Back in the 1980’s I couldn’t have explained to you the
scientific reasons or the medical mechanisms whereby this plant could heal
small children with almost no adverse side-effects.
My Rastafari teachers took me into communities that didn’t
have clinics or access to any kind of primary health care, and we were healing
children and adults with Ganjah.
Asthma, epilepsy, TB, diabetes, mental health issues,
allergies, burns, dog bites, you name it, and the children were recovering.
In my training at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital I saw
so many desperately ill children who would surely have benefited from Cannabis
Medicine. Tiny little babies the size of your palm undergoing open-heart surgery.
But luckily today we have access to mountains of evidence
that explains Child Safety in Cannabis Medicine.
In my book I dedicate chapters 5 & 6 to the
outstanding scientific works of Professor Ester Fride. She will always be my
main mentor in the field of Pediatric Cannabis Medicine. Before she passed away
in 2010 she shared a lab with the late Professor Mechoulam for 20 years and he
fully supported her works as did Dr Ethan Russo who still uses her research in
his work at Project CBD.
Fact #1 There is Endocannabinoid activity in the womb and
Anandamide and Endocannabinoid receptors are present in the uterine wall.
This is very important because Anandamide is the human
version of THC and it controls the genes that would send out the Killer-T cells
to expel the fetus.
In the past this was always a medical mystery, the
question of why the female body does not expel the fetus that is 50% foreign.
But now, through Cannabis Research we know that Anandamide is responsible for
preventing miscarriage.
Anandamide also controls the implantation process that
happens on the 6th day after conception by preventing those Killer-T
cells from being sent out. It also controls the genes required for labor
contractions and of course the placenta is also full of Endocannabinoids and
receptors.
Fact #2 Endocannabinoid receptors are present in the
pre-implanted embryo
This means that Endocannabinoid activity starts at the
moment of conception!
Fact #3 Endocannabinoids are present in human breast milk regardless of whether the mother consumes Cannabis or not
As Traditional Healers we have always known this and the
Chinese have known for 7000 years but scientists only started writing about
this in the 1970’s so this is not new information. In fact the highest
concentration of Endocannabinoids is in human breast milk that features 12 different
Endocannabinoids with the majority of content being 2-AG, the human version of
CBD.
Fact #4 Endocannabinoid receptors are present in the
white matter regions of the pre and post natal brain.
The white matter regions are the very deep tissues of the
human brain and this proves the specific role that the Endocannabinoid System
plays in early human brain development.
The next 4 facts concern the feeding of the newborn human
baby.
Fact #5 The Endocannabinoid System is crucial to the
suckling response in new born babies
Fact #6 In infants, “Growth Failure” due to the inability
to suckle is now scientifically attributed to an under developed
Endocannabinoid System
Fact #7 The official diagnosis “Infant Failure to Thrive”
is caused by blocked Endocannabinoid receptors because of the failure to
stimulate the suckling response
This research proves that the Endocannabinoid System is
vital to the survival of the newborn human.
Fact #8 Endocannabinoids stimulate the tongue muscles to
treat swallowing problems in children and adults
You would not believe how many medical conditions are associated
with Dysphagia or impaired swallowing. For example, Muscular dystrophy,
Muscular Sclerosis, strokes, traumatic brain injuries and even certain cancers.
Fact #9 Endocannabinoids can be altered when the pregnant
mom is under stress, regardless of whether she consumes Cannabis or not
The reason for this is that life stresses block the
Endocannabinoid receptors.
Fact #10 Dose controlled plant medicine has virtually no
side-effects in children because of the delayed receptor expression in early human
development
These are all legit scientific facts and with all this
evidence of Endocannabinoid activity in early human development, the big
question now is:
How
is it possible that a molecule like THC has almost no effect on small children?
There are 5 reasons for the high safety margin of plant
Cannabis medicine in treating children
1. 1. Delayed
Receptor Expression
Because of Professor Fride’s work we now know that
Endocannabinoid receptor expression is different in children because the
Endocannabinoid System develops very slowly in the pre and post natal stages.
Her work also proved that this gradual increase in
receptor expression is also accompanied by a gradual maturing in the response
to THC.
