Drugs, Health/Environment

Cannabis Science: Finding The Optimal Therapeutic Ratio Of THC And CBD

Dr. Malik Burnett
Medical Jane: May 29, 2014

Given the fact that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the two most prominent chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, the vast majority of research to date has focused on the ratio of these two cannabinoids. While the ability to control cannabinoid ratios within your own medicine remains limited, the information provided here will hopefully give you some insight into the future of cannabis based therapy.

THC and CBD: The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship

Research on the benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in isolation is well established. THC demonstrates analgesic, anti-emetic, and anti-inflammatory properties, whereas CBD possesses anti-psychotic, anti-seizure, and anti-anxiety properties.

However, research on the simultaneous use of THC:CBD is less robust – its origins can be traced to Brazil in the mid-1970s. In this study, patients were given between 15-60mg of CBD in conjunction with 30mg of THC, and the effects were measured. Subjects reported more pleasurable effects and less anxiety with the combination of CBD and THC than they felt with THC alone.

Furthermore, a group of scientists examined the effects of administering CBD at a dose six times that of THC. They found that 73% of study participants reported a decreased feeling of being “high” when compared to THC alone.

Follow-up studies have demonstrated that the combination of the two cannabinoids reduced users’ experiences of tachycardia (increased heart rate), gait instability, and difficulty in eye tracking exercises. These results support the theory that CBD works to minimize some of the negative side effects of THC.

Modern Therapeutic Applications Of The Cannabinoid Ratio

The most recent research into THC:CBD ratios comes out of the pharmaceutical industry, specifically around the GW Pharmaceuticals‘ Sativex, which has a 1:1 ratio of THC and CBD. In the clinical trials phase of drug development, researchers examined the effects of THC, CBD, and combination extracts on sleep, pain control, and muscle spasms. They found that 1:1 THC-CBD extracts provided the most therapeutic relief across all categories.

THC and CBD combinations also show therapeutic promise across a number of disease states for which there has been limited therapeutic breakthrough to date.

In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), THC has been shown to delay motor deterioration and increase long term survival. Recent work has built on this study to show that the addition of CBD in conjunction with THC leads to a 14% increase in motor performance and an increase in survival beyond the survival rates with THC alone.

In cancer, cannabis has long been credited with helping people combat the nausea associated with chemotherapy. Furthermore, THC and CBD each possess cytotoxic (cell destroying) and anti-angiogenic (prevention of development of new blood vessels) properties. These two properties are critical to combating the spread of cancer within the body, making whole-plant cannabis extracts a viable medical option.

(read the full article at Medical Jane)

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Banksters, Corporate Welfare, Geopolitics/War

Real Bilderberg Agenda Leaks; Official Agenda Was Fake

RT: May 31

The officially released agenda of the prestigious Bilderberg club meeting is not true, claims RT show host Daniel Estulin, a longtime watcher of the ‘secret world govt’ group. He says he obtained the real agenda for this year’s gathering in Copenhagen.

An insider leaked the
list of talking points for the ongoing Bilderberg conference to
the investigative journalist last week, he said. The list has
nine items, seven of which he shared:

1) Nuclear diplomacy and the deal with Iran currently in the
making.

The club has long been cautious of a possible alliance between
Russia, China and Iran. The deal that would lift Western pressure
from the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program would affect
this possibility.

2) Gas deal between Russia and China.

It came amid a serious political crisis in Ukraine, which
threatens Russia’s supply of natural gas to European nations.
Moscow has diversified its gas trade by sealing a long-term
contract with Beijing. Potentially, China may replace the EU as
the prime energy trade partner for Russia, a situation which
strengthens Moscow’s position in Ukraine by undermining
Washington’s effort to isolate Russia and Kiev’s leverage through
its control of transit gas pipelines.

3) Rise of nationalist moods in Europe.

The agenda was formed before the latest European Parliament
elections, which cast a spotlight on the trend. Populist
eurosceptic parties are winning the hearts of Europeans from the
UK to Greece to Hungary, dealing a blow to the union’s unity. A
nationally driven and divided Europe would be reluctant to take
globalization for granted.

4) EU internet privacy regulations.

