (Prop 215) which legalized medical marijuana in the state in 1996. Dr. Mikuriya conducted research on marijuana use and founded the California Cannabis Research Medical Group, a non-profit educational organization.'
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/02/25/tod-mikuriya-papers-now-available-for-research/
'Thus, through the circumstances of their lives, and the nature of our own wants, all these have been our allies in keeping the balance of nature tilted in our favor. Yet we have turned our artillery against our friends. The terrible danger is that we have grossly underestimated their value in keeping at bay a dark tide of enemies that, without their help, can overrun us.
The prospect of a general and permanent lowering of environmental resistance becomes grimly and increasingly real with each passing year as the number, variety, and destructiveness of insecticides grows. With the passing of time we may expect progressively more serious outbreaks of insects, both disease-carrying and crop-destroying species, in excess of anything we have ever known.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Lester Grinspoon, M.D., the longtime Harvard professor, psychiatrist, and author of twelve books — including Marihuana Reconsidered, the single most comprehensive and thoughtful and convincing explanation of the crucial need to end marijuana prohibition and establish a legal marijuana market — passed away early this morning. He was 92 years old.
For the last five decades, Dr. Grinspoon was the intellectual leader of the marijuana legalization movement. Like most of his generation, he began with an assumption that marijuana was a dangerous drug and should be prohibited. But those biases were initially challenged by Dr. Grinspoon’s close friend, (then) Harvard colleague astronomer Carl Sagan, who convinced him that his initial negative views about marijuana were likely mistaken, and that he might personally find the marijuana experience to be a positive one.'
https://norml.org/blog/2020/06/25/norml-remembers-dr-lester-grinspoon/
'Join NORML's Founder Keith Stroup, Executive Director Erik Altieri, and a number of special guests who knew and worked with Lester for a conversation honoring his life and contributions to the cannabis reform movement.
Lester Grinspoon, M.D., the longtime Harvard professor, psychiatrist, and author of twelve books — including Marihuana Reconsidered, the single most comprehensive and thoughtful and convincing explanation of the crucial need to end marijuana prohibition and establish a legal marijuana market — passed away on June 25th. He was 92 years old.
His extraordinary personal commitment to advancing both marijuana policy and the NORML organization demonstrated his deeply held belief that we all have an obligation to fight injustice whenever and wherever we find it.'
https://www.facebook.com/norml/videos/196873921743486/
The prospect of a general and permanent lowering of environmental resistance becomes grimly and increasingly real with each passing year as the number, variety, and destructiveness of insecticides grows. With the passing of time we may expect progressively more serious outbreaks of insects, both disease-carrying and crop-destroying species, in excess of anything we have ever known.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Lester Grinspoon, M.D., the longtime Harvard professor, psychiatrist, and author of twelve books — including Marihuana Reconsidered, the single most comprehensive and thoughtful and convincing explanation of the crucial need to end marijuana prohibition and establish a legal marijuana market — passed away early this morning. He was 92 years old.
For the last five decades, Dr. Grinspoon was the intellectual leader of the marijuana legalization movement. Like most of his generation, he began with an assumption that marijuana was a dangerous drug and should be prohibited. But those biases were initially challenged by Dr. Grinspoon’s close friend, (then) Harvard colleague astronomer Carl Sagan, who convinced him that his initial negative views about marijuana were likely mistaken, and that he might personally find the marijuana experience to be a positive one.'
https://norml.org/blog/2020/06/25/norml-remembers-dr-lester-grinspoon/
'Join NORML's Founder Keith Stroup, Executive Director Erik Altieri, and a number of special guests who knew and worked with Lester for a conversation honoring his life and contributions to the cannabis reform movement.
Lester Grinspoon, M.D., the longtime Harvard professor, psychiatrist, and author of twelve books — including Marihuana Reconsidered, the single most comprehensive and thoughtful and convincing explanation of the crucial need to end marijuana prohibition and establish a legal marijuana market — passed away on June 25th. He was 92 years old.
