PROPOSITION 19, MONSANTO, AND GMO TERMINATOR CANNABISResearched and written by Conrad Justice Kiczenski - September, 2010 -
An article by D.M. Murdock written in August 2010 and entitled “Why hemp could save the world” states:
“Hemps
prohibition has led to untold suffering around the globe. If we—the
global human population—had been able to grow the miracle plant hemp
(Cannabis genus) locally and to use it for local industries and
businesses, including and especially for fuel, we would never have
needed to be addicted to oil, for one, an addiction that is at the root
of much misery. We would never have allowed ourselves to be lorded over
by international oil-mongers whose crimes against humanity have become
legion, including wholesale invasion of other lands and slaughter of
countless people.”
“None of this oil-related horror—along with
the deplorable degradation of the environment globally—would have
occurred if hemp had not been prohibited but had been used wisely and
intelligently as a major foundation of human society. Indeed, hemp-based
economies could still save the human world, while hemp planting could
go a massively long way in rescuing the natural world as well.”
“It is said that hemp has up to 50,000 uses, from fiber to fuel to food, but I'll just provide a taste here:”
“In
modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including
paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food,
fuel, and medical purposes.”
“Hemp is one of the faster growing
biomasses known, producing up to 25 tons of dry matter per hectare per
year, and one of the earliest domesticated plants known. “
“One
highly important use of hemp has been in detoxifying nuclear waste, as
demonstrated by experiments in the Ukraine, for example, on the site of
the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Moreover, hemp fuel could actually
replace the dangerous and costly nuclear power industry.”SEE:
http://www.examiner.com/freethought-in-national/why-hemp-could-save-the-worldThe
agenda of the government in its policies against Cannabis have always
been to deprive the people access to the plant, while maintaining
control over it for the governments own self-interest. This
self-interest extends to a multitude of industries including the prison
and military industry, the petroleum, timber, cotton, and pharmaceutical
industries, as well as the entirety of the banking and corporate
establishment which has become empowered through disconnecting people
from their one true source of independence and sustenance, the Earth.
Cannabis prohibition has served to redirect human evolution from that of
a decentralized agrarian lifestyle and natural economy, to a
centralized petro-chemical military dictatorship controlled through the
artificial economic will of private banks and other trans-national
corporate interests.
The next stage in continuing this control,
is in the regulation, licensing and taxation of Cannabis cultivation and
use through the only practical means available to the corporate system,
which is through genetic engineering and patenting of the Cannabis
genome.
To achieve this end, the foundation is already being laid
in the form of California’s upcoming initiative on the 2010 ballot.
This initiative is called Proposition 19: The Regulate, Control and Tax
Cannabis Act of 2010.
The leading advocate for
Proposition 19 is the organization known as the Drug Policy Alliance
(DPA). The DPA is the leading organization spearheading the reform of
Cannabis policies in the United States, and has been made up of some of
the most powerful and influential characters in today’s global
petro-bio-chemical-military-banking-industrial complex.
Some of the Directors of DPA include the following:
Paul
Adolph Volcker is an Honorary Director of the Drug Policy Alliance
(DPA) whose career is closely associated with that of the Federal
Reserve Bank. He was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
from 1975-1979, governing board member of the Federal Reserve in 1979,
and was Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979-1987.
Volcker
is believed to be a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and
served as Undersecretary of the Treasury from 1969-1974 before his time
with the Federal Reserve. Volcker is chairman of Wolfensohn & Co.
and has ties to Chase Manhattan Bank. He is also linked to the Brookings
Institute, as well as being an Honorary Trustee at the Aspen Institute,
chairman of the Group of 30, and on the board of the Institute for
International Economics.
Frank Charles Carlucci III is an
Honorary Director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and has been a
member of the Council on Foreign Relations since at least 1995. His
government service included positions as Deputy Secretary of Defense
from 1980-1982 and Deputy Director of the CIA from 1978-1980.
Carlucci
is a director on United Defense Industries (the United States' largest
defense contractor), which is owned by the Carlyle Group, a merchant
bank based in Washington, D.C., of which Carlucci is the chairman.
Carlucci joined Carlyle in 1989.
Before returning to Government
service, Carlucci was Chairman and CEO of Sears World Trade, a business
he joined in 1983. He was President Ronald Reagan's National Security
Advisor in 1987 and Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1988.
Nicholas
Katzenbach is an Honorary Director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
and became General Counsel of the IBM Corporation from 1969 until 1986.
Mathilde Krim is a standing Director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and was a Trustee for the Rockefeller Foundation in 1980.
George
Soros is a standing Director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and is
Chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros was among the highest paid
hedge fund managers in 2009, taking home about $3.3 billion. At the end
of 2009, he owned about $6.95 billion distributed among 697 stocks.
Soros’
top 5 investment shareholdings are in gold, Petrobras petroleum
company, Hess Corp petroleum company, Monsanto corporation, Citigroup
Inc., and Suncor Energy Inc.(petroleum company).
That’s right,
George Soros, who is famous for being one of the most powerful and
influential persons in world economics and whose speculations alone are
said to have ‘broke the Bank of England‘, is one of the key directors
for the organization that is leading the charge to regulate, control and
tax Cannabis in California. All the while George Soros is one of the
major shareholders in the worlds largest GM Seed bio-technology
corporation known as Monsanto.The Monsanto corporation
brought you things like Agent Orange, Terminator Seeds, Monsantos
Round-up ready Herbicide, and Genetically Modified and Patented
Organisms made from Soybean, Corn, and Cotton to name a few. Genetically
engineered crops entered the market in 1996 and to this day around 90%
of all Soy, Corn, and Cotton grown in the U.S. have been Genetically
Engineered and patented by a handful of bio-chemical corporations, with
Monsanto owning 90% of all GMO patents.