Edward Snowden’s exposure of the scale of electronic surveillance
on the part of the US National Security Agency and its allies
worldwide sparked a major protest from privacy-seeking people.
European politicians can’t ignore the calls to protect people’s
communication from snooping, which potentially makes data
collection more difficult. At least not immediately, as indicated
by the apparent scaling down of Germany’s investigation into the
NSA’s alleged surveillance.

5) Cyberwarfare and its potential effect on internet freedoms.

The destructive potential of cyber attacks is growing rapidly as
reliance on the internet in all aspects of life rises. But the
threat of state-sponsored hacker attacks is what some governments
may use as a pretext for clamping down on the internet,
undermining its role as a medium for the sake of security.

6) From Ukraine to Syria, Barack Obama’s foreign policy.

Critics of the US president blame him for betraying America’s
leadership overseas, citing failures to defend American interests
in Syria and lately in Ukraine. Obama’s newly announced doctrine
calls on scaling down reliance on military force and using
diplomacy and collective action instead. Bilderberg members will
discuss whether this policy is doomed.

7) Climate change.

This is a regular topic for many high-ranking discussions, not
only the Bilderberg conference in Denmark. People suspicious of
the elites call climate change a euphemism for the artificial
deindustrialization of some nations, with the goal of keeping the
global economy under the control of transnational corporations
and the expense of potential hubs of economic growth.

The Bilderberg Group is a six-decades-old club for some of the
world’s most influential individuals, politicians, officials,
businessmen, academics and European royalty, regularly gathering
to discuss global policy issues. Critics accuse them of acting as
a shadow unelected government, would-be rulers of the world,
which take decisions affecting billions of people behind closed
doors, with little regard for the needs or wishes of the general
population.

(read the full article at RT)

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Corporate Welfare

Temporary foreign workers hired at minimum wage; Harper Gov’t Approved Breaking Rule

Thousands of temporary foreign workers hired at minimum wage shows program is ‘off the rails’: AFL

Sheila Pratt
Edmonton Journal: May 27, 2014

EDMONTON – Thousands of employers across the country are paying temporary foreign workers below the required wage level — with federal approval, according to new research by the Alberta Federation of Labour.

The “shocking result” is more evidence that the program works to keep wages low in a strong economy — despite claims to the contrary from federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney, federation president Gil McGowan said Monday.

“This is the latest example of how badly this program has gone off the rails,” he said. “The federal government should not be in the business of keeping wages low, but that’s exactly what’s happening.”

In the last 18 months, 15,006 employers across the country received approval to bring in temporary foreign workers at minimum wage, according to documents obtained from the federal government, McGowan said.

The federation then checked each approved contract (called a labour market opinion) against the hourly wage required under federal rules in each geographic region, called the prevailing market wage (the average that Canadians are paid in those job categories).

More than 14,500 contracts — 97 per cent — were approved with wages below the prevailing market wage, violating the rules of the temporary foreign workers program, says the federation.

“The evidence from Statistics Canada and the government itself show that the so-called prevailing market wage in every occupation and every region of the country is actually higher than the minimum wage (for that province),” McGowan said. “So none of these applications should have been approved.

“The Harper government has allowed them to contravene the rules and is standing up for its friends in business.”

(read the full article at Edmonton Journal)

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Alternative Free Press -fair use-

Health/Environment, Original

5 Reported Cases of Measles in Vancouver Area

AlternativeFreePress.com

VANCOUVER, BC (Alternative Free Press) – Less than 48 hours ago Alternative Free Press broke the news that Vancouver had it’s first diagnosed case of the Measles.

We can now confirm that Vancouver Coastal Heath Authority now has 5 reported cases of Measles in the Vancouver area.

Most health officials already admit that the MMR vaccine is not effective in 10%-20% of the population. However, most neglect to tell you that the vaccine does not provide true immunity, it provides only a temporary immune-like response. Protective serum titers drop very quickly after the second MMR dose, meaning some vaccinated people do not receive any lasting protection from the MMR vaccine.

As of April 8, 2014 Fraser Health had 375 confirmed cases of measles in Fraser East. As far as we know, of May 30, 2014 these 5 recent cases are the first reported in Vancouver.

Written by Alternative Free Press
Creative Commons License
5 Reported Cases of Measles in Vancouver Area by AlternativeFreePress.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

RELATED:
New Jersey mumps outbreak exclusively infecting vaccinated population

Ohio & New York 2014 Mumps Outbreaks Only Infect Vaccinated Population

Is Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program increasing measles outbreaks?