His extraordinary personal commitment to advancing both marijuana policy and the NORML organization demonstrated his deeply held belief that we all have an obligation to fight injustice whenever and wherever we find it.'
https://www.facebook.com/norml/videos/196873921743486/
'Why does the spider mite appear to thrive on insecticides? Besides the obvious fact that it is relatively insensitive to them, there seems to be two other reasons. In nature it is kept in check by various predators such as ladybugs, a gall midge, predaceous mites and several pirate bugs, all of them extremely senstitive to insecticides. The third reason has to do with population pressure within the spider mite colonies. An undisturbed colony of mites is a densely settled community, huddled under a protective webbing for concealment from its enemies. When sprayed, the colonies disperse as the mites, irritated though not killed by the chemicals, scatter out in search of places where they will not be disturbed. In so doing they find a far greater abundance of space and food than was available in the former colonies. Their enemies are now dead so there is no need for the mites to spend their energy in secreting protective webbing. Instead, they pour all their energies into producing more mites. It is not uncommon for their egg production to be increased threefold - all through the beneficient effect of insecticides.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'The popular scientific figure endorsed marijuana legalization last year, arguing that “relative to other things that are legal, there’s no reason for [cannabis] to ever have been made illegal in the system of laws.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/neil-degrasse-tyson-warns-people-not-to-smoke-marijuana-in-space/
'[Carl] Sagan wasn't skeptical about everything: He was also a marijuana advocate, appearing as "Mr. X," a successful pot smoker, in a book by Harvard's Lester Grinspoon. And he advocated for medical marijuana in the years before his death.'
'The current vogue for poisons has failed utterly to take into account these most fundamental considerations. As crude a weapon as the cave man's club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life - a fabric on the one hand delicate and destructible, on the other miraculously tough and resilient, and capable of striking back in unexpected ways. These extraordinary capacities have been ignored by the practitioners of chemical control who have brought to their task no 'high-minded orientation', no humility before the vast forces with which they tamper.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'The principle of generating small amounts of finite improbability by simply hooking the logic circuits of a Bambleweeny 57 Sub-Meson Brain to an atomic vector plotter suspended in a strong Brownian Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea) were of course well understood - and such generators were often used to break the ice at parties by making all the molecules in the hostess's undergarments leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance with the Theory of Indeterminacy.
Many respectable physicists said that they weren't going to stand for this - partly because it was a debasement of science, but mostly because they didn't get invited to those sort of parties.'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
Many respectable physicists said that they weren't going to stand for this - partly because it was a debasement of science, but mostly because they didn't get invited to those sort of parties.'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
'The 'control of nature' is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists for the convenience of man. The concepts and practices of applied entomology for the most part date from that Stone Age of science. It is our alarming misfortune that so primitive a science has armed itself with the most modern and terrible weapons, and that in turning them against the insects it has also turned them against the earth.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Let
all the external improvements that religious and scientific people
dream of be accomplished; let all men accept Christianity and all the
improvements the Bellamys and Richets desire be accomplished with all
possible additions and corrections, but if at the same time the
hypocrisy remains that now exists, if people do not profess the truth
they know but continue to feign belief in what they do not themselves
believe and veneration for what they do not respect, the condition of
people will not only merely remain what it is but will become worse and
worse. The better men are materially provided for, the more telegraphs,
telephones, books, papers and periodicals they have the more means there
will be of spreading contradictory lies and hypocrisies, and the more
disunited and consequently unhappy will men become, as indeed occurs
now.
