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1
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- [Narrator] When most
of us hear the words,
2
00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:39,680
weed or cannabis, we imagine
happy hungry stoners,
3
00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,750
unwashed and lazing about on the sofa,
4
00:00:42,750 --> 00:00:46,020
playing computer games or watching TV,
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00:00:46,020 --> 00:00:49,000
not a care in the world,
as they waste their life,
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00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,810
and brain, into oblivion.
7
00:00:51,810 --> 00:00:54,900
Sadly, this has become the
popular image and stigma
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00:00:54,900 --> 00:00:56,053
surrounding the plant.
9
00:00:57,830 --> 00:00:59,770
Even though research
has shown that cannabis
10
00:00:59,770 --> 00:01:01,640
has hundreds of active compounds,
11
00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,370
is relatively safe to consume,
12
00:01:03,370 --> 00:01:08,370
and can treat, or even cure,
thousands of medical ailments,
13
00:01:08,370 --> 00:01:12,750
including cancer, cannabis
remains illegal or controlled,
14
00:01:12,750 --> 00:01:14,073
all over the world.
15
00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:17,770
The media ply us with stories
16
00:01:17,770 --> 00:01:19,563
about the harm cannabis causes,
17
00:01:20,870 --> 00:01:24,960
and how it induces
psychosis, and even suicide,
18
00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:27,153
but neglect to highlight
the small details.
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00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:30,860
To this day, not one person has died
20
00:01:30,860 --> 00:01:32,503
from an overdose of cannabis.
21
00:01:35,130 --> 00:01:36,920
It has been theorized, that it would take
22
00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,100
over a thousand pounds of cannabis,
23
00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:43,260
being consumed, within an
hour, to have a fatal effect.
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00:01:43,260 --> 00:01:46,020
Since this is impossible,
we will not be seeing
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00:01:46,020 --> 00:01:48,400
any death certificate,
with a cause of death
26
00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,453
marked as cannabis overdose,
any time in the future.
27
00:01:53,230 --> 00:01:56,530
Cannabis, or its
non-psychoactive form hemp,
28
00:01:56,530 --> 00:01:59,480
has been used by humans
for thousands of years,
29
00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:01,140
and until not so long ago,
30
00:02:01,140 --> 00:02:03,893
was a plant prized amongst all others.
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00:02:04,950 --> 00:02:07,590
So why, in this day and age,
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00:02:07,590 --> 00:02:10,823
does such a useful plant
cause such controversy?
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00:02:11,780 --> 00:02:13,270
Why, in the UK,
34
00:02:13,270 --> 00:02:16,443
and so many other countries
around the world, is it illegal?
35
00:02:18,630 --> 00:02:21,210
In this documentary, we
will delve into the past,
36
00:02:21,210 --> 00:02:23,780
and discover the evolution
of the cannabis plant,
37
00:02:23,780 --> 00:02:26,140
and the endocannabinoid system,
38
00:02:26,140 --> 00:02:27,670
that evolved within mammals,
39
00:02:27,670 --> 00:02:30,550
eventually becoming perfect partners.
40
00:02:30,550 --> 00:02:33,950
We will explain how our
ancestors used the plant,
41
00:02:33,950 --> 00:02:35,800
and how empires were forged,
42
00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,370
with hemp as the main driving force.
43
00:02:38,370 --> 00:02:40,200
Most importantly of all,
44
00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,480
we will look into the
medical benefits of cannabis,
45
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,480
and how one plant has, and can again,
46
00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:46,873
change the world.
47
00:02:48,041 --> 00:02:50,958
(soft piano music)
48
00:03:12,990 --> 00:03:16,710
Our story begins, well, at the beginning.
49
00:03:16,710 --> 00:03:19,220
13.7 billion years ago,
50
00:03:19,220 --> 00:03:22,760
a phenomenon we now call
the Big Bang, began.
51
00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,320
This single event was a
genesis of all matter,
52
00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:26,913
and life, in the universe.
53
00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,330
Within 10 to the minus 34 of a second,
54
00:03:31,330 --> 00:03:33,770
that's a hundredth, of a
billionth, of a trillionth
55
00:03:33,770 --> 00:03:34,953
of a second in age,
56
00:03:36,730 --> 00:03:39,460
a singularity that seemed
to pop out from nowhere,
57
00:03:39,460 --> 00:03:42,190
had expanded by 90 times its size,
58
00:03:42,190 --> 00:03:44,830
and created all the elementary particles
59
00:03:44,830 --> 00:03:46,493
needed to build the universe.
60
00:03:50,870 --> 00:03:53,270
During the first three
minutes of the universe,
61
00:03:53,270 --> 00:03:56,230
the light elements were
born in a process known as,
62
00:03:56,230 --> 00:03:58,423
big bang nuclear synthesis.
63
00:04:00,330 --> 00:04:04,793
Temperatures cooled from
1032 Kelvin, to 109 Kelvin,
64
00:04:05,730 --> 00:04:09,630
and protons and neutrons
collided to make deuterium,
65
00:04:09,630 --> 00:04:11,153
an isotope of hydrogen.
66
00:04:15,980 --> 00:04:19,420
Fast forwarding through
13.2 billion years,
67
00:04:19,420 --> 00:04:21,760
and we observe the formation of the stars,
68
00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,150
and then the galaxies.
69
00:04:24,150 --> 00:04:25,920
The Milky Way is formed,
70
00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,870
and roughly 4.3 billion years ago,
71
00:04:28,870 --> 00:04:32,120
on a far flung spiral, our home,
72
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,000
planet Earth, starts to form.
73
00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,890
A fiery ball that will soon host
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00:04:37,890 --> 00:04:41,280
and take part in all of human history,
75
00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:43,880
millions and billions of years pass.
76
00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,253
The planets cool, and the oceans form.
77
00:04:47,140 --> 00:04:49,730
At an estimated three billion years BC,
78
00:04:49,730 --> 00:04:52,940
single-cell structures form in the ocean.
79
00:04:52,940 --> 00:04:53,823
Then, multicell.
80
00:04:56,470 --> 00:04:58,363
Then, small creatures.
81
00:05:00,890 --> 00:05:04,640
We will stop at 600 million years BC.
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00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,433
This is where our particular story begins.
83
00:05:08,580 --> 00:05:10,480
The creature you're looking at here,
84
00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:11,923
is the humble sea squirt.
85
00:05:12,810 --> 00:05:15,140
The sea squirt has evolved within itself,
86
00:05:15,140 --> 00:05:18,010
the endocannabinoid receptor system,
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00:05:18,010 --> 00:05:20,070
to control how much water
88
00:05:20,070 --> 00:05:22,310
goes in and out of its siphon.
89
00:05:22,310 --> 00:05:25,720
The endocannabinoid system
was only recently discovered
90
00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:30,480
in mammals, in 1992, by
doctor Raphael Mechoulam,
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00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,490
as well as researchers, William Devane,
92
00:05:33,490 --> 00:05:35,090
and doctor Lew Mahan.
93
00:05:35,090 --> 00:05:37,310
They discovered the
first naturally-occurring
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endogenous cannabinoid,
or endocannabinoid,
95
00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:42,233
anandamide.
96
00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,300
Anandamide is a fatty
acid neurotransmitter,
97
00:05:46,300 --> 00:05:49,490
and was named from the
Sanskrit word, anada,
98
00:05:49,490 --> 00:05:51,453
meaning, joy or bliss.
99
00:05:52,330 --> 00:05:56,250
Previously, in 1963,
Doctor Raphael Mechoulam,
100
00:05:56,250 --> 00:05:59,660
discovered the structure of delta-9 THC,
101
00:05:59,660 --> 00:06:03,300
and in 1988, Doctor William Devane
102
00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:07,600
discovered the protein
receptor sites, CB1 and CB2,
103
00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:09,503
in the brain and throughout the body.
104
00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,580
- Although I was surprised
at the amount of work
105
00:06:13,580 --> 00:06:15,690
that's currently being
done, and has been done,
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00:06:15,690 --> 00:06:18,680
on what's called the human
endocannabinoid system,
107
00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,400
it may not be known, but
all humans produce cannabis,
108
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:23,530
if you like, in their brain.
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00:06:23,530 --> 00:06:25,770
It's a natural product,
110
00:06:25,770 --> 00:06:27,720
called the endocannabinoid system.
111
00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,320
We produce cannabis-like compounds,
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00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,520
which have a profound effect
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00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,660
on many aspects of our behavior, on pain,
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00:06:35,660 --> 00:06:38,310
on motor control, movement control,
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00:06:38,310 --> 00:06:41,170
on growth and adaptability of the brain,
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00:06:41,170 --> 00:06:44,310
potentially on cancer, on mood, on memory.
117
00:06:44,310 --> 00:06:47,150
It's a fascinating system.
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- And this is the largest
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00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,390
neurotransmitter network in our body,
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00:06:51,390 --> 00:06:53,920
that was only discovered in 1988,
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00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,943
so relatively speaking,
a very recent knowledge.
122
00:06:58,418 --> 00:07:01,690
And the endocannabinoid
system consists of receptors.
123
00:07:01,690 --> 00:07:04,970
There are two types of
receptors identified so far.
124
00:07:04,970 --> 00:07:07,920
Receptors in the brain,
in the immune system,
125
00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,167
in our guts and in most
organs of the body.
126
00:07:12,167 --> 00:07:13,730
The receptors is the first element,
127
00:07:13,730 --> 00:07:16,210
the second elements are ligands,
128
00:07:16,210 --> 00:07:19,490
or microscopic amounts
of chemicals, or fats,
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00:07:19,490 --> 00:07:22,460
oils or fats which are
called endocannabinoids.
130
00:07:22,460 --> 00:07:24,430
And the third element of
the endocannabinoid system
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are enzymes.
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00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,260
The enzymes are responsible
for manufacturing
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00:07:28,260 --> 00:07:29,870
the endocannabinoids in the first place,
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00:07:29,870 --> 00:07:31,180
or will help with them to break down.
135
00:07:31,180 --> 00:07:33,610
So these three components,
working together,
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00:07:33,610 --> 00:07:35,690
are the endocannabinoid system.
137
00:07:35,690 --> 00:07:38,190
And the reason it's called
the endocannabinoid system,
138
00:07:38,190 --> 00:07:41,260
is because these cannabinoids,
these endocannabinoids,
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00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:43,855
are remarkably similar,
they're not exactly the same,
140
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but they're remarkably similar
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to the cannabinoids that you
find in the cannabis plant.
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00:07:49,143 --> 00:07:53,360
- [Narrator] Anandamide fits
the CB1 and CB2 receptor sites,
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like a key in a lock.
144
00:07:55,850 --> 00:07:58,290
As well as being a mood enhancer,
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Anandamide helps control height, weight,
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00:08:01,060 --> 00:08:04,173
and reproduction, amongst
other things in the body.
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00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:07,880
Leaving the sea squirt
behind, we move forward
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00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,653
566 million years in time,
to 34 million years BC.
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00:08:13,670 --> 00:08:16,090
Here, in the mountains of Kazakhstan,
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00:08:16,090 --> 00:08:19,480
the cannabis plant has
evolved from humulus lupulus,
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00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:21,920
or more commonly known as, the hops plant,
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the flower of which is
still used to this day,
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in the brewing process for beer.
154
00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,110
Evolving at such high elevation,
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presented the plant
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with many unique environmental pressures.
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To better survive, the
high UV radiation levels,
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low oxygen, and increased predators,
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cannabinoids such as THC
were used to retain water,
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reflect sunlight, and ward off predators.
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Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC,
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is the most famous cannabinoid,
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and the one responsible for the
plant's psychoactive affect.
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00:08:58,510 --> 00:09:01,277
THC was discovered by
Doctor Raphael Mechoulam,
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00:09:01,277 --> 00:09:05,010
in the 1960's, by separating
the compounds of the plant,
166
00:09:05,010 --> 00:09:07,730
and testing each individually on animals,
167
00:09:07,730 --> 00:09:09,380
and then humans.
168
00:09:09,380 --> 00:09:11,900
Noticing that only one
gave a sedative effect,
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Mechoulam discovered the
psychoactive compound
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responsible for the marijuana high,
171
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the naturally-occurring
chemical compound, THC,
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00:09:20,110 --> 00:09:21,920
found in the cannabis plant,
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has a different chemical makeup,
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that fits the CB1 and CB2
receptor sites perfectly,
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magnifying the mood-enhancing effect,
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normally caused by
endogenous cannabinoids,
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such as anandamide.
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It is not just anandamide in THC,
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that act on these receptors.
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00:09:38,420 --> 00:09:41,470
There are many other cannabinoids,
and endocannabinoids,
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that act directly, or indirectly,
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such as 2AG, CBD, CNB,
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and THCA, amongst others,
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and each has a different
effect on the body.
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- So, the cannabis plant,
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00:09:55,247 --> 00:09:57,340
and the reason the cannabis plant
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has a therapeutic response
in living organisms,
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has a physiological impact on users,
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00:10:05,670 --> 00:10:07,590
creates an emotional response,
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00:10:07,590 --> 00:10:09,870
has to do with the fact that it has
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00:10:09,870 --> 00:10:13,370
multiple unique biologically
and physiologically
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active compounds in the plant.
193
00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:17,950
The two most prevalent compounds
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00:10:17,950 --> 00:10:19,660
that we find in the cannabis plant,
195
00:10:19,660 --> 00:10:22,577
are tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC,
196
00:10:22,577 --> 00:10:25,730
and the other being CBD, cannabidiol.
197
00:10:25,730 --> 00:10:28,340
Now, they are far from the only
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00:10:28,340 --> 00:10:30,360
active constituents in
the marijuana plant,
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00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,050
but again they're the ones that we find
200
00:10:33,050 --> 00:10:35,373
most prevalent in the plant.
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- [Narrator] Over the
next 34 million years,
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man will evolve from primates,
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and nearly 99% of all
species that ever existed
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have been wiped out.
205
00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:50,590
8000 years BC,
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the plant has gone through many changes,
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and a relatively new species,
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00:10:54,530 --> 00:10:57,400
roughly 250,000 years old,
209
00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,110
has become the top predator,
210
00:10:59,110 --> 00:11:02,030
and the first to drastically
manipulate its environment
211
00:11:02,030 --> 00:11:04,743
through thought, desire,
and determination.
212
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,920
A major leap forward will
be their agricultural crops.
213
00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,670
This will lead to an
explosion in technology,
214
00:11:12,670 --> 00:11:16,220
the ability for humans to live
in groups larger than 150,
215
00:11:16,220 --> 00:11:19,033
and is the basis of modern civilization.
216
00:11:20,830 --> 00:11:23,400
For now, we are in an ancient village,
217
00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,680
located in an area of modern day Taiwan.
218
00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:30,180
From this village archeologists
have found hemp cord,
219
00:11:30,180 --> 00:11:31,790
used in pottery.
220
00:11:31,790 --> 00:11:34,730
Hemp refers to strains of cannabis sativa,
221
00:11:34,730 --> 00:11:37,540
that have been bred
specifically for its fibers,
222
00:11:37,540 --> 00:11:40,130
and not for its psychoactive effect.
223
00:11:40,130 --> 00:11:43,180
This is the oldest
known use for the plant,
224
00:11:43,180 --> 00:11:46,533
and marks the beginning of
human agricultural crops.
225
00:11:48,260 --> 00:11:51,690
In 1977, Carl Sagan stated that,
226
00:11:51,690 --> 00:11:53,780
marijuana may actually have been
227
00:11:53,780 --> 00:11:56,410
the world's first agricultural crop,
228
00:11:56,410 --> 00:11:59,113
leading to the development
of civilization itself.
229
00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,550
6000 BC, China,
230
00:12:03,550 --> 00:12:08,173
cannabis is recorded for its
seeds and oil, used in food.
231
00:12:08,173 --> 00:12:11,240
5000 BC, India,
232
00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,180
stems were used for fiber to make cloth.
233
00:12:14,180 --> 00:12:16,053
its fruit for food and oil,
234
00:12:16,053 --> 00:12:17,993
and its resin for medicine.
235
00:12:19,665 --> 00:12:24,370
2737 BC, Emperor Jang Ying of China
236
00:12:24,370 --> 00:12:26,700
is recorded for prescribing marijuana tea,
237
00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:30,710
for the treatment of
malaria, rheumatism, gout,
238
00:12:30,710 --> 00:12:32,760
to help with the sharpening of memory,
239
00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,913
increased eloquence, and
the stimulation of appetite.
240
00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,960
The plant's popularity as a medicine,
241
00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:42,770
spreads throughout Asia, the Middle East,
242
00:12:42,770 --> 00:12:44,813
and down the eastern coast of Africa.
243
00:12:46,250 --> 00:12:48,980
Ancient physicians prescribed marijuana
244
00:12:48,980 --> 00:12:50,690
for everything from pain relief,
245
00:12:50,690 --> 00:12:52,333
to earache, to childbirth.
246
00:12:53,570 --> 00:12:56,320
Throughout the world,
cannabis is quickly becoming
247
00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:00,460
a wonder treatment for hundreds
of ailments, and disorders.
248
00:13:00,460 --> 00:13:03,323
Its popularity seems unstoppable.
249
00:13:07,380 --> 00:13:09,820
1550 BC, Egypt,
250
00:13:09,820 --> 00:13:13,420
by 1550 BC, ancient
Egyptians were very aware
251
00:13:13,420 --> 00:13:15,350
of the medical properties of cannabis,
252
00:13:15,350 --> 00:13:18,463
in some ways, way surpassing
our modern knowledge.
253
00:13:20,650 --> 00:13:24,000
The Avis Papyrus was written
around this time period,
254
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,960
and is one of the oldest
complete medical texts
255
00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,970
discovered so far.
256
00:13:28,970 --> 00:13:31,140
The book mentions medical compounds
257
00:13:31,140 --> 00:13:33,690
containing hemp for many medical problems,
258
00:13:33,690 --> 00:13:37,070
including inflammation, glaucoma,
259
00:13:37,070 --> 00:13:40,960
hemorrhoids, epilepsy,
to wave off depression,
260
00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:42,890
and other psychological problems,
261
00:13:42,890 --> 00:13:46,080
and even in the treatment of cancer.
262
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,780
It was noted that cannabis was not a cure,
263
00:13:48,780 --> 00:13:52,103
but treatment to help with
the symptoms of the ailment.
264
00:13:53,030 --> 00:13:54,843
The mummy of Ramses II,
265
00:13:55,710 --> 00:13:58,500
that was excavated in 1881,
266
00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:01,470
was found to have traces
of cannabis in its remains.
267
00:14:01,470 --> 00:14:04,500
Since then, many mummies
that have been exhumed,
268
00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:07,300
have shown similar traces of
the plant in their systems,
269
00:14:08,350 --> 00:14:11,190
indicating that cannabis
was part of the culture,
270
00:14:11,190 --> 00:14:13,743
and everyday life, in ancient Egypt.
271
00:14:16,830 --> 00:14:19,110
Seshat, the goddess of wisdom,
272
00:14:19,110 --> 00:14:21,940
is depicted here with a
colorful cannabis leaf
273
00:14:21,940 --> 00:14:23,440
above her head.
274
00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:27,053
These depictions date back
from thousands of years ago.
275
00:14:28,831 --> 00:14:31,123
207 BC, China,
276
00:14:32,270 --> 00:14:33,763
the Hung Dynasty period.
277
00:14:34,740 --> 00:14:37,070
Hemp was being mixed
with mulberry tree bark,
278
00:14:37,070 --> 00:14:40,653
to make a low-cost durable
paper, used by the masses.
279
00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,010
The Old Testament mentions cannabis,
280
00:14:45,010 --> 00:14:47,440
in the recipe for the holy anointing oil.
281
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,810
Exodus 30, verses 22 to 23.
282
00:14:51,810 --> 00:14:53,860
The healer of a local renown,
283
00:14:53,860 --> 00:14:56,050
will infuse nine pounds of a plant
284
00:14:56,050 --> 00:15:01,050
known in Aramaic as keneh
bosem, the fragrant cane,
285
00:15:01,350 --> 00:15:04,010
into about six quarts of olive oil,
286
00:15:04,010 --> 00:15:05,730
along with essential extracts
287
00:15:05,730 --> 00:15:08,643
of myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia.
288
00:15:09,946 --> 00:15:13,520
Keneh bosem has been
translated to mean cannabis,
289
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,283
rendered from the traditional
Hebrew word, kanabos.
290
00:15:18,140 --> 00:15:21,990
Interestingly, the first
time the word, keneh bosem,
291
00:15:21,990 --> 00:15:24,060
is mentioned in the Bible,
292
00:15:24,060 --> 00:15:27,230
is in relation to Moses
and the burning bush,
293
00:15:27,230 --> 00:15:31,153
when God gives him the recipe
for the holy anointing oil.
294
00:15:34,540 --> 00:15:36,830
The Roman Empire traded in hemp.
295
00:15:36,830 --> 00:15:40,090
They imported it from the
far-flung corners of the empire,
296
00:15:40,090 --> 00:15:42,463
and distributed it around the world.
297
00:15:43,460 --> 00:15:45,870
They used it for rope, sails, clothes,
298
00:15:45,870 --> 00:15:49,990
paper, food, and medicine, amongst others.
299
00:15:49,990 --> 00:15:51,210
The demand was such,
300
00:15:51,210 --> 00:15:53,900
that the whole empire was
in constant production,
301
00:15:53,900 --> 00:15:55,450
and could never produce enough.
302
00:15:57,330 --> 00:15:59,550
The power of the Roman Empire
303
00:15:59,550 --> 00:16:02,413
made the plant commonplace
across the globe.
304
00:16:04,170 --> 00:16:08,820
AD 160, Greek physician, Claudius Galen,
305
00:16:08,820 --> 00:16:10,540
writes for the first time in Europe
306
00:16:10,540 --> 00:16:13,660
about the plant's psychoactive effect.
307
00:16:13,660 --> 00:16:17,000
Galen noted that hemp cakes,
if eaten in moderation,
308
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,400
produced a feeling of well-being,
309
00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:21,170
but taken to excess,
310
00:16:21,170 --> 00:16:23,833
they led to intoxication and dehydration.
311
00:16:27,910 --> 00:16:31,683
AD 400, hemp is cultivated in the UK.
312
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,090
With the fading of the Roman Empire,
313
00:16:35,090 --> 00:16:37,080
Europe begins to grow its own hemp
314
00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,580
to replace the Roman imports.
315
00:16:39,580 --> 00:16:43,240
The Vikings used hemp in
nearly all aspects of life,
316
00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,020
from clothes, to sails on their ships.
317
00:16:46,020 --> 00:16:50,790
900 AD, Arabs learn
techniques for making paper,
318
00:16:50,790 --> 00:16:53,240
using the same techniques
that the Chinese used
319
00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,010
thousands of years before them.