The value of the Cannabis
plant as an industry, without factoring in the value of Cannabis as a
food or medicine, was estimated to be in the billions in 1938 by an
article published by Popular Mechanics Magazine at that time, so its no
wonder why one of Monsanto’s major shareholders would have in interest
in advocating for one of the main tenants of prop 19, which is to “Make
cannabis available for scientific, medical, industrial, and research
purposes” and to “adopt a statewide regulatory system for a commercial
cannabis industry”. Prop 19 is doing nothing less then opening the
floodgates for Monsanto and other petro-chemical, GMO seed and
pharmaceutical corporations to commercialize, regulate, control and tax
Cannabis through genetic engineering, patenting and licensing.
Monsanto
and the Drug Policy Alliance are not the only entities leading the
charge to regulate Cannabis through genetic engineering. As published in
the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany,
Researchers from the College of Biological Science of the University of
Minnesota have identified the genes in the Cannabis plant that produce
tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC), claiming in a press release that it is “a
first step toward engineering a drug-free Cannabis plant”. George
Weiblen, an associate professor of plant biology and a co-author of the
study, said “Cannabis genetics can contribute to better agriculture,
medicine, and drug enforcement”.
George Weiblen conducts his
research under a permit granted by the DEA to import Cannabis from
outside of the U.S. The two sources from which these imports come from
are the Kenex corporation based in Ontario Canada and the HortaPharm
corporation based in Amsterdam. These two corporations are two of the
very few entities which have acquired a DEA permit to import Cannabis
into the United States. The history and role of these corporations
illustrate the potential of Genetic Engineering in the global Cannabis
market.
Kenex corporation initiated its research program on
industrial hemp in 1995 in cooperation with Ridgetown College of
University of Guelph in Ontario. A research license was granted by
Health Canada to proceed with the program. The scope of the project was
expanded in 1996 making it the largest hemp research project in Canada.
It
is interesting to note that Kenex’s research program on hemp was
initiated at the University of Guelph, which is also home to 24
ag-biotech research facilities, and is heavily funded by the ag-biotech
industry, including research funds from Monsanto corporation, Bayor
Incorporated, Dupont, Syngenta and Dow Chemical corporation to name a
few.
The University of Guelph Impact Study in 2007 states:“Multi-national
companies like Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayor Crop Science, and Semex have
set up in Guelph because of the ability to closely interact with
research and the ease of access to human, capital, and government
resources, as well as the ability to attract investment.”The
University of Guelph has recently genetically engineered and patented
the genome of a pig, which they have trademarked the EnviroPig. The
University of Guelph has also recently partnered with the Monsanto
corporation to genetically engineer a Glyphosate-resistant ragweed, and
has contributed significant research and development into genetically
engineering strains of Soybean crops. Some of the first Genetically
Engineered Canadian bred Soybeans were developed at the University of
Guelph, including the GMO Soybean strain called ’OAC Bayfield’. GE
Soybean research at the University of Guelph has been vitally important
to the growth of the GMO Soybean industry.
On January 2, 2003, the Guelph Mercury reported the following:
“Since
the Canadian hemp ban was lifted in 1998, researcher Peter Dragla of
the University of Guelph's Ridgetown College has been selecting and
breeding hemp plants to meet industry needs. Now, besides working on
varieties with lower levels of tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC)… he's
striving to develop hemp breeds with larger seeds.”After
Kenex corporations Hemp industry was born in a partnership with the
Ridgetown college of the University of Guelph, Kenex became Canada’s
largest Hemp producer and Supplies Hempseeds for food to companies like
Nutiva, based in California.
One of the only other international
companies which has acquired a permit to import Cannabis into the U.S.
from the DEA is known as the HortaPharm R&D company based out of
Amsterdam.
HortaPharm was founded in the late 1990’s by a man named David Watson.
David
Watson is credited for developing some of the most widely used Cannabis
strains in the world, including his famous strain called Skunk #1 which
was imported and used in George Weiblens research to develop GE
Cannabis strains at the University of Minnesota.
An article from:
http://www.cannabisfarmer.com/web/node/39 reports the following on Mr. David Watson:
“Are your expensive Dutch female (Cannabis) seeds hard to clone, or when you try to breed them, all you get are hermaphrodites?”
“Thank Dr Frankenbeanstein, aka the Skunkman, whose real name is David Watson.”
“At
a 1997 Vancouver Hemp conference, Watson spoke of his research. His
main focus was to stop growers from cloning nor being able to create any
seeds from strains being bred in Amsterdam. The funding for this
research came partially from the Dutch Government, the rest from the
DEA. Watson had been busted for growing in Santa Cruz California on
March-20-1985 and resurfaced in Amsterdam to start his seed company
Cultivator’s Choice. DEA supported the Watsons application for a license
to grow for research in Holland, even though they should have been
extraditing him back to Cali for his 1985 Santa Cruz grow bust! DEA
endorsement was so strong that he was the first to be granted a permit
in Holland when several universities and domestic research groups with
PHD’s and legitimate reasons for research were denied! The Dutch
government even supplied three greenhouses for Watson to do his heinous
experiments, while normal Dutch growers lost all of their equipment and
had to serve murder-like sentences at that time! Dutch seed companies
have become the Monsanto of the cannabis seed industry, and hope to make
us all seed junkies at $20 a seed.!”
“The license gave Watson
control over what researchers are allowed access to pedigreed seeds of
predictable quality! The object is to patent up every possible
combination of cannabinoids with efficacy for every possible disease
they can treat, and every possible genetic sequence! Once ready to make
the move, they will shut down every medical cannabis grower for patent
fraud”
“Monsanto terminator technology is being applied to Cannabis by (David Watson) at Hortapharm in Holland.”SEE:
http://www.cannabisfarmer.com/web/node/39The
following article published in the UK Independent on September 27,
1998, Interviewed Mr. Watson on the intent of his research in Cannabis
with his company HortaPharm:
"It looks like dope, but
really it's hope," explains David Watson. What he means is that many of
these plants have been specifically bred not to produce an intoxicating
resin or hashish. Indeed, HortaPharm hopes to thwart the aims of the
average recreational user.”