Let all those external alterations be realized and the position of humanity will not be bettered. But let each man according to the strength that is in him profess the truth he knows and practises in his own life - or at least cease to excuse the falsehood he supports by representing it as truth - and at once, in this very year 1893, such changes would be accomplished towards man's liberation and the establishment of truth on earth, as we dare not hope for in hundreds of years.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Let all those external alterations be realized and the position of humanity will not be bettered. But let each man according to the strength that is in him profess the truth he knows and practises in his own life - or at least cease to excuse the falsehood he supports by representing it as truth - and at once, in this very year 1893, such changes would be accomplished towards man's liberation and the establishment of truth on earth, as we dare not hope for in hundreds of years.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'Where pesticides are involved, the chemicals that figure most prominently in the case histories are DDT, lindane, benzene hexachloride, the nitrophenols, the common moth crystal paradichlorobenzene, chlordane, and, of course, the solvents in which they are carried. As this physician emphasizes, pure exposure to a single chemical is the exception, rather than the rule. The commercial product usually contains combinations of several chemicals, suspended in a petroleum distillate plus some dispersing agent. The aromatic cyclic and unsaturated hydrocarbons of the vehicle may themselves be a factor in the damage done [to] the blood-forming organs. From the practical rather than the medical standpoint this distinction is of little importance, however, because these petroleum solvents are an inseparable part of most common spraying practices.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Then, one day, a student who had been left to sweep up the lab after a particularly unsuccessful party found himself reasoning this way:
If, he thought to himself, such a machine is a virtual impossibility, then it must logically be a finite improbability. So all I have to do in order to make one is to work out exactly how improbable it is, feed that figure into the finite improbability generator, give it a fresh cup of really hot tea...and turn it on!
He did this, and was rather startled to discover that he had managed to create the long-sought-after golden Infinite Improbability generator out of thin air.
It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic Institute's Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging mob of respectable physicists who had finally realized that the one thing they really couldn't stand was a smartass.'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
If, he thought to himself, such a machine is a virtual impossibility, then it must logically be a finite improbability. So all I have to do in order to make one is to work out exactly how improbable it is, feed that figure into the finite improbability generator, give it a fresh cup of really hot tea...and turn it on!
He did this, and was rather startled to discover that he had managed to create the long-sought-after golden Infinite Improbability generator out of thin air.
It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic Institute's Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging mob of respectable physicists who had finally realized that the one thing they really couldn't stand was a smartass.'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
'Measured by the standards established by Warburg, most pesticides meet the criterion of the perfect carcinogen too well for comfort. As we have seen in the preceding chapter, many of the chlorinated hydrocarbons, the phenols, and some herbicides interfere with oxidation and energy production within the cell. By this means they may be creating sleeping cancer cells, in which an irreversible malignancy will slumber undetected until finally - its cause long forgotten and even unsuspected - it flares into the open as recognizable cancer.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
There is another theory which states that this has already happened'
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams
'Today we find our world filled with cancer-producing agents. An attack on cancer that is concentrated wholly or even largely on therapeutic measures (even assuming a 'cure' could be found) in Dr. Heuper's opinion will fail because it leaves untouched the great reservoirs of carcinogenic agents which would continue to claim new victims faster than the as yet 'elusive' cure could allay the disease.
Why have we been so slow to adopt this common-sense approach to the cancer problem? Probably 'the goal of curing victims of cancer is more exciting, more tangible, more glamourous and rewarding than prevention,' says Dr. Heuper. Yet to prevent cancer from ever being formed is 'definitely more humane' and can be 'much more effective than cancer cures'. Dr. Heuper has little patience with the wishful thinking that promises 'a magic pill that we shall take every morning before breakfast' as protection against cancer. Part of the public trust in such an eventual outcome results from the misconception that cancer is a single, though mysterious disease, with a single cause and, hopefully, a single cure. This of course is far from the known truth. Just as environmental cancers are induced by a wide variety of chemical and physical agents, so the malignant condition itself is manifested in many different and biologically distinct ways.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'Agencies concerned with vector-borne disease are at present coping with their problems by switching from one insecticide to another as resistance develops. But this cannot go on indefinitely, despite the ingenuity of the chemists in supplying new materials. Dr. Brown has pointed out that we are traveling 'a one-way street. No one knows how long the street is. If the dead end is reached before control of disease-carrying insects is achieved, our situation will indeed be critical.
With insects that infest crops the story is the same.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
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