Government quietly keeps patents on medical cannabis, all the while prosecuting marijuana users
04/13/2016 / By Tara Paras
At both the state and federal level, there is a huge debate in this country over the possession and use of marijuana. The federal government still insists on marijuana’s “harmful effects” and opposes any moves to decriminalize the plant. However, in a show of massive hypocrisy, the same federal government, that actively goes after marijuana users and still claims that the plant has absolutely no medical value, holds two patents on cannabis as medicine.
This patent assigned to the U.S. government, dated October 7, 2003, describes the antioxidant properties of cannabinoids, making it useful for treating a wide variety of oxidation-associated diseases, including ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. It also outlines several ailments that could positively respond to cannabis treatment, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, HIV and dementia.
Yet, marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug, with “no currently accepted medical use.” Thousands of Americans are locked up for possessing and using this all-natural, curative herb, while the very same government that condemns its use holds patents that prove its effectiveness as a medicinal plant.
THC is good for you, but the government keeps lying about it
Recently, several states, mostly in the South, have passed laws enabling low-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) CBD oils to be freely sold. These laws vilify THC as the bad cannabinoid, because of its psychoactive properties. However, like all the other cannabinoids found naturally in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol has its own medicinal value, as indicated in at least one study cited in The Daily Beast, where it was shown to directly target cancer cells
“THC increases appetite and reduces nausea,” admits the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA). “[It] may also decrease pain, inflammation (swelling and redness) and muscle control problems.”
In an episode of Truth in Media, Ben Swann addresses both the hypocrisy of the government in prosecuting marijuana users, and its acceptance of low-THC, CBD oils.
“Our government, through the taxpayer-funded Department of Health and Human Services, holds two patents on cannabinoids and cannabis oil to treat certain diseases like Alzheimer’s and autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease,” says Swann.
“Meanwhile, our government, through taxpayer-funded agencies like the Department of Justice, pursues, arrests and imprisons Americans who would attempt to access or use cannabis oil to heal their own bodies. Because in public, they claim cannabis oil is not medicine. And in private, they seek to own the rights to that medicine.”
You can see the full segment here.
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Tagged Under: cannabis, government, marijuana, medical marijuana, THC
