Cannabis Culture

Patients praise the cannabis plant for having a mild effect on their bodies, while simultaneously alleviating some of their worst symptoms. Unlike medical marijuana, many FDA approved medications have profoundly negative side effects, including kidney and liver problems, stomach bleeding, and even death. Marijuana, on the other hand, boasts very few negative side effects. Some people might experience mild to severe anxiety, light headedness, loss of coordination and coughing fits. Most patients who hold medical marijuana cards, however, extol the benefits as far outweighing the negatives.

Interestingly, different strains of marijuana, as well as the way in which the plant is taken in the body, can produce drastically different results. Many report that indica strains, for example, produce a much milder, more relaxing effect on the body than sativa strains, which are said to have more of an energetic, uplifting effect on patients. Patients who also have trouble smoking the plant may choose to cook it or bake it into food, which is said to have a more full-body effect. Some even say that the relaxing feeling lasts much longer when ingested rather than smoked.

For most medical marijuana card holders, cannabis alleviates pain, relaxes the body, increases appetite, heightens all the senses, and can cause euphoria, or a least a feeling of well-being and comfort. It is easy to see why patients around the country, including in Colorado, praise this plant.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive chemical compound found in marijuana. It has been found to reduce lung cancer tumor growth by 50 percent and significantly reduce the ability of the cancer to spread. This is according to researchers at Harvard University, who studied the effects of THC on lab rats. Another study, conducted in Madrid, also found that THC destroyed cancerous brain cells while leaving healthy cells alone. Study after study is proving what many people already know: the medicinal benefits of marijuana are undeniable.

Medical marijuana has also been found to limit neurological damage following strokes, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Additionally, this medicinal plant can stimulate hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients who have trouble eating. On top of that, tens of thousands of people have applauded the ability of cannabis to alleviate the excruciating pain that comes with many terminal illnesses. As a result, the popularity of the medical marijuana movement has grown. It seems that as time goes on, more and more people across the country will gain access to a medical marijuana card, and will benefit from this extraordinary medicinal plant.

Need a good laugh? Below is a clip from comedian Robert Klein's HBO special. Here, he sings a song about his views on medical marijuana...

The cannabis plant, more commonly known as marijuana, was made illegal in the United States of America in 1937. Ever since then, it has been a controversial drug. This has long prevented the government and it's citizens from seeing marijuana's extraordinary medicinal value. The winds of change, however, have been sweeping through the nation.

In the past 15 years, medical marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Currently, the only states which use the dispensary model to sell medical cannabis are California, Colorado, New Mexico, Maine, Rhode Island, Montana, and Michigan.

In these states, there are certain diseases and/or conditions a person must have in order to obtain a medical marijuana card. Some of the most common ailments for which people seek a medical marijuana card include fibromyalgia, arthritis, cancer, HIV, AIDS, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, and multiple sclerosis.

People who have obtained a medical marijuana card, and who oftentimes experience severe pain, praise the medical marijuana laws, as they strongly prefer to obtain their medicine legally from dispensaries than simply from people they know, where the danger of being caught and jailed is very much present. This is what happens in states where medical cannabis is not legal, and it is just another reason why it would be beneficial for all people if more states legalized medical marijuana. This drug, having once been wrongly touted as evil and dangerous by the government, is slowly but surely gaining state-sanctioned support. It may be only a matter of time before medical marijuana is legalized for the benefit of those who need it all around the country.

Many musicians have declared their support for cannabis through their music. From the classic song Legalize It, to Ludacris' recent song Blueberry Yum Yum, music supporting cannabis use and legalization has spanned genres and resonated deeply with people across the world. The lyrics can be fun, and they can be serious. They can even be a call-to-action. Whatever tone the songs take, they're always a hit with cannabis patients, supporters, and activists alike.

Here, we have a list of 5 of our favorite songs. What are your favorite cannabis-related songs? Let us know in the comments!

Burn One Down by Ben Harper

Herb, the gift from the earth
And what's from the earth
Is of the greatest worth
So before you knock it, try it first
You'll see it's a blessing
And its not a curse

Ganja Farmer by Marlon Asher

Yes I'm a ganja planter
Call me da ganja farmer
Deep down inna di earth where me put di ganja
Babylon come and light it up on fire
Me a chant
Yes I'm a ganja planter
Call me di ganja farmer
Deep down inna di earth where me put di ganja
Babylon come...

Smoke Two Joints by Sublime

(Originally performed by The Toyes)

I smoke two joints in the morning
I smoke two joints at night
I smoke two joints in the afternoon, it makes me feel alright
I smoke two joints a dime a piece, and two the time before
I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints,
And then I smoke two more

Legalize It by Peter Tosh

Singer smoke it
And players of instruments too
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
That's the best thing you can do
Doctors smoke it
Nurses smoke it
Judges smoke it
Even the lawyers too
Legalize it - don't criticize it
Legalize it and I will advertise it

Blueberry Yum Yum by Ludacris

Don't pass it I cant take it no more
Somebody take a trip down to the store
Hurry please 'cause I need some snacks, snacks, snacks, snacks
And how long will it take to get back, back, back, back

A lot of people who use medical marijuana say they enjoy it's psychoactive effects. Along with alleviating pain, increasing one's appetite, and calming anxiety, marijuana can result in changes in perception, mood, and consciousness. Because of this, one of the activities most loved by marijuana patients is to watch films. Thus, we have compiled a list of films medical marijuana patients may enjoy watching after smoking or ingesting their medicine.

Many medical marijuana activists criticize the negative stereotypes in some of these films, Cheech & Chong, and Half-Baked being prime examples. However, we included them in the list because of their comedic value, and it is our sincere hope that people break away from these negative stereotypes in order to see marijuana for it's phenomenal medicinal value.

Comedies
The Big Lebowski
Dazed & Confused
Pineapple Express
Half-Baked
Monty Python Films
Cheech & Chong Films
Super Troopers
Anchorman
Airplane!
Back to the Future

Thought-Provoking/Dramas
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Contact
A Clockwork Orange
Donnie Darko
Waking Life
I Heart Huckabees
2001: A Space Odyssey
Pulp Fiction
Dark City
Memento
The Fifth Element
Magnolia
The Matrix
Requiem for a Dream
El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
Sin City
Avatar
District 9
V for Vendetta
Twelve Monkeys
The Truman Show

Animations & Children's Films
The Wizard of Oz
Wall-E
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
The Lion King
Alice in Wonderland
Nightmare Before Christmas
Yellow Submarine
La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet)
Finding Nemo

If there are any you would like to add to the list, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.
~Carl Sagan

I think pot should be legal. I don't smoke it, but I like the smell of it.
~Andy Warhol

When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point.
~Barack Obama

Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country.
~Thomas Jefferson

If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on.
~Terence McKenna

I used to smoke marijuana. But I'll tell you something: I would only smoke it in the late evening. Oh, occasionally the early evening, but usually the late evening - or the mid-evening. Just the early evening, mid-evening and late evening. Occasionally, early afternoon, early mid-afternoon, or perhaps the late-mid-afternoon. Oh, sometimes the early-mid-late-early morning... But never at dusk.
~Steve Martin

Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana.
~Jimmy Carter