Lyme Disease | Infectious Disease | Inflammation

townsendletter.com

The Examiner
Beyond of Alternative
Antibiotic Medicine
Treatment for
Chronic Lyme
Disease

Treating
KPU First to
Overcome
Lyme

Cannabis
History and
Politics

Bioavailability of
Oral Vitamin C

Michelle McKeon
JULY 2017
Issue #408 | $8.25

Benefits of Hyperthermia Treatment

for Lyme and Cancer
 In this issue  
July 2017 | #408

Emerging “New” Healthcare Specialty? | 1
by John Parks Trowbridge, MD, FACAM
A March 2017 joint conference held by four integrative medicine, biological
dentistry, and toxicology organizations gives groundbreaking meaning to the
concept of whole person health care.
Letter from the Publisher | Jonathan Collin, MD | 8
FCT® and How ‘Lyme Specialists’ Keep Hammering at the Wrong
Biofilm | by Savely Yurkovsky, MD | 18
Instead of “hammering” Lyme biofilms with antibiotics, the author uses Field
Control Therapy® to address underlying factors, such as mercury toxicity, to
resolve illness.
Beyond Antibiotics: Newer Alternative Approaches to Chronic Lyme
Disease Treatment | by Connie Strasheim | 23
Long-term antibiotic therapy is on its way out; instead, Lyme-literate doctors
now use a variety of CAM therapies to treat chronic Lyme.
Cannabinoid Deficiency and Its Impact on Human Health and
Disease, Part 1 | 62
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD and Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
Before 1937, cannabis was highly regarded for its medicinal and commercial
uses. Then, commercial interests with the help of the US federal government
had it outlawed. This same duo may inhibit its resurgence.
Successful Therapy of Recidivating Vaginal Infection with the Aid of
Psychosomatic Energetics | by Petra Ottmann, gynecologist | 68
Psychosomatic Energetics, a holistic method developed by Dr. Reimar Banis,
identifies and releases blocked emotional energy that underlies recurring
vaginal infections.
Psoriasis Can Get You “Under Your Skin” But It Is Curable | 70
by Sue Visser
Twenty years of “stalking the psoriasis demon” has given Sue Visser insights
into the individualized nature of this tormenting skin condition and effective
alternative treatment options.

Kryptopyrroluria (aka Hemopyrrollactamuria) 2017 | 29
A Major Piece of the Puzzle in Overcoming Chronic Lyme Disease
by Scott Forsgren, FDN-P and Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD
Dietrich Klinghardt has found a high correlation between chronic Lyme
disease and kryptopyrroluria (KPU), a condition that produces significant
nutrient loss. This article discusses KPU testing, treatment, and its
significance in Lyme disease.
How Healthy Choices Pay Off | by Laurie Dennison Busby, Bed | 73
Even with a genetic susceptibility for autoimmune disease, nutrition and
exercise can make a difference in preventing illness.
A Cancer Story | by Serge Jurasunas | 76
A woman with stage 4 cancer outlived her oncologist’s predictions with the
help of alternative treatments.

News | 38 Book Reviews | 80

Congress Seeks a Statutory Fix to Stymied Off-Label Discussions Finally Focused by James Greenblatt, MD
Standard Homeopathic Company Issues Nationwide Recall of Hyland’s review by Ira L. Goodman, MD, FACS, ABIHM
Baby Teething Tablets and Hyland’s Baby Nighttime Teething Tablets Due Sexy Brain by Dr. Devaki Lindsay Berkson
to Mislabeling review by Jack Monaco, MD, FACOG, FAARFM

Shorts | Jule Klotter | 40 Book Notice | 81

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy
Literature Review & Commentary | Alan R. Gaby, MD | 43 by Valerie Ann Worwood
EE

Y FR MAID in Canada: My Friend Ed | by Douglas Lobay, ND | 46 Curmudgeon’s Corner | Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO | 82
OY
EE
E

FRE
DA
S

Dr. Lobay offers a personalized look at Canada’s new Medical Assistance in  The Million Women Study
Dying (MAID) law. IR Y F R
Townsend Calendar | 84
Hyperthermia Treatment | by Michelle McKeon | 48
Hyperthermia treatment at a German clinic was the turning point in the Monthly Miracles | Michael Gerber, MD, HMD | 86
author’s recovery from debilitating tick-borne illness.  Many Masqueraders
E
BL

S TA Dietary Needs in Lyme Disease | by Betty Wedman-St Louis, PhD | 52 Healing with Homeopathy | 88
Lyme patients can benefit from dietary guidelines that reduce inflammation
ADV

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, MSW; and Robert Ullman, ND

A

and support immune function, detoxification, and mitochondrial health.

UL

 Homeopathic Dog’s Milk for Uterine Fibroids

HE

NO N
A T (LDI), Part 2: Clinical Considerations | 54
BL
A

CE
M

OR
D FLow-Dose Immunotherapy S TA Women’s Health Update | Tori Hudson, ND | 90
by Ty Vincent, MD | Based on an interview with NJ Faass, MSW, MPH  Three Non-Hormonal Options for Vulvovaginal Atrophy
N

Part 2 gives a practical overview of low-dose immunotherapy, introduced in

IO

E R AT June’s issue, as used in clinical practice, including how to choose antigens and
Editorial | Alan Gaby, MD | 93
adjust titration and dosage.
NO  Improving the Success Rate of Helicobacter pylori Eradication Therapy
Unexpected Early Response in Oral Bioavailability of Vitamin C | 58
How Finding a Lyme Spirochete in a Root-Canal Tooth Led to the
by Owen R. Fonorow
!
GR

Development of a New Test Panel | 95

REF

N
TE

An experiment with glucose meters to measure serum ascorbate levels

EA by Dr. Blanche Grube, and Leslie J. Douglas, PhD
IO

T TA S R consumption of vitamin C can cause the same

provides evidence that oral
rapid rise as an IV infusion.I G E A T A new urine-based PCR test detects the presence of Burrelia burgdorferi and
R other tick-borne co-infectors.
ON THE COVER: Michelle McKeon (48); Beyond Antibiotic Treatment for Chronic Lyme Disease (23);Treating KPU First to Overcome Lyme (29); Cannabis History and Politics (62); Bioavailability of Oral Vitamin C (58)

TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017 17

 Cannabinoid Deficiency and
Its Impact on Human Health
and Disease, Part 1
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
Introduction
If you had mentioned “cannabis”
in a room of people two decades ago,
you would have seen an immediate,
violent schism between those who
believed it was the gateway to opiate
hell and depravity and those who felt
it was a safer and gentler alternative to
alcohol. Today, science is beginning to
understand that there are many “layers”
to the issue of marijuana use.
In this paper, we will attempt to start
a dialog, a discussion which has been
too long in coming. We will explore the
available information (and even more
misinformation), dispel the myths, and
examine the role this plant can play in
promoting health. Our ultimate goal is
to clarify waters that have been long
muddied by political, financial, and
economic concerns totally unrelated
to and unconcerned with the real
properties of this “humble herb.”
Laws against the use of marijuana
are perhaps one last vestige of our
puritanical heritage. (If it feels good;
it is bad/immoral. Suffering is noble.)
With the knowledge that we have
today, continuing to insist people suffer
and die unnecessarily through legally
restricting access to hemp products
and their curative or at least palliative
properties is tantamount to intentional
cruelty.
Cannabis, hemp, marijuana, or
whatever name by which you know
62 TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017
it is the most maligned, commonly
referenced, commonly grown, and
diversely used plant today – and has
been throughout the history of the
world. Take any culture where hemp
has been available, either as a cultured
crop or as an imported product, and go
back in history as far as written records
allow. You will find cannabis has been
used as food, medicine, rope, fabric, oil,
livestock feed, and currency. Today, in
our chemical age, cannabis can be used
for the following:
To provide a quickly renewable and
sustainable source for paper pulp;
To make engineered building products
(fiberboard, pressboard, and
hempcrete, which is stronger, lighter,
and more environmentally friendly
than regular concrete);
To make plastics;
As a source for biofuel.1
In addition, growing hemp can provide
bioremediation for contaminated
soils (including radiation cleanup).1
Nutritionally, hemp seed is about 25
percent protein and higher in omega-
3s than walnuts. It is a good source of
iron and calcium and can be made into
iced tea, brewed into beer, fermented
into wine, distilled into other alcoholic
beverages, or made into hemp milk.1
For the purpose of simplicity, rather
than using the various botanical,
common, and colloquial names for
the hemp plant (cannabis, marijuana,
“weed,” hashish, tampi, ganja, etc.) we
will use the term cannabis (its Latin
name) to refer to those components
that are used medicinally and hemp
when we are discussing the fiber. We
will also be talking about cannabinoids,
which are the family of chemicals/
biochemicals that occur naturally and
almost exclusively in the hemp plant,
and a few minor players with one
important exception . . . but we will get
to that later.
The Ancient and Not So Ancient
History of Cannabis
Cannabis has been widely distributed
for millennia. References to the plant
show up on ancient Mesopotamian
cuneiform tablets and in Egyptian
hieroglyphics on palace and tomb walls.
The earliest known woven hemp fabric
was found in Northern China and dates
back to 7000 BC. The Chinese emperor,
herbalist, and writer, Chen-Nung, wrote
about the medicinal use of hemp 5,000
years ago.2
Dating back to 600 BC, the
Zend-Avesta, a sacred book of the
Zoroastrian3 faith in India, mentions
hemp’s intoxicating properties. In
Africa, hemp was used medicinally for
dysentery, fevers, snake bite, and to
ease the discomfort of childbirth.2
In the early part of England’s Age
of Exploration (15th through 17th
 centuries), England’s sailing ships
needed hemp for rope and sails. To
meet this need, Henry VIII (1491 to
1547) required landowners to grow
a quarter acre of hemp for every sixty
acres of cropland.2 As England expanded
colonization, it found new places to
grow hemp.
The British began cultivating hemp
in its Canadian colonies in 1606. The
colony of Virginia started cultivating
hemp in 1611. As early as 1632, the
Pilgrims grew hemp in New England
after learning about it from Native
Americans.2
In 1619, America’s first marijuana
law was imposed on Jamestown Colony,
Virginia, by King James I, who decreed
that every colonist was required to
grow 100 hemp plants for fiber for
English export.4 The colonists were
forbidden to spin or weave hemp and
were told to buy the “finished product”
of their agricultural labor, fabric . . .
from England. Over the next 200 years,
other laws were enacted to enforce
the growing of hemp.4 These demands
increased hemp production throughout
Virginia and Maryland, but England saw
little of it. New England merchants were
a ready market for any hemp that was
available. Hemp served as legal tender
at the time and was an acceptable
means of exchange for paying taxes.4
Our Founding Fathers considered
hemp to be economically important
to the new country; it was one of the
three main crops George Washington
grew at Mount Vernon.5 He was a hemp
enthusiast and wrote, “Patriotic farmers
should make the most of the Indian
hemp seed, and sow it everywhere.”6
Thomas Jefferson commented, “Hemp
is of the first necessity to the wealth and
protection of the country.”6
The United States Census of 1850,
which recorded information about
people and their occupations, listed
8,327 hemp farms with a minimum of
2,000 acres, which provided hemp for
the nation’s production of cloth, canvas,
and the cords used to bale cotton.7
Cannabis as Medicine: Early Research
In 1833, William O’Shaughnessy, an
Irish physician, joined the British East
India Company and took a position as
TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017 63
professor of chemistry at the Medical
College and Hospital, Kolkata (Calcutta).
A member of the Medical and Physical
Society of Calcutta, O’Shaughnessy
observed the use of cannabis in Indian
folk medicine.8 In 1839, he published
the first of his articles on the use of
cannabis, A Case of Tetanus, Cured by
a Preparation of Hemp (the Cannabis
indica).9 That same year, he also
published an article with a broader
focus, “On the preparations of the Indian
Hemp or Gunjah,” which discussed the
benefits of cannabis for the treatment
of “rabies, rheumatism, epilepsy, and
tetanus.”2
Although there is no cure for tetanus
(except waiting until the effects of
the toxin wear off),10 O’Shaughnessy
discovered that cannabis relieved the
wrenching spasticity (which can break
bones and lock the jaw in a closed
position [lockjaw is a common name for
tetanus]), eliminated the excruciating
pain, and increased the likelihood of
survival (tetanus victims can die within
four days of the onset of the disease).
He found cannabis effective for relieving
rheumatoid arthritis pain and controlling
seizures, and conducted extensive
research to find new applications. After
he returned to England in 1841, he
popularized its use there and introduced
Cannabis indica to the Western world.
American pharmacies started offering
cannabis preparations in the 1850s.8
Pivotal Times
We are at a time in our history
that can be compared to that when
doctors and British seamen discovered
the cause of scurvy, a disease with
symptoms which include fatigue,
spongy gums, skin spots, and bleeding
from the mucus membranes followed
by tooth loss, jaundice, neuropathy, and
death by hemorrhage.11 (Could it be that
many cases of the “plague” were simply
extreme manifestations of scurvy?)
Scurvy is an ancient and ubiquitous
disease. The classical Greek physician
Hippocrates (c. 460 BCE–c. 380) wrote
about its symptoms. Even before the
Age of Exploration (early 15th century
and until the early 17th century), a
time when Europeans sailed across the
oceans to find new trading partners,
commodities, and trade routes,
native cultures around the world had
developed various herbal cures for the
condition.11
Early evidence from the voyages of
Vasco da Gama and James Lancaster
suggested that citrus fruit cured scurvy,
but the information was not widely
disseminated nor applied. Ignorance of
this meant that long distance voyages
and a consequent lack of fresh food led
to endemic and often fatal scurvy in
both sailors and passengers.11
In 1753, James Lind, a Scottish
surgeon in the Royal Navy published
his book, A Treatise of the Scurvy,
promoting the idea that citrus fruit was
an effective treatment for the disease.
At the time, the words “lime” and
“lemon” were both used to describe any
citrus fruit. Sadly, Lind’s findings did not
agree with the era’s prevailing medical
theory and were not applied until 40
years later.11
It was not until the early 19th
century that lemons, a European
import, and, later, British-colonies-
grown limes were added to sailors’ daily
rations. (Unfortunately, the vitamin
C level in limes was too low for them
to be effective in preventing scurvy.)
Nonetheless, limey became a nickname
for British sailors.11, 12 Scurvy remained a
risk during long voyages and in wartime
until the middle of the 20th century.11
Interestingly, two weeks of
high vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
supplementation is enough to cure
scurvy, but people back then were
ignorant of that fact. In the same way,
ignorance of the benefits of cannabis
exacerbated by unbridled self-interest
has led to decades of unquantifiable and
unnecessary suffering. As of September
2016, the United States government still
held that cannabis was an illegal drug,
while half of the states in the country
and the District of Columbia, the seat of
the Federal government, have legalized
it in one form or another.13
The Danger of Federal Legalization
The US government continues to
drag its feet on legalizing cannabis,
ostensibly for concerns about its
dangers. More likely, the concern is
➤
 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤ much of a problem). Blowover from the
that Big Pharma, hand in hand with
Congress, has not yet figured out how to
lock out the “little guy” and appropriate
something that has already started to
slip past their fingers. When, in recent
history, have we ever had a prescription
medicine that is not manufactured by
a drug company, not required to meet
production standards, not standardized
in dose or strength, and not dispensed
through a chain of corner pharmacies?
This precedent has to be terrifying to
Big Pharma.
Cannabis is something different. It’s
a plant. Unpatentable – not because
you can’t patent plants. You can.
A plant patent is granted by the
Government to an inventor (or the
inventor’s heirs or assigns) who has
invented or discovered and asexually
reproduced a distinct and new
variety of plant, other than a tuber,
propagated plant, or a plant found in
an uncultivated state.14
The cannabis we have today is
unpatentable because the plant is illegal
at the federal level.
Although legalizing cannabis at the
federal level sounds desirable, the end
result may not be what we would like to
envision: easy access to an affordable,
effective medication for some of the
worst diseases in our county. Universal,
minimally restricted legalization at the
state level, tempered with a true sense
of fairness and compassion, would be
ideal. Federal legalization bears with it a
terrible risk. Why?
Legalizing cannabis at the federal
level will open up the potential for
patenting different strains. Monsanto
and Big Pharma have the legal clout
to push patents through, regardless of
who actually develops the seed. Even
if the “little guy” gets his patent, these
companies have enough money to make
it tempting to “sell out.” And, as we
have seen in the cases where doctors
practicing alternative medicine get too
strong a following, the government has
a good number of ways to crush people
and activities it is otherwise having
difficulty in controlling.
64 TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017
Once all the various cannabis strains
we have today have been “reallocated,”
once the patents have been
“reassigned,” and once Big Pharma has
appropriated every kind of cannabis
with any medicinal value, developing
new strains will be in the hands of those
who have stolen and now own the
patents on the existing genetic strains.
Any attempts to develop new strains
independently will only work if enough
individuals manage to reserve their
own stocks of seed before the takeover,
seeds that will never bear Monsanto’s
genetic markers.
A video on Netflix, GMO OMG,15
explored the risk of GMOs and
presented this following information,
which gives readers some idea of the
interlock of big agrochemical industry
and the risks to our seed inheritance:
Monsanto and the other major
agrochemical companies are also
the world’s biggest seed companies.
The top three companies control 53
percent of the worldwide proprietary
seed market.15
I would hate to have to figure out
how to genetically engineer cannabis
to be Round-up resistant. I would hate
it even more if Monsanto used such a
strategy to corner the cannabis seed
market as they have done with corn –
suing small farmers who replant seed
because the seedsaving farmer’s crop
has been genetically damaged by pollen
“blowover” from the Monsanto seed
planted the next farm over. Monsanto
argues that it does not go after farmers
whose crops have trace amounts of
Monsanto genetic material. But what
if you are the small hemp farmer living
next door to a big Monsanto-friendly
hemp farmer and you save your seeds
year after year? Eventually, your hemp
is going to have a pretty high proportion
of Monsanto genes. What then?
An example: The small cannabis
farmer nurtures his crop. His big
neighbor with Monsanto’s Round-up-
resistant cannabis seed sprays Round-up
to kill the weeds around his plants (even
though that would hardly be necessary
because cannabis grows vigorously
enough that other “weeds” are seldom
Round-up spraying damages the small
farmer’s crop.
The next growing season, the small
farmer plants some of the seeds he
has saved from his surviving plants …
which due to pollen blowover come
up bearing some of the Monsanto
genes. Not a lot, but each year the
proportion of Monsanto genes will
increase, (especially if his neighbor is
still spraying Round-up since plants with
blowover Monsanto genetics will more
likely survive the toxic assault). And
eventually? The small farmer will get
sued.
There is a BIG problem when Big
Pharma has too much control. Drug
costs escalate faster than any other
marketplace commodity. Beyond all
reason.
Sodium oxybate is a prescription
medication used for patients who
suffer from narcolepsy, cataplexy, and
excessive daytime sleepiness. Gamma
hydroxybutyrate sodium (GHB) used
to be a sleep aid people could pick up
in health food stores – at a cost that
would not kill the wallet (maybe five
or ten dollars a month). Because of
concerns that it was being abused as
a date rape drug, the FDA forced it off
retail store shelves and gave the rights
to distribute it as a pharmaceutical drug
to one company. Since it has become
a Schedule 1 “controlled substance”
available as a Schedule 3 drug (Xyrem)
from one provider, the price has
gone up every year. Eight years ago,
the price was $3,500 a month. As of
summer 2016, the price was $10,000.
By September, $12,500 a month – and
higher again by the end of the year.
The ingredients to make GHB are
inexpensive, and production is not
complicated. However, because GHB
is a Schedule 1 drug, people who
possess, manufacture, or sell GHB or its
precursors can be imprisoned for up to
20 years.16
The Politics of Cannabis
Cannabis and cannabinoids have
been considered illegal for fewer
than a hundred years, a minute
 period of time compared to the nine
millennia for which we have evidence
of its use by man. For the better part
of human history, people have freely
grown and used this plant to supply
them with food, cloth, cordage, and
medicine. Unfortunately, the United
States government’s policy regarding
cannabis has affected the legality of
hemp in almost every nation of the
world.17
Peter Guither. Why is Marijuana Illegal
In 1930, the Federal Bureau of
Narcotics was established as a new
division of the treasury department.
The new director, Harry J. Anslinger, was
an ambitious man. When he perceived
that the scope of his position, which
was to control illegally-used cocaine
and opiates, did not meet his personal
objectives for power, he chose to
take advantage of his new position
“to define both the problem and the
solution.”17 Cannabis was used far
more broadly than were cocaine or
the opiates. Adding cannabis to his
job description guaranteed that the
organization beneath him would have
to be substantial and visible. The fact
that cannabis was used to a greater
extent by more-or-less disenfranchised
factions of the population (blacks,
Mexicans, Latin Americans, musicians,
political dissidents) made it even easier
to gain support in targeting cannabis as
an “enemy of the state.” 17
In 1933, the 21st Amendment to
the Constitution repealed the 18th
Amendment, ending prohibition. Four
years later, the United States passed the
first law in the world to outlaw cannabis,
the United States Marihuana Tax Act of
1937. The American Medical Association
completely opposed passage of the
Act because it would place onerous
demands on physicians, requiring them
to pay a tax for prescribing cannabis,
utilize special order forms to get it, and
keep detailed records of its use. The
AMA knew cannabis had value for the
treatment of a number of conditions,
held that objective evidence proving
cannabis was harmful was insufficient,
and expressed concern that the Act
would obstruct subsequent research
into its medicinal value. 17
TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017 65
Cannabinoid Deficiency
A Corrupt Legislative Process
Anslinger conducted two years
of preliminary legislative meetings
in secret. By the time the bill was
presented to Congress, earlier pro-
cannabis comments made by Dr. William
C. Woodward, Legislative Council of
the American Medical Association,
were corrupted in such a way as to
make it appear that the AMA was in
full support of the law. Dr. William C.
Woodward spoke to the committee on
May 4, 1937, expressing his displeasure
with the legislative process and the
misinformation upon which it was
based. A partial transcript, as recorded
in the Shaffer Library of Drug Policy,
follows:
Dr. Woodward: Unfortunately, I had
no knowledge that such a bill as
this was proposed until after it had
been introduced. Before proceeding
further, I would like to call your
attention to a matter in the record
wherein the American Medical
Association is apparently quoted as
being in favor of legislation of this
character….
We are told that the use of marihuana
causes crime.
But yet no one has been produced
from the Bureau of Prisons to
show the number of prisoners who
have been found addicted to the
marihuana habit. An informed inquiry
shows that the Bureau of Prisons has
no evidence on that point.
You have been told that school
children are great users of marihuana
cigarettes. No one has been
summoned from the Children’s
Bureau to show the nature and
extent of the habit, among children.
Inquiry of the Children’s Bureau
shows that they have had no occasion
to investigate it and know nothing
particularly of it.
Inquiry of the Office of Education .
. . and they certainly should know
something of the prevalence of the
habit among the school children of
the country, if there is a prevalent
habit . . . indicates that they have had
no occasion to investigate and know
nothing of it.
Moreover, there is in the Treasury
Department itself, the Public Health
Service, with its Division of Mental
Hygiene. The Division of Mental
Hygiene was, in the first place, the
Division of Narcotics. It was converted
into the Division of Mental Hygiene,
I think, about 1930. That particular
Bureau has control at the present
time of the narcotics farms that were
created about 1929 or 1930 and
came into operation a few years later.
No one has been summoned from
that Bureau to give evidence on that
point.
Informal inquiry by me indicates
that they have had no record of any
marihuana or Cannabis addicts who
have ever been committed to those
farms.
The Bureau of Public Health Service
has also a Division of Pharmacology.
If you desire evidence as to the
pharmacology of Cannabis, that
obviously is the place where you
can get direct and primary evidence,
rather than the indirect hearsay
evidence.
But we must admit that there is this
slight addiction with possibly and
probably, I will admit, a tendency
toward an increase.
So that we have to raise the question
at the present time as to the
adequacy or the inadequacy of our
present machinery and our present
laws, to meet the situation. Those
laws are, of course, of two kinds, the
Federal laws and the State laws.
As to the State laws, you have been
told that every State has a marihuana
or Cannabis law of some kind.
My own inquiry indicated that there
are two States that had not; but at
least 46 States have laws of their
own, and the District of Columbia,
contrary to what has been told you,
has a law that has been in force since
1906 and even at an earlier date.
The District of Columbia law, insofar
as it relates to Cannabis, is a part of
an act passed by Congress in 1906
entitled “An act to regulate the
practice of pharmacy and the sale of
poisons in the District of Columbia,
and for other purposes,” approved
May 17, 1906, and originally
➤
 Cannabinoid Deficiency Dr. Woodward: To the statute that
created the present Bureau of
Narcotics. If there is at the present
➤
time any weakness in our State laws
published as 34 Statutes, 175, which a Federal permit before he did so. relating to Cannabis or to marihuana,
is now to be found in the District The medical profession objected a fair share of the blame, if not all
Code, section 191 and following. to any such Federal control, even of it, rests on the Secretary of the
It limits the sale of Cannabis, its if it had been possible. It was not Treasury and his assistants who have
derivatives and its preparations to only impracticable, because of the had this duty imposed upon them for
pharmacists and persons who are size of the country and the number 6 and more years.18
authorized assistants to pharmacists. of physicians, but clearly, I think,
most of us will admit, a law of that With a boatload of inflammatory
And in the case of sales by pharmacists kind is clearly beyond the power of articles from William Randolf Hearst’s
and their authorized assistants, there Congress. yellow journalism publications, Harry
must be either a prescription from an J. Anslinger railroaded the bill through
authorized physician, or there must At that time there was incorporated
in the act this provision: Congress in almost record time, with
be due inquiry and a proper record
passage on October 1, 1937.17
made so as to assure the proper use ‘The Secretary of the Treasury shall
of the drug. cooperate with the several States
The United States Marihuana Tax Act
in the suppression of the abuse of of 1937 was not so much a reaction to
No one, whether a pharmacist or not, the true dangers of the drug as it was
under this law, has any right to sell narcotic drugs in their respective
jurisdictions and to that end he is the product of a corrupt and insidious
any preparation of Cannabis indica
to any person under 18 years of age authorized (1) to cooperate in the agenda, which included the following:
except on the written order of an drafting of such legislation as may
• Racism – Marijuana was more heavily
adult. The penalties are rather heavy be needed, if any, to effect the end
used by the black population, Mexicans,
and the direct duty of enforcing named, and (2) to arrange for the
and Latin Americans, so the law was a
the law is placed on the major and exchange of information concerning
tool designed to penalize these groups of
superintendent of police and the the use and abuse of narcotic drugs in
people.
corporation counsel of the District of said States and for cooperation in the
• Fear – Marijuana was linked with violent
Columbia. institution and prosecution of cases
behavior and the fear that marijuana
in the courts of the United States
More interesting possibly is the users (see Racism) would hang around
and before the licensing boards and
Federal law relating to the matter. school yards, expose (white) children to
courts of the several States.
You have been told, I believe, that marijuana, and the children would be
there is no Federal law. The Federal The Secretary of the Treasury is enslaved by the drug. Or that marijuana
law is a very direct and positive law hereby authorized to make such users (see Racism) would become crazed
and I shall be glad to indicate what regulations as may be necessary to by marijuana, rape (white) women, and
seems to me to be the basic principle carry this section into effect.’ go on murderous rampages.
of it. Mr. Vinson: What statute is that? • Protection of Corporate Profits –
Marijuana was effective for many
To go back, if you will, to about 1929 Dr. Woodward: That is the United conditions and impinged on the
or 1930, when a bill was before States Code, 1934 edition, title 21, corporate profits of the pharmaceutical
Congress proposing to require section 198. It is the statute of June companies.
every physician in the United 14, 1930. • Yellow Journalism – William Randolf
States who desired to prescribe or Hearst was friends with DuPont, who had
Mr. Vinson: To what does it refer?
dispense narcotic drugs to obtain just developed nylon, which competed
with hemp. Hearst published extensive
diatribes against marijuana, salacious
Sir Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, is a physician, board-certified homeopath, former fabrications designed to terrify and
nationally syndicated radio talk show host, writer, researcher, and medical missionary. He titillate his audiences (see Racism and
was knighted for his humanitarian work as a medical missionary. Jonn became interested Fear).
in the study of cannabis and its health-restoring properties when a friend gave him a bottle • Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt
of CBD hemp oil. He had suffered with intractable back pain for years as a result of multiple Legislators – Those who wanted to
sports injuries incurred over 30 years as an athlete. Within 20 minutes of taking the CBD oil, appear to be tough on crime did so by
his excruciating pain stopped. He has found that, as long as he continues to take the oil, he is passing this rigorous drug legislation.
virtually pain-free. • Personal Career Advancement – Harry J.
Anslinger, newly-named director of the
Sandra Kischuk, BSBA, MSMIS, MCPM, is a writer, editor, life coach, Toastmaster, and master Federal Bureau of Narcotics, used the
gardener. Author of Fighting the Dragon: How I Beat Multiple Sclerosis, Sandra’s writing opportunity “to define both the problem
interests include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scripts, and other people’s résumés. She and the solution,” adding the more
has written web content for physicians, informational/marketing literature for attorneys, widely used cannabis to build the scope
and continuing education courses for dental professionals, and edited professional of his agency’s responsibilities.
communications and doctoral theses on subjects as diverse as religion, education, • Greed – The lurid stories William Randolf
engineering, and psychology. Hearst invented about the dangers of