Measles Outbreak Spreads West, Vaccinated Vancouver Resident Diagnosed

Privacy, Tyranny

Sen. Ron Wyden: House-Passed USA FREEDOM Act is ‘Reform in Name Only’

Adam Dick
The Ron Paul Institute For Peace & Prosperity: May 29, 2014

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), speaking Wednesday in his home state of Oregon, declared that the “Status Quo Caucus” including “intelligence leadership, their friends in the House of Representatives, [and] their allies in academia” had successfully transformed the USA FREEDOM Act (HR 3361) into “reform in name only” by the time it was debated and approved on the United States House of Representatives floor.

This development regarding legislation supposedly intended to restrain the US government’s mass spying program comes as little surprise to Wyden, who explains that “[w]hat has happened is what I predicted would happen last fall.” Indeed, Wyden warned in October that:

…we know in the months ahead we will be up against a “business-as-usual brigade” – made up of influential members of the government’s intelligence leadership, their allies in thinktanks and academia, retired government officials, and sympathetic legislators. Their game plan? Try mightily to fog up the surveillance debate and convince the Congress and the public that the real problem here is not overly intrusive, constitutionally flawed domestic surveillance, but sensationalistic media reporting. Their end game is ensuring that any surveillance reforms are only skin-deep.

Wyden proceeds in his Wednesday comments to explain how “the reality is that in many particulars [the House-passed USA FREEDOM Act] simply would not pass the ‘smell test’ in terms of protecting Americans from suspicionless surveillance.”

Wyden mentions in his Wednesday comments that the House-passed bill was so “watered-down” by the time it reached the House floor that “a substantial number of the sponsors of the original legislation voted against it.”

(read the full article at The Ron Paul Institute For Peace & Prosperity)

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Alternative Free Press -fair use-

Health/Environment

New Study Confirms Flame Retardants Lower IQ & Cause Hyperactivity

Flame retardant a health risk to children: study

Tamsyn Burgmann
The Canadian Press: May 29, 2014

Debates over the toxicity of chemicals like lead and mercury have long been extinguished, but mounting research into flame retardant has ignited a deeper probe of man-made chemicals.

Learning deficits and decreased IQ in children has been linked to synthetic chemicals once commonly used in household items to prevent fire, according to a new study out of British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University.

The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found a 4.5 drop in IQ and greater hyperactivity in five-year-olds was associated with their mothers’ exposure to flame retardants during early pregnancy and after the babies were born.

The research joins five other international studies highlighting the potential dangers of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, known as PDBEs, which were once widely used in products like couches, carpets and car seats.

“Now we’ve seen this pattern of toxicity with low level environmental chemicals – lead, mercury, now fire retardants – let’s not do it again,” said SFU health sciences Prof. Bruce Lanphear, one of the study’s authors.

“Let’s set a regulatory framework in place to make sure these products, these chemicals, are safe before they’re marketed to children and pregnant women.”

The study started 10 years ago as realization donned that chemical compounds throughout the consumer market had little research answering questions about their safety. The researchers tested blood, urine and hair samples of 309 women and their children in Cincinnati, Ohio, starting from 16 weeks of pregnancy and until their children were five.

In 2004, manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada began voluntarily withdrawing PBDEs from their formulas, while further concerns over harmful effects on wildlife and mammals prompted a United Nations body to ban two of three commercial PBDEs in 2009.

Two problems, however, still persist. Many household goods produced over the past three decades remain in homes and offices with potential to leach toxins, while the industry is replacing the old synthetics with new without accompanying research.

“It’s not simply about the flame retardants,” Lanphear said. “If we replace them with a chemical that hasn’t been sufficiently studied and it turns out to be toxic, have we really solved the problem?”

(read the full article at The Globe & Mail)

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Alternative Free Press -fair use-

Health/Environment, Original

Measles Outbreak Spreads West, Vaccinated Vancouver Resident Diagnosed

AlternativeFreePress.com

VANCOUVER, BC (Alternative Free Press) – At least 1 case of Measles has been diagnosed in Vancouver with a second probable case as of May 28, 2014. At the time this article was published blood tests are pending so the Vancouver Coastal Health website still says “There have been no cases of measles in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.” However, Alternative Free Press has learned that 1 Vancouver resident have been diagnosed with Measles, and a second is a probable case. Blood test results to confirm the diagnosed case are expected within 72 hours.

