Cannitrol – Cannabis Control Agent

Marijuana news from around the world

Bogota

Marijuana may be used to treat addiction in Columbia

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Marijuana’s reputation was relentlessly attacked for decades.  We at marijuana.net have spoken in great length about the propaganda our government has utilized to attack a plant.  Movies such as “Reefer Madness” were used to scare much of the general population, while the War on Drugs has worn out everything from morale to finances.  Propaganda movies and failed politics appear to be on the way out.

While the new marijuana reform movement and medical research has helped to change the perception of cannabis considerably,  we have just learned of a new development that is groundbreaking.  It appears that Columbia’s capital city,  Bogota,  is considering a new approach to combating the issue of serious drug use.  In this case marijuana is not the villain, but may in fact be the savior.  The mayor of Bogota in the city may administer a program that would have basuco users (a cocaine derivative often compared to crack) use marijuana to help combat their physical addiction.

Basuco is considered to be one of the least pure forms of cocaine and there is widespread concern over its health implications.  Experts estimate that there are over7000 problem users (those who take 15-20 hits per day).  There are likely many other users in need of help who use slightly less.

It will be interesting to see if such a program ever makes its way to the united states.  Amanda Reiman of The Drug Policy Alliance does not think it will be anytime soon as she recently told ABC news “Unfortunately, universities rely on grants from the federal government for research, so most of what they do is what the feds want done.  As you can probably guess, the feds are not too interested in beneficial uses for marijuana, and even less interested in how to help people who are addicted to substances, so most of the research in this area occurs outside the U.S. or through private funding.”  If the program is successful in Colombia us authorities may have no choice.  Support for medical marijuana is growing rapidly, and research is regularly revealing new ways in which cannabis can aid patients.

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