66 TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017

 cannabis sold newspapers, made him
rich, and forced cannabis underground
for the better part of a century.17 These
stories and the passage of this law also
protected the interests of his good
friend DuPont and the profits of the
pharmaceutical companies.
At the 1936 Convention for the
Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in
Dangerous Drugs, the American
government tried to get participating
countries to criminalize the non-
medical and non-scientific “cultivation,
production, manufacture, and
distribution” of opium, coca … and
cannabis. The majority of the countries
present wanted to keep the focus on
illicit trafficking. When the final version
of the agreement only called upon
the countries to severely punish drug
traffickers, the US refused to sign it.
In short time, the US exerted enough
political and financial pressure to
push through its agenda, establishing
cannabis as a deadly narcotic drug.19
More recently, the Controlled
Substances Act established federal
US drug policy regulating “the
manufacture, importation, possession,
Cannabinoid Deficiency
References
1. McDermott, M. Perfect Plant? 7 Great Uses
for Industrial Hemp. Treehugger: Sustainability
made simple. April 20, 2010.
2. Hemp history. Global Hemp: Portal to the Hemp
Community. April 1, 2017.
3. Zoroastrianism. Wikipedia. Accessed Sep 14,
2016.
4. Abel EL. Marijuana – The First Twelve Thousand
Years. http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/
history/first12000/4.htm. 1980.
5. Washington G. The Writings of George
Washington, Volume 33, page 270. (Library of
Congress), 1794.
6. Gennet, R. On Role Models and their Bongs. The
Huffington Post. Updated May 25, 2011.
7. Course Title: ENGL 2000. Course Hero Online
Learning Resources. Texas A&M. https://www.
coursehero.com/file/p1a10pc/The-United-
States-Census-of-1850-counted-8327-hemp-
plantations-minimum-2000/. Accessed Sep 18,
2016.
8. William Brooke O’Shaughnessy. Wikipedia. 12
February 12, 2017.
9. O’Shaughnessy, WB. (1839) A Case of Tetanus,
Cured by a Preparation of Hemp (the Cannabis
indica.). Transactions of the Medical and Physical
Society of Bengal 8, 1838-40, 462-469. http://
www.lycaeum.org//~sputnik/Ludlow/Texts/
gunjah.html. Accessed Mar 31, 2017.
10. Tetanus. Wikipedia. Accessed Sep 15, 2016.
11. Scurvy. Wikipedia. Accessed Mar 31, 2017.
12. Limey. Wikipedia. Accessed Mar 31, 2017.
13. Medical cannabis in the United States.
Wikipedia. Accessed Mar 31, 2017.
14. What is a plant patent? General Information
About 35 U.S.C. 161 Plant Patents. United States
Patent and Trademark Office. Feb 20, 2015.
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/
patent-basics/types-patent-applications/general-
information-about-35-usc-161#heading-1.
Accessed Sep 22, 2016.
15. GMO OMG. Kunau JA, Seifert J, producers.
GMOFilm.com, ©2013 Compeller Pictures.
16. What are the current GHB Laws? Project GHB.
http://www.projectghb.org/content/what-are-
current-ghb-laws. Accessed Apr 1, 2017.
17. Guither P. Why is Marijuana Illegal? Drug
WarRant.com. 2017. Accessed Mar 31, 2017.
18. Committee Proceedings, Taxation of Marihuana.
Tuesday, May 4, 1937. House of Representatives,
Committee on Ways and Means, Washington,
D.C. Drug Library.org. http://www.druglibrary.
org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/woodward.htm.
Accessed Sep 21, 2016.
19. Convention on the Suppression of the Illicit
Traffic in Illegal Drugs. Wikipedia. Accessed Mar
31, 2017.
20. Controlled Substances Act. Wikipedia. Accessed
March 31, 2017.
21. Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the
Controlled Substances Act. Wikipedia. Accessed
Mar 31, 2017.
u

use and distribution of certain
substances.”20 Passed by the 91st
United States Congress as Title II of the
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention
and Control Act of 1970, the statute
was signed into law by President
Richard Nixon.20
As defined by this statute, a
Schedule 1 drug is the following:
A drug or other substance that has a high
potential for abuse.
A drug or other substance that has no
currently accepted medical use in
treatment in the United States.
A drug or other substance which is unsafe
for use under medical supervision.21
It is illegal to write prescriptions for
Schedule 1 drugs.21
Cannabis and its medicinal
compounds have often been perceived
as a threat to “organized” medicine, as
have other non-toxic healing modalities
such as homeopathy. Classifying
cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug under
the Controlled Substances Act was
highly effective in making cannabis
unavailable for pharmacological
applications or even research.
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TOWNSEND LETTER – JULY 2017 67

Brain Health | Mental Health | Neurologic Disease

townsendletter.com

The Examiner of
Alternative Medicine
Issue #411 | October 2017

Nutrition and the

Autonomic Nervous System

Neural Therapy for Emotional Trauma

Multisensory Integration for

Autism, Dementia, and Amnesia

Dental Hygiene and Alzheimer’s

$8.25

James Greenblatt, MD
ADHD, Memory, and OPC Flavonols
 In this issue  
October 2017 | #411

Letter from the Publisher | Jonathan Collin, MD | 4 Personality Development via the Elimination of Emotional Conflicts | 66
by Dr. Andreas Müller
Clinical Update from Sophia Health Institute | 20 Psychosomatic Energetics, developed by Reimar Banis, MD, is a complementary
by Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD, and Christine Schaffner, ND therapy that removes energy blockages caused by unresolved emotional conflicts
The Ruggiero Klinghardt protocol uses autonomic response testing, ultrasound and, by doing so, aids personality development.
or massage provocation, and urine testing to identify pathogens and toxins
underlying chronic conditions, including Lyme disease. Book Reviews | 70
The Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer’s
Mycotoxins: The Hidden Threat of Mold to Our Bodies and Brains | 24 Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline by Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP
by Matthew Pratt-Hyatt, PhD review by Katherine Duff
Great Plains Lab has developed a highly specific urine test that identifies exposure
to mold toxins that contribute to common symptoms and disease. Unsafe at Any Meal: What the FDA Does Not Want You to Know About the Foods
You Eat by Dr. Renee Joy Dufault
FCT®* and Brain: “Doctor, My Brain Feels Rewired!” | 29 review by Dr. Earl Mindell, RPh, MH, PhD
by Savely Yurkovsky, MD Nutritional Medicine (Second Edition) by Alan Gaby, MD
Field Control Therapy, developed by Yurkovsky, uses bio-resonance to identify review by Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO
underlying environmental and inherited disease-causing factors and homeopathy
to treat a range of psychiatric conditions in these case studies. Book Excerpt | 76
Foreword to
News | 34 Nutrition and the Autonomic Nervous System by Nicholas J. Gonzalez, MD
Brazil “Nuts” Gather to Fight Inflammation | John Parks Trowbridge, MD, FACAM  by Linda L. Isaacs, MD
The 5th International Biobran Workshop – New Modern Ways to Treat Cancer
  Prof. Serge Jurasunas Guest Editorial | 78
Calling all MDs! How To Help Naturopathic Colleagues Gain Licensure in All 50
Pathways to Healing | Elaine Zablocki | 38 States | by Amy Rothenberg, ND
 Breathe to Stay Alive
Current Controversies | Ira L. Goodman, MD, FACS, ABIHM, FAARM | 79
Shorts | Jule Klotter | 40  Politics in Medicine

Literature Review & Commentary | Alan R. Gaby, MD | 43 In Memoriam | 80

 Paul Jaconello, MD
Optimizing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatment with  Warren Levin, MD
Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins (OPCs) | 46
by James Greenblatt, MD, and Winnie T. Lee, RN Healing with Homeopathy | 81
Medication is not the only treatment for ADHD. Neurofeedback and OPCs like Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, DHANP, LCSW, and Robert Ullman, ND
pycnogenol improve attention, alertness, memory, and executive functioning.  A Mom with Meniere’s Disease and A Daughter with ADHD:
 When All You Need Is Homeopathy
Innovative Approach to Psychiatry: Treating Incurable Psychiatric Patients with
Neural Therapy | by Michael I. Gurevich, MD | 51 Functional Gastroenterology Bolus | Steven Sandberg-Lewis, ND, DHANP | 84
Neural therapy can facilitate healing of emotional trauma and scars as well as  An Expanded View of Transaminases and New ACG Normal Values
physical scars, making it useful for psychiatric conditions.
Ask Dr. J | Jim Cross, ND | 86
High Tech Ingenuity Produces a Breakthrough Program to Help with the  Brain Fog: National Security Risk
Symptoms of Autism, ADHD, Dementia, and Amnesia | 56
by Mary Ann Block, DO, PA Curmudgeon’s Corner | Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO | 88
The SAVE Program for multisensory integration helps children and adults with  Dental Hygiene Slows Alzheimer’s Decline
cognitive dysfunctions increase language processes, coordination, body awareness,
and memory. Monthly Miracles | Michael Gerber, MD, HMD | 90
 Crown of Thorns
Pharmaceutical Companies Behind the Eight Ball in Treatment of Mitochondrial
Dysfunction | by Debby Hamilton, MD, MPH | 60 Women’s Health Update | Tori Hudson, ND | 92
Mitochondrial dysfunction, exacerbated by oxidative stress, is becoming a targeted  Enhancing Libido; Improving Depression
factor underlying many chronic illnesses. While FDA-approved drug treatments are
not available, natural alternatives are. Townsend Calendar | 94

Innovative Integrative Addiction Treatment = Unparalleled Growth Opportunity Editorial | Alan Gaby, MD | 95
by Dalal Akoury, MD | 62  Intravenous Vitamin C, Hydrocortisone, and Thiamine: A Major Advance in the
The author explains the role of neurotransmitters in addiction and the great need  Treatment of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock
for individualized integrative medical care to address this multi-faceted disease.

Cannabinoid Deficiency and Its Impact on Human Health and Disease, Part 2 | 65
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, and Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
The US government’s search to substantiate marijuana’s harmful effects
unexpectedly revealed the endocannabinoid system, its vital role in human health,
and why the botanical has so many therapeutic effects.
ON THE COVER: James Greenblatt, MD (pg. 46); Nutrition and the Autonomic Nervous
System (pg. 76); Dental Hygiene and Alzheimer’s (pg. 88); Neural Therapy for Emotional
Trauma (pg. 51); Multisensory Integrative for Autism, Dementia, and Amnesia (pg. 56)

TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017 17

 Cannabinoid Deficiency
and Its Impact on Human
Health and Disease, Part 2
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
The full texts and references
for both Part 1 and Part 2 are
available online at
www.townsendletter.com.
“Cannabinoid Deficiency and Its
Impact on Human Health and Disease,
Part 1” (Townsend Letter, July 2017)
described how the botanical Cannabis, a
plant long valued for its many medicinal
and industrial uses, became illegal and
the political and financial pressures
against its use that continue to this day.
In Part 2 of this three-part article,
Dr. Jonn Desnoes and Sandra Kischuk
give a detailed overview of the many
cannabinoid studies that led to new
understandings about brain function
and the effects of cannabis. Researchers
discovered cannabinoid receptors in
the brain as well as naturally-occurring
endocannabinoids, made in the body
from fatty acid precursors. The human
brain has more cannabinoid receptors
than any other type of neurotransmitter
receptor. “Endocannabinoids and
their receptors modulate a variety
of physiological processes in the
brain; movement, nociception (the
nervous system’s response to harmful
or potentially harmful stimuli), brain
TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017 65
reward, learning and memory, feeding, to detrimental effects on multiple
and emesis (vomiting),” explain the physiological processes and on brain
authors. “Peripheral processes impacted function. Prior to 1937, cannabis was
include those involved in immune legally used as a medicine, and the
regulation, the cardiovascular system, hemp plant provided livestock fodder
the reproductive endocrine processes, for farm animals that supply meat, eggs,
and energetic metabolism control.” and dairy products.
The human body makes its own This overview of the body’s
endocannabinoids, given the right endocannabinoid system in Part 2
nutrients. Nutritional deficiencies and explains why cannabis has so many and
prolonged stress, however, disrupt such varied therapeutic effects.
endocannabinoid tone, which leads u
Sir Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, is a physician, board-
certified homeopath, former nationally syndicated radio
talk show host, writer, researcher, and medical missionary.
He was knighted for his humanitarian work as a medical
missionary.
Jonn became interested in the study of cannabis and its
health-restoring properties when a friend gave him a bottle
of CBD hemp oil. He had suffered with intractable back pain
for years as a result of multiple sports injuries incurred over
30 years as an athlete. Within 20 minutes of taking the CBD
oil, his excruciating pain stopped. He has found that, as
long as he continues to take the oil, he is virtually pain-free.
Sandra Kischuk, BSBA, MSMIS, MCPM, is a writer, editor, life coach,
Toastmaster, and master gardener. Author of Fighting the Dragon: How
I Beat Multiple Sclerosis, Sandra’s writing interests include fiction, non-
fiction, poetry, scripts, and other people’s résumés. She has written web
content for physicians, informational/marketing literature for attorneys,
and continuing education courses for dental professionals, and edited
professional communications and doctoral theses on subjects as diverse
as religion, education, engineering, and psychology.
 Cannabinoid Deficiency and
Its Impact on Human Health
and Disease, Part 2
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
To conduct clinical drug research
with Cannabis in the United
States, researchers must file an
Investigational New Drug (IND)
application with the FDA, obtain a
Schedule I license from the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, and
obtain approval from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.1
Cannabis, Research, and Big Pharma
The legalization of cannabis still
struggles today, with a patchwork of
25 state laws superseding its illegal
status at the Federal level. Cannabis
first became illegal, in part, because
the pharmaceutical companies could
not figure out how to quantify it or
measure it. Today, at best, they can
offer synthesized imitations of specific
cannabinoids, but many researchers
suspect that the effectiveness of natural
cannabis may depend on the symbiotic
and synergistic interrelationship of
several or even many of the more than
100 cannabinoids in the plant.
Cannabinoids are the chemical
constituents in the cannabis plant,
some of which can produce specific
and powerful effects on the human
body. The most familiar of these is
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (more
commonly called THC), known for
its psychoactive effects. The second
cannabinoid researchers have worked
ONLINE PUBLICATION ONLY TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017
with extensively is cannabidiol (also
known as CBD), an immune system
modulator. Many more, which to date
are considered to be “minor in effect,”
remain untested.2
To further confuse the issue,
different strains of cannabis have
different “formularies.” We use the
term formulary loosely. In modern use,
a formulary is “a list of prescription
drugs covered by a prescription
drug plan or another insurance plan
offering prescription drug benefits.”3
Traditionally, however, a formulary
contained “a collection of formulas
for the compounding and testing of
medication”4 – that is, it was a recipe
book. And it is in that sense that we use
the word, although the formularies of
the different varieties of the cannabis
plant are not recipes for laboratory-
synthesized chemicals, but descriptions
of what is observed or discovered
through chemical analysis.
For Big Pharma, the fact that
different strains of cannabis have
different amounts of each of the over
100 cannabinoids makes synthesis
and testing of each to the degree
required by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) a Herculean job
of almost incomprehensible complexity.
With the potential need for testing
pairs of cannabinoids, triplets of
cannabinoids, and all the permutations
of cannabinoids, the task becomes
impossible, especially when we consider
that what needs to be tested is not only
the combinations of cannabinoids but
the combinations at various strengths
and ratios.
Doctors who specialize in pain
management or any of the conditions
for which cannabis provides benefits
and the experts who run cannabis
dispensaries will often have the wisdom
that comes from experience and will
be able to recommend the strains
of cannabis most effective for the
symptoms and conditions being treated.
Patients and caretakers of patients
using dispensary-provided cannabis are
faced with the need to self-titrate their
medication – which is not necessarily a
bad thing.
Too often, commercial pharma­
ceutical drugs are available in specific
doses. Physicians prescribe the dose
they believe best suits the patient and
the condition. If the dose is not enough,
the physician can only prescribe a
different amount in the increments
in which the drug is manufactured. If
the patient has a “bad day” and feels
the need for just a little bit more of
the medication, that extra bit is not an
option. If the patient feels that s/he
is getting too much of the drug or the
 side effects become overwhelmingly
uncomfortable, the choice may be to
either keep taking it until such time as
s/he is able to get in to see the doctor
to get the dose adjusted, or not to take
the drug at all. The difference between
a commercial (prescription or over-
the-counter) pharmaceutical drug in
pill form and a self-titrated medication
is like the difference between a light
operated by a standard on-off switch
and one run off a rheostat, where the
light level can be dialed up or down
depending on the need for illumination.
Liquid prescription or over-the-
counter medications afford the
opportunity to adjust dose. One of the
authors of this paper kept a leftover
bottle of prescription codeine cough
syrup in her refrigerator. If she came
down with a screaming sore throat, she
took the maximum recommended dose
to alleviate the pain until she could get
into a doctor to get a prescription for
an antibiotic. As the sore throat abated,
she cut back on the dose until her throat
had healed and kept the rest of the
bottle so she would have it available
for the next sore throat. Probably not
the best idea, but it worked . . . for five
years.
In the same way, a cancer patient
using cannabis for cancer pain can
adjust the amount used to find
the “sweet-spot” where the pain
is sufficiently alleviated and the
side effects not overwhelming. The
epileptic can experiment to find the
right amount to keep seizures under
control, but not limit functioning. Yes,
finding that sweet-spot can be difficult
because of the delay between cannabis
administration and drug action, but who
better to figure out the “right” amount
than the subjects who know what they
are experiencing.
The same author noted above
recently visited Colorado and talked
with a woman who worked in a resort
shop. The woman said she and her
daughter had moved from Minnesota in
the past year because doctors failed to
TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017 ONLINE PUBLICATION ONLY
stop or even slow the daughter’s almost
daily epileptic seizures. Within a week
on Charlotte’s Web, a high-CBD-content
Cannabis sativa L. strain with less than
0.3% THC,5 which she supplemented
with another cannabis preparation,
the daughter’s seizures stopped. The
28-year-old was able to get a driver’s
license and hold down a job for the first
time in her life, and the mother was
freed to work because she no longer
had to serve as a caretaker.
The “Big Pharma”/governmental
regulatory alliance, where heads of the
regulatory governmental agencies and
the heads of the largest pharmaceutical
companies play a never-ending game
of “musical chairs,” puts “the foxes in
charge of the henhouse.” The argument
for placing top-level drug company
executives in top-level regulatory
agency positions is that these executives
are the people who best know the drug
industry. The argument against it is that
any rational human being has a hard
time setting aside personal interests in
favor of the general welfare, especially
when prioritizing the general welfare
could financially impact the company
where s/he last worked, where his/her
pension is vested, his/her cronies work,
and where s/he might be hoping to
return to employment in a high-status,
cushy job sometime in the future – to
the tune of millions of dollars.
Big Pharma would like nothing better
than to squelch cannabis legalization or
to control cannabis distribution, neither
of which is in the best interests of the
American people or any other peoples
on this planet. With “last season’s” Big
Pharma CEOs heading the regulatory
agencies charged with governing the
drug manufacturers, is it little wonder
the drug industry and its regulation are
rife with problems?
All too often, we have seen dangerous
and deadly prescription drugs foisted on
the public at obscenely high prices (then
later recalled after physical/mental
functions and even lives have been
lost); prescription drugs prescribed
to ameliorate the uncomfortable side
effects of other drugs; prescription drugs
that blunted cognitive function and
mimicked dementia – depriving patients
of years of their lives; prescription drugs
taken by parents that destroyed the
lives of their children (thalidomide);
and misdiagnoses resulting from the
identification of drug side effects as new
diseases rather than as accumulations of
toxic chemicals in bodies more stressed
by the treatment than they were by the
disease.
Why does this happen?
It all has to do with money, the
misuse of governmental authority, and
nepotistic favors focused on sending
an ever heavier stream of chemicals to
the market, regardless of how those
chemicals fared in the FDA’s requisite
safety and efficacy testing.
In order for a new prescription
drug to be brought to market, the
pharmaceutical company has to run
trials to demonstrate “the drug’s ability
to produce the desired result (efficacy)
and the type and likelihood of adverse
effects (safety).”6 The FDA-required
testing is rigorous and expensive. Yet,
all too often, the “red flags” are ignored.
Warning voices are shushed. Problems
are dismissed as aberrations or labelled
as study flaws. Incriminating evidence
is “shuffled to the bottom of the stack,”
just so the product can be rushed to the
market, advertised to the masses, and
sold to people who believe that, in spite
of repeated failures, the FDA “has their
backs.”
The pharmaceutical companies will
argue that, even with millions of dollars
of testing, mistakes are made. All too
often, the telltale evidence was obvious
but either overlooked (no one was
competent enough to see it), ignored
(someone was competent enough to
see it, but was too irresponsible to
say anything about it), or dismissed
(someone was competent enough to
see it, someone who was responsible
enough to say something about it, but
➤
 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤
nobody was willing or ethical enough
to do anything about it). The price the
consumer pays for these “mistakes”
(now more accurately defined as lapses
in competence, responsibility, and
ethics) is high. Consider, for instance,
the drug Fosamax, introduced by
Merck in 1995, for the treatment of
osteoporosis.
Within several years, women started
reporting thighbone breaks and jawbone
death, although the FDA continually
overlooked the problems. It wasn’t
until 2004 that the FDA found that long-
term Fosamax use was conclusively
linked to osteonecrosis (bone death)
of the jaw, which causes the jawbone
to deteriorate. Then, in 2008, the FDA
warned that bisphosphonates were also
linked to debilitating bone, muscle, and
joint pain.
By 2009, a study in the New England
Journal of Medicine linked long-term
Fosamax use to esophageal cancer.
In 2010, the FDA required Fosamax
and other drugs in its class to include
warning labels about the increased
risk of thighbone fractures. In addition,
medical researchers were making clear
connections between Fosamax and
irregular heartbeat and painful eye
disorders that cause inflammation and
distorted vision.7
Yes, Fosamax helped lay down new
bone. But the bone it built was brittle
and tragically prone to fracture. In older
people, a broken hip is often a death
sentence. You fall, your hip breaks,
and you end up in the hospital, where
you contract pneumonia from laying
around, and then you die.
Just as tragic is the high incidence
of breast and reproductive cancers
in the daughters of pregnant women
who took diethylstilbestrol (DES) to
prevent pregnancy complications and
miscarriages. From the 1940s to the
late 1980s, the FDA approved DES as
an estrogen replacement therapy. Not
only was the drug not effective for what
ONLINE PUBLICATION ONLY TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017
it claimed to do, it left a legacy of fear,
tragic disease, and deaths from breast
cancer, cervical cancers, and virtually-
impossible-to-detect-until-it-is-too-late
ovarian cancers in the daughters of the
mothers who took the drug.8
Thalidomide was prescribed to
pregnant women in the 1950s to
alleviate nausea and morning sickness.
The result? The children of these
women were born with shortened,
malformed limbs, stumps, or no limbs
at all. Worldwide, over 10,000 children
were born with thalidomide-caused
limb malformation and other internal
abnormalities. Of these affected
infants, fifty percent died. The FDA
never approved thalidomide in the U.S.
However, the drug was tested here,
with the result that 17 US children
were born with thalidomide-induced
malformations.9
It is obvious, if you are big enough
and rich enough, you can get away with
murder.
Discovery and Functions of the
Endocannabinoid System
Up until the 1980s, the National
Institute of Drug Abuse subsidized
cannabis studies with the objective of
proving that the drug was toxic. What
actually came out of those studies
was a new understanding of how the
human brain functions on the chemical
level. As noted by Martin A. Lee, the
breakthroughs which resulted were
“among the most exciting developments
in brain chemistry of our time (and)
spawned a revolution in medical science
and a profound understanding of health
and healing.”10,11 Studying the plant
led to the discovery of a previously-
unknown, immensely-important
physiological system.11
In 1964, Raphael Mechoulam, an
Israeli organic chemist and professor
of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, Israel, and his
colleague, Yechiel Gaoni, identified
and synthesized tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC). Up until then, scientists had
learned a lot about the pharmacology,
biochemistry, and clinical effects of
cannabis, but no one understood
how it worked in the brain at the
molecular level. How could one
herb “alter consciousness, stimulate
appetite, dampen nausea, quell
seizures, and relieve pain”? How did
marijuana smoke stop an asthma attack
instantaneously?11
In 1973, American researchers at
Johns Hopkins University found the
sites in the human brain, receptors,
where opioids fit, each one like a key
in a lock. These receptors, “specialized
protein molecules embedded in cell
membranes,”11 are locations in the
brain to which specialized chemicals
(neurotransmitters) attach, triggering
brain cells to start, stop, and/or regulate
functions within the body and the
brain.12
A neurotransmitter is a chemical
messenger used by the body to transmit
a signal from one neuron (nerve cell),
across a chemical synapse (gap) to a
“target” neuron, muscle cell, or gland
cell.13 Conventional neurotransmitters
are water-soluble. They are stored in high
concentrations in little packets (vesicles)
at the tips of neurons. When a neuron
fires, an electrical signal travels down its
axon to its tips (pre-synaptic terminals),
releasing the neurotransmitters. The
neurotransmitters jump the gap (the
synaptic cleft) to receptors on the next
(postsynaptic) neuron.13
Why would the human brain
have these sites that were seemingly
custom-designed for such strong and
often dangerous drugs as morphine
and heroin? The answer appeared the
following year, when two independent
groups of researchers identified
endorphins – endogenous (produced
naturally in the body) morphine.14,15
Immediately after discovering
endogenous endorphins, scientists

began the search for similar receptor
sites for cannabis. The answer to
whether such sites even existed required
the development of a potent synthetic
cannabinoid, which Allyn Howlett,
William Devane, and associates then
used to test rats – scientifically proving,
in a study at the St. Louis University
School of Medicine, that rats’ brains had
cannabinoid receptors. The following
year, at the National Institute of Mental
Health, Ross Johnson and Lawrence
Melvin, past associates of Howlett
and Devane, localized cannabinoid
receptors in the brains of humans and
other species.11
Interestingly, there are more
cannabinoid receptors in the brain
than there are of any other class
of neurotransmitter receptor. But,
where were they located? After Pfizer
developed a potent, synthetic THC,
researchers radioactively tagged the
molecules. This THC bonded to the
cannabinoid receptors, providing
a detailed map of their locations.
Concentrations were found “…in regions
responsible for mental and physiological
processes: the hippocampus (memory),
cerebral cortex (higher cognition),
the cerebellum (motor coordination),
the basal ganglia (movement), the
hypothalamus (appetite), the amygdala
(emotions) and elsewhere.”11
The cannabinoid receptor, which
appears in all animals except insects,
is a protein made up of a scrunched-
up chain of 472 amino acids zigzagging
seven times in a transmembrane
weave set on a cell’s surface.16
“Cannabinoid receptors function as
subtle sensing devices, tiny vibrating
scanners perpetually primed to pick
up biochemical cues that flow through
fluids surrounding each cell.”11
In contrast to endorphins,
endocannabinoids are fat based.
Upon stimulation of a cell, the
endocannabinoids are quickly
synthesized from their precursors
TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017 ONLINE PUBLICATION ONLY
Cannabinoid Deficiency
located all over the cell membrane and
then released.11 The neurotransmitters
the body produces are referred to as
endogenous ligands. Some of these
endogenous ligands partner with the
cannabinoid receptors, and some
pharmaceutical drugs mimic the
endogenous ligands and can be used to
boost the body’s function in a desired
direction.11
At the July 18, 1990, meeting of the
National Academy of Science’s Institute
of Medicine, Lisa Matsuda reported that
her team at the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH) had identified the
DNA sequence of a rat’s THC-sensitive
receptor and “had successfully cloned
the marijuana receptor.”11 The cloned
receptor enabled scientists to design
molecules to fit the receptor, building
agonist “keys” to turn the receptor on
and antagonist “keys” to turn it off.11
This key-lock analogy gets hijacked
when we ask, “Why do different strains
of cannabis cause different psychoactive
responses?” The receptors stay the
same. It would seem that, if a key fits,
it would unlock the door, period. The
answer is in the type of agonist fitting
the lock. Each type of agonist will distort
the transmembrane in a distinctive
way: each specific reshaping of the
transmembrane stimulates a cascade of
a different set of chemicals. It is as if “an
assortment of keys unlocks the same
lock, but the door opens into different
rooms” depending on the key used.16
Genetically engineered mice lacking
the CB1 receptor failed to respond to
THC, proving that THC brought about
its effects through cannabinoid receptor
activation in the brain and central
nervous system.11
In a short time, researchers
discovered a second cannabinoid
receptor and named it CB2. This
receptor resided in the brain but was
more heavily and widely distributed in
the immune and peripheral nervous
systems, and “in the gut, spleen, liver,
heart, kidneys, bones, blood vessels,
lymph cells, endocrine glands and
reproductive organs,”11 on leukocytes,
where they may modulate cell migration
at a higher than normal cannabinoid
dose,17 and on the microglia in the
brain (which has implications for the
treatment of Alzheimer’s).17 While the
CB1 receptor mediates psychoactivity,
CB2 exerts a powerful influence on the
body’s immune system.11
In 1992, Raphael Mechoulam, in
collaboration with NIMH research
fellow William Devane and Dr. Lumir
Hanus, discovered a naturally-occurring
“endocannabinoid” (a cannabinoid
produced within the body) that
attached to the same mammalian
CB1 brain-cell receptors as did THC.
They named it “anandamide,” using as
its basis the Sanskrit word for bliss18
(anandin: blissful, making happy19). In
1995, Mechoulam’s group discovered
a second major endocannabinoid,
2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). This one
formed bonds with both CB1 (THC) and
CB2 (CBD) receptors.18
Mechoulam found that the body
builds anandamide and 2-AG at
the time they are needed, using
localized fatty acid precursors. These
endocannabinoids then act in unique
and characteristic ways, primarily in
the area of the body where they were
“assembled.” However, local action
does not mean that anandamide and
2-AG are limited within the body; the
precursors are located throughout
the body and “are involved in most
physiological systems that have been
investigated.”11,18
As noted above, most CB2 receptors
are located on immune cells and
tissues. The primary nonpsychotropic
cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), appears
to be an inverse agonist because it
dampens the psychotropic effect of
THC. Although it does not appear to
directly affect CB1 or CB2 receptors, it
➤
 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤
may boost anandamide (an endogenous
CB2-receptor-friendly cannabinoid)
activity. Stimulating CB2 receptors
alters the body’s inflammatory and
immunosuppressive activities.11
For the CB1 receptor, the full agonist
is HU-210 (synthetic), partial agonists
are delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
(found in cannabis) and anandamide
(made by the body). The antagonist is
rimonabant (a synthetic used for weight
control); the inverse agonist cannabidiol
(CBD) does not directly interact with
CB1 but appears to influence it “from
a distance.” The exact combination
of agonists, antagonists, and inverse
agonists in cannabis is unknown.20
Thus, in researching THC metabolism,
scientists made the amazing discovery
of a molecular signaling system that
controlled diverse biological functions.
The endocannabinoid system, named
for the cannabis plant that brought
it to light, is ancient and began its
evolutionary journey over 600 million
years ago, a time at which the most
highly-evolved organisms on earth were
sponges.11
Today, endocannabinoids and
endocannabinoid receptors are present
in every animal lifeform, aquatic or
terrestrial, with the exception of insects.
The fact that the endocannabinoid
system took so long to evolve and
the fact that it is uniformly present
in so many species (both vertebrate
and invertebrate) suggests that the
endocannabinoid system in animals
is essential to basic physiological
functioning.11
Endocannabinoids and their
receptors modulate a variety of
physiological processes in the brain:
movement, nociception (the nervous
system’s response to harmful or
potentially harmful stimuli21), brain
reward, learning and memory, feeding,
and emesis (vomiting). Peripheral
processes impacted include those
ONLINE PUBLICATION ONLY TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017
involved in immune regulation, the
cardiovascular system, the reproductive
endocrine processes, and energetic
metabolism control.22
Three types of cannabinoids can
trigger responses in CB1 and CB2
receptors: endogenous-fatty-acid
cannabinoids, which are produced
in the body; phyto-cannabinoids,
which are present in an oil on
cannabis plant leaf and bud surfaces;
and laboratory-produced synthetic
cannabinoids.2 The strength and purity
of synthetic cannabinoids facilitated
experimentation on a whole new
scale. With synthetic cannabinoids,
experimenters know the exact chemical
composition and precise quantity of the
drug they are testing, and they do not
have to be concerned with whether the
effect is the result of the drug they want
to test or of some other cannabinoid
or combination of cannabinoids in the
cannabis. Phyto-cannabinoids do not
exist in isolation in the cannabis plant.
Big Pharma genetically engineered
a mouse with no CB receptors, and
created an animal model of osteoporosis
in both the No-CB-receptor and the
normal mice. A synthetic cannabinoid
was given to both groups of mice. The
cannabinoid relieved the osteoporosis
in the normal mice (those with intact
CB receptors), but did nothing for the
No-CB-receptor mice, proving that
“CB receptors are instrumental in
regulating bone density.”11 Human bone
is constantly broken down by cells called
osteoclasts23 and rebuilt by cells called
osteoblasts.24 A German research team
eventually discovered that activating
the CB2 receptor “down-regulated”
osteoclast precursors; with fewer
osteoclasts formed, the osteoblasts
gained an advantage and bone was
restored.11
We now understand the mechanism
by which cannabis affects the body,
modulating pain and analgesia,
inflammation, appetite, gastro-
intestinal motility, sleep cycles, glucose
metabolism, and the ebb and flow of
immune cells, hormones, and other
mood-altering neurotransmitters
such as serotonin, dopamine, and
glutamate.20
When a CB1 receptor is “keyed” by
THC or one of the body’s endogenous
doppelgängers, cannabinoid receptors
activate a series of cellular level
biochemical changes that dampen
physiological hyperactivity. Most
neurotransmitters incite body
responses, creating a reaction to the
stimulus applied. Endocannabinoids
are unique amongst neurotransmitters
in that their effect is in the opposite
direction; their interactions calm cellular
and system activities, downshifting
other neurotransmitters when they are
“firing too fast,” a “retrograde signaling”
that reduces immune response,
inflammation, and blood pressure;
relaxes muscles; dilates bronchial
passages; and stabilizes overstimulated
nerves.11
Biologist Robert Melamede
describes the endocannabinoid
system, in his lectures and articles,
as the “master modulator,” triggering
the human immune system to fight
off viruses or bacteria with fever, and
then signaling the immune system to
reduce the fever when the threat is
past. “Cannabinoids – endo, herbal, and
synthetic – are anti-inflammatory; they
literally cool the body,” a response that
may be beneficial: If the immune system
is out of control – hyperactive – it may
overreact and attack itself, opening
the door for the development of an
autoimmune disease or condition of
chronic inflammation.25
Endocannabinoids play a significant
role in embryonic development,
particularly in promoting neural cell
proliferation and differentiation in
the embryonic brain. Surprisingly,