Both are believed to have been fully vaccinated with one of the two infected people confirming that they are certain they had been vaccinated for Measles. They reside in the same East Vancouver residence and are both between the ages of 25 – 35.

Most health officials already admit that the MMR vaccine is not effective in 10%-20% of the population. However, most neglect to tell you that the vaccine does not provide true immunity, it provides only a temporary immune-like response.

Dr Tetyana Obukhanych is an Immunologist who earned her PhD in Immunology at the Rockefeller University in New York and did postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. and Stanford University in California. In the following video Dr Obukhanych explains how protective serum titers drop very quickly after the second MMR dose, meaning some vaccinated people do not receive any lasting protection from the MMR vaccine.

Here is a screenshot of the chart in the video highlighting the data which shows the MMR booster is simply not very effective.

As of April 8, 2014 Fraser Health had 375 confirmed cases of measles in Fraser East. As far as we know, of May 28, 2014 these 2 recent cases are the first two reported in Vancouver.

Written by Alternative Free Press
Creative Commons License
Measles Outbreak Spreads West, Vaccinated Vancouver Residents Diagnosed by AlternativeFreePress.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

RELATED:
New Jersey mumps outbreak exclusively infecting vaccinated population

Ohio & New York 2014 Mumps Outbreaks Only Infect Vaccinated Population

Is Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program increasing measles outbreaks?

*Correction: This article originally stated that 2 people had been diagnosed. We have since confirmed that 1 Vancouver resident has been diagnosed with Measles, and the second is a “probable case”, not yet diagnosed.

Banksters, Corporate Welfare, Geopolitics/War, Health/Environment, Privacy, Tyranny

The Official Bilderberg 2014 Membership List

There people will be meeting behind closed doors, and the mainstream media will pay it only lip service. The news is full of fluff, sports, celebrity gossip, …. but has little resources to properly investigate the Bilderberg meeting which as will happen in Copenhagen, Denmark, from May 29 – June 1, 2014:

“We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodetermination practiced in past centuries.”
— David Rockefeller, Speaking at the June, 1991 Bilderberger meeting in Baden, Germany

This list is the officially released list, however some members don’t want to be identified committing treason, so they are left off the list.