The team is already close to finding
their own commercial Holy Grail - seeds that will produce a one-off,
female, seedless crop of plants with no psychotropic effects for the
consumer. Why, you might ask, would they want to do that?
HortaPharm
is only interested in developing female plants that are sterile, but
this is not just to protect their genetic copyright. "If a plant is not
kept busy producing seeds, all its energy can go into resin production,"
says Watsons Dutch colleague and biochemist Etienne de Meijer.
Watson believes the bright future of (Cannabis) is contained in the greenhouses of HortaPharm and GW Pharmaceuticals.
At
his Amsterdam glasshouses, he nods conspiratorially at the healthy-
looking garden produce. "Don't say anything yet, but we are also working
on putting THC into tomatoes," he confides. Then he cackles
reassuringly: "Only kidding!"SEE:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/cannabis-a-year-that-changed-minds-1200871.htmlDavid
Watson has stated "HortaPharm has built up over many years the most
extensive 'Living Library' of Medicinal Cannabis varieties in the
world”.
In July 1998, Speaking at the International Cannabinoid
Research Society conference in Montpellier, Dr Geoffrey W Guy, Chairman
of GW Pharmaceuticals, said that HortaPharm will provide GW with
exclusive access to its entire range of cannabis varieties for the
development of medicines. The worldwide rights acquired by GW for an
undisclosed sum cover varieties grown to date with certain exceptions
and all varieties to be bred in the future. Plant registrations arising
from the Dutch breeding program will be owned by GW pharmaceutical.
Under
the agreement GW Pharma will be responsible for the development of
specific drug delivery technologies to administer the pharmaceutical
grade medicinal cannabis. This work will include a vaporizer for which
HortaPharm has a patent pending.
In addition GW Pharma will fund HortaPharm's botanical research and HortaPharm scientists will
assist in the UK Glasshouse propagation, cloning and cultivation program.
David
Watson, CEO of HortaPharm has stated “As soon as Dr Guy's clinical
research indicates the exact desired composition our scientists can
breed and register new medicinal varieties".
An article published by Cannabis Culture Magazine in May 2002, states:
“GW's
miracle pot may soon be among the first cannabis plants ever patented.
Although some industrial hemp genetics have been copyrighted as
intellectual property, Guy is seeking to register marijuana varietals
distinguished by specific morphological characteristics, such as color,
leaf size and shape, and smell.”
“According to preliminary
information provided exclusively to Cannabis Culture, GW's medical
devices will revolutionize the way cannabis is ingested. Cannabis
extracts blended in precise ratios will be packaged in a "canister" that
joins to an electromechanical device that delivers controlled
aerosolized doses of plant-derived cannabinoids without delivering
harmful combustion by-products.”
“The canisters and delivery
devices will be dispensed by pharmacists, and closely monitored by
pharmacists, doctors, and GW itself.”
“"Pharmaceutical companies
spend hundreds of millions of dollars researching and producing
medicines, but as soon as those medicines are given to patients, they
can be improperly used," Guy explains. "Patients might use too much, too
little, or they might divert their medications to other people. For
medications like cannabis that are controlled substances, it's essential
that medical personnel be able to monitor dosage patterns. Our devices
are like a digital camera that records details of time, date and other
particulars every time it is used."“
“"Physicians will be able to
monitor patient usage remotely," continued Guy. "People won't be able
to tamper with our devices, even though they are portable and easy to
use. You'd need a metal saw or a blowtorch to get into one of them.
These controls answer concerns of those who worry that our extracts will
be used inappropriately. And, these devices can be adapted for other
medicines, ensuring patient safety and medical efficacy."“
“Dr
Guy and his representatives have engaged in high level discussions with
the DEA, FDA, the Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),
National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) and senior state officials in
California and Maine.”
“"We've made some progress in the US," Guy
says. "We've commenced pre-clinical research in laboratories and other
research in a university. This research is aimed at cell protection
properties, general pharmacology, and the enhancement of effects
afforded by beneficial synergy created when cannabinoids are blended
together rather than isolated. The DEA has approved importation of our
extracts into the US. They haven't said no to us on anything we've asked
so far. They are playing it by the book. We look forward to continued
progress."“
“"GW occupies a lead position world-wide," concludes
Guy. "We are uniquely placed to become the first company to achieve
regulatory approval for prescription cannabis-based medicines."“SEE:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/articles/2400.htmlIn
an interview with Cannabis Culture Magazine, the Chairman of GW Pharma
Dr. Geoffrey Guy said “We deserve to make a fair return on our
investment, and that's why we pursued patents for our plants, extracts,
processes, and delivery devices."
In 2009 in Canada, GW Pharma
has succeeded in "artificially manipulating" and Patenting a “Novel
Reference Cannabis Plant” with a "knock out gene" that uses “monogenic
mutation" to "block the cannabinoid biosynthesis in Cannabis sativa”.
This technology is being used to artificially engineer the levels of
medicinal compounds in the plant.
SEE:
http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20090035396In
May of 2003, GW Pharma and Bayer Incorporated had reached a Marketing
Agreement on Pioneering a New cannabis-based medicinal extract product
called Sativex.
Bayer reportedly paid $60 Million to GW Pharma to
obtain exclusive rights to market Sativex in the UK, And reportedly
paid $14 Million for the marketing rights in Canada.
“Bayer
corporation is also one of the largest biotechnology and GM producers
in the world and has brought to market genetically engineered strains of
rice, corn, rapeseed, and canola. Bayer is the world's leading
pesticide manufacturer and the world's seventh largest seed company.
Bayer CropScience is responsible for the majority of GM field trials in
European countries. Bayer's GM crops are mostly "Liberty Link" -
designed to be resistant to its "Liberty" herbicide. In 1925, Bayer was
one of the chemical companies that merged to form the massive German
conglomerate IG Farben, which was the largest single company in Germany
and it became the single largest donor to Hitler's election campaign.