CB receptor signaling also regulates
adult neurogenesis (brain cell growth)
and stem cell migration.25 High brain
endocannabinoid levels follow strokes,
head trauma, and other neurological
“accidents” and appear to be the
endocannabinoid system’s attempt to
protect the brain. Mechoulam believes
the endocannabinoid system is “part
of the body’s ‘general protective
network, working in conjunction with
the immune system and various other
physiological systems.’”25 His Nobel-
worthy discoveries challenged the
long-held beliefs that brain cells never
grew and dead brain cells could never
be replaced once a person reached
adulthood. We now know that, as
Mechoulam so insightfully noted, “The
brain has a natural repair kit, an in-
built mechanism of protection and
regeneration, which can mend damaged
nerves and brain cells.”25
References
1. Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®)–
Health Professional Version. National
Cancer Institute. March 15, 2017.
htt ps : / / w w w. ca n c e r. gov /a b o u t-
cancer/treatment/cam/hp/cannabis-
pdq#section/_3. Accessed Mar 31,
2017.
2. Cannabinoid. Wikipedia. March 7,
2017.
3. Formulary. HealthCare.gov. https://
w w w. h e a l t h c a r e . g o v / g l o s s a r y /
formulary/. Accessed Sep 16, 2016.
4. Formulary. Wikipedia. February 22,
2017.
5. Strain Highlights. Charlotte’s Web.
htt ps : / / w w w. l e af l y. co m /s at i va /
charlottes-web. Accessed Sep 22,
2016.
6. Hussar DA. Efficacy and Safety. Merck
Manual (Professional Version).
http://www.merckmanuals.com/
professional/clinical-pharmacology/
c o n c e p t s - i n - p h a r m a c o t h e ra p y /
efficacy-and-safety. Accessed Sep 15,
2016.
7. Fosamax. DrugWatch. March 31,
2017. https://www.drugwatch.com/
fosamax/. Accessed March 31, 2017.
TOWNSEND LETTER – OCTOBER 2017 ONLINE PUBLICATION ONLY
Cannabinoid Deficiency
8. Diethylstilbestrol. Wikipedia. March 17. Cabral GA, et al. CB2 receptors in the
17, 2017. brain: role in central immune function.
9. Thalidomide. Wikipedia. Mar 31, 2017. Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Jan; 153(2): 240–
10. Lee MA. The Discovery of the 251.
Endocannabinoid System. The Prop 18. Conversation with Raphael
215 Era. Copyright 2010, 2012. http:// Mechoulam. Addiction. 2007
www.beyondthc.com/wp-content/ Jun;102.887-893.
uploads/2012/07/eCBSystemLee.pdf 19. Anandin. SpokenSanskrit.de.
11. Lee MA. The Brain and Marijuana. 20. Endocannabinoid system. Wikipedia.
(chapter). Smoke Signals: A Social March 26, 2017.
History of Marijuana – Medical, 21. Nociception. Wikipedia. March 27,
Recreational and Scientific. 2017.
Scribner;2013. 22. Fernandez-Ruiz J, et al. Cannabinoid–
12. Gettman J. Marijuana and the Human Dopamine Interaction in the
Brain. High Times. March 1995. Pathophysiology and Treatment of CNS
13. Neurotransmitter. Wikipedia. Accessed Disorders. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2010
Sep 16, 2016. Jun;3(16): e72–e91.
14. Nicoll RA, Alger BE. The Brain’s Own 23. Osteoclasts. Wikipedia. February 3,
Marijuana. Scientific American. 2017.
December 2004;291(12):68-75. 24. Osteoblasts. Wikipedia. March 9, 2017
15. Endorphins. Wikipedia. March 30, 25. Pope C, et al. Endocannabinoid
2017. Signaling in Neurotoxicity and
16. McPartland JM. The Endocannabinoid Neuroprotection. Neurotoxicology.
System: An Osteopathic 2010 Sep;31(5):562-71.
Perspective. J Am Osteopath Assoc. u
2008;108(10):587.
Sir Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, is a physician, board-certified homeopath, former
nationally syndicated radio talk show host, writer, researcher, and medical missionary. He
was knighted for his humanitarian work as a medical
missionary.
Jonn became interested in the study of cannabis and its
health-restoring properties when a friend gave him a
bottle of CBD hemp oil. He had suffered with intractable
back pain for years as a result of multiple sports injuries
incurred over 30 years as an athlete. Within 20 minutes of
taking the CBD oil, his excruciating pain stopped. He has
found that, as long as he continues to take the oil, he is
virtually pain-free.
Dr. Desnoes may be reached by email at drjonn@mac.com.
His website is askdrjonn.com.
Sandra Kischuk, BSBA, MSMIS, MCPM, is a writer, editor, life coach,
Toastmaster, and master gardener. Author of Fighting the Dragon: How
I Beat Multiple Sclerosis, Sandra’s writing interests include fiction, non-
fiction, poetry, scripts, and other people’s résumés. She has written web
content for physicians, informational/marketing literature for attorneys,
and continuing education courses for dental professionals, and edited
professional communications and doctoral theses on subjects as diverse
as religion, education, engineering, and psychology.
Fibromyalgia | Pain Management | Chronic Fatigue

townsendletter.com

The Examiner of
Alternative Medicine

Orthostatic
Intolerance and
Fibromyalgia

Neural Improving Sleep

Quality in Chronic
Therapy for Pain and Fatigue
Chronic Pain Disorders

Trigger Points and

Chronic Pain Relief

November 2017
Issue #412 | $8.25

Holly Lucille, ND, RN

Fatigue, Depression, and the HPA Axis
 In this issue  
November 2017 | #412
Letter from the Publisher | Jonathan Collin, MD | 8
News | 15
Radical Avoidance of Plastics in the Home:
General Environmental Exposure Limits Beneficial Effects
The International Association of Compounding Pharmacists Needs
Your Help! | by Carol Petersen
Shorts | Jule Klotter | 20
Literature Review & Commentary | Alan R. Gaby, MD | 24
FCT®, Fibromyalgia, and the Unsuspected Suspect –
Drinking Water | by Savely Yurkovsky, MD | 28
Bio-resonance testing, used in Field Control Therapy, indicates that
contaminated water, including popular bottled waters, can underlie
musculoskeletal pains and other chronic problems.
No One Has Adrenal Fatigue.
But They Might Have Something Else. | 32
by Dr. Holly Lucille, ND, RN
Stress during childhood can contribute to hypothalamic-pituitary-
adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation later in life that manifests as fatigue
and depression. Botanicals and nutrients can give the HPA axis
needed support.
Fibromyalgia – Orthostatic Intolerance (NMH & POTS)
Made Easy | by Jacob Teitelbaum, MD | 35
Orthostatic intolerance, a sign of autonomic dysfunction, is often
found in people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
This article outlines how to identify orthostatic intolerance and how
to treat it.
Sleep Quality as a Major Factor in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain
and Fatigue Disorders | by Dr. David M. Brady, ND, DC, CNN | 38
The author explains why good sleep quality is so important for
people with chronic pain and fatigue disorders and suggests
botanicals and nutraceuticals that promote sleep.
Potential Tests for an Autoimmune Subgroup of Patients with CFS
and MCS Could Help Bring Illness Recognition: Helping to Identify
Which Patients May Test Positive | 41
by Laurie Dennison Busby, B.Ed.
Autoimmune mechanisms, identifiable with current testing, may
contribute to hypersensitivity conditions and chronic fatigue
syndrome in a subset of patients.
ON THE COVER: Fatigue, Depression, and the HPA Axis (pg. 32); Orthostatic
Intolerance and Fibromyalgia (pg. 35); Improving Sleep Quality in Chronic
Pain and Fatigue Disorders (pg. 38); Neural Therapy for Chronic Pain (pg. 46);
Trigger Points and Chronic Pain Relief (pg. 54)
TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017 17
Update of “Neural Therapy: An Overlooked Game Changer for
Patients Suffering Chronic Pain?” | 46
by Tracy L. Brobyn, MD, FAAFP; Myung Kyu Chung, MD;
and Patrick J. LaRiccia, MD, MSCE
The authors present the history and use of neural therapy, a
treatment little-known in the US. Neural therapy can resolve a
variety of chronic pain conditions.
Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia: One Size Does Not Fit All | 52
by Robert Thiel, PhD
Nutritional supplements, herbals, and glandulars, tailored
for individual patients, can bring improvement to those with
fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Natural Approaches to Chronic Pain | by Kathy Birkner, CRNA | 54
Muscle pain and trigger points frequently underlie chronic pain
issues that can be alleviated with natural treatments instead of
opioids.
Cannabinoid Deficiency and Its
Impact on Human Health and Disease, Part 3 | 57
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
Part 3 explains the role of endocannabinoid deficiency in
inflammatory and pain conditions and describes cannabinoid sources
and clinical uses.
Book Review | 64
When Disaster Strikes
by Matthew Stein | review by Craig Soderberg
Healing with Homeopathy | 66
Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, DHANP, and Robert Ullman, ND
 Why Homeopathic Medicine Makes Perfect Sense!
Monthly Miracles | Michael Gerber, MD, HMD | 68
 The Sleep Issue
Curmudgeon’s Corner | 88
Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO, and Heather Wright, ND, FABNO
 Light at Night and Breast Cancer Risk
Townsend Calendar | 73
Women’s Health Update | Tori Hudson, ND | 74
 Treatments for Osteoarthritis
News | Research Supporting Minerals for Cognitive Health | 77
by Stephen Ashmead
Editorial | Alan Gaby, MD | 79
 Nutritional Treatments for Opioid Addiction
 Cannabinoid Deficiency and
Its Impact on Human Health
and Disease, Part 3
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
The Endocannabinoid System
The discovery of the endo­
cannabinoid system not only changes
our understanding of human body
physiology, it is a game-changer in
altering our approach to treating
diseases and conditions we previously
considered difficult or even impossible
to control. Dr. Mauro Maccarrone,
University of Teramo, Italy, describes the
endocannabinoid system as the “guardian
angel” of mammalian reproduction,
with the endocannabinoid signaling
system controlling the reproduction
process – governing spermatogenesis,
fertilization, transport of the zygote
through the oviduct, implantation, and
fetal development. Prolific placental CB
receptors “pass messages” between the
embryo and the mother. In maternal
milk, endocannabinoids activate
the newborn suckling response. A
dysfunctional endocannabinoid system
can be the underlying cause of colic.
Israeli neuroscientist Ester Fride noted
that No-CB-receptor mice suffered the
same fate as human babies with “failure
to thrive” syndrome – they weakened
and died prematurely.1
Cannabinoid Therapies
PubMed, the US National Library of
Medicine, National Institute of Health,
lists over 1,200 research papers related
to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, 7,800
TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017 57
related to tetrahydrocannabinol, almost
15,600 referencing cannabis, over 21,000
which talk about cannabinoid, and over
1,500 with the term cannabidiol.
One example of a study that
had both the terms cannabis and
cannabidiol (CBD), “Cannabidiol rather
than Cannabis sativa extracts inhibit cell
growth and induce apoptosis in cervical
cancer cells,” reached the conclusion
that both concentrated cannabidiol
(CBD) and crude (unrefined) Cannabis
sativa extracts (the latter of which would
have the full range of cannabinoids)
“were able to halt cell proliferation in
all cell lines (types of cervical cancers)
at varying concentrations,” meaning
that the cancer cells stopped growing
and multiplying. They further revealed
that apoptosis (cell death) was induced
by cannabidiol.2 Stop the cancer cells
from making new cells and kill the ones
already there? Sounds like a great idea.
Researchers at St. George’s Hospital,
University of London, evaluated the
in vitro effect of six cannabinoids (two
forms of cannabidiol [CBD], two forms
of cannabigerol [CBG] and two forms of
cannabigevarin [CBGV]), separately and
in combination, on cancer (leukemia)
cells. Conclusions:
1) Cannabinoids reduce cell number
by being cytostatic. (stopping cell
processes)
2) Cytotoxicity can be achieved
through a break in treatment
(recovery phase).
3) Cannabinoids alter cell signaling
proteins.
4) CBD acts non-antagonistically with
other cannabinoids to reduce cell
number.
5) Cannabinoid activity is influenced
by drug combination and treatment
schedule.3
Cannabinoids, an amazing complex of
biochemicals, support the homeostatic
system of the human body. Homeostasis
is defined as “A state of equilibrium, as
in an organism or cell, maintained by
self-regulating processes.”4 We can
think of a human’s homeostatic system
as a “regulator” that keeps the body’s
physiological, chemical, and electrical
systems in balance. Thus, we can
see how a nutritional deficiency that
affects the body’s homeostatic system
can impact the entire body, causing
problems ranging from aberrations at
the cellular metabolic level (e.g., cancer
and autoimmune diseases) to gross
changes in physiological, mental, and
emotional functioning. Cannabinoids
provide vital nutrients necessary for the
normal functioning of the human body
and the prevention of disease.
Whether the result of poor
diet, lack of exercise, drug abuse,
environmental toxins or genetic
➤
 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤
factors, endocannabinoid deficits are
associated with a reduced ability or
inability to adapt to chronic stress.
Prolonged exposure to stress depletes
endocannabinoid tone, and this, in turn,
has an adverse impact on a plethora of
physiological processes. Ironically, the
US government’s unending search for
marijuana’s harmful properties yielded
not only information about one of the
human body’s most critical systems but
also astonishing scientific insights that
validate the herb’s therapeutic utility.
Sources of External Cannabinoids
Traditionally, hemp was grown
for fiber and oil, but what is often
overlooked is that hemp was used
as livestock fodder for farm animals,
including chickens, cows, goats, and
pigs. Cannabinoids are lipids – fat
soluble – and, once consumed, would
be retained in the animals’ meat,
dairy products, and eggs. People who
ate animal products would get these
residual cannabinoids.
A second source prior to 1937
were the many over-the-counter and
prescription medicines that included
hemp/cannabis products. A third source
for those who grew hemp would have
been through physical contact. Farmers
who worked in the hemp fields would
invariably brush against the plants, and,
in all likelihood, absorb some of the
terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids
through the oils that clung to their
clothes and skin.
Interestingly, a centuries-old method
of harvesting these oils, used in the
Chu Valley between Kyrgyzstan and
Kazkhstan, involves sending a clean and
naked rider on a well-washed horse
through the fields of an extremely
potent variety of cannabis for a few
hours, then scraping off the oily, sticky
residue from both horse and rider. One
might expect that, by the end of the
58 TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017
ride, after breathing and wearing the
oils for four hours or more, both horse
and rider would be feeling no pain.5
The primary natural sources
of cannabinoids are the two
phytocannabinoid-rich botanicals,
Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica.
A third variety of cannabis, Cannabis
ruderalis, appears to be unimportant
as a source of cannabinoids.6 Aside
from cannabis, some other plants have
small amounts of cannabinoids, which
may or may not have affinity for human
cannabinoid receptors. Four members of
the Asteraceae flower family – Echinacea
purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia,
Helichrysum umbraculigerum, and
Acmella oleracea (common name –
toothache plant) – and a liverwort,
Radula marginata, bear minor amounts
of phytocannabinoids, predominantly,
but not exclusively, in the roots and
flowers. Yangonin, a chemical in the Kava
plant, has a significant affinity for the
CB1 receptor. Both human cannabinoid
receptors respond to tea (Camellia
sinensis) catechins, and black truffles
contain anandamide. Whether the body
has any way to use the cannabinoids in
these herbs/mushrooms is not known,
and it is unlikely that these alternative
cannabinoid sources will be researched
until all of the cannabinoids in cannabis
have been thoroughly profiled.7
Transdermal Application
Because cannabinoids are lipophilic,
transdermal application is an effective
way to take cannabis, at least for some
conditions.
Dr. Mark Sircus, Ac., ODM, DM(P),
(acupuncturist, doctor of oriental
and pastoral medicine and a well-
known online doctor of alternative
medicine) practices what he refers
to as natural allopathic medicine.
Allopathic medicine is what we think of
as traditional medicine: where a doctor
will treat a medical problem by writing
a prescription for an FDA-approved
chemical compound. Natural allopath?
Natural prescriptions. Dr. Sircus, who
claims 45,000+ followers, links his
website (http://drsircus.com/medicine)
to the source of a time-lapse video clip
about covering skin sarcoma with a CBD
oil patch and curing it in 35 days (http://
CureYourOwnCancer.org). Melanoma
took longer – 60 days.8
The skin is more permeable to
cannabinol and cannabadiol than it is
to THC, so patients who apply cannabis
products to the skin are not likely to
experience a dramatic THC high. Dr.
Audra Stinchcomb, a researcher at
the University of Kentucky, holds that
transdermal patches are a preferred
treatment method for a number of
conditions; they reduce side effects,
keep drug levels stable, and control
the release of cannabinoids. Rubbing
CBD oil on the skin can ease arthritis,
muscle and joint pain. Cannabis salves,
lotions, and ointments effectively treat
most skin conditions (burns, itching,
infections, and rashes). However,
transdermal cannabinoid studies using
hairless guinea pigs showed it was
difficult to get a high enough plasma
level to resolve systemic problems.8
Endogenous cannabinoid deficiency
can result from not having sufficient
cannabinoid receptors, or from not
enough of either or both of the two
known endocannabinoids – anandamide
and/or 2-AG. An individual’s need
for and ability to produce an
endocannabinoid will vary, depending
on congenital factors, age, activity
level, general health, diet, substance
abuse, environmental challenges,
and, almost always, the inability to
adjust to chronic stress. Chronic stress
exhausts endocannabinoid tone; when
the endocannabinoid system is broken,
physiological problems follow.9

