Wednesday, July 9, 2014

We(ed) the people

In "Weed the People," filmmakers Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake take an unflinching look at the underground world of herbal medicine, where patients on their own conditions and spend thousands of dollars on federally illegal medicines that are concocted in suburban kitchens.

Nowhere is this phenomenon more compelling than in the treatment of children, who are ignorant of the stigma of medicinal marijuana and whose parents will stop at nothing to help them. "Weed the People" looks beyond propaganda and politics to reveal the legitimate science behind cannabis medicine and the compelling stories of ordinary people whose lives are inescapably caught up in the controversy.

In July 2013 new parents Tracy and Josh Ryan received the devastating news that their 7-month-old baby Sophie had an inoperable brain tumor. The doctors prescribed chemotherapy as the only course of treatment, but could not guarantee it would work. Tracy Ryan felt intuitively that western medicine alone would not be enough to save her daughter. After intensive research, the Ryans began Sophie on a regimen of medicinal cannabis oils, hoping for a miracle.

The most fascinating area of cannabis research revolves around an element of the marijuana plant called cannabidiol (CBD) a powerful antioxidant that does not produce the psychotropic effects of THC. CBD shows a unique ability to kill cancer cells in early laboratory tests.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Migraine

A migraine sufferer has banished the crippling headaches which once left her sick and incapacitated for days, using a high-tech headband which emits electrical pulses to the brain.
The silver headband may look and sound like a prop form a sci-fi film. But Cefaly exists and the medical device is now available in the UK, having relieved the painful symptoms of migraine sufferers across Europe and the U.S.
The non-invasive device claims to be free of any side-effects and works by applying neurostimulation to the nerves affected by migraine attacks.
Fay Sharples, 26, from Morecambe in Lancashire, told MailOnline the device has changed her life, easing her debilitating headaches in one day, after five weeks of treatment.