320
00:16:55,010 --> 00:16:55,960
By the 12th century,
321
00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,343
the paper-making knowledge
was taken to Europe.
322
00:17:00,030 --> 00:17:01,800
As early as the 10th century,
323
00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,630
the Persian medical writer, Alan Musaca,
324
00:17:04,630 --> 00:17:07,600
recommended that the
juice of the hemp leaves
325
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,300
be poured into the nose
to prevent seizures.
326
00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:14,450
In the 15th century,
the polymer, Ali Baradi,
327
00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:16,070
claimed that the epilepsy
328
00:17:16,070 --> 00:17:18,270
of the son of the Caliphate's chamberlain,
329
00:17:18,270 --> 00:17:20,733
was successfully treated
with cannabis resin.
330
00:17:22,650 --> 00:17:25,090
1533, England,
331
00:17:25,090 --> 00:17:28,010
King Henry the Eighth
issues a royal proclamation
332
00:17:28,010 --> 00:17:31,223
that farmers must put land
aside for the growth of hemp.
333
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:34,560
Countries such as India, China,
334
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,060
and the African colonies,
335
00:17:36,060 --> 00:17:38,290
are chosen for their
hemp-growing potential,
336
00:17:38,290 --> 00:17:40,140
as the British Empire grows,
337
00:17:40,140 --> 00:17:43,180
and the demand for ropes,
sails, fishing line,
338
00:17:43,180 --> 00:17:46,903
oil, paper, medicine
and clothes, increases.
339
00:17:47,910 --> 00:17:52,150
1753, the Swedish
botanist, Carolus Linnaeus,
340
00:17:52,150 --> 00:17:54,970
names the plant, cannabis,
for the first time.
341
00:17:54,970 --> 00:17:57,940
More specifically, cannabis sativa,
342
00:17:57,940 --> 00:18:00,333
from the Latin meaning, cultivated.
343
00:18:01,780 --> 00:18:05,823
He based the word on kannabis,
an old Greek word for hemp.
344
00:18:08,013 --> 00:18:11,130
In 1764, medical marijuana appears
345
00:18:11,130 --> 00:18:13,210
in the New England dispensary.
346
00:18:13,210 --> 00:18:16,390
In 1840, Britain, Sir JR Reynolds,
347
00:18:16,390 --> 00:18:18,630
chief physician to Queen Victoria,
348
00:18:18,630 --> 00:18:21,680
prescribes medical marijuana to the Queen,
349
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,030
to aid with her menstrual cramps.
350
00:18:24,030 --> 00:18:27,680
In Victorian Britain, medical
cannabis was being used
351
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:29,900
for ailments such as,
352
00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:33,333
muscle spasms, rheumatism, and epilepsy.
353
00:18:34,730 --> 00:18:39,730
Studies in 1840 by French
doctor, Jacques-Joseph Moreau,
354
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,310
found that marijuana suppresses headaches,
355
00:18:43,310 --> 00:18:46,313
increases appetite, and
aiding people to sleep.
356
00:18:47,740 --> 00:18:52,333
By 1850 in America, cannabis-based
medicines are available.
357
00:18:54,230 --> 00:18:56,590
The US pharmacopedia lists its use
358
00:18:56,590 --> 00:18:59,310
for 100 separate illnesses and diseases,
359
00:18:59,310 --> 00:19:02,400
including pain management,
as a cold treatment,
360
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,400
neuralgia, tetanus,
typhus, cholera, rabies,
361
00:19:07,540 --> 00:19:11,000
dysentery, alcoholism, opiate addiction,
362
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,360
anthrax, leprosy, incontinence, gout,
363
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:17,180
compulsive disorders,
364
00:19:17,180 --> 00:19:21,797
tonsillitis, insanity,
excessive menstrual bleeding,
365
00:19:21,797 --> 00:19:24,663
and uterine bleeding, amongst others.
366
00:19:29,060 --> 00:19:33,070
Cannabis, a simple plant,
classified as a weed,
367
00:19:33,070 --> 00:19:34,380
a plant that has an almost
368
00:19:34,380 --> 00:19:36,610
symbiotic relationship with humans.
369
00:19:36,610 --> 00:19:38,690
We disperse it around the planet,
370
00:19:38,690 --> 00:19:42,210
and it repays us with medicine, food, oil,
371
00:19:42,210 --> 00:19:43,973
and strong natural fibers.
372
00:19:44,980 --> 00:19:47,430
A plant that has shaped the modern world
373
00:19:47,430 --> 00:19:48,910
like no other before it,
374
00:19:48,910 --> 00:19:52,170
is about to be systematically made illegal
375
00:19:52,170 --> 00:19:53,693
around the western world.
376
00:19:54,530 --> 00:19:57,680
Thousands of years of
cultivation, medicine,
377
00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,943
paper, and clothing, is
about to come to an end,
378
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:06,253
along with a safe, powerful, medicine.
379
00:20:07,930 --> 00:20:10,030
By 1914 in America,
380
00:20:10,030 --> 00:20:12,560
in response to the influx
of Mexican immigrants,
381
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:14,850
who use cannabis for its
psychoactive properties,
382
00:20:14,850 --> 00:20:16,540
rather than the medical use,
383
00:20:16,540 --> 00:20:18,420
the Harrison Act in the US
384
00:20:18,420 --> 00:20:20,823
defined the use of marijuana as a crime.
385
00:20:23,510 --> 00:20:26,680
By 1915, cannabis begins to be prohibited
386
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:30,720
for non-medical use all
across the United States.
387
00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,213
By 1927, the prohibition is complete.
388
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,920
- If we look at the origins
of cannabis prohibition
389
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:43,130
in this country,
390
00:20:43,130 --> 00:20:48,000
they really begin with the stigmatization
391
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,280
of certain races that were
believed to be using cannabis.
392
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:57,160
And even today, those
stereotypes continue to exist,
393
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,610
they continue to be perpetuated.
394
00:20:59,610 --> 00:21:04,610
This is really part of a larger
cultural and class warfare,
395
00:21:06,030 --> 00:21:07,030
in our society,
396
00:21:07,030 --> 00:21:09,913
and actually has very little
to do with marijuana itself.
397
00:21:12,770 --> 00:21:15,640
- [Narrator] In 1928
recreational use of cannabis
398
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:17,340
is banned in Britain.
399
00:21:17,340 --> 00:21:20,120
Cannabis was made illegal
in the United Kingdom
400
00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,990
on the 28th of September, 1928,
401
00:21:22,990 --> 00:21:26,510
as an addition to the
Dangerous Drugs Act 1920.
402
00:21:26,510 --> 00:21:29,670
However, doctors were
able to prescribe cannabis
403
00:21:29,670 --> 00:21:33,280
for medical use, until
exactly 43 years later,
404
00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,200
when on September 28th, 1971,
405
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,160
the Misuse of Drugs Act was introduced.
406
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,300
In 1936, the American
propaganda film, Reefer Madness,
407
00:21:44,300 --> 00:21:47,920
was produced to scare the
American youth away from cannabis.
408
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,840
The film incited that
cannabis causes madness,
409
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,103
and turned men into rapists.
410
00:21:55,950 --> 00:21:56,783
- [Announcer] Marijuana,
411
00:21:56,783 --> 00:21:59,403
the burning weed with its roots in hell.
412
00:22:00,492 --> 00:22:03,242
(Hawaiian music)
413
00:22:11,355 --> 00:22:16,355
♪ Here's a word of warning
to those old and young ♪
414
00:22:16,505 --> 00:22:21,505
♪ Pay heed to me before it is delayed ♪
415
00:22:22,142 --> 00:22:24,442
♪ There's a vicious plant ♪
416
00:22:24,442 --> 00:22:27,019
♪ That looks so innocent ♪
417
00:22:27,019 --> 00:22:32,019
♪ But it stems from the roots of hate ♪
418
00:22:32,302 --> 00:22:37,302
♪ Marijuana the devil's flower ♪
419
00:22:37,647 --> 00:22:42,647
♪ If you use it you'll be enslaved ♪
420
00:22:42,984 --> 00:22:47,984
♪ Marijuana it brings you sorrow ♪
421
00:22:48,534 --> 00:22:52,617
♪ And may send you to your grave ♪
422
00:22:54,297 --> 00:22:56,900
- [Narrator] 1937, the US Congress passes
423
00:22:56,900 --> 00:23:00,540
the Marijuana Tax Act,
which criminalizes the drug.
424
00:23:00,540 --> 00:23:02,620
In response, William C Woodward,
425
00:23:02,620 --> 00:23:07,253
testifying on behalf of AMA
told Congress that, quoting.
426
00:23:08,211 --> 00:23:10,878
(reading above)
427
00:23:21,970 --> 00:23:23,973
His comments were ignored by Congress.
428
00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:26,940
As part of the testimony for Congress,
429
00:23:26,940 --> 00:23:31,080
to pass the 1937 act, derived
from articles in newspapers
430
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,830
owned by William Randolph Hearst,
431
00:23:33,830 --> 00:23:36,980
who had a significant final
interest in the timber industry,
432
00:23:36,980 --> 00:23:38,763
that manufactured his newspaper.
433
00:23:39,860 --> 00:23:44,360
In 1941, cannabis is removed
from the US pharmacopedia,
434
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:47,893
and its medical use is no
longer recognized in America.
435
00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:52,883
So where are we now?
436
00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:56,370
Present day, the plant is still illegal
437
00:23:56,370 --> 00:23:57,763
across most of the world.
438
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,660
Pharmaceutical companies
fill the medical gap
439
00:24:01,660 --> 00:24:04,490
with synthetic and toxic drugs.
440
00:24:04,490 --> 00:24:07,380
Oil is being pumped from the oceans.
441
00:24:07,380 --> 00:24:08,883
Our paper is inferior,
442
00:24:10,380 --> 00:24:12,670
and hemp can produce four times the yield
443
00:24:12,670 --> 00:24:14,123
in a comparable timeframe.
444
00:24:16,620 --> 00:24:18,340
The worst of these,
445
00:24:18,340 --> 00:24:21,270
is the removal of a safe medicine.
446
00:24:21,270 --> 00:24:25,040
600 years ago, the Arabs were treating
447
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,710
childhood epilepsy
successfully with cannabis.
448
00:24:28,710 --> 00:24:31,060
Today, in a world of overwhelming
449
00:24:31,060 --> 00:24:32,860
technological advancements,
450
00:24:32,860 --> 00:24:35,510
our children and adults
451
00:24:35,510 --> 00:24:38,540
are placed on a plethora of toxic drugs,
452
00:24:38,540 --> 00:24:41,180
that have little to no effect,
453
00:24:41,180 --> 00:24:43,963
and in most cases are highly addictive.
454
00:24:56,250 --> 00:24:57,710
- My name's Charlotte Caldwell,
455
00:24:57,710 --> 00:25:00,480
and I have a little boy called Billy,
456
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,510
who has a condition called
intractable epilepsy,
457
00:25:03,510 --> 00:25:06,883
and he's also he's in the
highest spectrum of autism.
458
00:25:08,070 --> 00:25:08,933
Billy,
459
00:25:10,610 --> 00:25:12,330
the intractable epilepsy
is just that his seizures
460
00:25:12,330 --> 00:25:17,330
cannot be controlled by
epilepsy medications or by diet.
461
00:25:17,630 --> 00:25:19,800
He's also a status epileptic,
462
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,930
which means that when
Billy goes under a seizure,
463
00:25:21,930 --> 00:25:24,430
he can't come back out on his own.
464
00:25:24,430 --> 00:25:28,870
Any type of seizure in a
child is very very dangerous,
465
00:25:28,870 --> 00:25:30,160
but in Billy's case,
466
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,160
the status epileptic as Billy's in,
467
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,070
required a rescue med,
468
00:25:35,070 --> 00:25:38,570
each time that he was
into a status seizure,
469
00:25:38,570 --> 00:25:41,820
and he also goes blue and requires oxygen.
470
00:25:41,820 --> 00:25:43,387
He also then at that stage
471
00:25:43,387 --> 00:25:45,330
had just developed this
472
00:25:45,330 --> 00:25:46,900
where he would only take
his seizures at night,
473
00:25:46,900 --> 00:25:48,490
which again is real dangerous for him,
474
00:25:48,490 --> 00:25:50,183
he was taking them in his sleep.
475
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,300
I tried to access the,
476
00:25:53,300 --> 00:25:55,170
an evaluation,
477
00:25:55,170 --> 00:25:58,620
an urgent medical evaluation
here in our own country,
478
00:25:58,620 --> 00:25:59,810
but to no avail.
479
00:25:59,810 --> 00:26:02,560
I was told it would be six
to nine months waiting list.
480
00:26:07,741 --> 00:26:08,574
In March of 2006
481
00:26:09,900 --> 00:26:10,733
when Billy
482
00:26:10,733 --> 00:26:12,740
was sent home to die the first time,
483
00:26:12,740 --> 00:26:14,820
with his condition, epilepsy,
484
00:26:14,820 --> 00:26:17,530
I had found at that stage
485
00:26:17,530 --> 00:26:20,600
what was called a pediatric
hepatologist in Chicago,
486
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,330
called Professor Nordley,
487
00:26:22,330 --> 00:26:24,210
and he had saved Billy's life.
488
00:26:24,210 --> 00:26:27,697
After numerous tests, when
we arrived in California,
489
00:26:27,697 --> 00:26:30,180
and there was numerous tests on Billy.
490
00:26:30,180 --> 00:26:32,953
They discovered a lesion
on his left temple lobe.
491
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,560
They looked at the lesion, and
through many different scans,
492
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,380
the lesion, the left temple lobe
493
00:26:42,380 --> 00:26:44,120
actually controls your speech and memory,
494
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,430
and in Billy's case it
would have been most likely,
495
00:26:47,430 --> 00:26:50,100
if they were to proceed with surgery,
496
00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:52,910
that Billy, they would had to have removed
497
00:26:52,910 --> 00:26:54,680
all of his left temple lobe,
498
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,330
which would have meant
the Billy would have lost
499
00:26:57,330 --> 00:27:00,240
his speech and his memory,
500
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,620
hence his ability to
walk, pick up his toys,
501
00:27:02,620 --> 00:27:04,930
drink from his cup, et cetera.
502
00:27:04,930 --> 00:27:07,580
So after a long discussion
with Billy's hepatologist,
503
00:27:09,899 --> 00:27:11,640
we considered the fact that Billy
504
00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:16,350
had been through many
epileptic medications.
505
00:27:16,350 --> 00:27:18,353
We discussed medicinal cannabis,
506
00:27:19,390 --> 00:27:21,860
and I suggest let's give it a go.
507
00:27:21,860 --> 00:27:23,990
What have we got to lose?
508
00:27:23,990 --> 00:27:27,193
So, Billy started first on CBD,
509
00:27:29,423 --> 00:27:30,256
with the doctor's advice.
510
00:27:30,256 --> 00:27:31,530
He had to establish whether Billy
511
00:27:31,530 --> 00:27:33,343
was a CBD responder or not.
512
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:39,070
We tried a couple of
different forms of CBD oils,
513
00:27:39,070 --> 00:27:40,940
till we eventually found one
514
00:27:40,940 --> 00:27:45,450
that was looking like it
was working for Billy.
515
00:27:45,450 --> 00:27:47,913
It was micro-dosed by small doses,
516
00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:50,803
slowly over a period of time.
517
00:27:54,090 --> 00:27:57,750
I think probably the first time I actually
518
00:27:57,750 --> 00:28:02,370
realized that the CBD was
actually working for Billy,
519
00:28:02,370 --> 00:28:07,370
was when he was still having
the same amount of seizures,
520
00:28:07,820 --> 00:28:11,853
but the length of the seizures
was actually reducing,
521
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:18,250
which was amazing for me,
even to get him to that stage,
522
00:28:18,250 --> 00:28:20,460
where he had a reduction in
the length of his seizures,
523
00:28:20,460 --> 00:28:23,450
was just absolutely
amazing because that meant
524
00:28:23,450 --> 00:28:26,570
that Billy didn't need a rescue med,
525
00:28:26,570 --> 00:28:30,603
which was just fantastic for me,
526
00:28:31,630 --> 00:28:33,630
because a lot of the time
he suffered quite badly
527
00:28:33,630 --> 00:28:36,293
from the side effects of
the rescue medication.
528
00:28:38,130 --> 00:28:41,420
He then started to, I
noticed with him, as well,
529
00:28:41,420 --> 00:28:43,050
his eye contact
530
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,610
getting a lot better,
531
00:28:46,610 --> 00:28:49,553
becoming more aware of his surroundings,
532
00:28:51,190 --> 00:28:54,323
noticing things more,
paying more attention to me,
533
00:28:55,260 --> 00:28:59,180
more attention to his
books, his toys, et cetera,
534
00:28:59,180 --> 00:29:03,020
he was, it was like his
brain was making connections
535
00:29:03,020 --> 00:29:05,033
that I had never seen before.
536
00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:12,040
But the really really great
part about it for me as well,
537
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:15,563
as Billy's mummy was, that I was seeing,
538
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,230
it was almost like I was meeting
539
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:21,823
my new son.
540
00:29:23,170 --> 00:29:25,230
It was like Billy had lived with me,
541
00:29:25,230 --> 00:29:27,980
and I had been his mummy for 11 years,
542
00:29:27,980 --> 00:29:30,190
but I was starting to
see a different Billy,
543
00:29:30,190 --> 00:29:31,420
it was like meeting a new son,
544
00:29:31,420 --> 00:29:33,720
it was just an amazing feeling,
545
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,140
and every week that went past,
546
00:29:36,140 --> 00:29:39,713
the seizures then started
to reduce in quantity,
547
00:29:40,823 --> 00:29:42,800
and he started to improve
548
00:29:44,740 --> 00:29:46,110
in all aspects
549
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:49,473
of his physical ability
550
00:29:49,473 --> 00:29:51,253
and his mental ability.
551
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,320
Till finally we got him where
552
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,700
we couldn't go any higher on the CBD,
553
00:29:57,700 --> 00:30:00,820
but we had got Billy to 98% seizure free,
554
00:30:00,820 --> 00:30:02,683
which was absolutely incredible.
555
00:30:03,750 --> 00:30:05,240
- We found good evidence,
556
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,190
not quite as overwhelming
but good evidence
557
00:30:07,190 --> 00:30:09,960
for a variety of other indications.
558
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,820
One was epilepsy and,
559
00:30:12,820 --> 00:30:14,460
particularly children with various forms
560
00:30:14,460 --> 00:30:15,770
of childhood resistant epilepsy,
561
00:30:15,770 --> 00:30:17,650
it can work wonders for them,
562
00:30:17,650 --> 00:30:19,510
it can actually stop people having
563
00:30:19,510 --> 00:30:21,863
several tens of seizures each day.
564
00:30:22,830 --> 00:30:25,090
So that's a remarkable
effect in some people,
565
00:30:25,090 --> 00:30:26,010
but not in everybody.
566
00:30:26,010 --> 00:30:28,660
But more studies need to
be done on that indication.
567
00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:30,090
- Yeah, kids with epilepsy,
568
00:30:30,090 --> 00:30:32,790
yeah, I think we probably
have about three, four kids,
569
00:30:34,310 --> 00:30:37,148
parents come in and they buy tinctures,
570
00:30:37,148 --> 00:30:39,790
and their doctor told them,
571
00:30:39,790 --> 00:30:41,570
hey start out with the low doses,
572
00:30:41,570 --> 00:30:43,270
and they come in and buy 'em,
573
00:30:43,270 --> 00:30:45,510
and they literally, you
see them like every week,
574
00:30:45,510 --> 00:30:47,700
and they're like, it's so much better
575
00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:49,780
than giving them like 10 pills a day,
576
00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:51,583
and hurting their stomach,
577
00:30:53,990 --> 00:30:56,763
and not only that, just the price itself.
578
00:30:58,070 --> 00:31:01,390
- The other indication was
for Parkinson's disease.
579
00:31:01,390 --> 00:31:03,890
Surprisingly there's been some very good
580
00:31:03,890 --> 00:31:06,410
individual examples of cannabis
581
00:31:06,410 --> 00:31:09,753
really stopping profound
movements in Parkinson's disease.
582
00:31:10,608 --> 00:31:13,500
It can be dramatically
helpful for some people.
583
00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:16,210
But the evidence that it
is across the spectrum
584
00:31:16,210 --> 00:31:17,280
is still rather lacking,
585
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,200
and again it simply means those
studies haven't been done,
586
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,500
to confirm what helps, what
dosage, what type of cannabis,
587
00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:25,790
how often you have to take it,
588
00:31:25,790 --> 00:31:27,100
what form you have to take it in,
589
00:31:27,100 --> 00:31:28,560
it's those studies that are lacking.
590
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:30,860
It clearly helps many
people with Parkinson's,
591
00:31:30,860 --> 00:31:33,460
but the evidence is still a
little bit thin on the ground
592
00:31:33,460 --> 00:31:35,513
to sort of formally recommend it.
593
00:31:37,650 --> 00:31:38,810
- My name's Ian Frizell,
594
00:31:38,810 --> 00:31:40,910
I have early onset Parkinson's Disease.
595
00:31:40,910 --> 00:31:43,520
I was formally diagnosed in 2011,
596
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,940
but I've been suffering
symptoms since about 1995.
597
00:31:46,940 --> 00:31:49,800
The main symptom I suffer
due to Parkinson's is tremor,
598
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:51,170
which affects all four limbs,
599
00:31:51,170 --> 00:31:53,590
my neck, my jaw, and my tongue.
600
00:31:53,590 --> 00:31:55,550
Aside from tremor, I
have dystonia in my feet,
601
00:31:55,550 --> 00:31:58,260
which causes my toes
to curl under my foot,
602
00:31:58,260 --> 00:32:00,650
and muscular stiffness and weakness.
603
00:32:00,650 --> 00:32:02,120
Those are all motor symptoms,
604
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:05,150
of the non-motor symptoms, lack
of motivation is the worst,
605
00:32:05,150 --> 00:32:08,484
and most debilitating symptom I have.
606
00:32:08,484 --> 00:32:09,317
There are many other minor symptoms,
607
00:32:09,317 --> 00:32:11,230
which is also sense of smell.
608
00:32:11,230 --> 00:32:13,120
But those are my major symptoms.
609
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,810
My life has changed quite
dramatically since diagnosis.
610
00:32:15,810 --> 00:32:19,120
I have decided to retire from
being a computer consultant,
611
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:20,510
and do a little property development
612
00:32:20,510 --> 00:32:22,980
to keep me busy and to earn a trust.
613
00:32:22,980 --> 00:32:24,670
I've just bought this cottage
as a renovation project.
614
00:32:24,670 --> 00:32:27,430
I had completely gutted it,
615
00:32:27,430 --> 00:32:29,440
and then had symptoms I
didn't relate to my tremor,
616
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,400
which I'd suffered with
mildly for many years.