In a landmark paper, “Clinical
endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD):
can this concept explain therapeutic
benefits of cannabis in migraine,
fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome
and other treatment-resistant
conditions?,” University of Washington
neurologist Ethan Russo postulated that
“clinical endocannabinoid deficiency”
was the underlying factor in migraines,
fibromyalgia, irritable bowel disease,
and a cluster of other degenerative
conditions. He observed that many
recalcitrant neurotransmitter diseases
(pathological conditions) were due
to systemic deficiencies: Alzheimer’s
disease is marked by loss of acetylcholine
activity, Parkinson’s disease is due to
dopamine deficiency, and depression
follows lowered levels of serotonin,
norepinephrine or other amines. Russo
then questioned whether a clinical
endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD),
either congenital or acquired, could
explain the etiology behind migraine
headaches, fibromyalgia, and irritable
bowel syndrome, conditions which
are all characterized by hyperalgesia,
an abnormal sensitivity to pain out of
proportion to any underlying causation.
And if the cause were endocannabinoid
deficiency, could cannabinoid therapy
correct the imbalance?9
Fast forward to 2016. Russo’s most
current paper, “Clinical Endocannabinoid
Deficiency Reconsidered: Current
Research Supports the Theory in
Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Irritable
Bowel, and Other Treatment-
Resistant Syndromes,” documents
a wealth of studies that support his
hypotheses from 2004. Not only did
he find that fibromyalgia, migraine,
and irritable bowel syndrome shared
comorbidity, they had a unified set of
pathophysiological conditions:
• All manifest hyperalgesic states [that]
must be clinically diagnosed based on
subjective criteria as all lack characteristic
TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017 59
Cannabinoid Deficiency
tissue pathology or easily accessible, • Comorbidity is quite clear in the three
objective laboratory findings; diagnoses. Primary headaches co-
• All are diagnoses of exclusion that often occurred in 97% of 201 fibromyalgia
generate extensive negative diagnostic patients; 35.6% of chronic daily
work-ups; headache subjects also fit clinical criteria
• They display elevated incidence of of fibromyalgia, 31.6% of IBS subjects
anxiety and depression…and have been were also diagnosable with fibromyalgia
labeled psychosomatic in origin or worse, and 32% of fibromyalgia patients also fit
wastebasket diagnoses, at one time or for IBS.
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 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤
· While some patients suffer from only
one of these syndromes, lifetime risk
to develop another or all three is quite
common.10
Other disorders that may fall under
the CECD rubric include neonatal failure
to thrive, cystic fibrosis, causalgia,
brachial plexopathy, phantom limb pain,
infantile colic, glaucoma, dysmenorrhea,
neremesis gravidarum, unexplained
fetal wastage (repetitive miscarriages),
post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar
disease, and possibly many others.10
Where Russo had merely questioned
the idea of endocannabinoid deficiency
15 years prior, he now had data.
One study, which compared the
cerebrospinal fluid of 15 migraine
sufferers versus twenty controls,
showed phenomenal, statistically
significant differences in endogenous
cannabinoid system chemicals. Migraine
attacks are correlated with depletion of
beta endorphins in the central nervous
system and extremely low levels of the
endogenous cannabinoid, 2-AG.10
To validate Russo’s endocannabinoid
hypothesis, a cannabis-oriented clinic
in Colorado recommended cannabis
prophylaxis for 120 migraine sufferers.
Headache frequency dropped from
10.4 to 4.6 headaches per month, 85
percent of the sufferers had fewer
headaches, 19.8 percent reported
that headaches had been prevented
or reduced in intensity, with 11.6
percent of the headaches aborted.10
Another study, this one comparing
the effectiveness of cannabis against
standard pharmaceutical fibromyalgia
treatments, favored cannabis over
the “poorly effective prescription
medicines.”10
Studies over the past decade have
proven the effectiveness of cannabis
for ameliorating difficult-to-treat
conditions. Russo noted that some
problems may not be the result of an
absolute endocannabinoid deficiency;
60 TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017
imbalances between the endogenous
cannabinoids could also cause problems.
Russo supports integrating lifestyle
approaches to the endocannabinoid
support regimen, including dietary
manipulations with probiotics and
prebiotics to enhance health.10
Now almost 80 years after the
illegalization of cannabis, we still have
minimal or no cannabinoids in our
food or medicines. Many of us suffer a
variety of conditions that researchers
have linked to cannabinoid deficiency –
although it is not for lack of cannabinoids
in our diets that we are afflicted with
endocannabinoid deficiency. Endo-
refers to the cannabinoids our bodies
produce – not the ones we eat. So,
if eating is involved, we may not be
eating the right “building blocks.”
Our endocannabinoid deficiency is
probably more a result of chronic stress,
physiological and environmental factors,
and a diet far removed from that which
sustained our forefathers--which was
probably not particularly healthy most
of the time, but at least it was real food.
When human beings get even a
little sun exposure, they manufacture
vitamin D. What if we were missing
some chemical link so that our vitamin
D “factory” were broken? Wouldn’t it
make sense to supplement our diets
with a vitamin D tablet or vitamin D
fortified food?
Broken System, Broken Health
Most populations worldwide,
particularly those in North America,
Europe, and the “West,” have suffered
a severe nutritional deficiency for close
to 100 years. This nutritional deficiency
is just now being recognized by medical
science.
The cause of the deficiency is not so
much simple ignorance, as was the case
with scurvy (a disease caused by vitamin
C [ascorbic acid] deficiency), as it is the
result of scare tactics, propaganda, a
political agenda, and unnecessarily
restrictive legislation promulgated by
the US government. The United States
government policy regarding cannabis
has affected the legality of cannabis and
cannabinoids in virtually every nation of
the world.
When the US demonized cannabis
and passed knee-jerk political legislation
created and imposed to satisfy the greed,
racist agendas, and desire for power
of a few wealthy and elitist individuals,
knowledge of its health benefits all but
died. Most Western nations followed
suit in trying to stamp out the “evil
weed.” Ignorance of the body’s need
for cannabinoids and vehement, almost
hysterical propaganda permitted,
no, even forced cannabis to be “sent
underground.” People who had nothing
more in mind than their own vested
interests were allowed to control the
health of nations.
Of the over a hundred cannabinoids
thus far identified, the two most
researched are phytocannabinoid
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and
cannabidiol (CBD). After the
illegalization of cannabis, those who
grew the plant were growing it to
meet the demand of the illicit market
– people who were looking to get high.
They selectively bred their plants to
increase THC, the cannabinoid best
known for its psychoactive properties.
The benefits of cannabinoids were no
longer available to law-abiding citizens.
And for those who partook of the more
psychoactive cannabis, the reduction in
CBD probably altered its health benefits
and exacerbated its risks.
Over the past two decades, word of
cannabis’s almost miraculous properties
leaked out, first in a trickle and then in
an ever-stronger flow, as a few brave
and desperate souls defied the law and
risked imprisonment, trying to alleviate
 Cannabinoid Deficiency
intractable pain and even to cure their People have long dreamed of finding today – from the constant media stream
“untreatable” cancers with cannabis. the one drug that will cure everything. of disaster, terrorism, and unrest; the
At the same time, scientists began to That one drug will not be found in a phenomenal number of synthesized
discover the role that cannabinoids medicine cabinet or a laboratory. Drugs chemicals to which we are exposed;
play in human health. Health benefits, are chemicals and, in and of themselves, our highly-processed, unbalanced diets;
known for millennia and then lost, are chemicals are not intelligent. They and, for most of us, our sedentary
being rediscovered and verified through cannot independently change and lifestyle divorced from nature (and this
application of the scientific method. adapt to their environment. They list is by no means comprehensive) –
Research has lifted the curtain on cannot identify a disease, decide what drains our endocannabinoid reserves.
the endocannabinoid system, revealing they need to do, or plan and execute Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency
that it is not just a strange, vestigial an attack. No, there will be no magic Syndrome is endemic and manifests
appendix our bodies no longer need. bullet miracle drug. And no, we are not as autoimmune disorders, neuro­
No. What we are discovering is that the claiming that cannabinoids are that degenerative diseases, migraines,
health of the endocannabinoid system, miracle drug. cancers, arthritis, allergies, and a high
at its root, is critical to the health of Cannabinoids are no more intelligent number of other inflammatory diseases.
the whole human organism. We find than any other chemical. We are not In fact, a growing number of physicians
ourselves amazed that “tickling” these sure if they have the ability to cure and researchers are hypothesizing that
tiny endocannabinoid receptors can cancer directly. We suspect that they all diseases are at least in part related to
awaken an internal defense system trigger the cannabinoid receptors and an endocannabinoid deficiency.
intelligent enough to seek out and if our bodies did not have cannabinoid
reverse inflammation (which some receptors, we would be like the no- The Pharmacologic and Clinical Effects
researchers believe to be the root of cannabinoid-receptor rats. No receptors. of Medical Cannabis
almost all illness), precise enough to No response. But with receptors, A growing number of states are
restore blood sugar balance, and strong cannabinoids become tools – keys – for passing laws to legalize cannabis. Patient
enough and discerning enough to activating the receptors and starting the use is increasing as people discover the
destroy cancer cells and to leave healthy chemical cascades that restore immune benefits of cannabinoid therapy. As
cells undamaged. balance. The ubiquitous stress we face
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TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017 61

