Great Op-Ed in the Guardian about drug policy in the UK and how it appears to be shifting to a more science-oriented policy, as opposed to being locked into rumor mongering and fear tactics.

The article is located here

An especially poignant quote from the piece:

Science cannot determine alone what the framework for drugs regulation should be. But if policy is not grounded in the science it can easily collapse into prejudice, moralism and authoritarianism. The chaos earlier this year over the "legal high" mephedrone raised very significant issues of evidence in relation to new drugs of unknown harm. Alcohol is legal yet is producing growing levels of damage which are well detailed in government reports but recommendations for harm reduction are not acted upon. A recent scientific review of drug harms, originally published in The Lancet, found that many class A drugs are in fact less harmful than alcohol. This raises further questions over the coherence of current drugs laws.

Are you smoking moldy bud?

What’s that you say? You didn’t know that there could be mold in the pot you’re smoking in trace amounts? Or that some specific types of mold are really toxic and particularly dangerous for medical marijuana patients seeking to use cannabis to relieve their pain and suffering? Yes, that’s right, the mold Aspergillus could be present and could be doing exactly the opposite of what people are hoping for. From a fascinating article on a lab in Oakland that tests pot comes this information and more:

A 2008 guidebook, “The Marijuana Medical Handbook,” warns of Aspergillus, a mold that can appear in marijuana and numerous other agricultural products. It can be dangerous for seriously ill people, such as AIDS and cancer patients using pot to treat nausea or other side effects.

“There have been reports of aspergillosis, a lung infection caused by inhalation of spores from the Aspergillus fungus,” wrote California marijuana researchers Dale Gieringer and Ed Rosenthal and Washington physician Gregory Carter.

Something to be aware of folks! Be safe out there.

Here at Stonyview, we believe in the power of science

Science and research is proving every day that medical marijuana is an important and positive treatment for a number of ailments. It’s also proving on a regular basis that many of the beliefs about marijuana’s negative effects are totally false. With science, we, as advocates for the legalization of cannabis, can prove that alcohol, tobacco and other legal substance (prescribed or otherwise) that current legislative policy is sorely lacking in facts.

But we’re not just serious folks, we like some entertainment with our science, which is why this video was SO perfect..

From the Inquisitur comes this amazing video of the best slip and slide ever. Watch it once. Watch it again. Then tell all your friends about it.