Official Bilderberg 2014:
FRA Castries, Henri de Chairman and CEO, AXA Group
DEU Achleitner, Paul M. Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG
DEU Ackermann, Josef Former CEO, Deutsche Bank AG
GBR Agius, Marcus Non-Executive Chairman, PA Consulting Group
FIN Alahuhta, Matti Member of the Board, KONE; Chairman, Aalto University Foundation
GBR Alexander, Helen Chairman, UBM plc
USA Alexander, Keith B. Former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Former Director, National Security Agency
USA Altman, Roger C. Executive Chairman, Evercore
FIN Apunen, Matti Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
DEU Asmussen, Jörg State Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs
HUN Bajnai, Gordon Former Prime Minister; Party Leader, Together 2014
GBR Balls, Edward M. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
PRT Balsemão, Francisco Pinto Chairman, Impresa SGPS
FRA Baroin, François Member of Parliament (UMP); Mayor of Troyes
FRA Baverez, Nicolas Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
USA Berggruen, Nicolas Chairman, Berggruen Institute on Governance
ITA Bernabè, Franco Chairman, FB Group SRL
DNK Besenbacher, Flemming Chairman, The Carlsberg Group
NLD Beurden, Ben van CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc
SWE Bildt, Carl Minister for Foreign Affairs
NOR Brandtzæg, Svein Richard President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA
INT Breedlove, Philip M. Supreme Allied Commander Europe
AUT Bronner, Oscar Publisher, Der STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H.
SWE Buskhe, Håkan President and CEO, Saab AB
TUR Çandar, Cengiz Senior Columnist, Al Monitor and Radikal
ESP Cebrián, Juan Luis Executive Chairman, Grupo PRISA
FRA Chalendar, Pierre-André de Chairman and CEO, Saint-Gobain
CAN Clark, W. Edmund Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group
INT Coeuré, Benoît Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
IRL Coveney, Simon Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
GBR Cowper-Coles, Sherard Senior Adviser to the Group Chairman and Group CEO, HSBC Holdings plc
BEL Davignon, Etienne Minister of State
USA Donilon, Thomas E. Senior Partner, O’Melveny and Myers; Former U.S. National Security Advisor
DEU Döpfner, Mathias CEO, Axel Springer SE
GBR Dudley, Robert Group Chief Executive, BP plc
FIN Ehrnrooth, Henrik Chairman, Caverion Corporation, Otava and Pöyry PLC
ITA Elkann, John Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
DEU Enders, Thomas CEO, Airbus Group
DNK Federspiel, Ulrik Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe A/S
USA Feldstein, Martin S. Professor of Economics, Harvard University; President Emeritus, NBER
CAN Ferguson, Brian President and CEO, Cenovus Energy Inc.
GBR Flint, Douglas J. Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc
ESP García-Margallo, José Manuel Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
USA Gfoeller, Michael Independent Consultant
TUR Göle, Nilüfer Professor of Sociology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
USA Greenberg, Evan G. Chairman and CEO, ACE Group
GBR Greening, Justine Secretary of State for International Development
NLD Halberstadt, Victor Professor of Economics, Leiden University
USA Hockfield, Susan President Emerita, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NOR Høegh, Leif O. Chairman, Höegh Autoliners AS
NOR Høegh, Westye Senior Advisor, Höegh Autoliners AS
USA Hoffman, Reid Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn
CHN Huang, Yiping Professor of Economics, National School of Development, Peking University
USA Jackson, Shirley Ann President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
USA Jacobs, Kenneth M. Chairman and CEO, Lazard
USA Johnson, James A. Chairman, Johnson Capital Partners
USA Karp, Alex CEO, Palantir Technologies
USA Katz, Bruce J. Vice President and Co-Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
CAN Kenney, Jason T. Minister of Employment and Social Development
GBR Kerr, John Deputy Chairman, Scottish Power
USA Kissinger, Henry A. Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
USA Kleinfeld, Klaus Chairman and CEO, Alcoa
TUR Koç, Mustafa Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.
DNK Kragh, Steffen President and CEO, Egmont
USA Kravis, Henry R. Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
USA Kravis, Marie-Josée Senior Fellow and Vice Chair, Hudson Institute
CHE Kudelski, André Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group
INT Lagarde, Christine Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
BEL Leysen, Thomas Chairman of the Board of Directors, KBC Group
USA Li, Cheng Director, John L.Thornton China Center,The Brookings Institution
SWE Lifvendahl, Tove Political Editor in Chief, Svenska Dagbladet
CHN Liu, He Minister, Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs
PRT Macedo, Paulo Minister of Health
FRA Macron, Emmanuel Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency
ITA Maggioni, Monica Editor-in-Chief, Rainews24, RAI TV
GBR Mandelson, Peter Chairman, Global Counsel LLP
USA McAfee, Andrew Principal Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PRT Medeiros, Inês de Member of Parliament, Socialist Party
GBR Micklethwait, John Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
GRC Mitsotaki, Alexandra Chair, ActionAid Hellas
ITA Monti, Mario Senator-for-life; President, Bocconi University
USA Mundie, Craig J. Senior Advisor to the CEO, Microsoft Corporation
CAN Munroe-Blum, Heather Professor of Medicine and Principal (President) Emerita, McGill University
USA Murray, Charles A. W.H. Brady Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
NLD Netherlands, H.R.H. Princess Beatrix of the
ESP Nin Génova, Juan María Deputy Chairman and CEO, CaixaBank
FRA Nougayrède, Natalie Director and Executive Editor, Le Monde
DNK Olesen, Søren-Peter Professor; Member of the Board of Directors, The Carlsberg Foundation
FIN Ollila, Jorma Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell, plc; Chairman, Outokumpu Plc
TUR Oran, Umut Deputy Chairman, Republican People’s Party (CHP)
GBR Osborne, George Chancellor of the Exchequer
FRA Pellerin, Fleur State Secretary for Foreign Trade
USA Perle, Richard N. Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
USA Petraeus, David H. Chairman, KKR Global Institute
CAN Poloz, Stephen S. Governor, Bank of Canada
INT Rasmussen, Anders Fogh Secretary General, NATO
DNK Rasmussen, Jørgen Huno Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Lundbeck Foundation
INT Reding, Viviane Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, European Commission
USA Reed, Kasim Mayor of Atlanta
CAN Reisman, Heather M. Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
NOR Reiten, Eivind Chairman, Klaveness Marine Holding AS
DEU Röttgen, Norbert Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, German Bundestag
USA Rubin, Robert E. Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury
USA Rumer, Eugene Senior Associate and Director, Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
NOR Rynning-Tønnesen, Christian President and CEO, Statkraft AS
NLD Samsom, Diederik M. Parliamentary Leader PvdA (Labour Party)
GBR Sawers, John Chief, Secret Intelligence Service
NLD Scheffer, Paul J. Author; Professor of European Studies, Tilburg University
NLD Schippers, Edith Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
USA Schmidt, Eric E. Executive Chairman, Google Inc.
AUT Scholten, Rudolf CEO, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG
USA Shih, Clara CEO and Founder, Hearsay Social
FIN Siilasmaa, Risto K. Chairman of the Board of Directors and Interim CEO, Nokia Corporation
ESP Spain, H.M. the Queen of
USA Spence, A. Michael Professor of Economics, New York University
FIN Stadigh, Kari President and CEO, Sampo plc
USA Summers, Lawrence H. Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University
IRL Sutherland, Peter D. Chairman, Goldman Sachs International; UN Special Representative for Migration
SWE Svanberg, Carl-Henric Chairman, Volvo AB and BP plc
TUR Taftalı, A. Ümit Member of the Board, Suna and Inan Kiraç Foundation
USA Thiel, Peter A. President, Thiel Capital
DNK Topsøe, Henrik Chairman, Haldor Topsøe A/S
GRC Tsoukalis, Loukas President, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
NOR Ulltveit-Moe, Jens Founder and CEO, Umoe AS
INT Üzümcü, Ahmet Director-General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
CHE Vasella, Daniel L. Honorary Chairman, Novartis International
FIN Wahlroos, Björn Chairman, Sampo plc
SWE Wallenberg, Jacob Chairman, Investor AB
SWE Wallenberg, Marcus Chairman of the Board of Directors, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB
USA Warsh, Kevin M. Distinguished Visiting Fellow and Lecturer, Stanford University
GBR Wolf, Martin H. Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial Times
USA Wolfensohn, James D. Chairman and CEO, Wolfensohn and Company
NLD Zalm, Gerrit Chairman of the Managing Board, ABN-AMRO Bank N.V.
GRC Zanias, George Chairman of the Board, National Bank of Greece
USA Zoellick, Robert B. Chairman, Board of International Advisors, The Goldman Sachs Group