617
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,150
I lacked energy, was falling
asleep during the day,
618
00:32:35,150 --> 00:32:36,790
had no motivation,
619
00:32:36,790 --> 00:32:38,010
and all of these things turned out
620
00:32:38,010 --> 00:32:39,573
to be due to my Parkinson's.
621
00:32:40,870 --> 00:32:42,590
My symptoms have become more pronounced
622
00:32:42,590 --> 00:32:43,860
following some dental work,
623
00:32:43,860 --> 00:32:45,733
which led to my diagnosis with PD.
624
00:32:46,830 --> 00:32:49,660
These days I do not work, I
simply don't have the energy,
625
00:32:49,660 --> 00:32:52,090
and I'm constantly battling
a lack of motivation,
626
00:32:52,090 --> 00:32:54,790
which is one of the non-motor
symptoms of Parkinson's.
627
00:32:56,890 --> 00:32:58,600
I came to use cannabis through researching
628
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,130
natural tremor control on the internet.
629
00:33:01,130 --> 00:33:02,360
There are various foods
630
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,070
that are said to be high in dopamines,
631
00:33:04,070 --> 00:33:06,013
but I tried them and got no benefit.
632
00:33:06,950 --> 00:33:08,130
I came across a number of accounts
633
00:33:08,130 --> 00:33:11,750
of people with Parkinson's
using cannabis to calm tremor.
634
00:33:11,750 --> 00:33:13,110
I was getting desperate at this stage,
635
00:33:13,110 --> 00:33:16,270
so I asked a friend who I knew
used cannabis recreationally,
636
00:33:16,270 --> 00:33:17,820
if he could get me some to try.
637
00:33:18,990 --> 00:33:20,990
I smoked a little, and the
effects were almost instant.
638
00:33:20,990 --> 00:33:23,713
It gave me a 90 to 95%
reduction in tremor.
639
00:33:24,690 --> 00:33:26,700
As a bonus, it also relieved my dystonia
640
00:33:26,700 --> 00:33:28,270
and helped with my speech.
641
00:33:28,270 --> 00:33:30,222
I've used it ever since.
642
00:33:30,222 --> 00:33:33,830
As soon as you vape the cannabis,
643
00:33:33,830 --> 00:33:36,263
you do get the hit so,
644
00:33:37,230 --> 00:33:39,913
immediately you feel a slight rush,
645
00:33:41,821 --> 00:33:43,770
and then sort of five or 10 minutes later,
646
00:33:43,770 --> 00:33:46,060
the relaxation kicks in,
647
00:33:46,060 --> 00:33:49,083
and I just feel the
tremor melt away, really.
648
00:33:50,170 --> 00:33:52,560
- Yes, I've personally
seen cannabis working.
649
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,520
The most dramatic I've
seen is in the context
650
00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:56,690
of Parkinson's disease,
651
00:33:56,690 --> 00:34:00,049
where people can have a
side effect of medication,
652
00:34:00,049 --> 00:34:01,690
or as part of the
Parkinson's disease itself,
653
00:34:01,690 --> 00:34:04,350
they can have quite profound tremors,
654
00:34:04,350 --> 00:34:07,670
and sometimes even wild
movements of the arms,
655
00:34:07,670 --> 00:34:11,140
and you can give cannabis and
it can stop those movements.
656
00:34:11,140 --> 00:34:14,140
So that's the most dramatic and
short-term immediate impact.
657
00:34:19,430 --> 00:34:21,260
- [Narrator] So what's the science here?
658
00:34:21,260 --> 00:34:23,570
The endocannabinoid system is the largest
659
00:34:23,570 --> 00:34:25,863
neurotransmitter network in our bodies.
660
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:32,360
The main function of endocannabinoid
system is homeostasis.
661
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,050
Homeostasis is a concept
that most biological systems
662
00:34:36,050 --> 00:34:39,140
are actively regulated
to maintain conditions
663
00:34:39,140 --> 00:34:40,690
within a narrow range.
664
00:34:40,690 --> 00:34:44,410
Homeostasis is a regulation
of the body's functions,
665
00:34:44,410 --> 00:34:46,550
and has been compared to the concept
666
00:34:46,550 --> 00:34:48,360
of the Goldilocks zone.
667
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:50,460
Deriving from the story of Goldilocks,
668
00:34:50,460 --> 00:34:51,800
and her three bears,
669
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,900
where Goldilocks prefers
the just-right porridge,
670
00:34:54,900 --> 00:34:57,550
not too hot, and not too cold,
671
00:34:57,550 --> 00:34:59,980
just the right balance of both.
672
00:34:59,980 --> 00:35:03,190
This expression is used
mainly to show a planet,
673
00:35:03,190 --> 00:35:06,090
like Earth, that is
just the right distance
674
00:35:06,090 --> 00:35:08,680
from the sun to sustain life,
675
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:10,873
a position that is just right.
676
00:35:12,030 --> 00:35:14,440
A body's conditions need to be just right
677
00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,950
for ourselves to maintain
an optimum performance.
678
00:35:17,950 --> 00:35:20,010
The body's endocannabinoid system
679
00:35:20,010 --> 00:35:23,910
is a vital system for helping
to maintain homeostasis.
680
00:35:23,910 --> 00:35:27,330
It helps the cells stay
in their Goldilocks zones,
681
00:35:27,330 --> 00:35:30,670
often referred to as
the modulation effect.
682
00:35:30,670 --> 00:35:32,350
This gives us a very good insight
683
00:35:32,350 --> 00:35:35,430
as to how cannabis, CBD, and THC,
684
00:35:35,430 --> 00:35:40,430
stop or calm epileptic or
Parkinson's fits and tremors.
685
00:35:40,610 --> 00:35:44,020
In one example,
endocannabinoids are created
686
00:35:44,020 --> 00:35:46,980
when an overactive
neuron fires excessively,
687
00:35:46,980 --> 00:35:49,850
such as in the case with epilepsy.
688
00:35:49,850 --> 00:35:52,690
The neurons connected
that are not affected,
689
00:35:52,690 --> 00:35:56,022
will send endocannabinoids
to lower the activity
690
00:35:56,022 --> 00:35:59,400
and bring the cell back
to the Goldilocks zone.
691
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,750
In cases of severe epilepsy,
692
00:36:01,750 --> 00:36:04,860
the endocannabinoids are
too weak, and too few,
693
00:36:04,860 --> 00:36:07,190
to overcome this imbalance.
694
00:36:07,190 --> 00:36:10,280
Coupled with the fact
that metabolic enzymes,
695
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:15,130
such as FAAH and MAGL,
696
00:36:15,130 --> 00:36:18,110
quickly break down anandamide and 2AG,
697
00:36:18,110 --> 00:36:19,623
shortening their effects.
698
00:36:20,957 --> 00:36:24,150
CBD and THC, are like a steroid shot
699
00:36:24,150 --> 00:36:25,860
to the endocannabinoid system,
700
00:36:25,860 --> 00:36:27,410
having a much stronger effect
701
00:36:27,410 --> 00:36:29,840
than the endocannabinoids themselves.
702
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:34,840
CBD and THC, are FAAH and MAGL resistant,
703
00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:38,340
meaning that the effects last longer,
704
00:36:38,340 --> 00:36:40,310
and are more pronounced.
705
00:36:40,310 --> 00:36:44,090
CBD also prolongs the
effects of endocannabinoids,
706
00:36:44,090 --> 00:36:45,840
such as anandamide.
707
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:47,850
This is why the flavor of foods,
708
00:36:47,850 --> 00:36:49,590
especially those containing milk,
709
00:36:49,590 --> 00:36:52,310
such as chocolate and cakes, et cetera,
710
00:36:52,310 --> 00:36:55,500
are hyper-exaggerated whilst on cannabis.
711
00:36:55,500 --> 00:37:00,210
The anandamide breakdown is
delayed by the CBD and the THC,
712
00:37:00,210 --> 00:37:03,110
meaning it's blissful effects last longer,
713
00:37:03,110 --> 00:37:05,970
in turn, the modulation
effects last longer,
714
00:37:05,970 --> 00:37:08,470
and afflictions such as fits and tremors
715
00:37:08,470 --> 00:37:10,830
reach a point of homeostasis quicker,
716
00:37:10,830 --> 00:37:13,050
and are maintained for longer.
717
00:37:13,050 --> 00:37:15,580
Although cannabis is
not a cure for epilepsy,
718
00:37:15,580 --> 00:37:17,980
or Parkinson's, it is
an effective treatment,
719
00:37:17,980 --> 00:37:20,330
and it is so safe, it
can be used by children
720
00:37:20,330 --> 00:37:23,350
without any known negative side effects.
721
00:37:23,350 --> 00:37:27,160
The endocannabinoid system
is often only activated
722
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:28,920
where and when it is needed,
723
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,290
so when CBD is taken,
724
00:37:31,290 --> 00:37:33,520
it goes, in a sense,
725
00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:35,570
straight to where the problem is located.
726
00:37:38,350 --> 00:37:42,443
- The cannabis oil, again
it was a very slow process.
727
00:37:44,340 --> 00:37:47,960
His eye contact, Billy would
have never ever given ye
728
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:49,120
full on eye contact,
729
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,410
in fact would just completely
avoid it at all costs.
730
00:37:52,410 --> 00:37:57,110
He is more interested in his surroundings,
731
00:37:57,110 --> 00:38:01,363
more interested in me, looking at me,
732
00:38:02,591 --> 00:38:03,590
and a big thing for me was,
733
00:38:03,590 --> 00:38:05,500
he wants to interact with me now.
734
00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:07,594
He didn't know how to interact,
735
00:38:07,594 --> 00:38:10,070
but now he will sit up beside you,
736
00:38:10,070 --> 00:38:11,323
come and sit down and sit beside you,
737
00:38:11,323 --> 00:38:13,210
sit at the table beside you.
738
00:38:13,210 --> 00:38:14,340
He will hug you.
739
00:38:14,340 --> 00:38:17,990
He wants to interact with you.
740
00:38:17,990 --> 00:38:19,913
He started this thing as well lately,
741
00:38:22,006 --> 00:38:23,480
of coming and looking
straight into your face
742
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:24,640
and staring into your face,
743
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:25,850
which I find hilarious.
744
00:38:25,850 --> 00:38:27,340
I remember the first time he did it,
745
00:38:27,340 --> 00:38:32,329
which was absolutely the most
amazing thing in the world,
746
00:38:32,329 --> 00:38:35,480
and it made me also realize that
747
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:38,000
there was a little boy in there,
748
00:38:39,733 --> 00:38:41,300
and he was wanting to come out,
749
00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:43,050
and he was going to come out.
750
00:38:43,050 --> 00:38:45,800
I just had to keep doing what I was doing
751
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:47,690
with the medicinal cannabis
752
00:38:47,690 --> 00:38:49,940
because it was just making him
753
00:38:52,370 --> 00:38:54,560
start to express himself,
754
00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:57,160
and it was such an amazing thing,
755
00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:01,080
and as a mommy after 11
years not having any of that,
756
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:02,420
and then all of a sudden
757
00:39:02,420 --> 00:39:06,300
he wants to do that with me so it was
758
00:39:06,300 --> 00:39:08,450
an amazing positive moment.
759
00:39:08,450 --> 00:39:10,270
- I think current legislation
regards to cannabis
760
00:39:10,270 --> 00:39:12,586
verges on the criminal.
761
00:39:12,586 --> 00:39:14,110
And there aren't to my
knowledge any studies
762
00:39:14,110 --> 00:39:16,296
which prove the case for medicinal use
763
00:39:16,296 --> 00:39:18,090
of cannabis for Parkinson's,
764
00:39:18,090 --> 00:39:19,530
and health care
professionals will tell you
765
00:39:19,530 --> 00:39:20,950
that it is unproven.
766
00:39:20,950 --> 00:39:23,740
Those same health care
professionals do know,
767
00:39:23,740 --> 00:39:26,820
and some have admitted, that
it can be useful in some cases.
768
00:39:26,820 --> 00:39:29,030
I'm one of those cases.
769
00:39:29,030 --> 00:39:31,180
I've asked repeatedly over
the last two or three years
770
00:39:31,180 --> 00:39:32,393
to be prescribed cannabis,
771
00:39:32,393 --> 00:39:35,596
only to be told they're unable to do so.
772
00:39:35,596 --> 00:39:37,020
Yet those same health care professionals
773
00:39:37,020 --> 00:39:39,210
are quite happy to
prescribe powerful drugs
774
00:39:39,210 --> 00:39:41,470
with unpleasant known side effects,
775
00:39:41,470 --> 00:39:43,600
which they know do not help my symptoms.
776
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:45,000
That's just got to be wrong.
777
00:39:47,660 --> 00:39:50,780
- When we think about the
medical benefits of cannabis,
778
00:39:50,780 --> 00:39:53,980
we really need to understand
what they are based on,
779
00:39:53,980 --> 00:39:56,923
and it turns out that the human body,
780
00:39:56,923 --> 00:39:58,870
endogenously, our own body,
781
00:39:58,870 --> 00:40:02,950
produces identical or
virtually identical compounds
782
00:40:02,950 --> 00:40:05,330
to what you find in the cannabis plant,
783
00:40:05,330 --> 00:40:07,080
and the neurotransmitter system
784
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,908
that produces and
regulates those compounds
785
00:40:09,908 --> 00:40:12,640
is called the endocannabinoid system.
786
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,000
It's present in your
787
00:40:15,540 --> 00:40:17,620
brain, it's present in your organs,
788
00:40:17,620 --> 00:40:19,000
it's present in your skin.
789
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,190
It's present in upwards
of 90% of your body,
790
00:40:22,190 --> 00:40:24,990
and wherever the
endocannabinoid system is,
791
00:40:24,990 --> 00:40:26,750
its purpose is the same,
792
00:40:26,750 --> 00:40:29,180
which is to maintain
or restore homeostasis,
793
00:40:29,180 --> 00:40:30,560
your body's natural balance.
794
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:35,560
So, cannabis is good for just
about anything that ails you,
795
00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:40,210
and in the beginning when I
started talking about cannabis,
796
00:40:40,210 --> 00:40:42,500
we didn't even know about
the endocannabinoid system.
797
00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:45,060
People would just say,
oh that hippy is crazy.
798
00:40:45,060 --> 00:40:48,030
He thinks cannabis is good
for everything, right?
799
00:40:48,030 --> 00:40:50,610
Well it turns out, that cannabis is,
800
00:40:50,610 --> 00:40:51,660
because what it does,
801
00:40:51,660 --> 00:40:53,620
it has this modulating effect,
802
00:40:53,620 --> 00:40:56,010
where it restores your
body's natural balance.
803
00:40:56,010 --> 00:40:58,910
The best example of the modulating effect
804
00:40:58,910 --> 00:41:00,900
of cannabis that I can give,
805
00:41:00,900 --> 00:41:03,190
comes out of an Israeli
nursing home study,
806
00:41:03,190 --> 00:41:05,970
where something like a
hundred nursing home,
807
00:41:05,970 --> 00:41:09,490
elderly nursing home patients,
were supplied with cannabis,
808
00:41:09,490 --> 00:41:12,230
and all of them reported improved sleep,
809
00:41:12,230 --> 00:41:14,250
decrease in nightmares,
810
00:41:14,250 --> 00:41:16,910
but the really interesting thing was that
811
00:41:16,910 --> 00:41:20,090
those who were overweight, dropped weight,
812
00:41:20,090 --> 00:41:24,000
and came closer to their
ideal body mass index,
813
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:27,160
and those who were
underweight, gained weight,
814
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:31,000
and came closer to their
ideal body mass index.
815
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,580
This is the modulating effect of cannabis.
816
00:41:33,580 --> 00:41:37,150
The endocannabinoid
system is the explanation
817
00:41:37,150 --> 00:41:41,450
for why cannabis is good
for reducing cancer tumors,
818
00:41:41,450 --> 00:41:44,103
easing epileptic seizures,
819
00:41:44,990 --> 00:41:49,990
quelling depression, alleviating
anxiety and insomnia,
820
00:41:52,180 --> 00:41:55,070
mitigating chronic pain.
821
00:41:55,070 --> 00:41:58,650
There are an incredibly wide range
822
00:41:58,650 --> 00:42:00,530
of medical uses for cannabis,
823
00:42:00,530 --> 00:42:03,143
so 20 years from now,
824
00:42:04,460 --> 00:42:07,210
my prediction is that the rediscovery
825
00:42:07,210 --> 00:42:09,370
and the renaissance of medical cannabis,
826
00:42:09,370 --> 00:42:11,730
will be looked upon as the most important
827
00:42:11,730 --> 00:42:14,533
medical development since
the discovery of germ theory.
828
00:42:18,180 --> 00:42:21,513
(acoustic guitar music)
829
00:42:23,420 --> 00:42:27,160
- [Paul] So there has long been interest
830
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:30,760
in the relationship between
cannabis and cancer.
831
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:35,760
For many decades, it was
presumed, or it was opined,
832
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:39,760
that cannabis might play
a role in causing cancer,
833
00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:40,990
cancer of the lungs,
834
00:42:40,990 --> 00:42:44,390
cancer of the upper
aerodigestive tract for instance,
835
00:42:44,390 --> 00:42:46,540
and what we've seen over time,
836
00:42:46,540 --> 00:42:50,130
is that the data has never
substantiated that fear.
837
00:42:50,130 --> 00:42:54,380
What is known today is
that the use of cannabis,
838
00:42:54,380 --> 00:42:57,260
even long-term, does not
seem to be associated
839
00:42:57,260 --> 00:43:01,990
with the diagnoses of the sort
of tobacco-related cancers,
840
00:43:01,990 --> 00:43:03,520
that many people expected,
841
00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:08,010
and in fact some of those
studies have shown that people
842
00:43:08,010 --> 00:43:12,010
that use cannabis are actually less likely
843
00:43:12,010 --> 00:43:15,180
to be diagnosed with
some of these diseases,
844
00:43:15,180 --> 00:43:18,760
compared to people who
don't use marijuana at all.
845
00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:20,950
So that's been a very interesting finding,
846
00:43:20,950 --> 00:43:23,040
and it's led some scientists
847
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:25,750
to further look into this question
848
00:43:25,750 --> 00:43:28,350
of whether cannabis, or
again the constituents
849
00:43:28,350 --> 00:43:29,610
in the cannabis plant,
850
00:43:29,610 --> 00:43:33,200
might actually play a
role in cancer prevention,
851
00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:36,250
or in mitigating the spread of cancer.
852
00:43:36,250 --> 00:43:39,390
Now we have preliminary data,
853
00:43:39,390 --> 00:43:41,350
we have cell studies,
854
00:43:41,350 --> 00:43:43,460
we have animal models,
855
00:43:43,460 --> 00:43:47,580
that show that cannabinoids clearly can
856
00:43:47,580 --> 00:43:49,220
kill cancer cells.
857
00:43:49,220 --> 00:43:51,890
We know the mechanism of action,
858
00:43:51,890 --> 00:43:54,710
and we have seen these
results consistently,
859
00:43:54,710 --> 00:43:58,000
again in Petri dishes, in animal models.
860
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,880
Of course the 64 dollar
question is whether
861
00:44:01,750 --> 00:44:05,850
cannabis would provide
those same sort of results
862
00:44:05,850 --> 00:44:08,560
and activity in humans with cancer,
863
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,070
and we don't know the
answer to that question.
864
00:44:11,070 --> 00:44:15,890
We know that cannabinoids
can trigger apoptosis,
865
00:44:15,890 --> 00:44:17,800
which is programmed cell death,
866
00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:19,750
and eliminate cancer cells in animals.
867
00:44:19,750 --> 00:44:22,530
We know that it can do
that in a Petri dish,
868
00:44:22,530 --> 00:44:26,470
we don't know the dosage
that would be required
869
00:44:26,470 --> 00:44:28,330
to safely and effectively achieve
870
00:44:28,330 --> 00:44:30,760
those same sort of results in humans,
871
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:32,610
and it's unfortunate we don't know,
872
00:44:32,610 --> 00:44:36,610
because absent the longstanding
politicization of cannabis,
873
00:44:36,610 --> 00:44:39,460
we probably would know the
answer to that question today.
874
00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:43,520
- My name's Lin Coxon, and
I've got breast cancer.
875
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:46,430
I was diagnosed on the
28th of June this year,
876
00:44:46,430 --> 00:44:48,843
with a grade three aggressive tumor,
877
00:44:51,030 --> 00:44:53,840
estrogen positive, HER2 negative,
878
00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:56,940
with extensive lymph node involvement
879
00:44:56,940 --> 00:44:58,653
under my arm and in my neck.
880
00:44:59,748 --> 00:45:02,700
And I have found a lump,
881
00:45:02,700 --> 00:45:05,120
and went to see my GP,
882
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,200
and she said it was a cause for concern,
883
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,110
and referred me to the breast care unit.
884
00:45:10,110 --> 00:45:14,430
I was lucky to get an appointment
the following morning,
885
00:45:14,430 --> 00:45:16,160
so about 10 o'clock the next day
886
00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:18,290
I knew that I had breast cancer,
887
00:45:18,290 --> 00:45:21,293
because I could see it on the
scan, she showed it to me,
888
00:45:22,146 --> 00:45:24,400
and I obviously said, is it a cyst,
889
00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:26,840
and she said no, and I
said, oh is it cancer?
890
00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:27,823
She said yes.
891
00:45:28,750 --> 00:45:31,400
The tumor was big,
892
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:33,270
it looked enormous,
893
00:45:33,270 --> 00:45:36,750
and there was extensive
lymph node involvement
894
00:45:36,750 --> 00:45:38,420
under my arms and in my neck.
895
00:45:38,420 --> 00:45:40,550
I saw the consultant,
896
00:45:40,550 --> 00:45:45,160
on the Tuesday, and he
told me that the tumor
897
00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:48,880
was 33 millimeters, but it
hadn't spread anywhere else.
898
00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:50,440
It's just in my lymph node,
899
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:53,390
and he told me I would need
eight rounds of chemotherapy,
900
00:45:53,390 --> 00:45:56,400
followed by an lumpectomy or a mastectomy,
901
00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:58,370
and then radio therapy.
902
00:45:58,370 --> 00:46:00,090
So I went away
903
00:46:00,090 --> 00:46:04,650
and I did lots of reading and research,
904
00:46:04,650 --> 00:46:09,010
because I just wanted to
know what I could do for me,
905
00:46:09,010 --> 00:46:11,310
because the thing with cancer is,
906
00:46:11,310 --> 00:46:14,720
it takes away your control.
907
00:46:14,720 --> 00:46:16,320
You're not in control anymore,
908
00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:19,050
and I don't find that very easy.