After Hitler came to power, IG Farben worked in close collaboration with
the Nazis, becoming the largest profiteer from the Second World War.”SEE:
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/11153-bayer-a-history“An
examination of internal Bayer company documents by The New York Times
reveals that the company was engaged in unsavory, probably criminal
marketing practices. The documents reveal that Bayer continued to sell
contaminated blood plasma causing thousands of hemophiliac patients to
be infected with AIDS. The company continued to sell the contaminated
blood in Asia for over a year when it had already introduced a safer,
heated blood plasma version in the US and Europe in February 1984.”
“The
documents examined by the Times provide evidence of unrestrained
corrupt practices by a pharmaceutical industry giant. According to The
Times, records suggest that the reason for continuing to sell an AIDS
infected blood product, was to get rid of inventory and "the company
hoped to preserve the profit margin from 'several large fixed-price
contracts.'“”SEE:
http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/0503/22.phpIn
2007 Monsanto partnered with the patent holder of Sativex, Bayer, in a
long-term agreement to cross-license their technologies.
"According
to chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience Dr
Friedrich Berschauer the agreements are an important step for Bayer as
they could significantly broaden the availability of its LibertyLink
technology outside its core cotton and canola seed business."
""At
the same time, the agreements enable us to facilitate the development
and commercialization of new technology solutions in the future," he
said."SEE:
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Monsanto-Bayer-team-up-on-herbicide-toleranceWhile
corporations like Bayer and GW Pharma are building patent monopolies
over Cannabis strains, processes and medicinal compounds, an ongoing
propaganda campaign in the U.S. continues to serve their Cannabis
monopoly interests.
Before the reefer madness campaign of the
1930’s, relatively few peoples utilized the psychoactive properties of
Cannabis through smoking in the U.S.. Hemp was outlawed in part because
the white farmers of the 1930’s did not even know that the outlawing of
the mysterious new menace called “Marijuana” was the same plant they
were growing in their fields. Throughout history, this psychoactive
knowledge of Cannabis has come and gone and those who have had a deep
understanding of botany, especially of psychoactive plants were often
accused of being either savages or witches. Reefer Madness not only
created a hysteria against Cannabis, but it widely proliferated the
knowledge of Cannabis’s psychoactive properties and attracted a new
underground culture around the plant. This new culture has been heavily
influenced by both the mainstream and the underground media.
For
example, there are 60 different cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant. Many
of which have been identified, genetically isolated and patented by
both the U.S. government and other international companies for their
medicinal properties. Though the underground and mainstream media in the
U.S. around Cannabis tends to be exclusively focused on the
psychoactive effect that is produced from the plants chemical compound
known as THC. This has helped to create a culture of Cannabis plant
breeders in the U.S. who produce strains with a very high yield of THC.
While
THC has been conclusively shown by scientific studies done by the
Medical College of Virginia, researchers from the University of Madrid,
and researchers from the SETH group to contain definite
cancer-destroying properties (SEE:
http://www.globatron.org/contemporary-culture/thc-kills-brain-tumor-cells),
the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research in 2006 also
states that “A high dose of delta9-THC, the main Cannabis component,
induces anxiety and psychotic-like symptoms in healthy volunteers.”.
That same journal also states that “These effects of Delta9-THC are
significantly reduced by cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis constituent which
is devoid of the typical effects of the plant.” The conclusions of
these studies show that cannabidiol (CBD) has anti-psychotic properties
which naturally balance out and reduce the reported psychoactive and
anxiety-like effects of high doses of THC.
Unfortunately, because
of media-hype and plant breeding techniques used in the U.S., there is
little knowledge of or desire to breed Cannabis strains that contain a
more harmonious balance of CBD to THC levels. This has left the common
population with strains devoid of CBD and with artificially high levels
of THC. Studies have shown that breeding Cannabis with high levels of
THC selectively reduces the amount of CBD over time. DEA eradication has
has also created an environment devoid of natural Male Cannabis pollen
in the air, which has forced the over-production of THC in today’s
Cannabis strains, decreasing the amount of CBD in strains that are
accessible in the underground market.
Cannabis underground
cultural media sources like “High Times Magazine” have also helped to
proliferate breeding techniques such as buying genetic clones and
sterile "Feminized Seeds", rather then harvesting and saving heirloom
seed. This has left underground growers dependent on genetic clones from
other sources and without a reliable seed supply. Some of the gods of
this underground Cannabis culture are people such as the Skunkman aka
David Watson, who is ironically also one of the only people to have
acquired a DEA Cannabis import license. DEA is well aware of the
influence that media sources like "High Times" plays in the underground
culture. For example, In the late 1980’s the DEA targeted High Times
Magazine in operation “Green Merchant” to compile lists of potential
growers and make raids on their gardens.
This combination of DEA
eradication and cultural media manipulation of breeding techniques has
allowed corporations like Bayer and GW Pharma to attain a patent
monopoly over Balanced THC to CBD Cannabis strains. GW Pharma is
undertaking a major research program in the UK to develop, patent and
market distinct cannabis-based prescription medicines with both High THC
and High CBD compounds. GW Pharma is even patenting the CBD to THC
"ratios" found in their plant varieties and other products. The cannabis
for this program is grown in a secret location in the UK. As of at
least 2003, GW Pharma has been granted an import license from the DEA
and has imported its first cannabis extracts into the US.
The
following report dated September 23, 2009, is an excerpted article from
Cannabis Culture Magazine and chronicles some important history,
background, and intentions of Bayer and GW pharmaceuticals in the
cannabis industry:
SEE:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/node/19879“Patented Pot vs. the Herbal Gold Standard by David Malmo-Levine”
“How
patented marijuana strains and medicines may threaten the
re-legalization movement, curb information sharing, set up a monopoly
for certain breeders and medicine producers and limit users to a more
expensive and inferior product. Their economic value to the
pharmaceutical houses which produce them will be directly proportional
to the severity of the prohibition against the use of cannabis.”
