HERBS FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATION
by
Nick Nunes
The failures and ramifications of rampant and uncontrolled, uninformed, drug use ultimately derive from a lack of knowledge and prohibition due to fear. Marijuana was once regarded in the same light as lethal opioids. Today, most of the world has eased restrictions on one of the most popular plants on the planet and medical research has advanced the consideration of this, possibly proverbial, panacea plant.
Recently, Barbados’ Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) Act was amended to assert that “possession of 14 grams, or half an ounce or less of cannabis is no longer an offence for which one can be arrested, charged and tried; and will therefore not result in an appearance before the Magistrates’ Court or in a criminal record.”
December of 2020, the United Nations, “In reviewing a series of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on cannabis and its derivatives, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) zeroed-in on the decision to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside specific deadly, addictive opioids, including heroin, recognized as having little to no therapeutic purposes.”
According to the UN, “The 53 Member States of the CND, the UN’s central drug policy-making body, voted to remove cannabis from that Schedule – where it had been placed for 59 years – and to which the strictest control measures apply, that generally discouraged its use for medical purposes.”
“With a vote of 27 in favour, 25 against, and one abstention, the CND has opened the door to recognizing the medicinal and therapeutic potential of the drug, although its use for non-medical and non-scientific purposes will continue to remain illegal. According to news reports, the decision could drive additional scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties,” asserts the UN.
At the federal level, the United States still considers cannabis, ridiculously, as a Schedule I narcotic. At the state level, at least 33 states have legalised medicinal marijuana or otherwise decriminalised its recreational useFrom Argentina to Italy and from Portugal to Uruguay, more than 30 countries have adopted some form of decriminalisation. The countries that have gone to the furthest point of drug liberation have seen a dramatic drop in crime related to drugs, as well as social/ societal issues related to abuse.
Last year, the Government of Barbados introduced the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, 2019. This was to facilitate the legal cultivation of the plant strictly for medicinal purposes. An article from the Ministry of Agriculture, Cannabis Unit published last year in Better Health, states that historically, cannabis has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes, with evidence pointing to its use in the treatment of illness as far back as 500 BC.
Cannabis can be found in various forms, and the health benefits of cannabis is ever growing, through continued research and anecdotal evidence, giving us more and more insight regarding the diverse benefits of the plant.
The Cannabis Unit asserts that medicinal cannabis comes in different forms and potencies. The cannabis plant contains around 100 cannabinoids, but the ones of therapeutic interest are THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol-which is the psychoactive compound, used in treatment of conditions such as nausea and muscle spasticity) and CBD (cannabidiol-which has been used in epilepsy, anxiety, depression, pain, reduction in nausea, neuroprotective properties, and potentially much more).
Cannabinoids, inclusive of CBD and THC together, have been linked to providing relief of chronic pain due to their chemical makeup and therefore cannabis’ by-products, such as medical cannabis, are commonly used for chronic pain relief.
Medicinal cannabis has also been used in the treatment of specific medical conditions including neurological diseases, diseases and symptoms of the digestive tract, side effects during chemotherapy for cancer and those associated with HIV/AIDS, and chronic pain, mainly of neuropathic origin. The expansion in the use of medicinal cannabis is driven primarily by the rising levels of chronic diseases.
According to Harvard Health, patients treated with cannabis derived CBD (cannabidiol), have also reported relief from insomnia, anxiety, spasticity, and pain. The derived pain-relief from CBD brings a boon free of overdose and addiction without stressing kidneys as with opioids. Even sufferers of Parkinson’s tremor, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, and interstitial cystitis have reported relief from their related symptoms.
Beyond the maybe-miracles of marijuana, even psychoactive substances like LSD, MDMA, mushrooms, and many others have recently been proven to, under monitored professional administration, alleviate and provide long-lasting improvement in those with psychological afflictions.
Humans are animals, but curious and capable ones. Elephants seek out fermented fruits to drink the naturally made alcohol, monkeys lick and share the licking of psychotropic slimeproducing slugs, and people eat fungi that can distort waking reality.
The history of humanity and our exploration is intrinsically tangled with testing ourselves and our world and all the possibilities we can apply or imagine. There is no conclusive evidence on the true relationship with Homo sapiens and drug use but our evolutionary forebears have left evidence of chemical exploration.
“Archaeological records indicate the presence of psychotropic plants and drug use in ancient civilizations as far back as early hominid species about 200 million years ago,” states Dr Tammy Saah in a 2005 paper on “The evolutionary origins and significance of drug addiction”.
According to another paper published by Proceedings B, the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal, “The use of psychoactive substances is one of the most perplexing human behaviours. Some substances cause immeasurable harm to individuals and societies (e.g. heroin) or impose a tremendous social burden in the form of preventable chronic illnesses (e.g. tobacco), while others appear to be mostly harmless and are widely enjoyed by people around the world (e.g. coffee and chocolate).”
Psychoactive drugs can be used to manage acceptance in terminal patients. Personality disorders such as anxiety and depression can be treated, obviously depending on individual case and the recommendation of medical professionals. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other trauma, are among the many conditions that can potentially benefit from the relatively new study of neuropsychopharmacology.
This new wing of science, which has been given its own peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Nature Publishing Group since 1987, focuses on new research into mechanisms of neuropathology, pharmacodynamics (drug action), psychiatric illness, and states of consciousness.
This study directly impacts the studies of anxiety disorders, affective disorders, psychotic disorders, degenerative disorders, eating behaviour, and sleep behaviour. These studies have opened doors to treatments of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and types of chorea (abnormal involuntary movement disorders).
Chemicals such as THC, GHB (gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid- referred to as liquid ecstasy), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), peyote, and many others are on the cusp of unlocking wonders within the human brain.
DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine), a similar psychoactive to LSD et al, has even been referred to as “the spirit molecule”. And Rick Strassman,an American clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, purported: “The medieval Jewish philosophers whom I rely upon for understanding the Hebrew Bible text and its concept of prophecy portray angels as God’s intermediaries. That is, they perform a certain function for God. Within the context of my DMT research, I believe that the beings that volunteers see could be conceived of as angelic – that is, previously invisible, incorporeal spiritual forces that are engarbed or enclothed in a particular form – determined by the psychological and spiritual development of the volunteers – bringing a particular message or experience to that volunteer.”
The stigma against drugs is always evolving. Excess and abuse are the true issues whose blame more squarely lies on society and the availability of understanding and empathetic aid. There is undiscovered value on the trail ahead in the scientific search for chemical usefulness which is intrinsically tied to the understanding of the self .