909
00:46:19,050 --> 00:46:21,250
So I did a lot of research,
910
00:46:21,250 --> 00:46:26,250
and I knew about cannabis oil, CBD oil,
911
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:29,020
because of someone that
we'd helped through work,
912
00:46:29,020 --> 00:46:31,290
and she got non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,
913
00:46:31,290 --> 00:46:35,100
and chemotherapy hadn't worked,
it hadn't killed the cancer,
914
00:46:35,100 --> 00:46:37,200
so that she could actually have
915
00:46:38,710 --> 00:46:40,520
a bone marrow transplant,
916
00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:42,023
and they sent her home to die.
917
00:46:43,132 --> 00:46:45,870
Her family got her onto CBD oil,
918
00:46:45,870 --> 00:46:48,570
and when she went back for her scan,
919
00:46:48,570 --> 00:46:50,570
A, they weren't expecting to see her,
920
00:46:50,570 --> 00:46:52,730
and B, she was cancer-free and able
921
00:46:52,730 --> 00:46:54,693
to have that bone marrow transplant.
922
00:46:55,730 --> 00:46:58,680
And everything I've read, online,
923
00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:01,382
and I got some books as well,
924
00:47:01,382 --> 00:47:05,500
just reinforced the fact
that CBD, cannabis oil,
925
00:47:05,500 --> 00:47:08,930
seemed to work, and I thought
I'm gonna give this a go.
926
00:47:08,930 --> 00:47:12,543
So on the 7th of July,
I started to take it.
927
00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:17,940
I was seeing the consultant
again on the 24th of July,
928
00:47:17,940 --> 00:47:21,920
and he described the
lump then as palpable,
929
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,470
which meant that it was soft.
930
00:47:24,470 --> 00:47:25,890
Well, it hadn't been soft,
931
00:47:25,890 --> 00:47:27,913
it felt like the corner of a table.
932
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:34,003
From then on, I couldn't
actually feel this lump at all.
933
00:47:34,860 --> 00:47:36,810
So it came to two days
934
00:47:36,810 --> 00:47:40,000
before I was due to start my chemotherapy,
935
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,460
and I rang the hospital and said,
936
00:47:42,460 --> 00:47:44,550
you know I can't feel this lump anymore.
937
00:47:44,550 --> 00:47:47,290
Can I have another ultrasound scan?
938
00:47:47,290 --> 00:47:48,490
And they said no.
939
00:47:48,490 --> 00:47:49,860
So I rang my GP,
940
00:47:49,860 --> 00:47:51,600
and she referred me to the
941
00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:54,240
local Newfield Hospital,
942
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:56,860
and I had a private scan which I paid for.
943
00:47:56,860 --> 00:47:58,020
What I didn't know was,
944
00:47:58,020 --> 00:48:01,440
that the radiologist who did the scan,
945
00:48:01,440 --> 00:48:03,900
actually was part of the breast care team,
946
00:48:03,900 --> 00:48:06,660
and he had my original scan,
947
00:48:06,660 --> 00:48:07,693
he'd asked for them,
948
00:48:08,660 --> 00:48:10,790
so I could see him doing it,
949
00:48:10,790 --> 00:48:12,740
I could see on the screen that
950
00:48:12,740 --> 00:48:15,382
there was still some tumor there,
951
00:48:15,382 --> 00:48:18,810
and he said, well actually it's smaller.
952
00:48:18,810 --> 00:48:20,880
So I said, how much smaller?
953
00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:23,270
He said, all in good time.
954
00:48:23,270 --> 00:48:25,460
Well when he'd finished
his eyes were like saucers,
955
00:48:25,460 --> 00:48:27,240
and he said, it shrunk.
956
00:48:27,240 --> 00:48:28,720
Do you mind if I do a mammogram?
957
00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:31,030
And I said, no of course I don't.
958
00:48:31,030 --> 00:48:32,090
So he did the mammogram
959
00:48:32,090 --> 00:48:34,070
and then took me in the
office and showed me.
960
00:48:34,070 --> 00:48:36,923
And the original tumor, 33 millimeters,
961
00:48:36,923 --> 00:48:39,600
was now 11 millimeters,
962
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:43,190
and the lymph nodes which
had been 25 millimeters,
963
00:48:43,190 --> 00:48:46,203
so they were big like
grapes, were down to 10,
964
00:48:47,310 --> 00:48:49,180
and in the mammogram,
965
00:48:49,180 --> 00:48:51,983
whereas before the
tumor was like a pebble,
966
00:48:53,350 --> 00:48:55,330
it was just hazy,
967
00:48:55,330 --> 00:48:58,673
so the whole density of
it had changed completely.
968
00:49:00,050 --> 00:49:02,423
So obviously then, I didn't
really know what to do,
969
00:49:02,423 --> 00:49:06,112
because I was due to start
chemo on the Wednesday.
970
00:49:06,112 --> 00:49:09,660
And in the end I had to
go down to the hospital,
971
00:49:09,660 --> 00:49:11,230
on the Wednesday morning,
972
00:49:11,230 --> 00:49:13,350
and see the breast care
team and say, look,
973
00:49:13,350 --> 00:49:14,630
what am I doing?
974
00:49:14,630 --> 00:49:16,133
I don't know what to do now.
975
00:49:17,196 --> 00:49:20,290
And so they deferred my chemotherapy,
976
00:49:20,290 --> 00:49:24,080
and I saw the consultant
the following week,
977
00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:25,500
after they had discussed me
978
00:49:25,500 --> 00:49:27,183
at their management team meeting.
979
00:49:28,420 --> 00:49:32,010
And he said, obviously it's amazing,
980
00:49:32,010 --> 00:49:33,970
this is amazing but,
981
00:49:33,970 --> 00:49:36,230
as clinicians we have to tell you
982
00:49:36,230 --> 00:49:39,340
that we recommend that
you have chemotherapy.
983
00:49:39,340 --> 00:49:41,180
So I said to him, okay,
984
00:49:41,180 --> 00:49:44,650
with a grade three aggressive
tumor left eight weeks,
985
00:49:44,650 --> 00:49:47,800
what would you have expected
to see on that scan?
986
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:50,499
And he said, well it wouldn't have shrunk.
987
00:49:50,499 --> 00:49:55,280
So, I said okay, if I'm
prepared to take the risk,
988
00:49:55,280 --> 00:49:57,090
will you monitor me?
989
00:49:57,090 --> 00:49:59,790
And they said yes, we'd be delighted to.
990
00:49:59,790 --> 00:50:01,570
And so that's what's happened since.
991
00:50:01,570 --> 00:50:04,430
So now I'm down to about five millimeters,
992
00:50:04,430 --> 00:50:07,850
and it's not a lump as such,
993
00:50:07,850 --> 00:50:11,550
it's five millimeters of cancer cells.
994
00:50:11,550 --> 00:50:12,960
- I could show you so much history,
995
00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:16,050
but you know the one that
just totally burns me up is
996
00:50:16,050 --> 00:50:17,810
cannabis and cancer, right?
997
00:50:17,810 --> 00:50:20,420
Now we know, I've seen
it with my own eyes,
998
00:50:20,420 --> 00:50:22,810
and you can go talk to Professor Guzman
999
00:50:22,810 --> 00:50:24,270
from the University of Madrid,
1000
00:50:24,270 --> 00:50:28,010
and a whole army of other scientists,
1001
00:50:28,010 --> 00:50:31,860
who have established that
cancer, that cannabis
1002
00:50:31,860 --> 00:50:34,330
stops the growth of cancer tumors.
1003
00:50:34,330 --> 00:50:36,010
So this isn't new information.
1004
00:50:36,010 --> 00:50:39,850
The National Institute on Drug Abuse
1005
00:50:39,850 --> 00:50:41,850
knew this is 1974.
1006
00:50:41,850 --> 00:50:43,920
They ran a study in 1974
1007
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:47,810
that was designed to show
that cannabis causes cancer.
1008
00:50:47,810 --> 00:50:50,090
The results came back
showing the opposite.
1009
00:50:50,090 --> 00:50:52,610
Cannabis actually fights cancer.
1010
00:50:52,610 --> 00:50:54,050
What did they do?
1011
00:50:54,050 --> 00:50:55,650
They buried the study.
1012
00:50:55,650 --> 00:50:57,180
Not only did they bury the study,
1013
00:50:57,180 --> 00:50:58,510
they didn't refer it to anybody,
1014
00:50:58,510 --> 00:51:00,700
they didn't send it to the
National Cancer Institute,
1015
00:51:00,700 --> 00:51:02,380
they did nothing, right?
1016
00:51:02,380 --> 00:51:04,920
Three years later, they did it again.
1017
00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:06,626
Another study designed to show
1018
00:51:06,626 --> 00:51:09,580
that cannabis causes cancer.
1019
00:51:09,580 --> 00:51:12,180
Same exact result.
1020
00:51:12,180 --> 00:51:13,870
Same exact result,
1021
00:51:13,870 --> 00:51:16,530
in both categories,
the scientific results,
1022
00:51:16,530 --> 00:51:17,500
and what they did with it.
1023
00:51:17,500 --> 00:51:20,840
So again, it goes into the dustbin, right?
1024
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:22,850
And then, several years later,
1025
00:51:22,850 --> 00:51:26,227
they do a third study,
this time on lung cancer,
1026
00:51:26,227 --> 00:51:29,900
and they figure, ah lung cancer,
smoke, smoke causes cancer,
1027
00:51:29,900 --> 00:51:31,339
we've got 'em this time.
1028
00:51:31,339 --> 00:51:34,560
They hired a doctor named
Doctor Donald Tashkin,
1029
00:51:34,560 --> 00:51:36,610
to do the Tashkin Study.
1030
00:51:36,610 --> 00:51:38,940
Tashkin examined the rates of lung cancer
1031
00:51:38,940 --> 00:51:43,900
amongst cannabis smokers,
tobacco smokers, and non-smokers.
1032
00:51:43,900 --> 00:51:47,890
He found the lowest
rate of cancer incidence
1033
00:51:47,890 --> 00:51:49,530
in cannabis smokers.
1034
00:51:49,530 --> 00:51:53,070
The second lowest rate in
non-smokers of anything,
1035
00:51:53,070 --> 00:51:56,450
and of course the highest
rate in tobacco smokers.
1036
00:51:56,450 --> 00:51:58,140
And there's a very simple reason for that.
1037
00:51:58,140 --> 00:52:01,840
Despite the tar and other
carcinogenic substances
1038
00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:03,630
that are in any smoke,
1039
00:52:03,630 --> 00:52:05,890
the cannabinoids that were
in the cannabis smoke,
1040
00:52:05,890 --> 00:52:09,240
were so strong, they fought
cancer so effectively,
1041
00:52:09,240 --> 00:52:10,160
that they completely,
1042
00:52:10,160 --> 00:52:13,540
they not only completely
outweighed the smoke,
1043
00:52:13,540 --> 00:52:16,090
but pushed it in the other
direction of prevention.
1044
00:52:17,500 --> 00:52:19,060
- My name's Jacqui Ritchie,
1045
00:52:19,060 --> 00:52:21,420
and I suffer from breast cancer.
1046
00:52:21,420 --> 00:52:23,693
I had the genetic BRAC1,
1047
00:52:24,550 --> 00:52:29,020
which usually gives you tumors of cancers,
1048
00:52:29,020 --> 00:52:31,360
so I had triple negative
metaplastic cancer,
1049
00:52:31,360 --> 00:52:32,797
which is really severe cancer,
1050
00:52:32,797 --> 00:52:36,840
and on the other breast
I had another cancer, H2,
1051
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:39,300
and HAR2 positive breast cancer.
1052
00:52:39,300 --> 00:52:40,860
They said for me the cancer that I had
1053
00:52:40,860 --> 00:52:42,470
was just a lump on my breast,
1054
00:52:42,470 --> 00:52:45,950
and then when I went to the
doctor and had a mammogram,
1055
00:52:45,950 --> 00:52:48,770
they discovered the lump on
the other breast as well.
1056
00:52:48,770 --> 00:52:51,880
And because I had actual breast cancer,
1057
00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:53,840
they realized there was a possibility
1058
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:55,690
that I would have the genetic BRC gene,
1059
00:52:55,690 --> 00:52:57,530
so I was tested as well.
1060
00:52:57,530 --> 00:53:00,530
And the treatment I've had is
a radical double mastectomy,
1061
00:53:00,530 --> 00:53:03,523
and chemo regime for the two
different types of cancer.
1062
00:53:04,673 --> 00:53:06,520
The effects of chemotherapy for me,
1063
00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:09,160
the first time I had
chemotherapy was terrible.
1064
00:53:09,160 --> 00:53:11,350
I could hardly breath,
I could hardly move.
1065
00:53:11,350 --> 00:53:14,250
I walked by everywhere with
a plastic bag, like this.
1066
00:53:14,250 --> 00:53:15,860
Before I started chemotherapy
1067
00:53:15,860 --> 00:53:18,140
I already had a couple of
immune system problems.
1068
00:53:18,140 --> 00:53:19,540
I had renal syndrome,
1069
00:53:19,540 --> 00:53:22,920
which is bad blood circulation
in the fingers and toes,
1070
00:53:22,920 --> 00:53:25,910
and I already had the IBS,
I was chemical intolerant.
1071
00:53:25,910 --> 00:53:29,230
So I was, I had IBS (muffled).
1072
00:53:29,230 --> 00:53:32,360
And once chemo started,
that was all a lot worse,
1073
00:53:32,360 --> 00:53:34,120
it exasperated everything.
1074
00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:37,580
So constant white feet,
constantly freezing,
1075
00:53:37,580 --> 00:53:41,110
and originally, I used
cannabis when I was younger
1076
00:53:41,110 --> 00:53:42,750
to treat anxiety,
1077
00:53:42,750 --> 00:53:45,420
and I suffered anorexia
when I was younger as well.
1078
00:53:45,420 --> 00:53:47,750
So I'd used it to treat
that when I was younger.
1079
00:53:47,750 --> 00:53:49,970
So I'd already a big realization,
1080
00:53:49,970 --> 00:53:52,010
about the plant being used medicinally,
1081
00:53:52,010 --> 00:53:54,000
but I didn't realize about the cancer.
1082
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:55,810
It wasn't until I started researching it
1083
00:53:55,810 --> 00:53:56,800
that I started realizing
1084
00:53:56,800 --> 00:53:58,640
that they'd done quite a lot of research
1085
00:53:58,640 --> 00:54:01,107
with regards to the cannabis plant,
1086
00:54:01,107 --> 00:54:02,960
and different types of cancer.
1087
00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:05,870
So I started doing all
the research on that.
1088
00:54:05,870 --> 00:54:08,660
I actually managed to get
in touch with Rick Simpson,
1089
00:54:08,660 --> 00:54:10,510
yeah I managed to get in touch with him
1090
00:54:10,510 --> 00:54:11,840
through his Facebook page,
1091
00:54:11,840 --> 00:54:13,310
so there was a correspondence there.
1092
00:54:13,310 --> 00:54:16,466
And he just directed
me, where I needed to go
1093
00:54:16,466 --> 00:54:18,280
to go and watch the movie,
1094
00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:20,260
what strains that we need to grow,
1095
00:54:20,260 --> 00:54:22,313
and how it needs to be grown.
1096
00:54:23,519 --> 00:54:26,720
How to de-carboxylate it
into the oil that I need,
1097
00:54:26,720 --> 00:54:29,190
what all the equipment
that I need to do it.
1098
00:54:29,190 --> 00:54:31,740
He more or less handed
me all the information
1099
00:54:31,740 --> 00:54:32,890
that I needed.
1100
00:54:32,890 --> 00:54:34,460
The day that I was diagnosed
1101
00:54:34,460 --> 00:54:35,633
I started looking to see
1102
00:54:35,633 --> 00:54:39,430
if I could actually get some cannabis oil.
1103
00:54:39,430 --> 00:54:41,927
And I did manage to get small
amounts of cannabis oil,
1104
00:54:41,927 --> 00:54:43,070
and because I'd managed
1105
00:54:43,070 --> 00:54:44,900
to get small amounts of cannabis oil,
1106
00:54:44,900 --> 00:54:46,996
I actually put my surgery off.
1107
00:54:46,996 --> 00:54:48,420
The wanted to do surgery immediately
1108
00:54:48,420 --> 00:54:51,080
because of the two
different types of cancer.
1109
00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:53,910
So I put this surgery off until May,
1110
00:54:53,910 --> 00:54:55,240
from February to May.
1111
00:54:55,240 --> 00:54:57,117
I used oil whenever I could get it,
1112
00:54:57,117 --> 00:54:58,760
but it was quite sporadic,
1113
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:00,880
so I ended up running out of oil,
1114
00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:02,380
and so I started growing.
1115
00:55:02,380 --> 00:55:04,230
Up to that point I'd
actually managed to do
1116
00:55:04,230 --> 00:55:05,370
just the tumor quite a bit,
1117
00:55:05,370 --> 00:55:08,593
and the pain from the tumor
had, it disappeared as well,
1118
00:55:08,593 --> 00:55:10,420
I wasn't gettin' pain from the tumor.
1119
00:55:10,420 --> 00:55:12,700
Because I couldn't procure any more oil,
1120
00:55:12,700 --> 00:55:16,440
I ended up, surgery,
radical double mastectomy.
1121
00:55:16,440 --> 00:55:18,390
But from the time I had the surgery,
1122
00:55:18,390 --> 00:55:20,707
I already had oil sitting, waiting for me.
1123
00:55:20,707 --> 00:55:21,790
But at that point,
1124
00:55:21,790 --> 00:55:24,613
because from more or less
just after I was diagnosed,
1125
00:55:24,613 --> 00:55:26,910
I actually started growing
a couple of plants.
1126
00:55:26,910 --> 00:55:29,430
So I knew if I put things off a bit,
1127
00:55:29,430 --> 00:55:30,980
I would have my own oil ready
1128
00:55:30,980 --> 00:55:33,100
by the time I started chemo therapy.
1129
00:55:33,100 --> 00:55:35,880
So I used my own oil by the time
1130
00:55:35,880 --> 00:55:38,500
the second chemotherapy
treatment had happened.
1131
00:55:38,500 --> 00:55:40,786
It was my own oil that I had made,
1132
00:55:40,786 --> 00:55:43,230
that I researched extreme.
1133
00:55:43,230 --> 00:55:44,870
So I had the surgery on May,
1134
00:55:44,870 --> 00:55:48,290
and chemotherapy started in July.
1135
00:55:48,290 --> 00:55:51,330
So, like I said, from
the second chemotherapy,
1136
00:55:51,330 --> 00:55:54,260
for all the rest of the
chemotherapy all the way through,
1137
00:55:54,260 --> 00:55:55,550
I took oil.
1138
00:55:55,550 --> 00:55:56,670
I took oil.
1139
00:55:56,670 --> 00:56:00,980
And I have the pathology
from my mastectomy,
1140
00:56:00,980 --> 00:56:03,353
and the really rare cancer that I had
1141
00:56:03,353 --> 00:56:05,980
that it was nearly a
five centimeter tumor,
1142
00:56:05,980 --> 00:56:08,330
the majority of it was
actually necrotic tissue.
1143
00:56:08,330 --> 00:56:12,190
It was just a few cancer
cells on the inside of that.
1144
00:56:12,190 --> 00:56:14,100
And from the prognosis he gave me
1145
00:56:14,100 --> 00:56:15,660
from that pathology,
1146
00:56:15,660 --> 00:56:17,280
they have my risk of recurrence
1147
00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:20,300
within the next two years, at nearly 100%,
1148
00:56:20,300 --> 00:56:22,630
and I'm sitting at over three years now,
1149
00:56:22,630 --> 00:56:25,770
and I haven't had a recurrence
yet, as far as I know.
1150
00:56:25,770 --> 00:56:28,000
And just before my last chemo,
1151
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:29,947
I had an appointment with the oncologist,
1152
00:56:29,947 --> 00:56:32,370
and at that point the
oncologist said to me
1153
00:56:32,370 --> 00:56:35,330
that they found a scar
in the liver region,
1154
00:56:35,330 --> 00:56:38,450
and at that point I'm
sitting thinking to myself,
1155
00:56:38,450 --> 00:56:40,040
chemotherapy obviously hasn't worked,
1156
00:56:40,040 --> 00:56:41,880
and I need to up my oil intake,
1157
00:56:41,880 --> 00:56:43,800
because I need to sort this out.
1158
00:56:43,800 --> 00:56:45,790
And I said to my oncologist then,
1159
00:56:45,790 --> 00:56:47,940
I'm just gonna do one more chemotherapy,
1160
00:56:47,940 --> 00:56:50,360
and that's my chemotherapy
regime finished.
1161
00:56:50,360 --> 00:56:51,440
I don't want anymore.
1162
00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:53,880
I don't want any more
allopathic treatment.
1163
00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:56,360
I'm gonna treat my liver lesion
1164
00:56:56,360 --> 00:56:59,330
with diet supplements, and oil.
1165
00:56:59,330 --> 00:57:01,521
And when I finished chemotherapy,
1166
00:57:01,521 --> 00:57:04,380
I still had a skull and liver lesion.
1167
00:57:04,380 --> 00:57:06,580
A month later when I went down to England,
1168
00:57:06,580 --> 00:57:08,630
after doing my diet and
my oil and everything,
1169
00:57:08,630 --> 00:57:10,806
for the full month and
been really really good,
1170
00:57:10,806 --> 00:57:13,170
and I went down to England
1171
00:57:13,170 --> 00:57:15,430
to get a full body thermographic scan,
1172
00:57:15,430 --> 00:57:16,943
and thanks to (muffled)
1173
00:57:16,943 --> 00:57:19,233
I got results back from
the team of doctors,
1174
00:57:19,233 --> 00:57:20,620
and they said, you're clear.
1175
00:57:20,620 --> 00:57:21,930
You've got no evidence of disease,
1176
00:57:21,930 --> 00:57:24,570
there's no skull and liver
lesion or anything there.
1177
00:57:24,570 --> 00:57:26,360
So I'm a very very happy woman,
1178
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:27,790
a very happy woman,
1179
00:57:27,790 --> 00:57:28,870
and I've been mentioning stores
1180
00:57:28,870 --> 00:57:30,680
on and off ever since then.
1181
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:32,397
So yeah, here I am now.
1182
00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:37,400
- Well, so let me strike
a little closer to home.
1183
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:40,610
Sir John Reynolds, who you may know as
1184
00:57:40,610 --> 00:57:44,560
the personal physician to
Queen Victoria's household,
1185
00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:48,220
not only prescribed it for
the Queen's menstrual cramps,
1186
00:57:48,220 --> 00:57:52,070
but also hailed it as the
most effective preventative
1187
00:57:52,070 --> 00:57:56,420
and remedy for what we now
call Alzheimer's disease,
1188
00:57:56,420 --> 00:57:59,450
for which we have excellent
scientific evidence now,
1189
00:57:59,450 --> 00:58:03,470
because cannabis helps
prevent the accumulation
1190
00:58:03,470 --> 00:58:05,640
of plague in your brain,
1191
00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:08,780
and there's good hard science on this now.
