Weed and Medical Marijuana

The debate about the legalisation of marijuana for medicinal use has enlivened this week with the controversial news of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell having cannabis oil, which he was prescribed to help alleviate his severe epilepsy, confiscated from him after a six-month supply. After being granted an emergency license for the oil, many politicians have been discussing whether the law should be changed. This morning William Hague has ‘urged Theresa May to legalise cannabis, saying the UK’s drug policy is “inappropriate, ineffective and utterly out of date” and that the “battle is effectively over”. (See: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/19/william-hague-theresa-may-legalise-cannabis)

Weed by David Schmader is a comprehensive guide to marijuana and, as such, makes excellent points about medical marijuana and its palliative use for those with epilepsy:

‘Marijuana has been used as medicine for thousands of years. Typically, weed has been used not as an active treatment for disease, but for its palliative effects, which reliably diminish symptoms and side effects of AIDS, cancer, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis, and have recently shown promise in treating psychological disorders like PTSD.

[…]

‘Forever working against the recognition of marijuana as medicine is its ability to get users pleasantly high, which, in the minds of reactionary nimrods, makes all support for medical marijuana tainted by drug-seeking motives. This is one of a million reasons to cherish cannabidiol, popularly abbreviated to CBD. Unlike the popular THC, CBD has zero psychoactive effects, giving users access to weed’s medical benefits without requiring them to get stoned. Marijuana breeders are now creating strains with high levels of CBD and almost no THC, opening medical marijuana treatment possibilities for many patients who don’t want to get high – for example, children with seizure disorders.

[…]

‘For sufferers of neurological disorders – ALS, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease – marijuana can reduce problematic inflammation, with cannabinoids correcting imbalances in the endocannabinoid system that coincide with neurological degeneration. Specifically, weed has been cited as a treatment for the pain and spasticity of ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease, for the muscle spasms and tremors of multiple sclerosis, and for seizures related to epilepsy.’

Find out more from Weed by David Schmader here: http://souvenirpress.co.uk/product/weed/

The Carer’s Bible by Amanda Waring

Today we’re very proud to publish The Carer’s Bible by Amanda Waring. The Carer’s Bible is an invaluable, inspiring guide to how to give your loved one the best possible care while addressing the anxieties that all carers suffer. As part of Carer’s Week, The Carer’s Bible is an excellent guide for those wishing to learn more about this deeply important subject.

The Carer’s Bible includes practical tips, checklists for best practice, descriptions of their experience from a wide range of carers that addresses solutions to common problems and expert advice on how to deliver compassionate and dignified care to older people. It is easy to read and provides anecdotal experience from carers and tips from the experts.

The Carer’s Bible covers topics such as:

HOW TO ENSURE DIGNIFIED CARE

HOW TO SUPPORT PERSONAL CARE AND DAILY LIVING

HOW TO CARE FOR SOMEONE WITH DEMENTIA

HOW TO CARE FOR YOURSELF AND PREVENT BURNOUT

HOW TO SUPPORT EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS

HOW TO SUPPORT CREATIVITY AND ACTIVITY

HOW TO CARE AS RELATIVES FOR LOVED ONES

HOW TO GIVE COMPASSIONATE END OF LIFE CARE

Uniquely, Amanda Waring also provides support and guidance for the carer, how to maintain energy and commitment, how to recognise the signs of compassion fatigue and where carers can get help if they need it. The Carer’s Bible is essential reading for anyone who cares for an elderly person, whether as a professional or as a loved one, in its promotion of the role dignity and respect should play.

Amanda Waring is a filmmaker, her campaigning film What Do You See has been shown across the world, and a leader of training workshops on dignified care of the elderly. Amanda is a presenter for Aged Care TV, an advisor on the government’s Dignity board and the author of The Heart of Care.

Find The Carer’s Bible here: http://souvenirpress.co.uk/product/the-carers-bible-2/

 

Weed by David Schmader

‘When Canopy Growth opened its first cannabis factory in an old chocolate plant near Ottawa four years ago, it did so predicting a bright future. Canada had already legalized medical marijuana, and Canopy predicted full legalization for recreational use to be next.

What the company hadn’t predicted, however, was the sudden flood of foreign visitors. Politicians and police authorities from Jamaica, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece and Australia have all come knocking, as well as doctors from New Zealand, Brazil and Chile, along with groups of corporate investors and bankers – so many that Canopy now splits the groups into smaller units according to their birthdays.

“We knew we’d have to give a lot of tours, so we just cut a window into the wall,” said the company spokesman, Jordan Sinclair. “We put windows in all of the doors.”

Canada will be thrust even more directly under the international microscope on Thursday, when a vote in the Senate is expected to ratify Bill C-45, effectively making Canada the first G20 nation to legalize recreational marijuana.’

So begins Selena Ross’ article ‘All eyes on Canada as first G7 nation prepares to make marijuana legal’  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/06/all-eyes-on-canada-as-first-g7-nation-prepares-to-make-marijuana-legal  

Weed: A User’s Guide is the key text to understanding the ins and outs of marijuana. This definitive, hands-on, guide will educate and entertain the novice and experienced user alike. Complete with history, ways to enjoy, recipes, safety and legality tips, and medical-use information, this witty guide is perfect for the new world of decriminalised recreational marijuana.

Find Weed by David Schmader here: http://souvenirpress.co.uk/product/weed/