“During
the last decade a split has developed within the marijuana community.
One group is comprised of those who believe that the community's
interests are best served by patenting marijuana strains and marijuana
medicines in order to make them safer, more effective, more legitimate,
more understood or, perhaps most importantly, more readily accessible
since they will be legally available. The other group consists of those
who believe natural cannabis medicine and strains are the "gold
standard"; the safest, cheapest and, largely because of the ease with
which it can be titrated, the most effective form cannabis medicine will
take. This second group denies any real advantage of marijuana patents
to the consumer, challenges any claim of exclusive rights of the first
group to sell a particular strain and opposes the exploitation of a
combination of patents and prohibition to force consumers to settle for
an inferior product.”
“Within the first group we find those such
as Britain's GW Pharmaceutical, who (with the help of
pharmaceutical-giant Bayer) is now selling their whole-plant cannabis
spray Sativex. This group also includes the Toronto-based Cannasat
Therapeutics, The Nevada-based Dynamic Alert Ltd and various other
smaller operations. These companies are looking to patent cannabis
medicines, strains of cannabis or both - if they haven't already done
so.”
“Even the US government has gotten in on the action. Patent
#6,630,507 was awarded to the US Department of Health and Human Services
in 2003, and states that cannabinoids are neuroprotectants and
anti-inflammitory agents, useful in the prevention and treatment of
stroke, trauma, auto-immune disorders, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and HIV
dementia as well as many other diseases.”
“GW Pharmaceutical was
granted a license to grow cannabis for medical research in 1998 and it's
partner Bayer was granted a patent for Sativex in 2006. Sativex comes
in a 5.5 ml spray bottle for $102 U.S. Dollars, which supplies about 51
sprays - enough for an average ten day supply. It is now available in
Canada for MS and cancer pain, and has most recently become available in
Britain and parts of Spain for use in the treatment of some other
symptoms and syndromes.”
“GW Pharmaceutical has even patented a
strain of cannabis called "Grace" in Canada. It was patented in 2005
under the Plant Breeders' Rights Act. Under this 1994 Act, all plant
species (except algae, bacteria, and fungi) are eligible for
"protection" (exclusive rights to sell) for 18 years. Medicine patents
last between ten to twenty years depending on the country.”
“Proponents
of plant and medicine patents contend that there's no controversy, that
patents encourage innovation as it covers the costs of research and
development, that standardization and research are impossible without
patents, that patents create products superior to traditional botanical
medicines, that crude plant drugs are more dangerous and less effective
than patented plant products and that patenting cannabis medicines will
speed up their legalization - or at the very least expand the number of
people who have access to cannabis medicine. The evidence proves
otherwise.”
“Ethan Russo, an employee of GW Pharmaceuticals ,
writing for the on-line journal "Cannabinoids", listed the benefits of
pharmaceuticalized cannabis medicines in his article "Cannabinoid
Medicine and the Need for the Scientific Method". They are; 1)
pharmaceuticalized cannabis products will gain widespread trust of
physicians and medical consumers, 2) crude herbal materials can't be
standardized, 3) crude herbal materials are full of micro-organisms and
4) most of the non-GW Pharmaceuticals strains of cannabis have no CBD in
them.”
“In our view none of Russo's claims are accurate; 1) the
pharmaceutical industry is currently losing the trust of consumers as
herbal medicines make a comeback, 2) "crude herbal materials" can easily
be standardized without patents if the herb is legal 3) properly grown
organic cannabis is relatively free of microbes and metals, and 4) if
cannabis were legal, those high CBD strains would be more easily
attainable among all breeders.”
“Dr. Geoffrey Guy of GW Pharma stated in 2005:
"To
protect our extensive investment, we have sought to identify and patent
certain inventions throughout the growing, extraction and manufacturing
process. My comments to Mr. Lucas were made as a friendly and,
hopefully, helpful gesture as I did not wish him to invest a great
amount of effort into obtaining approval for a product as a prescription
medicine only to find that he did not have the freedom to operate in
the first place."“
“Even before GW and Bayer had secured their
patent on Sativex, Dr. Guy was already threatening to sue Philippe Lucas
of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society for infringing Sativex's
imminent patent with VICS's "Canna-Mist" spray. Just type "Bayer" and
"patent" into Google (over two million sites) if you want evidence of
Bayer's habit of suing at the drop of a hat for all sorts of
patent-related matters.”
“Evidence of an attempted Canadian
medical marijuana monopoly began back in 2000, with a leaked,
unpublished document entitled "Draft Statement of Work for The
Development of a Comprehensive Operation for the Cultivation and
Fabrication of Marijuana in Canada". The plan called for a seed monopoly
- "a licit source" only - and the eventual phase-out of all but a
pharmaceutical "inhaler" device. According to the anonymous source who
leaked the document, the first version of the plan also called for
cannabis strains to be patented "as if they had been genetically
modified". It appears that GW Pharmaceutical and Bayer have now done so
with the Cannabis strain "Grace".”
“There are many herbal
medicines that have successfully fought off attempted patents and
monopolies. The anti-bacterial neem tree and even the vision-producing
ayahuasca have all been subjects of patent attempts. Neem tree activists
have used defenses such as "traditional knowledge" and "prior art" and
"community heritage" in order to legally protect their healing tree from
monopoly. Unfortunately, the patent on a strain of ayahuasca remains in
effect to this day.”
“Cannabis monopolies are nothing new. One
can argue that the prohibition of Moses's holy kanneh-bosm annointing
oil - found in Exodus 30:32 - a prohibition for people other than
priests and kings - was a type of cannabis monopoly. When botanical
medicine became popular again in the fourteen hundreds, women healers
were first called "unschooled" and later called "witches" to prevent
them from competing with the newly emerging male pharmacists. The same
thing happened in the mid eighteen hundreds, except this time instead of
"witches", these botanical healers were called "quacks".”