1192
00:58:08,780 --> 00:58:12,680
So, you can find a similar trail
1193
00:58:12,680 --> 00:58:14,490
through medical history,
1194
00:58:14,490 --> 00:58:17,963
for literally dozens of ailments.
1195
00:58:19,380 --> 00:58:21,320
- I think the most
surprising thing I've learned
1196
00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:24,250
about cannabis, is the
immense amount of good
1197
00:58:24,250 --> 00:58:25,440
it does for people.
1198
00:58:25,440 --> 00:58:28,170
Working as a medical journalist
I began to become aware
1199
00:58:28,170 --> 00:58:30,800
of the fact there was more
and more evidence emerging,
1200
00:58:30,800 --> 00:58:34,830
but it was only when I actually
got involved in a campaign,
1201
00:58:34,830 --> 00:58:37,390
that I started to meet people
1202
00:58:37,390 --> 00:58:41,400
who have some of the most
terrible medical conditions,
1203
00:58:41,400 --> 00:58:46,400
either diseases, often
neurodegenerative diseases,
1204
00:58:46,660 --> 00:58:49,223
things like Parkinson's or MS,
1205
00:58:50,370 --> 00:58:53,480
but also people who suffer
from things like spinal injury,
1206
00:58:53,480 --> 00:58:56,080
or injuries, or deformities,
1207
00:58:56,080 --> 00:59:01,080
or things like stenosis, or scoliosis,
1208
00:59:01,610 --> 00:59:02,630
and you see these people who have
1209
00:59:02,630 --> 00:59:05,710
intense, chronic, neuropathic pain,
1210
00:59:05,710 --> 00:59:08,210
which conventional, and
very dangerous painkillers,
1211
00:59:08,210 --> 00:59:10,690
usually opioids, barely touch.
1212
00:59:10,690 --> 00:59:11,950
And you see how their life
1213
00:59:11,950 --> 00:59:15,133
is literally completely
transformed by the use of cannabis.
1214
00:59:16,700 --> 00:59:18,300
- [Narrator] In the United Kingdom,
1215
00:59:18,300 --> 00:59:20,133
cannabis is a class B drug,
1216
00:59:21,070 --> 00:59:24,360
meaning that a person in
possession of cannabis,
1217
00:59:24,360 --> 00:59:26,730
could face up to five years in prison,
1218
00:59:26,730 --> 00:59:29,983
and up to 14 years in
prison for supplying.
1219
00:59:31,490 --> 00:59:33,800
This makes it extremely difficult
1220
00:59:33,800 --> 00:59:36,673
for anyone that wants to
use cannabis as a treatment.
1221
00:59:38,680 --> 00:59:40,940
The United Patients Alliance
1222
00:59:40,940 --> 00:59:43,740
has been set up to campaign
on behalf of patients
1223
00:59:43,740 --> 00:59:45,870
for legal access to medical cannabis,
1224
00:59:45,870 --> 00:59:47,723
to treat chronic conditions.
1225
00:59:50,860 --> 00:59:53,650
Every year, the UPA puts on events
1226
00:59:53,650 --> 00:59:56,290
to raise awareness of medical cannabis,
1227
00:59:56,290 --> 00:59:59,173
and to keep the conversation
in the public consciousness.
1228
01:00:01,580 --> 01:00:03,830
- Hi, I'm Jon Liebling,
I'm vertical director
1229
01:00:03,830 --> 01:00:05,400
of United Patients Alliance.
1230
01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:07,830
We are a medical cannabis organization.
1231
01:00:07,830 --> 01:00:10,090
There are round about one
million medical cannabis patients
1232
01:00:10,090 --> 01:00:12,469
currently in the UK, consuming cannabis
1233
01:00:12,469 --> 01:00:15,540
because they find that better for them,
1234
01:00:15,540 --> 01:00:17,070
than prescription medications.
1235
01:00:17,070 --> 01:00:19,050
And we support them.
1236
01:00:19,050 --> 01:00:20,570
We've got about 10,000 people
1237
01:00:20,570 --> 01:00:22,320
who we directly support,
1238
01:00:22,320 --> 01:00:24,700
and we also lobby for change,
1239
01:00:24,700 --> 01:00:27,492
so that we can get legal
access to cannabis,
1240
01:00:27,492 --> 01:00:30,320
for the hundreds of thousands
of people that need it.
1241
01:00:30,320 --> 01:00:32,440
Every single one of us in
United Patients Alliance
1242
01:00:32,440 --> 01:00:33,950
is a medical cannabis patient,
1243
01:00:33,950 --> 01:00:35,580
every single one of us.
1244
01:00:35,580 --> 01:00:37,540
I'm someone who suffered
from anxiety and depression
1245
01:00:37,540 --> 01:00:38,500
for most of my life,
1246
01:00:38,500 --> 01:00:42,220
and I've managed that
adequately with cannabis.
1247
01:00:42,220 --> 01:00:44,670
Some years ago, unfortunately I got onto
1248
01:00:44,670 --> 01:00:46,990
the wrong side of the law
for growing my own medicine,
1249
01:00:46,990 --> 01:00:48,810
and that's kind of how I got involved.
1250
01:00:48,810 --> 01:00:52,440
And United Patients Alliance
formed a couple of years ago,
1251
01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:54,930
it was 2014, and we're all patients,
1252
01:00:54,930 --> 01:00:56,510
so I found Clark French,
1253
01:00:56,510 --> 01:00:58,640
he's a multiple sclerosis sufferer.
1254
01:00:58,640 --> 01:01:00,450
He was diagnosed when he was 24.
1255
01:01:00,450 --> 01:01:02,880
And when he came across cannabis,
1256
01:01:02,880 --> 01:01:05,430
he could reduce the amount of
opiate medications he was on,
1257
01:01:05,430 --> 01:01:08,118
the tramadol, and the gabapentin,
1258
01:01:08,118 --> 01:01:10,210
and he was able to replace
that with cannabis.
1259
01:01:10,210 --> 01:01:12,660
And he was able to start
using his walking stick.
1260
01:01:12,660 --> 01:01:13,880
He was actually more mobile,
1261
01:01:13,880 --> 01:01:15,690
and in fact he got so well
1262
01:01:15,690 --> 01:01:18,050
he helped create United Patients Alliance.
1263
01:01:18,050 --> 01:01:19,477
And so we're here raising awareness.
1264
01:01:19,477 --> 01:01:21,670
- United Patients Alliance started as just
1265
01:01:21,670 --> 01:01:23,667
a small group of patients who
use cannabis as a medicine,
1266
01:01:23,667 --> 01:01:25,710
and we wanted to change
the law around that,
1267
01:01:25,710 --> 01:01:28,072
because we were fed up
with being persecuted,
1268
01:01:28,072 --> 01:01:31,880
and made to feel like criminals
for our choice of medicine.
1269
01:01:31,880 --> 01:01:34,290
What we actually did when
we started trying to lobby
1270
01:01:34,290 --> 01:01:35,860
and change the law, by accident,
1271
01:01:35,860 --> 01:01:37,990
we grew up this really lovely community
1272
01:01:37,990 --> 01:01:39,610
of people who are already using cannabis
1273
01:01:39,610 --> 01:01:40,920
as a medicine in the UK,
1274
01:01:40,920 --> 01:01:43,970
so now what we have is a
really good online community,
1275
01:01:43,970 --> 01:01:45,530
where patients who are just starting out
1276
01:01:45,530 --> 01:01:47,240
in their cannabis journey,
1277
01:01:47,240 --> 01:01:50,640
they can come and learn
from other patients
1278
01:01:50,640 --> 01:01:54,150
about what strains work
best for certain things,
1279
01:01:54,150 --> 01:01:56,170
oil-making methods,
1280
01:01:56,170 --> 01:01:57,407
and all the sort of things
that go along with that.
1281
01:01:57,407 --> 01:01:59,610
It's a really good, reliable
source of information,
1282
01:01:59,610 --> 01:02:02,100
because it's patients
learning from other patients.
1283
01:02:02,100 --> 01:02:04,020
And we're creating a best practice
1284
01:02:04,020 --> 01:02:04,960
for within our communities,
1285
01:02:04,960 --> 01:02:06,240
so that when the law changes
1286
01:02:06,240 --> 01:02:08,738
we will have the knowledge
there, ready to enact,
1287
01:02:08,738 --> 01:02:11,275
and help as many people as we can.
1288
01:02:11,275 --> 01:02:14,192
(soft piano music)
1289
01:03:11,125 --> 01:03:12,920
- Folks, we're told about
five minutes ago by messenger
1290
01:03:12,920 --> 01:03:15,940
that it has passed absolutely,
all the ayes have it.
1291
01:03:15,940 --> 01:03:17,573
There are no people saying no to it.
1292
01:03:18,949 --> 01:03:21,699
(crowd cheering)
1293
01:03:23,000 --> 01:03:24,463
I want to thank you all for coming.
1294
01:03:24,463 --> 01:03:25,403
Thank you so much for being here.
1295
01:03:25,403 --> 01:03:28,221
- Blast off, the bill has passed.
1296
01:03:28,221 --> 01:03:30,784
(cheering)
1297
01:03:30,784 --> 01:03:34,984
We must now use this to
lobby our politicians.
1298
01:03:34,984 --> 01:03:37,600
You must speak to your MP today.
1299
01:03:37,600 --> 01:03:40,170
Get your phone out, email them now.
1300
01:03:40,170 --> 01:03:42,263
Let your elected representative know,
1301
01:03:42,263 --> 01:03:44,940
that you came here today
in support of this,
1302
01:03:44,940 --> 01:03:46,720
and that you believe that cannabis
1303
01:03:46,720 --> 01:03:49,460
needs to be regulated as medicine.
1304
01:03:49,460 --> 01:03:50,820
It doesn't matter who you work for.
1305
01:03:50,820 --> 01:03:52,747
It doesn't matter what
banner you want to raise,
1306
01:03:52,747 --> 01:03:56,470
what matters is that we're
all here on the same page,
1307
01:03:56,470 --> 01:03:58,405
voicing for cannabis as medicine.
1308
01:03:58,405 --> 01:04:00,655
(cheering)
1309
01:04:01,884 --> 01:04:04,801
(soft piano music)
1310
01:04:11,647 --> 01:04:14,250
- My name's Calli Blackwell,
and my son is Deryn Blackwell,
1311
01:04:14,250 --> 01:04:16,740
and in 2010 he was
diagnosed with leukemia.
1312
01:04:16,740 --> 01:04:18,910
Two years later he has a second cancer
1313
01:04:18,910 --> 01:04:21,170
called Langerhans Cell Sarcoma,
1314
01:04:21,170 --> 01:04:23,310
subsequently, had four
bone marrow transplants
1315
01:04:23,310 --> 01:04:26,560
in 10 months to try and prevent
either cancer coming back.
1316
01:04:26,560 --> 01:04:28,720
And unfortunately on his
fourth and final transplant,
1317
01:04:28,720 --> 01:04:31,350
he developed three
catastrophic infections.
1318
01:04:31,350 --> 01:04:33,410
He had no functioning bone marrow,
1319
01:04:33,410 --> 01:04:34,507
and they told us that nobody
1320
01:04:34,507 --> 01:04:36,020
had ever engrafted after 50 days,
1321
01:04:36,020 --> 01:04:37,617
so we got to day 46,
1322
01:04:37,617 --> 01:04:38,930
and there was nothing there at all,
1323
01:04:38,930 --> 01:04:40,130
so we were sent to hospice,
1324
01:04:40,130 --> 01:04:43,180
and my son was given possibly
three days to a week to live.
1325
01:04:43,180 --> 01:04:45,340
Deryn started to get very anxious because
1326
01:04:45,340 --> 01:04:46,770
he was facing his death,
1327
01:04:46,770 --> 01:04:49,633
planned his funeral,
planned everything about it,
1328
01:04:49,633 --> 01:04:53,180
and I decided to start
administering a tincture
1329
01:04:53,180 --> 01:04:55,140
that we made off cannabis,
1330
01:04:55,140 --> 01:04:58,340
mainly to alleviate his
anxiety he was suffering from,
1331
01:04:58,340 --> 01:05:00,340
and they were also trying to
give him a lot of morphine,
1332
01:05:00,340 --> 01:05:01,660
and he made it very clear
1333
01:05:01,660 --> 01:05:03,100
that he didn't want to die on morphine,
1334
01:05:03,100 --> 01:05:05,150
he wanted to be compos mentis.
1335
01:05:05,150 --> 01:05:07,640
So we started giving
him cannabis tincture,
1336
01:05:07,640 --> 01:05:11,520
and five days later his
bone marrow kicks in at 875,
1337
01:05:11,520 --> 01:05:13,483
and he officially grafted at say 104.
1338
01:05:15,610 --> 01:05:16,580
They called him a miracle,
1339
01:05:16,580 --> 01:05:17,627
because they had never seen a boy
1340
01:05:17,627 --> 01:05:19,257
who was on no other medication,
1341
01:05:19,257 --> 01:05:20,250
other than what I was giving him,
1342
01:05:20,250 --> 01:05:23,040
which I had to keep secret because
1343
01:05:23,040 --> 01:05:25,590
back then you're always
scared of social services,
1344
01:05:25,590 --> 01:05:27,000
and losing my children,
1345
01:05:27,000 --> 01:05:29,730
and now losing the one thing
that was helping Deryn.
1346
01:05:29,730 --> 01:05:31,916
I had this published
in April of this year,
1347
01:05:31,916 --> 01:05:34,700
and it's a full complete
story of the whole journey.
1348
01:05:34,700 --> 01:05:36,290
It's not just about cannabis though,
1349
01:05:36,290 --> 01:05:38,690
cannabis is a tiny tiny part of the end.
1350
01:05:38,690 --> 01:05:41,060
I wrote it hopefully because
I want to give people hope.
1351
01:05:41,060 --> 01:05:43,630
I want to give people
the chance to understand
1352
01:05:43,630 --> 01:05:45,820
that there are other opportunities.
1353
01:05:45,820 --> 01:05:46,653
There are other options,
1354
01:05:46,653 --> 01:05:48,860
we don't have to just go
with what they tell us.
1355
01:05:48,860 --> 01:05:49,910
There are other ways.
1356
01:05:50,900 --> 01:05:53,060
Deryn is proof of that,
living proof of that.
1357
01:05:53,060 --> 01:05:54,743
I saw hundreds of people here today.
1358
01:06:05,140 --> 01:06:08,040
- The bill is to reverse an
error in a previous bill,
1359
01:06:08,040 --> 01:06:12,010
which said that cannabis
has no medical value.
1360
01:06:12,010 --> 01:06:14,950
The legislation on cannabis
at the moment is an act.
1361
01:06:14,950 --> 01:06:19,290
It actually states that
cannabis has no medicinal value,
1362
01:06:19,290 --> 01:06:20,980
and is in contrary to the experience
1363
01:06:20,980 --> 01:06:23,880
of 5000 years of the use of cannabis,
1364
01:06:23,880 --> 01:06:26,740
in all civilizations in the world.
1365
01:06:26,740 --> 01:06:28,500
But if we get through that,
1366
01:06:28,500 --> 01:06:30,750
and decide it has some medicinal use,
1367
01:06:30,750 --> 01:06:33,020
then flowing from that is the possibility
1368
01:06:33,020 --> 01:06:37,150
of the sale of various products
that are already available.
1369
01:06:37,150 --> 01:06:41,050
But the world's tide is
turning against prohibition,
1370
01:06:41,050 --> 01:06:43,930
and we've already seen the
majority of states in America,
1371
01:06:43,930 --> 01:06:47,491
29 of them, have legalized
medicinal cannabis.
1372
01:06:47,491 --> 01:06:50,770
Canada is leading the way, Uruguay,
1373
01:06:50,770 --> 01:06:53,120
a whole range of countries
throughout the world
1374
01:06:53,120 --> 01:06:56,210
are realizing that we need a new policy.
1375
01:06:56,210 --> 01:07:00,610
- The UK has one of the
toughest drug policies
1376
01:07:01,740 --> 01:07:03,270
across the western world,
1377
01:07:03,270 --> 01:07:06,750
and we differ in particular from the USA,
1378
01:07:06,750 --> 01:07:08,900
and many countries in Europe.
1379
01:07:08,900 --> 01:07:12,210
As we know, the majority now of US states
1380
01:07:12,210 --> 01:07:16,000
now have legalized
cannabis for medical use,
1381
01:07:16,000 --> 01:07:18,610
many have also legalized
it for social use,
1382
01:07:18,610 --> 01:07:21,190
but we're not discussing that yet.
1383
01:07:21,190 --> 01:07:23,860
A dozen countries in Europe
1384
01:07:23,860 --> 01:07:27,290
now have legalized one way or another,
1385
01:07:27,290 --> 01:07:30,390
the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
1386
01:07:30,390 --> 01:07:33,780
It's interesting that
Denmark passed their law
1387
01:07:33,780 --> 01:07:36,000
actually in November last year,
1388
01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:38,000
legalizing medical cannabis.
1389
01:07:38,000 --> 01:07:42,770
Germany passed their law
through their lower house,
1390
01:07:42,770 --> 01:07:44,930
in January this year.
1391
01:07:44,930 --> 01:07:48,360
We have Ireland with their law
1392
01:07:48,360 --> 01:07:50,670
going through parliament as we speak,
1393
01:07:50,670 --> 01:07:54,160
so the move towards recognizing
1394
01:07:54,160 --> 01:07:57,150
the incredible medical value of cannabis,
1395
01:07:57,150 --> 01:08:00,730
is I would say becoming
more and more rapid
1396
01:08:00,730 --> 01:08:01,633
across the world.
1397
01:08:02,850 --> 01:08:05,550
But the UK? No change, no change at all.
1398
01:08:05,550 --> 01:08:07,970
So, we're really getting left behind here.
1399
01:08:07,970 --> 01:08:10,270
- In a way, the Lib-Dems took a risk.
1400
01:08:10,270 --> 01:08:14,000
We went out and advocated for reform,
1401
01:08:14,000 --> 01:08:19,000
and we sought to appeal to all
those reform-minded voters,
1402
01:08:19,910 --> 01:08:24,910
who absolutely see the nonsense
in the current position.
1403
01:08:26,240 --> 01:08:28,770
We didn't get that case heard well enough
1404
01:08:28,770 --> 01:08:30,023
in the general election.
1405
01:08:30,900 --> 01:08:34,843
But in time other political
parties I think will see,
1406
01:08:34,843 --> 01:08:37,340
that public opinion has changed,
1407
01:08:37,340 --> 01:08:38,980
and that increasingly the public think
1408
01:08:38,980 --> 01:08:42,170
the existing laws are
ludicrous, as they are.
1409
01:08:42,170 --> 01:08:43,887
- Well the most important thing about it,
1410
01:08:43,887 --> 01:08:45,910
about regulating cannabis,
1411
01:08:45,910 --> 01:08:49,403
would be to restrict access to children.
1412
01:08:50,310 --> 01:08:53,220
I mean I'm a great admirer,
and I would completely endorse
1413
01:08:53,220 --> 01:08:57,060
the strategy that Justin
Trudeau has adopted in Canada,
1414
01:08:57,060 --> 01:08:58,273
where almost,
1415
01:08:59,950 --> 01:09:02,113
in the same sentence as saying
1416
01:09:02,113 --> 01:09:03,580
we're going to legalize cannabis,
1417
01:09:03,580 --> 01:09:05,487
he said we're going to
restrict access to it.
1418
01:09:05,487 --> 01:09:07,590
And I think that is the way forward.
1419
01:09:07,590 --> 01:09:08,670
Now many people would argue
1420
01:09:08,670 --> 01:09:11,000
that you don't need to
restrict access to cannabis,
1421
01:09:11,000 --> 01:09:12,060
and it should be treated like
1422
01:09:12,060 --> 01:09:14,440
cauliflowers or carrots or tomatoes.
1423
01:09:14,440 --> 01:09:16,120
And it was to have some sort of
1424
01:09:16,120 --> 01:09:18,400
emotional sympathy with that.
1425
01:09:18,400 --> 01:09:20,480
I think if you're being
pragmatic about it,
1426
01:09:20,480 --> 01:09:23,140
in the real world that's
not a sensibile attitude.
1427
01:09:23,140 --> 01:09:26,130
And there's no doubt that
if cannabis does cause harm,
1428
01:09:26,130 --> 01:09:29,290
and again, let's be honest,
cannabis can cause harm.
1429
01:09:29,290 --> 01:09:30,920
Only in a very small number of cases,
1430
01:09:30,920 --> 01:09:32,300
but cannabis can cause harm.
1431
01:09:32,300 --> 01:09:34,340
It's a psychoactive substance,
1432
01:09:34,340 --> 01:09:38,170
to suggest it can't, would be foolish.
1433
01:09:38,170 --> 01:09:39,980
So if it can cause harm,
1434
01:09:39,980 --> 01:09:42,020
then children are the most vulnerable.
1435
01:09:42,020 --> 01:09:46,990
- I'm keen to give this
place laws that make sense.
1436
01:09:46,990 --> 01:09:50,760
At the moment, most laws
are prejudiced which,
1437
01:09:50,760 --> 01:09:52,340
and evidence-free,
1438
01:09:52,340 --> 01:09:55,390
and the cannabis laws are irrational,
1439
01:09:55,390 --> 01:09:58,120
unscientific, and do a
great deal of damage.
1440
01:09:58,120 --> 01:10:00,440
They actually increase crime,
1441
01:10:00,440 --> 01:10:03,000
they increase abuse of drugs,
1442
01:10:03,000 --> 01:10:04,450
and they waste a fortune,
1443
01:10:04,450 --> 01:10:09,450
but the cruelest aspect
of laws of prohibition,
1444
01:10:10,022 --> 01:10:11,780
are that seriously ill people
1445
01:10:11,780 --> 01:10:14,840
are denied their medicine of choice,
1446
01:10:14,840 --> 01:10:17,260
and there's an abundance of evidence
1447
01:10:17,260 --> 01:10:20,730
that cannabis has a unique role to play,
1448
01:10:20,730 --> 01:10:22,790
particularly relieving the symptoms of
1449
01:10:23,972 --> 01:10:26,022
a very cruel disease, multiple sclerosis.
1450
01:10:27,282 --> 01:10:31,810
- We had a report on the
medical benefits of cannabis,
1451
01:10:31,810 --> 01:10:36,310
undertaken by Professor
Barnes, for inquiry,
1452
01:10:38,260 --> 01:10:41,300
and really we rely very much on his report
1453
01:10:41,300 --> 01:10:45,170
of worldwide research to talk about,
1454
01:10:45,170 --> 01:10:50,160
that is the issue of the
specific medical conditions
1455
01:10:50,160 --> 01:10:52,890
for which cannabis is most helpful.