AUT Austria
BEL Belgium
CAN Canada
CHE Switzerland
CHN China
DEU Germany
DNK Denmark
ESP Spain
FIN Finland
FRA France
GBR Great Britain
GRC Greece
HUN Hungary
INT International
IRL Ireland
ITA Italy
NLD Netherlands
NOR Norway
PRT Portugal
SWE Sweden
TUR Turkey
USA United States of America

Drugs, Original

New Study Says THC Reduces Meth-Induced Brain Damage

AlternativeFreePress.com

A new study “investigated the neuroprotective effect of Δ9-THC on METH-induced neurotoxicity by examining its ability to reduce astrocyte activation and nNOS overexpression in selected brain areas”. In layman’s terms they investigated if THC can reduce or prevent brain damage caused by meth. The answer: Yes, THC can reduce or prevent brain damage caused by meth.

Δ9-THC is an active compound in cannabis AKA marijuana.

The abstract explains that “Methamphetamine (METH) is a potent psychostimulant with neurotoxic properties. Heavy use increases the activation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), production of peroxynitrites, microglia stimulation, and induces hyperthermia and anorectic effects.”

The researchers “results indicate that Δ9-THC reduces METH-induced brain damage via inhibition of nNOS expression and astrocyte activation through CB1-dependent and independent mechanisms, respectively.”

Written by Alternative Free Press
Creative Commons License
New Study Says THC Reduces Meth-Induced Brain Damage by AlternativeFreePress.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

(Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24844285)

Banksters, Corporate Welfare

The trigger warning we need: “College is a scam meant to perpetuate the 1 percent”

The trigger warning we need: “Borrowing to attend an American college may be hazardous to your dreams”

Thomas Frank
Salon: May 25, 2014

Is there a greater gift to the hack editorialist than the American university and its taste for sensitivity and euphemism? I doubt it. What wonderful opportunities it presents to wax indignant: Shrinking-violet rich kids in a lather about patriarchy; tenured professors scheming to drain the English language of its animal spirits. It’s a never-ending saga of privilege run amok, which of course allows our op-ed moralists to completely overlook the real scandal on campus—the corporatization of the university, a development that has plunged an entire generation into inescapable debt but that is somehow less visible to the columnist than the latest political-correctness fantasia.