“The
modern version of this monopoly began in 1910 with the Flexner Report - a
report that succeeded in closing down all the naturopathic and herbal
medicine schools by the 1930's. This report was partially engineered by
the Rockefeller Foundation. The removal of these schools would assist
the Rockefeller family in protecting their investments in
pharmaceuticals from botanical competition. The Rockefeller Institute
and Rockefeller Foundation were also key players in the development of
the sciences of genetics and molecular biology - the fields in which the
concepts of patenting of life-forms originated. Standard Oil - now
Exxon/Mobil and a host of other oil companies - was the Rockefeller
Foundation's source of income. Interestingly, in 1927 Standard Oil
became business partners with Bayer - the marketer and distributor of
Sativex in Canada.”
“Bayer had much to do with the development of
the Codex global anti-herbs and anti-vitamin regulations. This was
instituted in 1961, coincidentally (or perhaps not) around the same time
as the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was instituted and the first
Plant Patent Act was created.”
“What we know for certain is that
nobody should have a monopoly on the emerging herbal health-care
economy - especially corporations like Bayer and Exxon, who have had
questions raised about the amount of influence they have welded in
geopolitics, and what they've done with that influence.”
“When
the modern patent was issued in the 1400's in Italy, they were for "new
and inventive devices". This soon turned into a big money maker for
kings and queens, who would issue patents for such things as salt. After
a public outcry, James the first of England was forced to revoke all
existing monopolies and declare that they were only to be used for
'projects of new invention'. It can be argued that a similar reform is
due again today.”
“Perhaps lessons can be learned from those
within the medical profession who have tried to pass off discoveries as
inventions, and those who have not. Jonas Salk, discoverer of the polio
vaccine, famously rejected attempting a patent, explaining that it was
like attempting to patent the sun. This is seen by some to be his most
"winning story" - what he lost in potential revenue he gained in
reputation and positive influence on the world.”
“Joseph Lister
was an English professor of surgery who discovered - or popularized -
"antiseptic" surgery. He invented a carbolic acid spray as a method of
preventing infection, but considering the fact that he didn't invent the
spray bottle nor carbolic acid, he didn't bother attempting to patent
his spray. He alerted the world to his discovery in the British medical
journal The Lancet in 1867, and was eventually made a Baron - the first
doctor so honored. They even named the first mouthwash after him -
Listerine.”
“William Thomas Green Morton was a dentist from
Boston. He discovered - or popularized - the fact that ether was a good
anesthetic. He was successful in patenting his technique - on November
12th, 1846 he was granted U.S. Patent No. 4848. But he could not collect
any money as it was merely the use of an agent already well known. His
apparatus was not essential to anesthesia - fabric soaked in ether was
all that was necessary. He died broke and his reputation suffered for
"nostrum mongering" - for being a huckster and an opportunist.”
“George
Washington Carver refused to patent any of his discoveries, saying,
"God gave them to me, how can I sell them to someone else?" Ten years
after his death, the United States government acquired the Missouri farm
which was Carver's birthplace and dedicated it as a national shrine.
The Carver epitaph reads: "He could have added fortune to fame, but,
caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the
world."“
“Perhaps one day those who are currently attempting to
patent cannabis medicines and cannabis strains will wake up to the fact
that a good reputation is worth much more than a patent, and the gift of
a new strain or new technique given to the world will return the most
precious form of good karma upon the giver, while the person who
attempts to "patent the sun" - patent a gift from nature or a
traditional medicine bred and developed over thousands of years - will
eventually suffer the worst forms of infamy. It is up to the entire
cannabis community - especially the activist community, to see that
sharing is rewarded and hoarding is punished.”
“GW adopts an
aggressive approach to securing intellectual property rights to protect
techniques and technologies involved in the development program.
Protection is sought in the areas listed below:
• Plant variety rights
• Methods of extraction patents
• Drug delivery patents
• Patents on compositions of matter for delivery of cannabis
• Methods of use patents
• Design copyright on devices
• Trademarks”
“GW States on their website:
“In
the last few years our intellectual property portfolio has developed
considerably. The patent portfolio has more than doubled in size and
comprises 42 patent families, within these families there are numerous
granted patents both in the UK and in various territories around the
world. GW has also developed a trademark portfolio of 21 UK registered
trademarks with equivalent marks registered in many other territories
around the world. GW also holds nine registered design rights and nine
plant variety rights.””
“It appears that "Patents on compositions of matter for delivery of cannabis" means "Patents on cannabinoid ratios".”
“Their ratio is 51% CBD and 49% THC:
Guy’s
publicly-traded company has developed three types of medicine made from
cannabis extracts: a high-THC extract called Tetranabinex, a mostly-CBD
extract called Nabidiolex, and the 51-49% mixture of CBD and THC,
called Sativex.
CBD began to be studied in the 1960's. Research
into it's anti-psychotic (or anti-THC overdose) qualities go back to the
1980's.”
“As stated in Neems court challenge data:
“The
issuance of a patent is prohibited if the patent would have been
'obvious' in light of prior art. The standard for patentability requires
that the differences between a patentable invention and its prior art
must be great enough so that a person with ordinary skill in the art
would not consider the invention to be obvious at the time of patenting.
Neems Patent No. 5,124,349 was found to not meet this standard.”
“An
Indian government challenge in the United States led to the revocation
of a patent on another Indian plant, turmeric, whose medicinal qualities
have been known for centuries. That challenge was accepted as a result
of India showing that the knowledge had been found in the Indian
pharmacopoeia.”
“In the United States, prior existing knowledge
to deny a patent is accepted in terms of publication in any journal, but
not of knowledge known and available in oral or folk traditions.”
“This
narrow view of prior knowledge has been responsible for any number of
patents for processes and products derived from biological material, or
their synthesis into purer crystalline forms.”
“A Third World
Network expert group recommended in 1998 that developing countries apply
a broad concept of 'prior art' to ensure that patents are granted to
actually 'new' inventions, and to stick to the need of novelty of the
process itself as a condition of granting a patent. The developing
countries were also advised to deny patents for new uses of a known
product or process, including second use of a medicine or for
incremental additions to get a new patent on a prior one.”