1456
01:10:52,890 --> 01:10:57,020
And what he found is that
there is good evidence
1457
01:10:57,020 --> 01:11:00,850
for medical cannabis for conditions like
1458
01:11:00,850 --> 01:11:04,510
chronic, and in particular,
neuropathic pain,
1459
01:11:04,510 --> 01:11:06,960
in dealing with seizures for example,
1460
01:11:06,960 --> 01:11:10,330
in the case of people
with multiple sclerosis,
1461
01:11:10,330 --> 01:11:15,330
for epilepsy, in young
children, for example.
1462
01:11:16,920 --> 01:11:20,610
And certainly for the symptoms
1463
01:11:20,610 --> 01:11:22,890
of nausea, sleeplessness, and so on,
1464
01:11:22,890 --> 01:11:25,480
that arise as the result
of people with cancer
1465
01:11:25,480 --> 01:11:27,660
taking chemotherapy.
1466
01:11:27,660 --> 01:11:30,620
So there are those conditions anyway,
1467
01:11:30,620 --> 01:11:32,050
for which the evidence
1468
01:11:32,050 --> 01:11:34,640
according to Professor Barnes is good.
1469
01:11:34,640 --> 01:11:36,710
There are a number of other conditions,
1470
01:11:36,710 --> 01:11:39,350
where there is some evidence
that cannabis can be helpful.
1471
01:11:39,350 --> 01:11:41,330
It's truly remarkable actually,
1472
01:11:41,330 --> 01:11:44,090
the extent to which
cannabis can help people,
1473
01:11:44,090 --> 01:11:48,030
with very very different
kinds of conditions.
1474
01:11:48,030 --> 01:11:50,230
- Yes, I've been involved
with (muffled) pain
1475
01:11:50,230 --> 01:11:52,300
since the early days.
1476
01:11:52,300 --> 01:11:55,270
Basically, that campaign is designed to
1477
01:11:55,270 --> 01:11:59,023
make cannabis legal for medical use.
1478
01:12:00,220 --> 01:12:02,510
Without getting too
technical at the moment,
1479
01:12:02,510 --> 01:12:05,710
it's a schedule one drug
in the misuse of drugs act.
1480
01:12:05,710 --> 01:12:09,593
That means that it has no medicinal value,
1481
01:12:10,510 --> 01:12:12,810
which is complete nonsense.
1482
01:12:12,810 --> 01:12:14,260
And there's overwhelming evidence
1483
01:12:14,260 --> 01:12:15,620
that it does have medicinal value.
1484
01:12:15,620 --> 01:12:17,040
Many countries around the world,
1485
01:12:17,040 --> 01:12:19,340
over half of the American states,
1486
01:12:19,340 --> 01:12:22,860
have now recognized its
use and made it legal.
1487
01:12:22,860 --> 01:12:24,380
So for the government to maintain
1488
01:12:24,380 --> 01:12:26,560
that it's a schedule one
drug with no medicinal value,
1489
01:12:26,560 --> 01:12:28,830
is it's nonsense.
1490
01:12:28,830 --> 01:12:31,530
- It's just the inertia in this country,
1491
01:12:31,530 --> 01:12:35,270
and the prediction clearly in that article
1492
01:12:35,270 --> 01:12:38,170
was wholly misplaced,
1493
01:12:38,170 --> 01:12:39,950
but I think in a way the difference
1494
01:12:39,950 --> 01:12:43,113
between the United States and
the United Kingdom is that,
1495
01:12:44,500 --> 01:12:48,540
their much more devolved
style of government,
1496
01:12:48,540 --> 01:12:53,500
where states have considerable
control over policymaking
1497
01:12:53,500 --> 01:12:55,543
in a whole range of areas,
1498
01:12:56,510 --> 01:13:01,430
facilitates experimentation
and innovation in lawmaking.
1499
01:13:01,430 --> 01:13:05,650
And so you've had a few
states going out ahead,
1500
01:13:05,650 --> 01:13:10,450
and California went out ahead
on medical use of cannabis,
1501
01:13:10,450 --> 01:13:13,630
some years ago now, and have now voted for
1502
01:13:13,630 --> 01:13:15,560
legalization of recreational use.
1503
01:13:15,560 --> 01:13:19,320
Colorado has had
recreational use legalized
1504
01:13:19,320 --> 01:13:21,570
for two or three years now.
1505
01:13:21,570 --> 01:13:25,080
And as people see that it's worked,
1506
01:13:25,080 --> 01:13:30,080
it hasn't led to collapse of
morality, or law-breaking,
1507
01:13:30,190 --> 01:13:32,240
or anything of that sort.
1508
01:13:32,240 --> 01:13:35,920
Then it convinces other
states that they can try it,
1509
01:13:35,920 --> 01:13:37,980
but in this country it's all or nothing.
1510
01:13:37,980 --> 01:13:41,230
You have to convince the
national government to do it,
1511
01:13:41,230 --> 01:13:42,780
and that's much more difficult.
1512
01:13:48,400 --> 01:13:50,980
- [Narrator] In the US, cannabis is legal
1513
01:13:50,980 --> 01:13:54,450
in nine states for medical
and recreational use.
1514
01:13:54,450 --> 01:13:58,120
30 states in all, have passed
laws allowing some degree
1515
01:13:58,120 --> 01:14:00,123
of medical use of marijuana.
1516
01:14:01,740 --> 01:14:05,890
California has a long history
of fighting for legalization,
1517
01:14:05,890 --> 01:14:07,563
since the 1960's,
1518
01:14:08,410 --> 01:14:11,230
and gained huge ground in the early 90's,
1519
01:14:11,230 --> 01:14:13,920
with Proposition 215.
1520
01:14:13,920 --> 01:14:18,080
Proposition 215, was
conceived by San Francisco
1521
01:14:18,080 --> 01:14:21,100
marijuana activist Dennis Peron,
1522
01:14:21,100 --> 01:14:23,663
in memory of his partner, Jonathan West,
1523
01:14:24,580 --> 01:14:26,360
who had used medical marijuana
1524
01:14:26,360 --> 01:14:28,243
to treat the symptoms of AIDS.
1525
01:14:29,790 --> 01:14:33,810
In 1991, Peron organized Proposition P,
1526
01:14:33,810 --> 01:14:36,850
the San Francisco medical
marijuana initiative,
1527
01:14:36,850 --> 01:14:39,570
which passed with 79% of the vote.
1528
01:14:39,570 --> 01:14:42,560
Proposition P did not
have the force of law,
1529
01:14:42,560 --> 01:14:44,540
but was simply a resolution
1530
01:14:44,540 --> 01:14:47,760
declaring the city's support
for medical marijuana.
1531
01:14:47,760 --> 01:14:52,623
Proposition 215 was enacted
into law on November 5th, 1996,
1532
01:14:53,740 --> 01:14:55,750
by means of the initiative process,
1533
01:14:55,750 --> 01:14:59,453
and passed with 55.6%
of the vote in favor.
1534
01:15:00,600 --> 01:15:03,370
Since that time the
medical cannabis industry
1535
01:15:03,370 --> 01:15:06,040
in California has had its ups and downs,
1536
01:15:06,040 --> 01:15:08,170
but is now a thriving industry,
1537
01:15:08,170 --> 01:15:10,120
adding billions to the state's economy.
1538
01:15:11,150 --> 01:15:15,310
With the passing of Proposition
64, in November, 2016,
1539
01:15:15,310 --> 01:15:18,970
legalizing the sale of
recreational cannabis for adults,
1540
01:15:18,970 --> 01:15:22,020
estimates based on their
current illegal market,
1541
01:15:22,020 --> 01:15:24,510
could mean that California
could see a rise
1542
01:15:24,510 --> 01:15:27,600
in over 5.7 billion dollars in revenue,
1543
01:15:27,600 --> 01:15:30,203
from the legalization of
recreational cannabis.
1544
01:15:31,630 --> 01:15:35,490
- The Atria Group issues
a report every year,
1545
01:15:35,490 --> 01:15:38,150
on the international cannabis market,
1546
01:15:38,150 --> 01:15:41,220
and we know that in the United States,
1547
01:15:41,220 --> 01:15:42,960
cannabis, legal cannabis,
1548
01:15:42,960 --> 01:15:46,113
is the fastest growing
industry in the entire country.
1549
01:15:48,960 --> 01:15:50,180
- My name is Joshua,
1550
01:15:50,180 --> 01:15:53,310
I'm a manager here at Kush LA Collective.
1551
01:15:53,310 --> 01:15:56,220
We are a medical dispensary in California,
1552
01:15:56,220 --> 01:15:58,080
and we are here to provide great medicine
1553
01:15:58,080 --> 01:15:59,660
for great patients.
1554
01:15:59,660 --> 01:16:03,890
I'm a budtender, or I could be
considered the manager here.
1555
01:16:03,890 --> 01:16:06,586
It's like a bartender, mix
that with some bud in it.
1556
01:16:06,586 --> 01:16:08,770
When I first started doing this actually,
1557
01:16:08,770 --> 01:16:11,060
I remember walking up
to my Mom when I was 18,
1558
01:16:11,060 --> 01:16:13,720
and telling her, hey
Mom, look I'm a doctor.
1559
01:16:13,720 --> 01:16:15,930
You know, it was like,
I'm a pharmacist now.
1560
01:16:15,930 --> 01:16:19,150
I was like, I prescribe medicine
to people, all day long.
1561
01:16:19,150 --> 01:16:21,120
In a sense, it definitely is a medication.
1562
01:16:21,120 --> 01:16:23,113
The way I look at it is,
1563
01:16:24,770 --> 01:16:25,840
herbal medicine.
1564
01:16:25,840 --> 01:16:28,210
You know there's people that
do straight herbal medicine,
1565
01:16:28,210 --> 01:16:31,160
that are considered you
know, voodoo doctors,
1566
01:16:31,160 --> 01:16:33,170
witchcraft doctors, whatever
they want to be called,
1567
01:16:33,170 --> 01:16:35,660
and all this other alternative medicine,
1568
01:16:35,660 --> 01:16:37,580
but they're still considered
technically a doctor,
1569
01:16:37,580 --> 01:16:38,980
because it's the herbal medicine.
1570
01:16:38,980 --> 01:16:41,550
Same thing, cannabis is
just an herbal medicine,
1571
01:16:41,550 --> 01:16:44,210
so I definitely relate to that idea
1572
01:16:44,210 --> 01:16:46,190
of us being doctors and being pharmacists,
1573
01:16:46,190 --> 01:16:48,004
because that's what we
do, we treat people.
1574
01:16:48,004 --> 01:16:49,410
It's like a bartender, you know,
1575
01:16:49,410 --> 01:16:51,360
they say they have a, what is it?
1576
01:16:51,360 --> 01:16:53,450
A bachelors is psychiatry right?
1577
01:16:53,450 --> 01:16:54,870
That's how I feel sometimes when I'm here.
1578
01:16:54,870 --> 01:16:57,150
My patients come in, bad day, good day,
1579
01:16:57,150 --> 01:16:59,950
they come in to talk to me,
they tell me their problems,
1580
01:16:59,950 --> 01:17:01,230
they tell me they're stressing about,
1581
01:17:01,230 --> 01:17:04,010
and I recommend weed that I
feel would be best for them.
1582
01:17:04,010 --> 01:17:05,840
Sometimes people are
having really bad days,
1583
01:17:05,840 --> 01:17:08,370
and they don't feel like talking as much,
1584
01:17:08,370 --> 01:17:09,970
so they want something to mellow them out.
1585
01:17:09,970 --> 01:17:12,650
Other times some people are
feeling really bad, or upset,
1586
01:17:12,650 --> 01:17:13,880
that they just want to have something
1587
01:17:13,880 --> 01:17:15,900
to make them have an uplifting feel,
1588
01:17:15,900 --> 01:17:17,820
so you get something more like a citrus,
1589
01:17:17,820 --> 01:17:21,260
or something that has a
more upbringing feel to it.
1590
01:17:21,260 --> 01:17:23,650
Originally, when it first came
out, when it was medically,
1591
01:17:23,650 --> 01:17:25,930
walk into a doctor's office,
1592
01:17:25,930 --> 01:17:27,500
and you'd go into the office,
1593
01:17:27,500 --> 01:17:29,870
and you'd first talk to
one of the receptionists,
1594
01:17:29,870 --> 01:17:31,530
will probably be a very attractive woman,
1595
01:17:31,530 --> 01:17:33,900
depending on how it is,
because in California
1596
01:17:33,900 --> 01:17:35,930
there's a lot of backwoods doctors,
1597
01:17:35,930 --> 01:17:38,010
the give out recs like nothing.
1598
01:17:38,010 --> 01:17:39,510
You know, oh you're sleepy?
1599
01:17:39,510 --> 01:17:40,950
Here, get some cannabis.
1600
01:17:40,950 --> 01:17:43,250
But then there are doctors
that actually ask you more
1601
01:17:43,250 --> 01:17:45,060
thorough questions, actually ask you,
1602
01:17:45,060 --> 01:17:47,440
what are your pains and your insomnias,
1603
01:17:47,440 --> 01:17:50,480
to see if cannabis is best for you.
1604
01:17:50,480 --> 01:17:53,200
And so it really just depends
on where that person goes
1605
01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:55,050
to get their doctor recommendation,
1606
01:17:55,050 --> 01:17:57,680
which is really determined on the process.
1607
01:17:57,680 --> 01:17:59,436
The change in culture you can see,
1608
01:17:59,436 --> 01:18:00,970
is it's a lot less black market,
1609
01:18:00,970 --> 01:18:02,010
it's a lot more open.
1610
01:18:02,010 --> 01:18:04,510
You see a lot more cops obviously
1611
01:18:04,510 --> 01:18:06,710
just being more compliant with it.
1612
01:18:06,710 --> 01:18:08,540
You know, just more of a sense of
1613
01:18:09,760 --> 01:18:11,070
being accepting of it.
1614
01:18:11,070 --> 01:18:12,780
It's a whole culture of like you see
1615
01:18:12,780 --> 01:18:14,050
even the older generation
1616
01:18:14,050 --> 01:18:17,080
that used to call of us drug
users, and drug abusers,
1617
01:18:17,080 --> 01:18:19,490
you're even seeing them start
seeing and hearing about it,
1618
01:18:19,490 --> 01:18:22,420
and it's very big with
the Hispanic culture,
1619
01:18:22,420 --> 01:18:25,670
that's something that would be
1620
01:18:25,670 --> 01:18:27,670
looked down upon and
would be frowned upon.
1621
01:18:27,670 --> 01:18:29,260
I heard also (muffled) is just like,
1622
01:18:29,260 --> 01:18:31,410
honestly it's just about
the naturalness of it.
1623
01:18:31,410 --> 01:18:32,480
Like weed is very natural,
1624
01:18:32,480 --> 01:18:34,447
but it's also if you feel sick sometimes,
1625
01:18:34,447 --> 01:18:36,210
and you feel crappy and sluggish,
1626
01:18:36,210 --> 01:18:37,640
you need to eat better.
1627
01:18:37,640 --> 01:18:40,070
You need to put better
things in your body.
1628
01:18:40,070 --> 01:18:42,920
Weed is a better alternative
to any kind of medicine
1629
01:18:42,920 --> 01:18:44,330
you could be taking because pill forms
1630
01:18:44,330 --> 01:18:46,230
and all this other stuff that they add,
1631
01:18:46,230 --> 01:18:49,090
and all these gels and powders and stuff
1632
01:18:49,090 --> 01:18:50,130
that break down your body,
1633
01:18:50,130 --> 01:18:52,480
like what's all that extra?
1634
01:18:52,480 --> 01:18:54,623
Compared to just burning a leaf?
1635
01:18:59,620 --> 01:19:03,150
- My name is Kendrick Mahia, AKA Poly Rob,
1636
01:19:03,150 --> 01:19:05,810
and I am a producer and engineer
1637
01:19:05,810 --> 01:19:08,810
and co-owner of Local Astronauts.
1638
01:19:08,810 --> 01:19:13,810
Local Astronauts is a
company which consists of
1639
01:19:13,890 --> 01:19:16,250
a collective of creatives,
1640
01:19:16,250 --> 01:19:20,880
that's coming together
for culture rebranding,
1641
01:19:20,880 --> 01:19:23,620
music production, video production,
1642
01:19:23,620 --> 01:19:28,010
and we're really about
advancing the culture
1643
01:19:28,010 --> 01:19:30,210
as we see it and where we want to see it,
1644
01:19:30,210 --> 01:19:32,970
within the next couple of years.
1645
01:19:32,970 --> 01:19:34,583
At 34 years old,
1646
01:19:35,560 --> 01:19:38,080
being I consider
1647
01:19:38,080 --> 01:19:40,303
the business prime of my time.
1648
01:19:41,630 --> 01:19:45,110
Before, I never used
to smoke weed, at all.
1649
01:19:45,110 --> 01:19:47,840
During my 20's, early 20's, mid 20's,
1650
01:19:47,840 --> 01:19:49,160
I never used to smoke weed.
1651
01:19:49,160 --> 01:19:51,500
In my brain it was always
1652
01:19:53,136 --> 01:19:55,930
a point of trying to just stay abrupt,
1653
01:19:55,930 --> 01:19:59,930
and be just the first person moving,
1654
01:19:59,930 --> 01:20:03,350
and I felt that weed
was the exact opposite
1655
01:20:03,350 --> 01:20:04,760
of what I was trying to accomplish.
1656
01:20:04,760 --> 01:20:06,630
You know all of my
friends, they smoke weed,
1657
01:20:06,630 --> 01:20:09,570
which all due respect
is great, not a problem,
1658
01:20:09,570 --> 01:20:12,330
it was just for me, I didn't
want to feel sluggish,
1659
01:20:12,330 --> 01:20:14,600
I didn't want to feel like I was
1660
01:20:15,550 --> 01:20:19,570
the person that would just forget things,
1661
01:20:19,570 --> 01:20:22,390
or you know just kind of the cliche ideas
1662
01:20:22,390 --> 01:20:25,290
of what you thought
marijuana would do to you.
1663
01:20:25,290 --> 01:20:28,150
And this is only just my natural ignorance
1664
01:20:28,150 --> 01:20:31,030
of not knowing about marijuana.
1665
01:20:31,030 --> 01:20:33,740
So, fast forward to
1666
01:20:35,090 --> 01:20:36,893
about a couple of years ago.
1667
01:20:38,040 --> 01:20:39,720
I'm getting off a plane
1668
01:20:39,720 --> 01:20:43,630
after 18 hours of doing a session in Ohio,
1669
01:20:43,630 --> 01:20:45,010
I get off the plane,
1670
01:20:45,010 --> 01:20:48,660
and I come back to my
studio in Los Angeles.
1671
01:20:48,660 --> 01:20:50,790
Another set of clients
1672
01:20:50,790 --> 01:20:53,230
calls me about three in the morning,
1673
01:20:53,230 --> 01:20:56,030
this is like my peak hours to either
1674
01:20:56,030 --> 01:20:59,240
keep working or finish the day off,
1675
01:20:59,240 --> 01:21:00,710
like completely finish the day.
1676
01:21:00,710 --> 01:21:02,900
So, they called me and they said hey man,
1677
01:21:02,900 --> 01:21:06,550
we're in town, we got off the plane early,
1678
01:21:06,550 --> 01:21:09,600
we're in town, so they
pull up to my studio,
1679
01:21:09,600 --> 01:21:12,440
and we proceed to play music,
1680
01:21:12,440 --> 01:21:14,780
talk a little bit about
business or whatnot,
1681
01:21:14,780 --> 01:21:18,680
and we just were enjoying each
other's company, of course,
1682
01:21:18,680 --> 01:21:21,680
till about five, six in the morning.
1683
01:21:21,680 --> 01:21:22,513
So when they leave,
1684
01:21:22,513 --> 01:21:24,430
they said okay we're
going back to the hotel.
1685
01:21:24,430 --> 01:21:27,070
We're gonna settle in, get some sleep,
1686
01:21:27,070 --> 01:21:30,480
wake up, and let's continue to discuss
1687
01:21:30,480 --> 01:21:31,950
whatever it is we need to do.
1688
01:21:31,950 --> 01:21:34,063
So fine, they're gone.
1689
01:21:35,070 --> 01:21:37,810
I proceed to lay down because
now I'm in the studio,
1690
01:21:37,810 --> 01:21:39,790
I'm not gonna travel home.
1691
01:21:39,790 --> 01:21:41,460
I'm just not traveling home.
1692
01:21:41,460 --> 01:21:43,930
So I sleep in the studio,
1693
01:21:43,930 --> 01:21:45,890
and I lay on my couch,
1694
01:21:45,890 --> 01:21:48,150
and when I wake up,
1695
01:21:48,150 --> 01:21:51,640
however my face was laid on the couch,
1696
01:21:51,640 --> 01:21:53,490
it stayed like that,
1697
01:21:53,490 --> 01:21:57,380
completely, like it was my entire face
1698
01:21:57,380 --> 01:22:01,163
was shut into just one facial expression.
1699
01:22:02,940 --> 01:22:05,420
It was drooping, my face was very droopy.
1700
01:22:05,420 --> 01:22:08,530
So I'm trying to wash my face with water,
1701
01:22:08,530 --> 01:22:10,920
trying to figure this thing
out, and it just wouldn't go,
1702
01:22:10,920 --> 01:22:13,260
so I had to postpone the meeting,
1703
01:22:13,260 --> 01:22:14,570
went to the doctor,
1704
01:22:14,570 --> 01:22:17,010
and the doctor told me I had Bell's palsy,
1705
01:22:17,010 --> 01:22:20,490
and Bell's palsy is pretty
much, in a nutshell,
1706
01:22:20,490 --> 01:22:23,140
it's when your
1707
01:22:23,140 --> 01:22:27,597
brain nerves don't react
to your face nerves.
1708
01:22:29,620 --> 01:22:32,630
So, you know, it's terrible,
1709
01:22:32,630 --> 01:22:35,293
and it comes from lack of sleep,
1710
01:22:36,210 --> 01:22:39,230
inner stress, stress
you don't know you have.
1711
01:22:39,230 --> 01:22:42,470
You can be working 18, 20 hours,
1712
01:22:42,470 --> 01:22:44,660
if you don't allow your body to relax,
1713
01:22:44,660 --> 01:22:46,450
and tranquilize,
1714
01:22:46,450 --> 01:22:50,610
you can easily put your body into
1715
01:22:50,610 --> 01:22:52,973
almost like a semi-stroke.
1716
01:22:53,890 --> 01:22:57,310
I had to take pills, I took
pills for about four days,
1717
01:22:57,310 --> 01:22:58,593
muscle relaxers.
1718
01:22:59,730 --> 01:23:02,020
I just wasn't into it,
wasn't into it at all.