You can clearly see that this is a biologically adaptive
defense mechanism delicately designed by the Creator to protect small children and
this is why it appears that THC has almost no effect on small children. You can
look at the many You Tube videos on this topic and you will not see a typically
high child.
In my book I discuss several human studies where fairly
large doses up to 60 mg per day was administered to oncology and neurological
child patients with almost no side-effects, only healing. Improved appetite,
less nausea, less pain, less spasticity and overall mood improvements.
2.2. The
way in which THC binds to the Endocannabinoid receptors
Remember that THC is the only plant cannabinoid that can
actually bind to the Endocannabinoid receptors. In fact my Rastafari teachers
used to speak about the “THC receptors” in reference to the Endocannabinoid
system.
One of the greatest secrets of this medicine is the fact
that plant THC only acts as a partial agonist at the Endocannabinoid receptors.
Compared to synthetic THC that acts as a full agonist and
this is why synthetic THC is up to 800 times more potent than plant THC.
And synthetics come with severe mental and physical side
effects including psychosis, violence and extreme aggression. These are the
complete opposite of the effects one would normally see with plant THC.
In fact, synthetics are the number 1 reason for the
increase in emergency room admissions due to unintentional ingestion and its
usually due to edibles. These are ever so attractive to small children and
should be kept locked away by responsible adults.
The biggest problem with these products is that they do
not contain any CBD to help the patient cope with the potency of synthetic THC.
3. 3. The
way in which CBD can calm THC
Let me tell you something about the power of CBD that my
students always say ‘blows their minds’!
CBD has the ability to change the shape of the surface
area of the Endocannabinoid receptors. So if you can imagine that the surface
area of the receptor looks like a round donut with a hold in the middle where
the THC enters to bind.
CBD is able to change the shape of the surface of the receptor
to resemble a sickle or half moon, thus reducing the surface area of the
receptor and therefore reducing the THC uptake as well.
4.4. . There
are no Endocannabinoid receptors in the Cardiac and Respiratory cells I the
human brain stem
This is the biological reason why no one has ever died or
overdosed from using plant Cannabis by heart attack or stopping to breath.
Also, for interest sake the LD-50, the Lethal Dose that
affects 50% of the population is so low for Cannabis that 30 000 (30
thousand) times more Cannabis than in a single joint would have to be consumed
in one session and of course this is not possible with plant medicine
5.5. The
Entourage Effect
The Entourage Effect is the botanical explanation that
ALL of the plants components must be present in order for the medicinal
properties to be reaped.
In the case of Cannabis all of the plants Cannabinoids,
terpenes, flavinoids and alkaloids must be present otherwise the medicine
basically will not work. This is why isolates and synthetics simply do not work
and you are better off to grow your own plants and make your own medicine. It
is of great botanical interest that plant terpenes have almost the same healing
properties as the Cannabinoids but only if they are all present together.
Today, Cannabis is implicated in 678 medical conditions
including corona. It is the most researched medicine with far more research
than any pharmaceutical drug.
Every day we hear miraculous stories of how this medicine
is helping children but still today there are places in the world where pregnant
women are being arrested for consuming Cannabis while they are pregnant.
So we give thanks for the Arizona Ruling last month that
declared that it is no longer considered child neglect or abuse to consume
Cannabis during pregnancy to treat Hyperemesis Gravidarum, meaning severe
morning sickness. This means that it is no longer a crime to smoke a spliff
when you are feeling sick during pregnancy and I would really like us as a
society to stop judging women for self medicating with the only plant in
creation that can offer us any version of THC that we so desperately need to
supplement our Endocannabinoid Systems
I have been healing children with Ganjah for 35 years and
I have never ever seen this plant harm a sick child.
I am so passionate about Pediatric Cannabis Medicine that
last year together with my amazing sponsors we hosted an Art Competition for
the cover of my new book, the human companion plant for children and I would
love to share the cover, created by the winning artist Roxy Meijer. I am also delighted to announce that Roxy and I had a meeting last week and we have agreed to go forward together with this project to bring Buddy to the world!
The book will be aimed at ages 7 to 12 and aims to teach children,
parents, grand parents, caregivers and teachers about Cannabis Medicine.
I give thanks for the privilege of your time!
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