REEFER MADNESS!!!!!!

[the last yatto]

too bad Galifianakis is a major douchebag.

Some reason he reminds me of ryan dunn from jackass

[Telarus]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly, and with the ever-increasing size of this population, cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to triple over the next 50 years. Consequently, the development of treatments that slow or halt the disease progression have become imperative to both improve the quality of life for patients as well as reduce the health care costs attributable to Alzheimer's disease. Here, we demonstrate that the active component of marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), competitively inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as well as prevents AChE-induced amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) aggregation, the key pathological marker of Alzheimer's disease. Computational modeling of the THC-AChE interaction revealed that THC binds in the peripheral anionic site of AChE, the critical region involved in amyloidgenesis. Compared to currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, THC is a considerably superior inhibitor of Aβ aggregation, and this study provides a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism through which cannabinoid molecules may directly impact the progression of this debilitating disease.
Keywords: Cannabinoids, Alzheimer's disease, Acetylcholinesterase

<<snip some very interesting SCIENCE!>>

Conclusion

  (Emphasis mine)
  We have demonstrated that THC competitively inhibits AChE, and furthermore, binds to the AChE PAS and diminishes Aβ aggregation. In contrast to previous studies aimed at utilizing cannabinoids in Alzheimer's disease therapy,8-10 our results provide a mechanism whereby the THC molecule can directly impact Alzheimer's disease pathology. We note that while THC provides an interesting Alzheimer's disease drug lead, it is a psychoactive compound with strong affinity for endogenous cannabinoid receptors. It is noteworthy that THC is a considerably more effective inhibitor of AChE-induced Aβ deposition than the approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease treatment, donepezil and tacrine, which reduced Aβ aggregation by only 22% and 7%, respectively, at twice the concentration used in our studies.7 Therefore, AChE inhibitors such as THC and its analogues may provide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease, augmenting acetylcholine levels by preventing neurotransmitter degradation and reducing Aβ aggregation, thereby simultaneously treating both the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease.

[East Coast Hustle]

I used to forget shit all the time, but then I started smoking dope, man!
\

[AFK]

On an unrelated note, I just learned there will be a medical marijuana dispensary opening up in my city.  Right next to a craft store in a strip mall.  I'll have to be sure to go welcome the new neighbors. 

[East Coast Hustle]

makes sense, though, to locate it next to the craft store.

keep the hippies from having to make two trips in the car.

[AFK]

There's also a dollar store in the same development so there will be access to some cheap munchies. 

[Telarus]

I used to forget shit all the time, but then I started smoking dope, man!
\

[Telarus]

 

Who the fuck thought this up.....
-----

Counter-terrorism exercise features pot growers setting off bombs, seizing dam
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/terrorism-exercise-pot-growers-bombs/

Marijuana activists are criticizing -- and at least partly laughing off -- a counter-terrorism exercise carried out Wednesday in California that featured marijuana growers setting off bombs and seizing a dam.

Organized by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the exercise involved 20 government agencies and some 250 personnel, according to a report from the Redding Record-Searchlight. In the scenario, marijuana growers blew up a bus and car and seized control of northern California's Shasta Dam in a bid to free an imprisoned colleague.

The Shasta Dam scenario began with the two mock bomb blasts followed by the "Red Cell" terrorist group taking over the dam in an effort to free one of their fellow marijuana growers from prison. Holding three people hostage, they threatened to flood the Sacramento River by rolling open the drum gates atop the dam. Those gates hold back the nearly full lake.

Jeff Stein at the Washington Post points out that "in a confidential catalog of terrorist threats, uncovered by Congressional Quarterly in 2005, the Department of Homeland Security did not include the region's marijuana growers." And marijuana advocates say there has never been a recorded case of marijuana-growing terrorists attacking public works.

"No, never," California NORML head Dale Gieringer told the Drug War Chronicle.

"That was so stupid," Geringer said of the exercise. "I don't know what inspired it. I can see the need to do better pat downs for air travelers to make sure they're not holding joints in their underpants, but this? It sounds like something some yahoo red county sheriff would dream up."

"This is a classic example of law enforcement's utterly inaccurate stereotype of who is involved with marijuana," a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project told the Chronicle. "For decades, they have [vilified] users and people involved in the industry to such an extent that they now equate them with terrorists."

The Record-Searchlight reports that the exercise was one of a series designed to improve security responses at major dams across the US.

Led by the Bureau of Reclamation — the federal agency that oversees the massive concrete dam that creates Lake Shasta — medical, fire and police agencies responded to the mock terrorist attack. During the drill the dam, the roads leading to it and a pair of popular fishing boat ramps were closed.

    Part of the Bureau's Critical Infrastructure Crisis Response Exercise Program, which started in 2003, the exercise was the first of its kind at the dam, Harral said. Similar drills took place at Utah's Flaming Gorge Dam in 2003, Washington's Grand Coulee Dam in 2005 and Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona line in 2008. A similar drill is set for Folsom Dam next.

[Telarus]

More here: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/11/pot_growers_portrayed_as_terro.html

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Over 250 federal, state and local officials carried out a half million dollar LARP in Northern California using taxpayer money
       /

   

[Jenne]

Huh.  Interesting.  And most pot growers in No. Cali are actually just small-time farmers...there are contingents that go into the National forest and grow for the cartels, but most cartel farming takes place out of the state.

[AFK]

Would've been more accurate to make them crazy left-wing environmentalists like the cats in Earth First! who actually have been involved in domestic terrorism. 

[Telarus]

Gov decides not to have scientific advice on drugs any more
British government abandons policy of actually asking real scientists for scientific advice because it turns out that real scientists won't just rubber stamp whatever ridiculousness the politicians come up with
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/06/science_advice/

The coalition government is ditching the requirement to seek scientific advice before setting drugs policy.

As part of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 government must take, or at least listen to, advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. That committee needed to have at least six scientists on it.

But police reform legislation introduced last week will remove the requirement to listen to annoying scientists before setting policy.

[Cain]

Would've been more accurate to make them crazy left-wing environmentalists like the cats in Earth First! who actually have been involved in domestic terrorism. 

I believe in 2006 the FBI designated eco-terrorism as the main domestic terrorist threat in the USA.

Presumably because all Muslims are foreigners and all those crazy Patriot militia cats, uh, dont count.

[Cain]

Gov decides not to have scientific advice on drugs any more
British government abandons policy of actually asking real scientists for scientific advice because it turns out that real scientists won't just rubber stamp whatever ridiculousness the politicians come up with
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/06/science_advice/

The coalition government is ditching the requirement to seek scientific advice before setting drugs policy.

As part of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 government must take, or at least listen to, advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. That committee needed to have at least six scientists on it.

But police reform legislation introduced last week will remove the requirement to listen to annoying scientists before setting policy.

Fantastic!

Somehow, I feel this has something to do with scientists ripping the government for its knee-jerk attempt to ban synthetic, legal, over the internet drugs based on a couple of deaths (which turns out had nothing to do with the drugs themselves) and tabloid hysteria.