“The
expert group advised developing countries to define and interpret
'novelty' according to generally accepted concepts, namely, any prior
disclosure whether written or not destroys novelty. Knowledge like use
of medicinal plants diffused within a local or indigenous community
should also be deemed prior art and patent denied.”
“And writing
such a rule into their legislation would prevent patenting of knowledge
or materials developed by and diffused within local or indigenous
communities.”Due to the high proliferation of pollen
inherent in growing industrial Hemp, possibly the greatest threat posed
to natural Cannabis strains is in the commercialization of artificially
engineered industrial Hemp strains. The following document from the
University of Kentucky in 1998 reports that France already holds Patents
to industrial Hemp genetics, and is importing Hemp strains into Canada.
SEE: INDUSTRIAL HEMP: GLOBAL OPERATIONS, LOCAL IMPLICATIONS
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AgEcon/pubs/res_other/hemp98.pdfOne
has to wonder, if Monsanto’s Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis
Proposition passes in California this November, where are the strains
going to come from to provide for the “statewide regulatory and
commercial industry” called for in the initiative? In the initiative,
the only legal Cannabis strains protected by law, are those derived from
licensed dealers. If this new industry is to be in accordance with
federal law, the only legal seeds that can be attained are from
corporations that hold DEA permits for Cannabis production and
importation into the U.S.. These permits have been monopolized by
Corporations like Kenex, HortaPharm, and GW Pharma, all of which appear
to be heavily influenced by the bio-tech seed industry.
The only
other legal source to obtain Cannabis seed is from within the United
States, exclusively in the University of Mississippi’s Cannabis research
program. The UM website describes it as follows:
“Since
1968, the University of Mississippi has maintained the nation’s only
legal marijuana farm through a grant from the National Institutes of
Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In that time,
the project has provided marijuana and its compounds to researchers
around the country conducting HHS-approved studies of the plant, its
chemical components, and their potential beneficial and harmful
effects.”
“Dr. Mahmoud ElSohly joined the project when he came to
Ole Miss in 1976 and has been Marijuana Project director since 1980. In
the ’80s and early ’90s, ElSohly’s work focused on analyzing marijuana
samples seized by the DEA to develop a marijuana “fingerprinting” system
that is still being used to trace crops to their sources globally. The
responsibility of analyzing the material for the DEA also provided UM
researchers the opportunity to study a wide variety of plants leading to
a better understanding of the many chemicals found in Cannabis.”
“In
recent years, with some support from NIH, ElSohly and other UM
researchers have studied Cannabis to develop new medicines and new ways
of delivering the chemical compounds in marijuana, particularly
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), to treat a range of chronic conditions—from
nausea due to chemotherapy for cancer patients to neuropathic pain for
multiple sclerosis patients.”
“UM has patented and licensed to a
pharmaceutical company a THC suppository to deliver to cancer patients
the potential medicinal benefits of marijuana without the undesirable
side effects.”SEE:
http://www.research.olemiss.edu/ChangeAgents/2009/FindingCuresForKillersEl
Sohly also has a contract with Mallinckrodt, a giant chemical and
bio-tech company that plans to market a THC-extract pill as an
alternative to Marinol.
SEE:
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/04/07-18The Monsanto corporation merged with Mallinckrodt in the 1930's.
SEE:
http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~meg3c/TCC401/A_Case.pdfThe
following is an article found in Cannabis Culture Magazine published in
February 2000, entitled “Genetically Modified Medpot” and reports that
UM’s cannabis genetics are allegedly derived from Monsanto.
SEE:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1322.html“Pharmaceutical companies may seize control of Canada's medical marijuana supply.”
“A
source within the Ministry of Health, who wishes to remain anonymous,
has provided documents and information to Cannabis Culture, describing
how Canadian pot is to be grown for upcoming medical trials. The
documents call for 185 kg (408 pounds) of pot to be grown in the first
year, and double that amount for the second through fifth years.”
“The
thirty-five page guideline document, with the weighty title, Draft
Statement of Work for The Development of a Comprehensive Operation for
the Cultivation and Fabrication of Marijuana in Canada, is still open to
revisions. It includes proposals for how marijuana should be grown,
processed and fabricated. Included in these guidelines is the potential
to give a notorious pharmaceutical company exclusive rights for selling
seeds to the budding medpot industry.”
“Mississippi schwag”
“According
to the document, "the acquisition of seed will be performed by Health
Canada during the project initiation stage. The prime contractor can
choose to provide their own seed so long as it is from a licit source."“
“Which
presents a problem. How many licit seed sources exist? In North America
the only licit source is the University of Mississippi. Concerns about
the effectiveness of notoriously schwaggy U of M bud prompted Dr Kilby
of the Community Research Initiative of Toronto to state that he would
prefer clinical marijuana come from another source (see CC#22). It would
seem that Health Canada recognized these concerns when it began looking
for private contractors to do the job.”
“Yet will the bud really
be any different than that produced by the University of Mississippi?
Cannabis Culture's anonymous source within the ministry gave us the
scoop.
Advertisement”
“"Scheduled labs around the country
which are already growing marijuana are using seeds from the University
of Mississippi," reported the official. "The genetics come from
Monsanto."“
“Health Canada spokesperson Jeff Pender knew of the
recent guidelines document that had been released, but denied knowledge
of where the seeds will come from.”
“"Where would a potential
grower get the seeds from?," repeated Pender when I asked him this
question. "I'm not really sure. I guess? I could find out for you. I
imagine growers could order seeds from the US."“
“Pender
eventually suggested that the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which
also gets its cannabis from the University of Mississippi, might be a
source for contracted growers looking to buy licit seeds. If the unnamed
source at the Ministry of Health is correct, all of these seeds would
originally have come from Monsanto.”
