Sativex is Medicine, Cannabis is NOT

This is just a reiteration of an old article (2005) called  Andrea Barthwell, Snake Oil Salesman. I feel that this article, especially a few quotes, will be taken and spun to justify the legality of Sativex and further stigmatization of a whole, unprocessed plant and further criminalisation of recreational users. Even the people that cannot afford this miracle drug, and use raw cannabis, would still be viewed as criminals in the eyes of the law.
 
“If there were compelling scientific and medical data supporting marijuana’s medical benefits that would be one thing,” Barthwell said. “But the data is not there. The claim of one individual who has used marijuana does not medical data make. Marijuana has not gone through the test of science because it is a botanical and it doesn’t have the same effect on every individual.”  

Those who follow the legal development regarding cannabis know this is not true. Cannabis and its extracts have been used for a few millennia with no short or long term adverse effects. The data was, and is, there, Andrea just decided to keep it under wraps, and promote the all so loved propaganda and prohibition. Reasonably for her, the majority of the public (at the time) might not have known any of this, so it's much easier for the ONDCP to keep the policy going.

On the other note, poppies are botanical and opium and its derivatives are made from it, yet there is plenty of research on that...

“A crude plant is definitely not a medicine,” Barthwell said. “A surgeon doesn’t come to a patient recovering from surgery and give them a pipe of opium – you give them a derivative.” 

Once again, they could give them opium to help deal with the pain, but the doctors don't want the patients feeling good.


“There’s no basis in medical [knowledge] for taking a crude plant material and providing it as medicine,”

How about the traditional medicines that have helped millions before the synthetic medicines have been invented? Camomile, pure honey, lavender, etc etc... I've used those since I was a child, I know they're not the best things but they definitely helped me feel better and recover from what ever I had.

So to sum things up, the prohibition is losing steam, and I bet you anything that the governments around the world will use these same excuses to keep us "blinded" from the truth... Eventually their repressive empire will collapse under its own stupidity.