1719
01:23:02,020 --> 01:23:05,630
So one of my colleagues suggested that
1720
01:23:07,080 --> 01:23:08,170
I smoke marijuana.
1721
01:23:08,170 --> 01:23:09,090
They asked me, they said,
1722
01:23:09,090 --> 01:23:11,830
have you ever tried smoking marijuana
1723
01:23:11,830 --> 01:23:14,120
to relax your nerves?
1724
01:23:14,120 --> 01:23:15,700
I'm like, no I don't smoke.
1725
01:23:15,700 --> 01:23:17,410
And they're like, you
should definitely try it,
1726
01:23:17,410 --> 01:23:20,120
like this is something that can eventually
1727
01:23:20,120 --> 01:23:23,910
turn into a major stroke if
you don't treat it properly.
1728
01:23:23,910 --> 01:23:25,250
I thought about it for a minute,
1729
01:23:25,250 --> 01:23:27,150
then other options of
1730
01:23:28,410 --> 01:23:30,620
cannabis lotions,
1731
01:23:30,620 --> 01:23:33,000
taking edibles, some things like that.
1732
01:23:33,000 --> 01:23:36,040
So I started to smoke, to smoke marijuana,
1733
01:23:36,040 --> 01:23:39,170
and like literally immediately,
1734
01:23:39,170 --> 01:23:42,980
after my face would just, it
would twitch a little bit,
1735
01:23:42,980 --> 01:23:45,450
and then it would formulate itself
1736
01:23:45,450 --> 01:23:48,040
for me to be able to speak a lot better,
1737
01:23:48,040 --> 01:23:49,390
and like even now,
1738
01:23:49,390 --> 01:23:53,000
like you can still see bits of my face,
1739
01:23:53,000 --> 01:23:56,850
that are still working itself out,
1740
01:23:56,850 --> 01:23:58,810
and it really, it works a wonder,
1741
01:23:58,810 --> 01:24:01,650
it really puts my face back into normal,
1742
01:24:01,650 --> 01:24:04,630
along with of course proper eating and
1743
01:24:05,550 --> 01:24:07,750
facial exercises.
1744
01:24:07,750 --> 01:24:11,370
It allows me to get
everything back into motion,
1745
01:24:11,370 --> 01:24:15,430
and just had a newfound respect
1746
01:24:15,430 --> 01:24:17,533
for what marijuana does.
1747
01:24:18,450 --> 01:24:21,770
I have a totally,
totally newfound respect,
1748
01:24:21,770 --> 01:24:24,933
and after doing a lot more homework,
1749
01:24:26,230 --> 01:24:28,280
social media is just open so
1750
01:24:28,280 --> 01:24:29,650
after doing a lot more homework,
1751
01:24:29,650 --> 01:24:32,940
I started to figure out
that it's just so many
1752
01:24:32,940 --> 01:24:35,883
health benefits for cannabis.
1753
01:24:37,570 --> 01:24:39,820
I'm definitely appreciative
1754
01:24:39,820 --> 01:24:42,420
of being able to have the opportunity
1755
01:24:42,420 --> 01:24:46,120
to even get myself back
to normal, you know.
1756
01:24:46,120 --> 01:24:47,453
The average person,
1757
01:24:48,600 --> 01:24:50,390
if they're not on medication,
1758
01:24:50,390 --> 01:24:53,440
and they have a Bell's
palsy, or cerebral palsy,
1759
01:24:53,440 --> 01:24:57,810
or mini-strokes or different
1760
01:24:57,810 --> 01:24:59,260
diseases or symptoms,
1761
01:24:59,260 --> 01:25:01,990
like some of them are so far gone
1762
01:25:01,990 --> 01:25:04,450
they don't have the ability to get back.
1763
01:25:04,450 --> 01:25:05,910
It's like their body is at that point
1764
01:25:05,910 --> 01:25:07,620
where it's a breaking point.
1765
01:25:07,620 --> 01:25:10,123
So, I was lucky,
1766
01:25:11,000 --> 01:25:13,400
to be able to have the privilege of even,
1767
01:25:13,400 --> 01:25:15,850
have the opportunity to get back.
1768
01:25:15,850 --> 01:25:20,420
It's changed the whole
way I kind of look at
1769
01:25:20,420 --> 01:25:23,470
how I enjoy and endure life, as well,
1770
01:25:23,470 --> 01:25:24,303
you know what I mean?
1771
01:25:24,303 --> 01:25:26,517
So it's a beautiful thing for me now.
1772
01:25:34,400 --> 01:25:37,820
- So I was inspired to open Harborside,
1773
01:25:37,820 --> 01:25:41,080
by the lack of a really responsible,
1774
01:25:41,080 --> 01:25:42,620
professional dispensary.
1775
01:25:42,620 --> 01:25:44,850
When I came to California,
1776
01:25:44,850 --> 01:25:47,400
there were dispensaries that
had been stared by activists,
1777
01:25:47,400 --> 01:25:49,280
which were very amateurish,
1778
01:25:49,280 --> 01:25:51,490
and there were dispensaries
that were started by people
1779
01:25:51,490 --> 01:25:54,260
who really just wanted to make
as much money as they could,
1780
01:25:54,260 --> 01:25:55,240
as quickly as they could,
1781
01:25:55,240 --> 01:25:57,213
and they were ugly and scary.
1782
01:25:58,120 --> 01:26:00,480
So, I wanted to create a gold standard
1783
01:26:00,480 --> 01:26:03,870
for cannabis retailing to
show that when this activity
1784
01:26:03,870 --> 01:26:06,320
is done with intelligence and integrity,
1785
01:26:06,320 --> 01:26:09,490
that it can bring benefits to
communities instead of harm.
1786
01:26:09,490 --> 01:26:12,810
The whole idea of Harborside
from the beginning was
1787
01:26:12,810 --> 01:26:17,810
to create a truly
responsible, professional
1788
01:26:18,000 --> 01:26:19,730
cannabis retail environment,
1789
01:26:19,730 --> 01:26:22,600
some place that was really
worthy of the plant,
1790
01:26:22,600 --> 01:26:25,430
and so we set out from the beginning
1791
01:26:25,430 --> 01:26:27,863
to sort of create a temple to cannabis.
1792
01:26:28,880 --> 01:26:31,940
Harborside started as a family business.
1793
01:26:31,940 --> 01:26:34,330
As we've grown, it's become bigger
1794
01:26:34,330 --> 01:26:36,080
than my family could manage,
1795
01:26:36,080 --> 01:26:38,720
and we are now growing
into a real company,
1796
01:26:38,720 --> 01:26:40,410
a real corporation.
1797
01:26:40,410 --> 01:26:43,270
But we always work hard to maintain
1798
01:26:43,270 --> 01:26:44,750
the same sense of caring
1799
01:26:44,750 --> 01:26:47,870
about each other, and for each other,
1800
01:26:47,870 --> 01:26:50,300
that you would see in a family
1801
01:26:50,300 --> 01:26:52,380
that we've always had here at Harborside.
1802
01:26:52,380 --> 01:26:55,220
We don't want to just
create a new business,
1803
01:26:55,220 --> 01:26:56,650
or even a new industry,
1804
01:26:56,650 --> 01:26:59,140
we want to create a new kind of business,
1805
01:26:59,140 --> 01:27:02,470
and a new kind of industry
that smashes the old models,
1806
01:27:02,470 --> 01:27:05,350
and is really like committed to building
1807
01:27:05,350 --> 01:27:07,020
the kind of world we all want to live in,
1808
01:27:07,020 --> 01:27:10,150
a world that has
sustainable practices in it,
1809
01:27:10,150 --> 01:27:12,910
a world that reflects the
diversity of human beings,
1810
01:27:12,910 --> 01:27:14,760
a world that's fair to everybody,
1811
01:27:14,760 --> 01:27:15,820
and takes care of everybody,
1812
01:27:15,820 --> 01:27:17,020
and so we try to do that here
1813
01:27:17,020 --> 01:27:19,020
and model that world we want to live in.
1814
01:27:21,270 --> 01:27:23,770
- [Narrator] The four-year
experiment in Colorado.
1815
01:27:24,650 --> 01:27:28,703
Cannabis was first decriminalized
in Colorado in 1975.
1816
01:27:31,108 --> 01:27:32,280
Though it was still illegal,
1817
01:27:32,280 --> 01:27:34,570
it was not a criminal offense,
1818
01:27:34,570 --> 01:27:37,950
meaning that you could not
go to prison for possession,
1819
01:27:37,950 --> 01:27:40,313
only a civil fine could be imposed.
1820
01:27:42,660 --> 01:27:46,320
In 2000, the 20th amendment
to the state's constitution,
1821
01:27:46,320 --> 01:27:48,783
made cannabis legal for medical purposes.
1822
01:27:49,890 --> 01:27:51,750
Anyone with a doctor's prescription
1823
01:27:51,750 --> 01:27:54,433
could now access cannabis as a medicine.
1824
01:27:56,200 --> 01:28:00,740
In 2014, Colorado legalized
recreational cannabis,
1825
01:28:00,740 --> 01:28:03,980
in the 64th amendment to its constitution.
1826
01:28:03,980 --> 01:28:07,130
Since that time, adults over 21
1827
01:28:07,130 --> 01:28:11,510
can legally smoke or ingest
cannabis on private premises.
1828
01:28:11,510 --> 01:28:14,570
Also, people can grow up to six plants,
1829
01:28:14,570 --> 01:28:17,673
and travel instate with up to one ounce.
1830
01:28:19,030 --> 01:28:21,130
The Colorado Department of Revenue
1831
01:28:21,130 --> 01:28:24,900
showed that recreational
and medical cannabis sales
1832
01:28:24,900 --> 01:28:27,833
reached 1.3 billion in 2016.
1833
01:28:28,860 --> 01:28:31,230
Eight out of the 12 months in that year,
1834
01:28:31,230 --> 01:28:34,090
reached over 100 million in revenue,
1835
01:28:34,090 --> 01:28:37,253
which yielded nearly 200 million in tax.
1836
01:28:39,400 --> 01:28:43,203
2017 saw a rise to around
1.8 billion in revenue.
1837
01:28:45,860 --> 01:28:49,440
As the rest of the United States
is seeing a rise in crime,
1838
01:28:49,440 --> 01:28:52,440
Colorado is seeing a
decrease in serious crimes,
1839
01:28:52,440 --> 01:28:56,960
such as homicide and
robbery since legalization.
1840
01:28:56,960 --> 01:28:59,730
Cannabis use in 12 to 17 year olds,
1841
01:28:59,730 --> 01:29:01,203
has decreased significantly.
1842
01:29:02,080 --> 01:29:03,670
But adult use,
1843
01:29:03,670 --> 01:29:05,883
especially those over
50, have skyrocketed.
1844
01:29:08,440 --> 01:29:10,510
Drug-related deaths have decreased
1845
01:29:10,510 --> 01:29:14,303
due to the decline in opiod
use, and other hard drugs.
1846
01:29:16,760 --> 01:29:20,660
In 2017, three years
after legalizing cannabis,
1847
01:29:20,660 --> 01:29:24,050
Colorado had the lowest
unemployment rate in the country,
1848
01:29:24,050 --> 01:29:27,503
at 2.3%, the lowest since 2001.
1849
01:29:28,920 --> 01:29:32,690
In 2015 alone, the
state's cannabis industry
1850
01:29:32,690 --> 01:29:35,273
created 18,000 new full-time jobs.
1851
01:29:37,430 --> 01:29:41,160
Cannabis turns out to be
a stronger economic driver
1852
01:29:41,160 --> 01:29:44,243
than 90% of the industries
active in Colorado.
1853
01:29:45,190 --> 01:29:46,520
- My name is Pepe Breton,
1854
01:29:46,520 --> 01:29:50,480
and I'm the owner-CEO of Euflora,
1855
01:29:50,480 --> 01:29:54,910
which is a chain of retail
stores in Denver, Colorado.
1856
01:29:54,910 --> 01:29:57,400
At the beginning, I was
in corporate America,
1857
01:29:57,400 --> 01:30:00,440
and I was kind of tired,
1858
01:30:00,440 --> 01:30:02,210
and I always wanted to do my own business,
1859
01:30:02,210 --> 01:30:04,740
and at the time I was searching for
1860
01:30:04,740 --> 01:30:08,370
what I could do business-wise
that I could be my own boss.
1861
01:30:08,370 --> 01:30:12,300
And at the time, this whole
medical marijuana movement
1862
01:30:12,300 --> 01:30:14,400
was going like crazy,
1863
01:30:14,400 --> 01:30:18,700
and I said hey like, if
drug dealers can do it,
1864
01:30:18,700 --> 01:30:20,500
that are not so smart,
1865
01:30:20,500 --> 01:30:22,720
I'm sure I can figure out how to do it.
1866
01:30:22,720 --> 01:30:26,400
So, at the time I partnered
up with a friend of mine,
1867
01:30:26,400 --> 01:30:29,540
that grew tomatoes, and
the one thing I knew is,
1868
01:30:29,540 --> 01:30:32,100
that if you can grow tomatoes
you can grow anything.
1869
01:30:32,100 --> 01:30:34,740
So I partnered up with my friend,
1870
01:30:34,740 --> 01:30:37,800
and I was like dude, you
know how to grow tomatoes,
1871
01:30:37,800 --> 01:30:39,100
let's start growing marijuana
1872
01:30:39,100 --> 01:30:42,050
for medicinal purposes.
1873
01:30:42,050 --> 01:30:44,320
And it just kind of started from there,
1874
01:30:44,320 --> 01:30:48,610
it took a $30,000 investment
to what we are now.
1875
01:30:48,610 --> 01:30:50,840
Really, recreational was,
1876
01:30:50,840 --> 01:30:53,030
what took marijuana to the next level,
1877
01:30:53,030 --> 01:30:56,250
because back then it was
just about 100,000 patients,
1878
01:30:56,250 --> 01:30:58,900
and you have hundreds of dispensaries,
1879
01:30:58,900 --> 01:31:00,580
and once it became recreational
1880
01:31:00,580 --> 01:31:03,420
now you're talking millions of people,
1881
01:31:03,420 --> 01:31:04,930
millions of tourists,
1882
01:31:04,930 --> 01:31:08,920
so now it really has become
a legitimate industry
1883
01:31:08,920 --> 01:31:12,360
that creates millions of
dollars on tax revenue,
1884
01:31:12,360 --> 01:31:15,650
and hundreds of thousands of jobs now.
1885
01:31:15,650 --> 01:31:18,973
It really has helped the
Colorado economy tremendously.
1886
01:31:20,470 --> 01:31:22,830
No, I think the best
statistic that I've heard
1887
01:31:22,830 --> 01:31:25,530
is as far as crime coming down,
1888
01:31:25,530 --> 01:31:28,780
they used to say that
April was the highest month
1889
01:31:28,780 --> 01:31:30,950
as far as crime rate goes,
1890
01:31:30,950 --> 01:31:35,360
and now with 420 being April 20th,
1891
01:31:35,360 --> 01:31:38,170
they said this last year was like
1892
01:31:38,170 --> 01:31:40,633
the least crime in the month of April.
1893
01:31:42,080 --> 01:31:45,370
Definitely yes, like
marijuana has taken some share
1894
01:31:45,370 --> 01:31:49,140
from drinking, so maybe the
people that were drinking,
1895
01:31:49,140 --> 01:31:50,380
now they're smoking,
1896
01:31:50,380 --> 01:31:52,570
and typically when
you're gonna be smoking,
1897
01:31:52,570 --> 01:31:54,470
you just want to sit at
your house and relax.
1898
01:31:54,470 --> 01:31:57,090
You never see anybody
trying to get violent
1899
01:31:57,090 --> 01:31:59,030
or crazy or ballsy,
1900
01:31:59,030 --> 01:32:03,060
they're just cool, chill
people who want to relax happy.
1901
01:32:03,060 --> 01:32:06,260
So that's a huge positive
when you think about
1902
01:32:06,260 --> 01:32:07,973
marijuana versus alcohol.
1903
01:32:08,930 --> 01:32:12,690
So yeah, definitely marijuana
has definitely changed,
1904
01:32:12,690 --> 01:32:15,230
I'll say, maybe not the world now,
1905
01:32:15,230 --> 01:32:16,960
but definitely has changed Colorado.
1906
01:32:16,960 --> 01:32:19,340
Like there's no way that without marijuana
1907
01:32:19,340 --> 01:32:21,000
Colorado will be where it is,
1908
01:32:21,000 --> 01:32:23,330
which we're one of the top states
1909
01:32:24,510 --> 01:32:27,180
as far as growth, and real estate,
1910
01:32:27,180 --> 01:32:30,670
and we see thousands of
people moving every month
1911
01:32:30,670 --> 01:32:31,760
from different states
1912
01:32:31,760 --> 01:32:34,270
and probably have about 100 employees.
1913
01:32:34,270 --> 01:32:37,220
Out of those 100 employees,
like 78% of them,
1914
01:32:37,220 --> 01:32:39,030
they come from different states,
1915
01:32:39,030 --> 01:32:41,490
and they come because of this industry.
1916
01:32:53,977 --> 01:32:58,710
- The United Nations meeting last April,
1917
01:32:58,710 --> 01:33:02,210
of the United Nations General
Assembly special session,
1918
01:33:02,210 --> 01:33:03,423
on drugs,
1919
01:33:05,210 --> 01:33:08,540
turned global drug policy on its head,
1920
01:33:08,540 --> 01:33:11,053
and that was an incredibly
important meeting.
1921
01:33:11,890 --> 01:33:15,570
What the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime
1922
01:33:15,570 --> 01:33:19,380
representative said,
was that evidence-based,
1923
01:33:19,380 --> 01:33:23,380
public health policy on
drugs is here to stay.
1924
01:33:23,380 --> 01:33:26,880
The relevance of this to medical cannabis
1925
01:33:26,880 --> 01:33:31,370
is that in our view there
is now adequate evidence
1926
01:33:31,370 --> 01:33:34,460
to show that patients should have access
1927
01:33:34,460 --> 01:33:37,570
to cannabis for medical purposes.
1928
01:33:37,570 --> 01:33:41,920
The UN is saying, let's
have evidence-based policy.
1929
01:33:41,920 --> 01:33:45,250
In my view they are therefore saying,
1930
01:33:45,250 --> 01:33:48,730
let's have legalization of
cannabis for medical use.
1931
01:33:48,730 --> 01:33:50,210
They haven't actually said that,
1932
01:33:50,210 --> 01:33:53,630
but the implications of what
they said about evidence,
1933
01:33:53,630 --> 01:33:55,230
are very clear to me,
1934
01:33:55,230 --> 01:33:57,883
and I feel the UK should therefore act.
1935
01:33:58,890 --> 01:34:02,120
- We need to regulate all drugs,
1936
01:34:02,120 --> 01:34:03,817
not in the interest of the
pharmaceutical companies,
1937
01:34:03,817 --> 01:34:06,970
but in the interest of
those who are vulnerable,
1938
01:34:06,970 --> 01:34:08,670
who are taking them, and certainly
1939
01:34:09,730 --> 01:34:11,630
when cannabis is on sale here,
1940
01:34:11,630 --> 01:34:13,680
there ought to be regulations to prevent
1941
01:34:14,680 --> 01:34:17,020
use by children, by pregnant women,
1942
01:34:17,020 --> 01:34:19,450
by people with mental health problems.
1943
01:34:19,450 --> 01:34:22,780
What we need is cannabis that can be used,
1944
01:34:22,780 --> 01:34:25,380
without being mixed with that hideous
1945
01:34:25,380 --> 01:34:27,970
toxic killer drug, tobacco,
1946
01:34:27,970 --> 01:34:31,300
which is terribly responsible
for so much harm in the world.
1947
01:34:31,300 --> 01:34:33,510
And we can do that, with a legal market,
1948
01:34:33,510 --> 01:34:37,470
it can be used as a food,
as a drink, as a vapor.
1949
01:34:37,470 --> 01:34:38,890
It doesn't need to give you a high
1950
01:34:38,890 --> 01:34:41,000
to have its medicinal effect.
1951
01:34:41,000 --> 01:34:43,590
That's the way the progress will be made,
1952
01:34:43,590 --> 01:34:47,150
but at the moment scientific
research is inhibited
1953
01:34:47,150 --> 01:34:49,770
by law, that restricts research,
1954
01:34:49,770 --> 01:34:53,350
and restricts its use
in experimental ways.
1955
01:34:53,350 --> 01:34:57,530
- This whole subject area
is packed full of hypocrisy.
1956
01:34:57,530 --> 01:35:01,010
The fact that probably a
lot of government ministers
1957
01:35:01,010 --> 01:35:04,080
smoked cannabis, at a younger age,
1958
01:35:04,080 --> 01:35:08,170
and yet are happy to condemn
their fellow citizens
1959
01:35:08,170 --> 01:35:09,610
to a criminal record,
1960
01:35:09,610 --> 01:35:13,333
and the consequence of blighting
those people's careers.
1961
01:35:14,460 --> 01:35:18,110
The fact that many of
those ministers will drink
1962
01:35:18,110 --> 01:35:21,030
significant quantities of alcohol,
1963
01:35:21,030 --> 01:35:25,360
which we know in terms of an
objective assessment of harm,
1964
01:35:25,360 --> 01:35:29,180
is significantly more
harmful than cannabis,
1965
01:35:29,180 --> 01:35:31,520
and indeed many of them
will smoke as well.
1966
01:35:31,520 --> 01:35:35,340
So, there's hypocrisy
everywhere to be seen,
1967
01:35:35,340 --> 01:35:38,970
and my plea is for us to base our
1968
01:35:40,150 --> 01:35:43,740
policy-making, and our
law-making, on evidence,
1969
01:35:43,740 --> 01:35:46,083
not on fear and anxiety,
1970
01:35:48,140 --> 01:35:49,113
and prejudice.
1971
01:35:50,080 --> 01:35:52,303
- I said to my MP,
1972
01:35:52,303 --> 01:35:55,355
a year or so ago,
1973
01:35:55,355 --> 01:35:56,890
I'm in a constant lobbying situation,
1974
01:35:56,890 --> 01:35:59,330
and I said to him, why can you not
1975
01:35:59,330 --> 01:36:03,260
just place the responsibility
in the hands of doctors?
1976
01:36:03,260 --> 01:36:05,580
You know, we trust doctors.
1977
01:36:05,580 --> 01:36:08,810
They're trained, they're professionals.
1978
01:36:08,810 --> 01:36:10,840
We rely on them in all
aspects of our health.
1979
01:36:10,840 --> 01:36:13,320
Why can you not just give
it to doctors and say,
1980
01:36:13,320 --> 01:36:15,570
you can decide whether or
not to prescribe cannabis?
1981
01:36:15,570 --> 01:36:16,667
And he said to me,
1982
01:36:16,667 --> 01:36:19,417
but the trouble is if we did
that, they'd prescribe it,
1983
01:36:22,100 --> 01:36:25,460
which is almost like
a Yes Minister script.