“Monsanto's marijuana”
“The
US-based Monsanto corporation became infamous last year when the public
discovered that the huge pharmaceutical company was responsible for
producing Agent Orange during the Vietnam war, for producing and selling
Roundup to be sprayed on South American villages, for experimenting
with dangerous genetically modified foods, and ? most recently ? for
creating the dreaded "terminator" seed.”
“Terminator seeds are
genetically engineered to produce a plant that will not produce viable
seed, meaning that growers would be forced to go back to Monsanto each
year to buy more seed stock to replant. Governments and public alike
became wary of the concept when it was discovered that the terminator
seed could possibly cross the species barrier, possibly spreading
infertility among the plant kingdom like a disease.”
“Cannabis
seeds from Monsanto are almost definitely genetically engineered.
Genetically engineered plants can be patented, and it is in Monsanto's
best interest to hold a patent on any seed they sell. Seed patents
ensure that companies like Monsanto can continue to profit from seeds
from year to year, as farmers are legally bound to buy patented seeds
from the patent holder rather than simply store them from the last
year's crop.”
“Pharmaceutical schwag”
“Interestingly,
low-potency pot of the kind produced by Monsanto seeds at the University
of Mississippi is exactly the kind of product the Ministry of Health is
asking for from contractors. The guidelines ask specifically for
"standardized marijuana cigarettes with THC content of between 4% and 6%
and weighing [about] 850 mg."“
“Which means the cigarettes to be
used for clinical trials will be phatties containing over
three-quarters of a gram of schwag bud each! These fat joints will
deliver about twice the tar per dose as marijuana currently available
from experienced growers, which reaches between 8-10% THC.”
“The
Health Canada document seems concerned that smoking can cause harm, and
promises to explore other methods soon after the initial trials are run.
Yet the product they choose to use is guaranteed to maximize the risks
and problems associated with smoking. Could it be that the Ministry of
Health is creating its own excuse not to use smoking as a delivery
method?”
“Our anonymous source within the ministry assures us
that the government plans to eventually only allow the use of inhalers,
similar to asthma inhalers.”
“"The inhaler gets rid of any small
industry that might develop, by regulating the delivery system. The
other idea that didn't go through was to develop a seed system that
would allow cultivars from across Canada which would then be
grandfathered. What this means is that once the cultivated varieties
were tested they would be introduced just the same as if they had been
genetically modified."“
“Patented seeds and dose delivery methods
could mean complete pharmaceutical control of medicinal cannabis
sometime in the near future.”The Cannabis legalization
movement is heavily influenced from major shareholders in the Monsanto
GMO seed industry. Mr. George Soros is the prime example. Soros is not
only a major financier of DPA as well as being on the Board of Directors
of the Drug Policy Alliance, but has also financed many different
Cannabis legalization organizations across the country including the
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Soros is credited with putting financial
muscle behind many of the state initiatives easing marijuana laws —
beginning with a 1996 California ballot question to allow marijuana use
for medical purposes. From 1996 to 2000, Soros backed medical marijuana
questions there and in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada and
Maine.
An associated press article dated August 27, 2008 reports
that a measure that would ease Marijuana laws in 2008 was on the ballot
in Massachusetts largely because of billionaire financier George Soros.
Keith
Stroup, founder of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws has even stated that "All of us owe George Soros a great
deal of gratitude".
If California’s Control Cannabis Proposition
does not pass this November, Monsanto’s funding will undoubtedly
legalize Cannabis for corporate exploitation sometime in the near
future. This will Inundate the medicinal and industrial Cannabis market
with artificially engineered and patented Cannabis strains from the only
DEA permitted sources available: GW Pharma in partnership with Bayer
Inc. and HortaPharm, Kenex corporation, and the University of
Mississippi’s Marijuana program, all of which appear to be influenced
heavily by the GMO seed industry.
Since the only licit sources of
Cannabis are derived from interests in connection with the bio-tech
industry, this will force anybody who wishes to grow natural
non-patented and non-engineered Cannabis strains to attain their seeds
from ‘illicit’ sources.
Other then exposing the imminent threat
that Cannabis legalization organizations are posing to natural Cannabis
strains in collusion with trans-national GMO seed companies, our
responsibility towards this sacred plant compels us to attain natural
variety Cannabis seeds and protect them from genetic contamination. Just
like the Mayans have learned with Maize, artificial genetic
contamination is causing the extinction of natural plant varieties
around the planet:
FIGHTING GMO CONTAMINATION AROUND THE WORLD:
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=575As
we can learn from the Mayans in the foregoing article, the concept of
saving seeds is sacred and central to their spiritual and physical way
of life. The same is true for cultural and religious practices all
around the world, whether you’re a Christian, Buddhists, Hindu, Muslim,
Jew, or just a plain old Human Being, the concept of saving seed is as
old as human society itself. If corporations like Monsanto, GW Pharma,
Bayer and HortaPharm are allowed to carry out there interests, they will
hold the genetic copyrights to all Cannabis strains on the planet. GW
Pharma and HortaPharm have stated their intent to engineer Cannabis
strains similar to Monsanto’s terminator seed technology. Their strains
seem to be artificially manipulated to produce "one-off sterile females"
which prevents reproduction of harvest-able seeds. These are the kinds
of strains that are waiting to be controlled, regulated, licensed and
taxed after the potential passage of proposition 19 in California and
many similar initiatives across the United States being funded directly
by Monsanto shareholders.
This investigated report was written
and compiled by Conrad Justice Kiczenski. Conrad is 19 years old, lives
in Lucerne, California, is an organic gardener, and is the host and
producer of Guerrilla Radio on KPFZ 88.1 FM in Lake County.
For more information about Conrad and his radio show Guerrilla Radio, SEE:
www.ustream.tv/channel/guerrilla-tvwww.radicaljusticeman.podomatic.comwww.guerrillaradiokpfz.podomatic.comwww.community.kpfz.org/blog/15www.konocti.org/cms/guerrillla-radiowww.myspace.com/radicaljusticemanSource: http://community.kpfz.org/node/17 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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