 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤
this drug becomes more “mainstream,”
it is increasingly important that
physicians, other medical professionals,
pharmacists, hospitals, and clinics
understand the benefits and risks
associated with medical cannabis.6
In 1851, the United States
Pharmacopeia listed marijuana as a
legitimate medical compound. In 1937,
the US went against the American
Medical Association’s vociferous
objection and passed the United States
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. It was not
until 1941 that marijuana was “de-
listed” from the Pharmacopeia.6
Today, a strange, quixotic schism
exists. Cannabis is considered to be a
schedule 1 drug at the federal level;
but, in half the states in this country
it is prescribed, orally sprayed, vaped,
inhaled, and eaten … and, in some
cases, sold, not through pharmacies,
but through government-sanctioned
and licensed dispensaries. Some
patients grow their own. And some
patients participating in US medical
cannabis studies receive “a cannabis
strain or blend grown and created under
contract at a federal research farm at
the University of Mississippi.”6
Two prescription cannabis-derived
medicines marketed in the United
States and Canada are dronabinol
(schedule III – sold in the US as Marinol)
and nabilone (schedule II – sold in
the US as Cesamet). Both are delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-based (the
component of cannabis best known
for its psychoactive properties) and
were approved in 1992 to treat cancer
chemotherapy-induced nausea and
vomiting. In 1993, the FDA approved
dronabinol for a second condition – to
reverse acquired immune deficiency
syndrome anorexia.6
Starting around 2010, nabiximols11
(brand name Sativex), a combination of
THC and CBD derived from two strains
62 TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017
of Cannabis sativa, was approved
in Canada, New Zealand, and eight
European countries for treating
unresolved cancer pain, and the pain
and spasticity of multiple sclerosis pain.
The oral spray delivers a dose of 2.7 mg
THC and 2.5 mg CBD. Sativex is getting
a “fast track” review from the FDA for
treating cancer pain in the US.11
A number of studies have shown that
nabiximols is highly effective for multiple
sclerosis patients for the treatment of
spasticity, spasms, bladder problems,
tremor, and/or pain. Of patients treated
with nabiximols, 40 percent achieved
more than 30 percent improvement in
symptoms, with only mild intoxication
and no significant adverse cognitive or
mood effects.11 However, the annual
cost of Sativex in the countries where
it has been approved is high, around
$16,000 US.12
The pharmacologic responses
patients experience with natural
cannabis vary based on strain and
quality of the herb (how fresh is it,
how was it processed, and how has
it been stored), formulation (the
ratio of various cannabinoids and
terpenoids will vary by strain and by
quality handling issues; some of the
components are more volatile and
more easily destroyed or degraded),
dose, method of administration, and
patient physiology. Cannabis has
proven effective for treating a wide
variety of pain: neuropathic, chronic,
and postoperative, and pain related
to specific medical conditions such
as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis,
multiple sclerosis, cancer, and human
immunodeficiency virus–associated
sensory neuropathy.13
Cannabis Pharmacokinetics
(THC and CBD)
THC is highly lipophilic (meaning,
it tends to bind with fat in the body,
which will slow its elimination). The
pharmacokinetic half-life of the
distribution phase is 0.5 hour; half of
the drug taken will be disseminated
throughout the body within half an
hour. The half-life for the terminal phase
varies substantially by patient with a
mean of 30 hours; half of the drug taken
will be eliminated within 30 hours.
Cannabidiol is also lipophilic, but its
terminal half-life is nine hours.6
Medical cannabis users most
commonly ingest the drug through
smoking. Cannabis smokers inhale
about 50% of the THC in the herb. The
rest is lost to heat or not inhaled, and
up to 50% of inhaled smoke is exhaled.
Some of the smoke retained in the lungs
is metabolized locally. With all these
“losses,” the estimated bioavailability of
a smoked dose of THC falls somewhere
between 10 to 25 percent of the total
THC in the cannabis. The absorption
of smoked THC, the half-life of the
distribution phase, and the half-life of
the terminal phase parallel those of
intravenously administered THC.6
Cannabis vaporization is growing
in popularity among medical cannabis
users because it is perceived as a
cleaner, safer way to take the drug.
Cannabinoids are volatile and vaporize
at a far lower temperature than that
required for burning plant matter.
Heated air drawn through the cannabis
aerosolizes the cannabinoids so they
can be inhaled without the user having
to inhale smoke.6
In clinical studies, the bioavailability
of orally-administered THC ranges from
5 to 20 percent. Users often receive even
less than that because stomach acids
can degrade the drug and the liver will
metabolize a significant portion of the
drug before it ever reaches circulation
(first pass effect). Compared to
intravenous or inhaled administration,
peak THC concentrations are delayed

in oral administration, taking as long
as one to three hours. This can make it
difficult to determine the appropriate
dose.6
Dosing
Attempts to normalize THC dosage
have been challenged by dosage
variations and aberrations, routes of
administration, and the high likelihood
of developing tolerance in as few as
four days of daily use (a risk practically
nonexistent in intermittent use).6
Different patient populations
respond to medical cannabis in different
ways – based on individual hormonal
variations, lifestyle differences (e.g.,
smoking), other health issues (e.g.,
cannabis can increase morbidity
and mortality for patients with
cardiovascular issues; cannabis can
exacerbate psychiatric problems), and
the interactions of cannabis with other
medications the patient is taking.6
Consistent effects of THC, regardless
of the route of administration, include
heart rate increases of an average of
more than 19 beats a minute, a feeling
of being “high,” decreased alertness,
and decreased motor stability. However,
due to unpredictable delays between
serum (blood level) concentrations and
the onset of the physiological effects
(impairments), the two cannot be
directly correlated, as is so often done
with alcohol consumption.6
Further studies are needed to
develop dosing regimens that produce
more consistent and predictable results.
Clinical Effects of Medical Cannabis
Medicinal cannabis has been used to
treat cachexia, cancer, glaucoma, human
immunodeficiency virus infection/
acquired immune deficiency syndrome,
muscle spasms, seizures, severe nausea,
and sleep disorders.6
Cachexia, a devastating metabolic
disorder that affects some 9 million
TOWNSEND LETTER – NOVEMBER 2017 63
Cannabinoid Deficiency
people worldwide, involves excessive 6. Borgelt LM, et al. The Pharmacologic
weight- and muscle-loss. It is seen in and Clinical Effects of Medical Cannabis.
Pharmacotherapy 2013;33(2):195-206.
the late stages of almost every major 7. Cannabinoid: Cannabinoids in other plants.
chronic illness and affects 16–42% of Wikipedia.
people with heart failure, 30% of those 8. Transdermal Medical Marijuana – Skin Cancer
with chronic obstructive pulmonary Treatment. October 6, 2014. http://drsircus.
c o m / m e d i c i n e / t ra n s d e r m a l - m e d i c a l -
disease, up to 60% of people with kidney
marijuana-skin-cancer-treatment/.
disease, and as many as 80% of people 9. Russo EB. Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency
with advanced cancer.14 (CECD): can this concept explain therapeutic
benefits of cannabis in migraine, fibromyalgia,
References irritable bowel syndrome and other treatment-
1. Pope C, et al. Endocannabinoid Signaling resistant conditions? Neuro Endocrinol Lett.
in Neurotoxicity and Neuroprotection. 2008 Apr;29(2):192-200.
Neurotoxicology. 2010 Sep;31(5):562-71. 10. Russo EB. Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency
2. Lukhele ST, Motadi LR. Cannabidiol rather than Reconsidered: Current Research Supports the
Cannabis sativa extracts inhibit cell growth Theory in Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Irritable
and induce apoptosis in cervical cancer cells. Bowel, and Other Treatment-Resistant
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 Sep Syndromes. Cannabis and Cannabinoid
1;16(1):335. Research. 2016;1(1).
3. Scott KA, et al. Enhancing the Activity of 11. Nabiximols. Wikipedia.
Cannabidiol and Other Cannabinoids In Vitro 12. 7 Things You Need to Know About Sativex. Leaf
through Modifications to Drug Combinations Science.
and Treatment Schedules. Anticancer Res. 13. Cannabis Extracts Reduce Cancer Pain, Study
October 2013 33 (10) 4373-4380. Says. NORML: Working to reform marijuana
4. Homeostasis. American Heritage® Dictionary laws. http://norml.org/news/2005/01/20/
of the English Language, Fifth Edition. cannabis-extracts-reduce-cancer-pain-study-
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt;2011. says. Accessed Sep 24, 2016.
5. Lamar C. Marijuana harvesting in Kyrgyzstan 14. Lok C. Cachexia: The Last Illness. Nature:
sometimes involves naked horseback riding. International Weekly Journal of Science.
December 9, 2015. u
Sir Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, is a physician, board-
certified homeopath, former nationally syndicated radio
talk show host, writer, researcher, and medical missionary.
He was knighted for his humanitarian work as a medical
missionary.
Jonn became interested in the study of cannabis and its
health-restoring properties when a friend gave him a bottle
of CBD hemp oil. He had suffered with intractable back pain
for years as a result of multiple sports injuries incurred over
30 years as an athlete. Within 20 minutes of taking the CBD
oil, his excruciating pain stopped. He has found that, as
long as he continues to take the oil, he is virtually pain-free.
Dr. Desnoes may be reached by email at drjonn@mac.com.
His website is askdrjonn.com.
Sandra Kischuk, BSBA, MSMIS, MCPM, is a writer, editor, life coach,
Toastmaster, and master gardener. Author of Fighting the Dragon: How
I Beat Multiple Sclerosis, Sandra’s writing interests include fiction, non-
fiction, poetry, scripts, and other people’s résumés. She has written web
content for physicians, informational/marketing literature for attorneys,
and continuing education courses for dental professionals, and edited
professional communications and doctoral theses on subjects as diverse
as religion, education, engineering, and psychology.
 MEN’S HEALTH EDITION

townsendletter.com

The Examiner of
Alternative Medicine

Treating Mast Cell

Activation Syndrome
Erectile
Helicobacter pylori  –
Dysfunction,
Commensal or
Lifestyle, and Pathogen?
Testosterone
Integrative Care for
Myelofibrosis
DECEMBER 2017
Issue #413 | $8.25

Dugald Seely, ND, MSc

Awarded the Rogers Prize
 In this issue  
December 2017 | #413

Letter from the Publisher | Jonathan Collin, MD | 8
Shorts | Jule Klotter | 14
Literature Review & Commentary | Alan R. Gaby, MD | 20
Silver Hydrosol – Nature’s Best Kept Health Secret | 26
by Rob MacCuspie, PhD
Silver has long been recognized as an anti-microbial agent. High-
quality silver nanoparticles support the immune support without
significantly affecting the gut microbiome.
MitoQ®: A Highly Bioavailable, Mitochondria-Targeted Form of
Coenzyme Q10 | 29
by Chris D. Meletis, ND, Susanne Bennett, DC, and Kimberly Wilkes
A positively charged form of CoQ10 transports more easily through
cell and mitochondrial membranes, increasing mitochondrial
antioxidant capacity and reducing mitochondrial damage.
Has the Cause of Psoriasis Been Found? | 59
by Jonathan V. Wright, MD
Helicobacter pylori may be an underlying contributor to some cases
of psoriasis.
Cannabinoid Deficiency and Its Impact on Human Health and
Disease, Part 4 | 60
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
In the final installment of this article, the authors discuss the adverse
effects, drug interactions, and contraindications for cannabis and the
benefits of the inactive components found in the plant.
Editorial | The “Retracted” Studies | by Jule Klotter | 63
Guest Editorial | by Rick Jaffe, Esq. | 65
Can CAM Docs Legally Prescribe and Sell Herbals and Nutritional
Supplements as Therapy Without Bad Things Happening?

Dugald Seely and the Rogers Award | 34 Book Reviews | 68

Small Country-Big Prize: What’s the Story? Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism
by Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO by Donald R. Yance, CN, MH, RH(AHG)
The Rogers Prize is a cash award that recognizes leaders in Canadian review by Donald A. Carroll, OD, NT
integrative medicine. This year’s recipient is clinician and researcher The Miraculous Results of Extremely High Doses of the Sunshine
Dugald Seely, ND. Hormone Vitamin D3 | by Jeff T. Bowles
review by Donald A. Carroll, OD, NT
A Crash Course in Erections and Testosterone | 40
by Jade Teta, ND
Naturopathic physician Jade Teta explains the roles of brain, In Memoriam | Ted Rozema | 70
biochemistry, and blood flow in erections and how to treat
dysfunction. Functional Gastroenterology Bolus |71
Steven Sandberg-Lewis, ND, DHANP
The Restoration Model | by Jean-Ronel Corbier, MD | 46  Helicobacter pylori – Commensal, Pathobiont or Pathogen?
Based on the simple assumption that the body and brain have the
ability to heal themselves, Dr. Corbier encourages patience and the Ask Dr. J | Jim Cross, ND, LAc | 73
use of an wholistic, optimistic approach to restore health—even in  The Answer Lies Within
the case of autism.
Women’s Health Update | Tori Hudson, ND | 75
Mast Cell Activation – Another Elephant in the Room | 50  Primary Care Issues: Fatigue and Osteoarthritis of the Knees
by Neil Nathan, MD
Mast cells coordinate the immune system response to toxins and Townsend Calendar | 77
infections. When the system is overloaded, mast cells become overly
reactive, a condition that causes a wide variety of symptoms and can News | 78
be treated. Quicksilver Scientific Revolutionizes Mercury Testing
Mushroom Wisdom Introduces New “Old” Mushroom – Super Poria
Myelofibrosis – A Different Sort of Malignancy and a Case History
of Control | by Davis W. Lamson, MS, ND | 56 Editorial | Alan Gaby, MD | 79
Dr. Lamson shares a case report in which integrative naturopathic  Medical Education Needs to Improve
care has successfully controlled pancytopenia and myelofibrosis in
an elderly woman.