1984
01:36:25,460 --> 01:36:27,020
It's just ridiculous.
1985
01:36:27,020 --> 01:36:28,740
But that's the sort of bigotry,
1986
01:36:28,740 --> 01:36:33,163
and intransigence that we're up against.
1987
01:36:35,260 --> 01:36:38,143
- I strongly think we should
decriminalize cannabis use.
1988
01:36:39,290 --> 01:36:41,560
There's a lot of people
who would benefit from it.
1989
01:36:41,560 --> 01:36:43,820
If you think of all the thousands
of people in this country
1990
01:36:43,820 --> 01:36:46,140
with chronic pain from various causes,
1991
01:36:46,140 --> 01:36:47,620
all those people with muscle spasm
1992
01:36:47,620 --> 01:36:49,640
from endless causes of stroke
1993
01:36:49,640 --> 01:36:51,560
and brain injury and multiple sclerosis,
1994
01:36:51,560 --> 01:36:54,940
let alone those with anxiety, or epilepsy,
1995
01:36:54,940 --> 01:36:56,860
or nausea after chemotherapy.
1996
01:36:56,860 --> 01:36:59,710
The numbers are tens
of thousands of people,
1997
01:36:59,710 --> 01:37:02,090
tens of thousands who could
benefit from cannabis.
1998
01:37:02,090 --> 01:37:05,810
At the moment, we're forcing
them into the criminal market,
1999
01:37:05,810 --> 01:37:07,760
we're making them criminals.
2000
01:37:07,760 --> 01:37:09,100
There are one or two compounds
2001
01:37:09,100 --> 01:37:10,480
that you can legally prescribe,
2002
01:37:10,480 --> 01:37:12,160
but they're of rather limited value
2003
01:37:12,160 --> 01:37:13,670
in terms of their usefulness
2004
01:37:13,670 --> 01:37:15,420
for certain specific conditions,
2005
01:37:15,420 --> 01:37:16,880
but generally speaking,
2006
01:37:16,880 --> 01:37:19,380
those who use cannabis
for medical reasons,
2007
01:37:19,380 --> 01:37:22,440
are criminals, because they
have to buy it illegally,
2008
01:37:22,440 --> 01:37:24,400
and I think that is appalling,
2009
01:37:24,400 --> 01:37:26,167
it really is time we changed that,
2010
01:37:26,167 --> 01:37:28,880
and we're behind now
the rest of the world,
2011
01:37:28,880 --> 01:37:30,610
in terms of the number of countries
2012
01:37:30,610 --> 01:37:32,690
who are looking at, or have already,
2013
01:37:32,690 --> 01:37:35,530
legalized cannabis for a whole variety
2014
01:37:35,530 --> 01:37:36,490
of medical conditions.
2015
01:37:36,490 --> 01:37:40,430
It's time the UK government
caught up with world opinion,
2016
01:37:40,430 --> 01:37:41,630
and world evidence,
2017
01:37:41,630 --> 01:37:44,423
and may decriminalize
cannabis for medical use.
2018
01:37:45,616 --> 01:37:48,260
- I think it's hypocritical
to oppose use of cannabis,
2019
01:37:48,260 --> 01:37:49,800
even for recreational use,
2020
01:37:49,800 --> 01:37:51,880
but particularly for medicinal use.
2021
01:37:51,880 --> 01:37:54,040
We're happily allowing the
populace to kill themselves
2022
01:37:54,040 --> 01:37:56,070
with tobacco and alcohol,
2023
01:37:56,070 --> 01:37:58,040
whilst in the case with politicians
2024
01:37:58,040 --> 01:38:00,520
enjoying taxpayer-subsidized
alcoholic beverages
2025
01:38:00,520 --> 01:38:02,090
in the House of Commons bar,
2026
01:38:02,090 --> 01:38:03,930
and pocketing profits
from their association
2027
01:38:03,930 --> 01:38:05,710
with pharmaceutical companies,
2028
01:38:05,710 --> 01:38:08,010
pharmaceutical companies
who oppose legalization,
2029
01:38:08,010 --> 01:38:10,620
because, A, this plant is more effective
2030
01:38:10,620 --> 01:38:12,170
than the drugs that they produce,
2031
01:38:12,170 --> 01:38:15,000
and supply to the Health
Service at exorbitant prices,
2032
01:38:15,000 --> 01:38:16,910
and B, because they can't patent a plant.
2033
01:38:16,910 --> 01:38:18,703
I think the world is twisted.
2034
01:38:21,830 --> 01:38:26,360
- The crazy roller
coaster journey that Billy
2035
01:38:26,360 --> 01:38:29,233
has taken me on over the
last number of years,
2036
01:38:31,030 --> 01:38:33,600
has flagged up a really important
2037
01:38:36,890 --> 01:38:40,040
issue that is happening
within our country,
2038
01:38:40,040 --> 01:38:42,330
within Ireland, and
within the United Kingdom,
2039
01:38:42,330 --> 01:38:43,563
for me as well,
2040
01:38:44,550 --> 01:38:45,383
and with
2041
01:38:47,100 --> 01:38:49,150
710 Holding's MME,
2042
01:38:49,150 --> 01:38:53,980
and naming the CBD oil
after Billy, Billy's Bud,
2043
01:38:53,980 --> 01:38:58,980
we are entering into a project,
2044
01:38:59,330 --> 01:39:04,330
where we want to open research facilities,
2045
01:39:05,040 --> 01:39:07,650
here in Ireland,
2046
01:39:07,650 --> 01:39:10,300
and throughout the UK.
2047
01:39:10,300 --> 01:39:13,950
First and foremost, obviously
the legislation has to change,
2048
01:39:13,950 --> 01:39:16,560
and medicinal cannabis
has to be legalized,
2049
01:39:16,560 --> 01:39:18,343
for medicinal purposes only.
2050
01:39:19,430 --> 01:39:21,930
Research facilities, we have to be allowed
2051
01:39:21,930 --> 01:39:23,300
to go and do this.
2052
01:39:23,300 --> 01:39:26,540
We have to be allowed to demonstrate
2053
01:39:28,940 --> 01:39:31,980
what tincture or what screen
2054
01:39:31,980 --> 01:39:34,553
of the medicine is appropriate
for what condition.
2055
01:39:37,813 --> 01:39:40,090
With being allowed to do all that,
2056
01:39:40,090 --> 01:39:42,130
within the UK and Ireland,
2057
01:39:42,130 --> 01:39:44,970
we should be able to move on then,
2058
01:39:44,970 --> 01:39:48,290
and pump money into the economy,
2059
01:39:48,290 --> 01:39:49,840
pump money into the hospitals,
2060
01:39:49,840 --> 01:39:52,193
and into education and create more jobs.
2061
01:39:54,050 --> 01:39:57,200
It really is a must, but for me,
2062
01:39:57,200 --> 01:39:59,500
in my opinion,
2063
01:39:59,500 --> 01:40:01,310
Billy has now been on medicinal cannabis
2064
01:40:01,310 --> 01:40:03,053
for just over a year.
2065
01:40:04,260 --> 01:40:05,950
For me the deal is done.
2066
01:40:05,950 --> 01:40:07,580
It's already legal.
2067
01:40:07,580 --> 01:40:10,930
So I don't say the debate,
2068
01:40:10,930 --> 01:40:13,093
I don't say the discussions.
2069
01:40:14,920 --> 01:40:16,843
My word,
2070
01:40:17,998 --> 01:40:20,490
and my message to the politicians,
2071
01:40:20,490 --> 01:40:22,523
and to the doctors, in our country,
2072
01:40:23,970 --> 01:40:27,163
look, let's just get on with
the job, let's get this done.
2073
01:40:28,210 --> 01:40:30,270
Billy is the proof in the pudding.
2074
01:40:30,270 --> 01:40:33,200
Medicinal cannabis has given me back
2075
01:40:33,200 --> 01:40:35,220
my right as a mummy to hope,
2076
01:40:35,220 --> 01:40:38,260
but the most important thing
in the midst of all of this,
2077
01:40:38,260 --> 01:40:40,580
is medicinal cannabis has given Billy back
2078
01:40:40,580 --> 01:40:41,713
his right to life.
2079
01:40:44,520 --> 01:40:47,420
- My experience tells me,
2080
01:40:47,420 --> 01:40:50,150
I mean at the end of the day I'm 69.
2081
01:40:50,150 --> 01:40:51,743
I've got 10 grandchildren.
2082
01:40:52,810 --> 01:40:54,393
I've never taken drugs.
2083
01:40:55,660 --> 01:40:59,903
But my experience tells me
that this works, medicinally.
2084
01:41:00,830 --> 01:41:04,970
I believe that the politicians
should take notice of that.
2085
01:41:04,970 --> 01:41:06,183
I'm not on my own.
2086
01:41:07,470 --> 01:41:09,080
There are lots and lots of people,
2087
01:41:09,080 --> 01:41:10,800
if you look on the internet,
2088
01:41:10,800 --> 01:41:12,863
who've had the same experience.
2089
01:41:14,273 --> 01:41:17,570
I know that's only anecdotal,
2090
01:41:17,570 --> 01:41:21,650
but we need everybody to get together,
2091
01:41:21,650 --> 01:41:24,090
and so that they've got lots of us,
2092
01:41:24,090 --> 01:41:26,710
telling them that this has worked for me,
2093
01:41:26,710 --> 01:41:29,080
and they need to change things,
2094
01:41:29,080 --> 01:41:32,623
they need to legalize it
for medicinal purposes.
2095
01:41:33,550 --> 01:41:35,213
- It's a plant, it's a plant.
2096
01:41:36,200 --> 01:41:37,740
I just think it's ridiculous.
2097
01:41:37,740 --> 01:41:39,170
It is a plant.
2098
01:41:39,170 --> 01:41:42,090
Whoever decided that a
plant should be illegal,
2099
01:41:42,090 --> 01:41:43,760
they should be shot.
2100
01:41:43,760 --> 01:41:46,170
And I think our government
have been highly hypocritical,
2101
01:41:46,170 --> 01:41:48,840
because GW Pharmaceuticals,
2102
01:41:48,840 --> 01:41:51,820
well, they PR our government
for growing in this country,
2103
01:41:51,820 --> 01:41:52,899
don't they?
2104
01:41:52,899 --> 01:41:55,110
And the fact that it's about 200 tons,
2105
01:41:55,110 --> 01:41:57,660
200 plus tons, of medical cannabis
2106
01:41:57,660 --> 01:41:59,740
that they actually grow down in England,
2107
01:41:59,740 --> 01:42:02,220
but not one part of it's left in Britain
2108
01:42:02,220 --> 01:42:03,450
for any patients.
2109
01:42:03,450 --> 01:42:05,440
It's all shipped to other
countries in the world,
2110
01:42:05,440 --> 01:42:06,823
for medicinal purposes.
2111
01:42:08,370 --> 01:42:10,000
That's what makes it so highly,
2112
01:42:10,000 --> 01:42:11,990
but we need to wonder how many of them
2113
01:42:11,990 --> 01:42:14,410
have shares in GW Pharmaceutical.
2114
01:42:14,410 --> 01:42:16,580
- So one of the questions
I'm always asked,
2115
01:42:16,580 --> 01:42:21,330
is, why is this criminalization policy,
2116
01:42:21,330 --> 01:42:23,150
this failed public policy,
2117
01:42:23,150 --> 01:42:25,530
why does it continue to be perpetuated?
2118
01:42:25,530 --> 01:42:28,620
Why does it continue to exist, in America?
2119
01:42:28,620 --> 01:42:31,500
And quite frankly, around the globe?
2120
01:42:31,500 --> 01:42:36,130
And while I can't speak
directly to the motivations
2121
01:42:36,130 --> 01:42:38,640
of those that are advocating
2122
01:42:38,640 --> 01:42:40,670
for the continued
criminalization of cannabis,
2123
01:42:40,670 --> 01:42:42,980
you'd have to ask those people yourself
2124
01:42:42,980 --> 01:42:44,740
what their motivations are.
2125
01:42:44,740 --> 01:42:48,630
My suspicion, having done this work,
2126
01:42:48,630 --> 01:42:50,340
for so many years,
2127
01:42:50,340 --> 01:42:54,060
is that the criminalization
and stigmatization
2128
01:42:54,060 --> 01:42:57,410
of cannabis, and the users of cannabis,
2129
01:42:57,410 --> 01:43:00,080
is not so much about the plant itself,
2130
01:43:00,080 --> 01:43:04,730
it's an outgrowth of a broader
and ongoing culture war,
2131
01:43:04,730 --> 01:43:08,650
where you have one
segment of the population,
2132
01:43:08,650 --> 01:43:12,480
typically a segment that
is in political power,
2133
01:43:12,480 --> 01:43:16,640
targeting another segment
of this population,
2134
01:43:16,640 --> 01:43:19,410
again, typically those that are poor,
2135
01:43:19,410 --> 01:43:22,110
those that are ethnic minorities,
2136
01:43:22,110 --> 01:43:24,790
those that lack political power,
2137
01:43:24,790 --> 01:43:29,790
and it's always been about
one segment of our population
2138
01:43:30,200 --> 01:43:32,180
targeting the other,
2139
01:43:32,180 --> 01:43:37,180
and attributing certain
cultural beliefs that they have,
2140
01:43:38,360 --> 01:43:41,530
negative beliefs and negative stereotypes,
2141
01:43:41,530 --> 01:43:45,500
and applying them to these
other segments of society,
2142
01:43:45,500 --> 01:43:49,820
and using cannabis as a way to be able
2143
01:43:49,820 --> 01:43:53,930
to exert political and legal pressure
2144
01:43:53,930 --> 01:43:56,080
upon those segments of society.
2145
01:43:56,080 --> 01:43:58,653
It's not about cannabis per se,
2146
01:43:58,653 --> 01:44:02,930
it's about the stereotypes
that revolve around those
2147
01:44:02,930 --> 01:44:07,220
who certain segments of
society believe use cannabis,
2148
01:44:07,220 --> 01:44:09,990
and that's really what
this is about, today,
2149
01:44:09,990 --> 01:44:13,200
and that's what it has always been about.
2150
01:44:13,200 --> 01:44:18,200
- I can well understand
that some police forces
2151
01:44:18,480 --> 01:44:21,470
decide that there's a
better use of their time
2152
01:44:21,470 --> 01:44:24,250
in chasing serious criminals,
2153
01:44:24,250 --> 01:44:27,030
rather than in arresting people
2154
01:44:27,030 --> 01:44:29,610
who are using cannabis.
2155
01:44:29,610 --> 01:44:34,610
My hope is that all
police forces would decide
2156
01:44:34,960 --> 01:44:37,690
that if they find someone using cannabis
2157
01:44:37,690 --> 01:44:39,800
for a medical purpose,
2158
01:44:39,800 --> 01:44:43,180
that they would simply turn away.
2159
01:44:43,180 --> 01:44:47,300
And the more we can do
to persuade police forces
2160
01:44:47,300 --> 01:44:49,350
of that approach,
2161
01:44:49,350 --> 01:44:51,820
the better for these poor patients
2162
01:44:51,820 --> 01:44:53,770
who are suffering so much,
2163
01:44:53,770 --> 01:44:56,500
and for ridiculous political reasons,
2164
01:44:56,500 --> 01:45:00,550
cannot get a hold of medical
cannabis to help them.
2165
01:45:00,550 --> 01:45:01,670
- We have five objectives,
2166
01:45:01,670 --> 01:45:03,700
I'm not sure I can remember
them all off the bat,
2167
01:45:03,700 --> 01:45:06,470
but the first one is to end
the prohibition of cannabis,
2168
01:45:06,470 --> 01:45:07,780
as simple as that.
2169
01:45:07,780 --> 01:45:11,050
The second one is to promote
the matter of urgency
2170
01:45:11,050 --> 01:45:13,110
and compassion, for the prescription
2171
01:45:13,110 --> 01:45:15,870
of medicinal cannabis by doctors.
2172
01:45:15,870 --> 01:45:17,390
The third one is to institute
2173
01:45:17,390 --> 01:45:19,973
a system of regulation and supply,
2174
01:45:20,810 --> 01:45:22,710
for adults about cannabis,
2175
01:45:22,710 --> 01:45:26,300
to remove the market from
the control of criminals.
2176
01:45:26,300 --> 01:45:27,700
The fourth one is to educate
2177
01:45:27,700 --> 01:45:30,030
about the benefits of cannabis,
2178
01:45:30,030 --> 01:45:31,980
and the fifth one is to encourage
2179
01:45:31,980 --> 01:45:34,220
the production of industrial hemp.
2180
01:45:34,220 --> 01:45:37,030
So really, we're interested in
2181
01:45:37,030 --> 01:45:39,360
ending the prohibition
of cannabis in total,
2182
01:45:39,360 --> 01:45:42,060
but it's undoubtedly the
case that the most urgent
2183
01:45:42,060 --> 01:45:45,030
necessity, is to deal
with the medical issue.
2184
01:45:45,030 --> 01:45:46,980
- When you look at the neuro-protectant
2185
01:45:46,980 --> 01:45:48,560
qualities if cannabis,
2186
01:45:48,560 --> 01:45:51,620
and actually when you
look at mental health,
2187
01:45:51,620 --> 01:45:53,030
around the world,
2188
01:45:53,030 --> 01:45:54,800
two of the most popular reasons for people
2189
01:45:54,800 --> 01:45:56,647
to consume cannabis, is
anxiety and depression,
2190
01:45:56,647 --> 01:45:59,120
and we're not talking about
clinical anxiety and depression,
2191
01:45:59,120 --> 01:46:02,210
we're talking about that
which gets you down every day,
2192
01:46:02,210 --> 01:46:03,910
the kind of thing that you'll
have a beer in the evening,
2193
01:46:03,910 --> 01:46:05,670
because you want to calm
down before you go to bed.
2194
01:46:05,670 --> 01:46:08,170
You got your mind spinning and all that,
2195
01:46:08,170 --> 01:46:10,300
there's no doubt that it's therapeutic,
2196
01:46:10,300 --> 01:46:12,240
and in some ways it is
medicinal for everybody,
2197
01:46:12,240 --> 01:46:14,850
whether they happen to be
using it recreationally,
2198
01:46:14,850 --> 01:46:16,190
whether that's what they call it,
2199
01:46:16,190 --> 01:46:18,220
or whether they actually
have a medical condition
2200
01:46:18,220 --> 01:46:19,400
that they're treating with it.
2201
01:46:19,400 --> 01:46:21,250
So we take the view that all cannabis use
2202
01:46:21,250 --> 01:46:22,720
has therapeutic value,
2203
01:46:22,720 --> 01:46:25,350
as long as it's being used in
a safe and responsible way,
2204
01:46:25,350 --> 01:46:27,450
and as long as you know what
it is that you're using,
2205
01:46:27,450 --> 01:46:29,630
how you're using it, what the risks are,
2206
01:46:29,630 --> 01:46:32,260
and that's kind of
where we're coming from.
2207
01:46:32,260 --> 01:46:33,780
What we're fighting for,
2208
01:46:33,780 --> 01:46:37,858
is to gain access, legal
access, for our patients.
2209
01:46:37,858 --> 01:46:41,090
Our personal belief is
that a medical reason
2210
01:46:41,090 --> 01:46:44,480
to access this medicine
is of primary concern,
2211
01:46:44,480 --> 01:46:46,883
and that's why we're fighting
for it, specifically.
2212
01:46:47,950 --> 01:46:51,770
- This cannabis movement,
and it's a global movement,
2213
01:46:51,770 --> 01:46:54,480
every living creature on the planet
2214
01:46:54,480 --> 01:46:58,280
has an endocannabinoid
system, except insects.
2215
01:46:58,280 --> 01:47:01,920
So every human being on planet Earth,
2216
01:47:01,920 --> 01:47:04,230
has an endocannabinoid system.
2217
01:47:04,230 --> 01:47:08,070
Every human being can benefit
hugely from this medicine.
2218
01:47:08,070 --> 01:47:11,090
We have a natural right to this medicine.
2219
01:47:11,090 --> 01:47:13,620
Mother Nature made us to use it.
2220
01:47:13,620 --> 01:47:16,420
Our bodies produce it themselves.
2221
01:47:16,420 --> 01:47:18,220
So it is a global movement,
2222
01:47:18,220 --> 01:47:21,790
and we're just beginning to
2223
01:47:21,790 --> 01:47:24,457
get the laws in the shape
that we want them to be
2224
01:47:24,457 --> 01:47:26,770
in the United States.
2225
01:47:26,770 --> 01:47:29,120
There's a whole world of reform waiting,
2226
01:47:29,120 --> 01:47:33,200
and so my message to people
of good conscience anywhere,
2227
01:47:33,200 --> 01:47:36,053
is the time to deal
with this issue is now.
2228
01:47:38,731 --> 01:47:41,648
(soft piano music)
2229
01:47:58,840 --> 01:48:00,570
- Well, the amazing thing happened,
2230
01:48:00,570 --> 01:48:02,550
I'm actually in remission,
2231
01:48:02,550 --> 01:48:05,950
so here I am, no treatment of any sort,
2232
01:48:05,950 --> 01:48:10,170
no chemo, no op, no radio therapy,
2233
01:48:10,170 --> 01:48:14,730
just CBD oil, and I'm
in complete remission.
2234
01:48:14,730 --> 01:48:16,480
Lymph nodes are all back to normal.
2235
01:48:17,470 --> 01:48:18,753
I feel great.
2236
01:48:19,830 --> 01:48:23,120
I'm the only person I know
who hasn't had a cold,
2237
01:48:23,120 --> 01:48:25,190
and I'm convinced that that's the oil.
2238
01:48:25,190 --> 01:48:28,533
It just balances my body
and makes me feel well.
2239
01:48:31,630 --> 01:48:35,367
- Today Billy is the only person
2240
01:48:35,367 --> 01:48:38,040
within the United Kingdom and Ireland,
2241
01:48:38,040 --> 01:48:40,740
to have a prescription
on medicinal cannabis.
2242
01:48:40,740 --> 01:48:41,930
Billy's neurologist
2243
01:48:41,930 --> 01:48:46,000
in our main hospital in Belfast,
2244
01:48:46,000 --> 01:48:50,933
they agreed to support Billy,
and write his prescription,
2245
01:48:52,190 --> 01:48:53,850
so Doctor Branton O'Hare
2246
01:48:54,800 --> 01:48:58,600
has been our family GP for many years,
2247
01:48:58,600 --> 01:49:00,620
wrote Billy's prescription.
2248
01:49:00,620 --> 01:49:05,620
And 710 Holdings MME, who are
supplying Billy his medicine,
2249
01:49:06,830 --> 01:49:11,223
now supply it through, Billy's
prescription, via the NHS.
177352
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