But then comes a campus outrage so gloriously stupid, so fantastically self-negating, that the prof-bashers miss its true significance. Last week, The New York Times described a push at a handful of fancy colleges to require “trigger warnings” on class syllabi, which would alert sensitive students to reading materials that might cause them psychic distress. Note that “trigger warnings” have been actually applied at no college campus to any literary classic. The mere suggestion here and there is all that was needed to make this 100-proof pundit bait. One after another,the columnists piled on, mocking the hypersensitive and moaning about what kids these days have come to.

However, when I read the Times story—especially the part where trigger warnings are being proposed for any text that bears hints of something called “classism”—I felt strangely euphoric. I’d finally discovered a PC campus trend I could get behind.

“Warning labels!” I cried. “Classism! Great leaping Christ, that’s it!”

Yes! Elite university students must be warned about “classism”! Not on course syllabi or the cover of a book as though it’s comsymp lit or something. No, they need to see it in big red letters inscribed on those elite universities themselves — stamped on every tuition bill and financial aid form and diploma they produce, spelled out in the quadrangle pavement, flashing from a neon sign above every dormitory so no one can miss it:

“Warning: This place exists to enforce class distinctions.”

Perhaps those universities exist to educate, too. Perhaps professors here and there still concern themselves with whether students understand epic poems and differential equations. But that stuff is incidental. The university’s real purpose, as just about every modern college entrance guide will confirm, is to make graduates wealthy. Not too many employers really care what you studied there, or how well you did; they only care that you got in and that you got a diploma, our society’s one-and-only ticket into the middle class. Graduate from college and you have a chance of joining life’s officer corps. Quit after high school and it doesn’t matter how well you know your Nietzsche; you will probably spend the rest of your days as a corporal.

This power over admission to the bourgeoisie is the reason why tuition goes up constantly even as the university successfully transforms professors into low-wage freelancers (the subject of last week’s column)—because what those professors teach doesn’t matter. This is also why people who fake their college degrees often lead long and successful corporate lives without being detected—because the stuff you actually learn to get a liberal arts degree isn’t important in the corporate world. Only the diploma itself has real meaning in the marketplace, and only the marketplace has real meaning in America. This is a situation that clearly requires highly visible warnings, and lots of them.

The “classism” warnings must go beyond college, too: There are the professional schools—law, medicine, etc.—which by definition produce society’s upper class. And just imagine the wailing and the trauma that are no doubt “triggered” by every single lecture at the business school, where the subordination of one class to another is the pedagogical starting point.

So yes: Flash that “classism” warning like a beacon for everyone to see. Let the world know that behind those ivied walls they are teaching tomorrow’s elite the folkways of the One Percent. Maybe we can take it a step further and string yellow “classism” warning tape around the perimeter of the economics department, which in many places exists in order to prove that what’s good for the wealthy is what’s good for the world. And what shall we do with all the campus lecture halls where Richard Florida has demanded that we grovel before the “Creative Class”? EPA superfund sites, perhaps?

Just think of the salutary effect such “classism” warnings would have on the elite colleges themselves, where students are in a frenzy of self-love brought on by the success of certain very rich graduates—success which everyone attributes to college-certified merit, of course. Warnings would work wonders at a princeling factory like Princeton University, where an alumna recently encouraged female students to be sure to marry other Princetonians if they want to prosper and where a student recently wrote a much-discussed essay indignantly denying that he enjoyed “privileges” of any kind. “Classism” alerts would also be useful at that oligarchy prep school known as Harvard, which was widely celebrated last week for being the world-champion billionaire-producing university.

Then again, maybe a “classism” warning isn’t exactly what the rest of us need. For many of us college is not some storybook court of honor where we get promoted to white-collar knighthood, but a straight-up debt mill. For many of the students I am describing here, the standard trajectory of higher ed has been reversed—instead of lifting them up, their degrees drag them down. To go to college, many of them have had to make a monumentally risky financial decision, and warning labels seem very much in order.

(read the full article at Salon)

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