ON THE COVER: Dugald Seely, ND, Awarded the Rogers Prize (pg. 34); Erectile Dysfunction, Lifestyle, and Testosterone (pg.40); Treating Mast Cell Activation
Syndrome (pg. 50); Helicobacter pylori – Commensal or Pathogen? (pg. 71); Integrative Care for Myelofibrosis (pg. 56)

TOWNSEND LETTER – DECEMBER 2017 17

 Cannabinoid Deficiency and
Its Impact on Human Health
and Disease, Part 4
by Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, and
Sandra Kischuk, MSMIS, MCPM
Adverse Effects, Drug Interactions, and
Contraindications
In reviewing 31 medical marijuana
trials, Borgelt, et al noted that researchers
reported 4,779 adverse events in patients
receiving a medicinal cannabinoid for 8 to
12 months. Of these, 96.6 percent events
were not serious (most common: dizziness
-  15.5%). There were 164 serious events,
the most common being multiple sclerosis
relapse (12.8% of the events), vomiting
(9.8% of the events), and urinary tract
infection (19.1% of the events).1
Other mild-to-moderate adverse
effects included “somnolence, ataxia,
blurred vision, headache, dry mouth,
sedation, dizziness, conjunctival irritation/
dry eyes, hypotension, feeling intoxicated,
nausea, and difficulty with concentration
and/or memory.” Most of the reported
adverse effects are typically not serious,
with the most common being dizziness.1
But, what of the effect of exogenous
(outside) cannabinoids on the brain?
A study by Giovanni Battistella, et al
investigated brain structure changes in a
group that smoked cannabis on a regular
basis and a group that smoked it only
occasionally. All subjects were between
the ages of 19 and 21, had no psychiatric
disorders, used only cannabis – no other
drugs, and were split into two groups
based on age of first cannabis use, in order
for the investigative team to evaluate
effect of cannabis on the developing
brain2:
In normal adolescents the volume
of cerebellar gray matter starts
to decrease around puberty and
continues to do so until early
adulthood … (probably) due to the
pruning of the (unused) synaptic
connections … (by) endogenous
cannabinoids.2
60 TOWNSEND LETTER – DECEMBER 2017
This may be the first study showing
temporal pole gray matter atrophy in
regular cannabis users with the degree
of atrophy directly correlated with drug
use frequency three months before the
study began, as well as medial temporal
cortex changes (a common finding
associated with cannabis addiction and
regular cannabis use). However, another
possibility is that abnormal pruning may
result from a genetic predisposition: The
researchers would have no way of knowing
whether the brain changes were present
before or were the result of cannabis use.2
This study on the effects of long-term
exposure to cannabis on brain structure
integrity found the following:
• An association between regular
cannabis-reduced gray matter
volume in cannabinoid-CB1-receptor-
rich regions “functionally linked to
motivational, emotional, and affective
processing”;
• A correlation between the magnitude
of these changes and frequency of
cannabis use; and
• The magnitude of these changes was
modulated by the age at which an
individual started smoking cannabis.2
Of interest is that past studies
have shown that the body may be
neuroadaptive: Cognitive changes and CB1
activity may become normal after a period
of cannabis abstinence. The researchers
could not reach a conclusion as to whether
the structural changes were permanent or
temporary and recommended longitudinal
studies.2
One of the things we need to remember
is that what we have today “ain’t your
mama’s marijuana.” Over the past 40 years,
cannabis growers have concentrated on
increasing the THC content and reducing
CBD because a better “high” meant more
money for the grower. CBD steps down the
psychoactive effect of THC, which is of no
help if you are trying to get high or trying
to sell a premium psychoactive product.
Since CBD is attracted to both CB1 and CB2
receptors, it may also serve in a protective
capacity. THC is close to a perfect fit for
the CB1 receptor. CBD (cannabidiol) is
not a perfect fit for either the CB1 or the
CB2 receptor; “it stimulates both types
of receptors without actually binding to
them.”3
Project CBD research has shown that
CBD counteracts the psychoactive effects
of THC by inhibiting its effects on CB1
receptors. CBD also causes an increased
release of 2-AG, one of the endogenous
cannabinoids. Like CBD, 2-AG stimulates
both CB1 and CB2 receptors, which
enhances the overall effect on the body.
Studies published by the National Institutes
of Health have shown that cannabidiol
also inhibits the activity of fatty acid
amide hydroxylase, or FAAH. This slows
the deterioration of anandamide,3 the
aforementioned “bliss“ endocannabinoid.
Psychiatric Issues
Marijuana’s chief psychoactive
component, THC, is an agonist of the CB1
receptors, which function to modulate
appetite, mood, and motivation. An
individual’s response to marijuana depends
on dosage level, the strain of marijuana,
and frequency of use. Typically, marijuana
will induce “mild euphoria, sedation,
relaxation, hunger, and enhanced sensory
input.” It will also impair “attention,
balance, cognition, judgment, memory,
and sense of time.” Some less fortunate
users experience “anxiety, disorientation,
paranoia, and psychosis.” A higher relative
level of cannabidiol may be protective
 and reduce the frequency of psychotic
symptoms.1
Cannabis use does not cause
schizophrenia, but adolescents who use
marijuana heavily can have earlier onset
of and double the risk of developing this
chronic neurodevelopmental disorder.
Ongoing use of cannabinoids after the
onset of schizophrenia increases psychosis
severity, fragments attention, and makes
impulse control difficult, if not impossible.1
Physiologically, cannabis use interferes
with adolescent neurodevelopment, with
imaging studies showing compromised
hippocampus and cerebellum maturation.1
Cannabis use is associated with
memory and cognition impairment; heavy
use, in particular, is associated with deficits
in the encoding, storage, and retrieval of
memory. The latter correlates with the
visible brain structure atrophy in memory
areas: the amygdala and hippocampus.
Typically, executive function, information
processing, and visuospatial perception
suffer with marijuana use.1
Researchers have found a modest
association between frequent cannabis
use and depressive disorders, impulsivity,
and suicidal ideation and attempts. And
there are concerns about dependence:
Cannabis is the most commonly
used and abused illicit substance in
the world. In the United States each
year, approximately 6500 individuals
begin to use marijuana daily, of
whom 10–20% will develop cannabis
dependence. Among people admitted
to substance treatment facilities
in the United States, marijuana is
the most frequently identified illicit
substance.1
Pediatric Issues
Calls to the National Poison Data
Center have increased with the increased
availability of medical marijuana.
Symptoms of acute cannabinoid toxicity
include such neurologic symptoms as
“decreased coordination, decreased
muscle strength, lethargy, sedation,
difficulties concentrating, altered psycho­
motor activity, slurred speech, and slow
reaction time … tachycardia, and dry
mouth.” Pediatric patients may exhibit
more severe symptoms such as apnea
and cyanosis. Common symptoms include
ataxia, somnolence, lethargy, altered
mental status, severe hyperextension, and
spasticity. Although no deaths related to
marijuana have been reported to national
TOWNSEND LETTER – DECEMBER 2017 61
poison centers, there can be significant
morbidity.1
The increased availability of
cannabinoids increases the risk for
exposure in children and adolescents,
which often results from consumption of
cannabis-laced foods. This is complicated
by the lack of safety or regulatory
packaging. Best practice for cannabis
products, as for all prescription and over-
the-counter drugs, is to always secure
drugs in a safe place with child-proof
locks.1
The Entourage Effect
In 1999, Raphael Mechoulam co-
authored a paper with Shimon Ben-
Shabat, et al, “An entourage effect:
inactive endogenous fatty acid glycerol
esters enhance 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol
cannabinoid activity,” that changed
the way cannabis researchers would
approach future studies. Mechoulam
administered the endocannabinoid 2-AG
(2-arachidonoylglycerol) with two related
inactive compounds to mice. The result?
The 2-AG endocannabinoid bound more
easily at the receptors, and the mice
exhibited a greater behavioral response
than when 2-AG was used alone.4
Scientists had searched for years
to find the active chemical component
in cannabis. What Mechoulam, et al,
discovered was that certain compounds,
which themselves were biologically
inactive, facilitated and enhanced the
effect of active components, and that the
presence of these inactive constituents
could alter the results from those observed
when the active component was applied in
isolation.4 In Mechoulam’s words:
Biologically active natural products,
from either plant or animal origin,
are in many instances accompanied
by chemically related, though
biologically inactive, constituents.
Very seldom is the biological activity
of the active constituent assayed
together with the inactive ‘entourage’
compounds. In view of the results
described above investigations of
the effect of the active component
in the presence of its ‘entourage’
compounds may lead to observations
of effects closer to those in Nature
than investigations with the active
component only.4
In 2001, John McPartland and Ethan
Russo published a paper, “Cannabis and
Cannabis Extracts: Greater Than the Sum
of Their Parts?” in the Journal of Cannabis
Therapeutics. In this work, they applied
the “entourage” concept to the cannabis
plant itself, noting “Good evidence shows
that secondary compounds in cannabis
may enhance the beneficial effects of THC
… Cannabis terpenoids and flavonoids may
also increase cerebral blood flow, enhance
cortical activity, kill respiratory pathogens,
and provide anti-inflammatory activity.”5
A decade later, Russo substantiated
the molecular-teamwork hypothesis and
expanded on it in a paper published in the
British Journal of Pharmacology, “Taming
THC: potential cannabis synergy and
phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage
effects,” which contains an amazing 304
citations.6 At a Fall 2010, Israeli-sponsored
medical conference, he discussed the role
of “minor” phytocannabinoids, including
tetrahydrocannabivarin, cannabigerol,
and cannabichromene, in synergistically
enhancing the therapeutic effects of THC
and CBD. His presentation also covered
evidence that “phytocannabinoid-
terpenoid interactions” enhanced the
therapeutic effects of cannabis.6
Cannabinoids, themselves, are
odorless. Terpenoids, which are made up
of repeating 5-carbon molecule chains
(isoprene), provide fragrance in aromatic
bark and wood, citrus peel, and smelly
herbs (eg, sage, mint). Researchers now
suspect that these very volatile and very
potent terpenoids (of which there are
over 200 in cannabis) may have a role to
play in providing synergistic support and
biofunctional enhancement of cannabinoid
benefits. In their 2001 paper, McPartland
and Russo had gone so far as to explore
the role terpenoids played in expanding
the “medicine chest” cannabis provides,
detailing the terpenoids that would most
augment each of the cannabinoids in
practical use.5 The addition of terpenoids
and flavonoids to the cannabinoid
“medicine chest” complicates the genetic
development of new strains of cannabis
exponentially but impacts the potential for
even greater therapeutic results.7
Conclusion
A century ago, medical science
did not know of the existence of the
endocannabinoid system or the role
cannabinoids played in the health of
the human body. No longer. D Sulak, in
his discussion of the endocannabinoid
system on the Norml website, dedicated
to reforming marijuana law, noted, “The
➤
 Cannabinoid Deficiency
➤
endogenous cannabinoid system, named treatments patients can or cannot get. Is
after the plant that led to its discovery, is this not practicing medicine?
perhaps the most important physiologic Even the government can decide, not
system involved in establishing and only whether Medicare will or will not
maintaining human health.”8 Cannabinoid cover a procedure, but whether a patient
deficiency has consequences as insidious can or cannot get a desired procedure,
as any parasitic disease or cancer, laying even if the patient is willing to pay for it out
low and silently destroying health for of his or her own pocket. Is it any wonder
decades; as consuming as any bacterial or that in the years 2014 to 2016, Forbes,
fungal enemy; and as treacherous as any Time Magazine, WebMD, NBCNews, CBS
virus hijacking its host’s DNA. News, and The Washington Post reported
The saddest fact is that the cause of that the United States had the worst, most
this condition is man-made and politically expensive healthcare in the developed
induced. But, this is nothing new. Even world?
in the 21st century, it is a fact that those Greed, which stems from illogical,
who are not medical professionals can infantile, and irrational fear of privation;
be jailed for practicing medicine if they obsession with controlling others; and an
provide advice on health issues, no matter unbridled hunger for power combined
how accurate or helpful. It is also well- with medical ignorance produced
known that proponents of alternative legislation that should never have been
medical treatments are often hounded by enacted. The prohibition of hemp and its
the government until they willingly stop related compounds created consequences
promoting their ideas, get arrested and that have produced needless pain and
incarcerated, or suffer financial destruction suffering, unnecessary hardship, and
through the actions of its agents. Yet, the destruction of the lives of millions of
how much of the “conventional” medical people. The time is long overdue for this
care people receive worldwide is dictated criminal act that has been imposed upon
by political convenience, powerful humanity to be reversed, and the injustice
individuals with “agendas,” megalithic and needless suffering be brought to an
chemical corporations, and profit- end.
crazed insurance companies? If I were It is time we take a second look at
not a medical professional, I could be what makes sense and move away from
arrested for recommending or denying the hysterical “Reefer Madness” mindset.
appropriate medical treatment. Yet, every Cannabis has hundreds of chemical
day, insurance companies decide what components, including some which are
Sir Jonn Desnoes, OMD, MD, PhD, is a physician, board-certified
homeopath, former nationally syndicated radio talk show host,
writer, researcher, and medical missionary. He was knighted for his
humanitarian work as a medical missionary.
Jonn became interested in the study of cannabis and its health-
restoring properties when a friend gave him a bottle of CBD hemp
oil. He had suffered with intractable back pain for years as a result
of multiple sports injuries incurred over 30 years as an athlete.
Within 20 minutes of taking the CBD oil, his excruciating pain
stopped. He has found that, as long as he continues to take the oil,
he is virtually pain-free.
Dr. Desnoes may be reached by email at drjonn@mac.com. His
website is askdrjonn.com.
Sandra Kischuk, BSBA, MSMIS, MCPM, is a writer, editor, life coach, Toastmaster,
and master gardener. Author of Fighting the Dragon: How I Beat Multiple
Sclerosis, Sandra’s writing interests include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scripts,
and other people’s résumés. She has written web content for physicians,
informational/marketing literature for attorneys, and continuing education
courses for dental professionals, and edited professional communications and
doctoral theses on subjects as diverse as religion, education, engineering, and
psychology.
62 TOWNSEND LETTER – DECEMBER 2017
exclusive to that plant and that plant
alone. We already know of the powerful
effect of some of these on treating pain,
inflammation, and even cancer. We need
to look more closely at everything this
plant has to offer and to make it available
to those people whose lives it can
rebuild and restore. To do anything less is
inhumane. To deny hope for a cure is evil.
If we can clarify a complex, emotionally
and politically charged subject using
unbiased, science-based information; if
we can enlighten minds with facts and a
new understanding of how the human
body works; and if we can demonstrate
the wisdom of using a simple God-given
plant our bodies were designed to use to
restore health; then perhaps we can set in
place legislation that is fair and sensitive
to peoples’ needs, that does not place
profits above human welfare, and that
frees people from unnecessary pain and
disease.
References
1. Borgelt LM, et al. The Pharmacologic and Clinical Effects of
Medical Cannabis. Pharmacotherapy 2013;33(2):195-206.
2. Battistella G,  et al. Long-Term Effects of Cannabis on Brain
Structure. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2014 Aug; 39(9):
2041–2048.
3. CBD Oil Review. https://cbdoilreview.org/cbd-cannabidiol/
cbd-endocannabinoid-system/. Accessed Sep 19, 2016.
4. Ben-Shabat S, et al. An entourage effect: inactive endogenous
fatty acid glycerol esters enhance 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol
cannabinoid activity. European Journal of Pharmacology
353 1998 23–31.
5. McPartland J, Russo E. Cannabis and Cannabis Extracts:
Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts? Journal of Cannabis
Therapeutics. 2001;1(3-4): 103-132.
6. Russo EB. Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and
phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. Br J
Pharmacol. 2011 Aug; 163(7): 1344–1364.
7. Gardener F. Ethan Russo Reviews the Effects: Terpenoids,
minor cannabinoids, contribute to the ‘entourage effect’ of
Cannabis-based medicines. O’Shaughnessys: The Journal of
Cannabis in Clinical Practice. August 2011.
8. Sulak D. Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System.
http://norml.org /library/item/introduction-to-the-
endocannabinoid-system. Accessed Sep 25, 2016.
Additional Reading
Bonnie RJ, Whitebread CH. The Forbidden Fruit and the Tree of
Knowledge: An Inquiry into the Legal History of American
Marijuana Prohibition. Virginia Law Review. October
1970;56(6).
Brecher, EM and the Editors of Consumer Reports Magazine. The
Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937: The history of how the Marihuana
Tax Act came to be the law of the land. http://www.
druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/taxact.htm. Accessed
Sep 18, 2016.
McPartland M, Guy G. The evolution of Cannabis and coevolution
with the cannabinoid receptor – a hypothesis. In Guy, et al,
eds: The Medicinal Uses of Cannabinoids; and McPartland JM,
et al. Evolutionary origins of the endocannabinoid system.
Gene. 2006;370:64-74.
Musto DF. The History of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Arch Gen
Psychiat. February 1972;26(2):101-108.
The Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug
Abuse. 1972.
Sides, H. Science Seeks to Unlock Marijuana Secrets. National
Geographic. June 2015.
The Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug
Abuse I. Control of Marihuana, Alcohol and Tobacco.
Whitebread C; USC Law School. The History of the Non-Medical
Use of Drugs in the United States. A Speech to the California
Judges Association. 1995 California Judges Association
Annual Conference.
u