WORD GAMES

There's this bit going around the lists right now about this little quirk of the human brain. I've seen it a couple of times, but I'm posting it in case any of you missed it. It is kind of fun.

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the
frist> and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but
the wrod as a wlohe.

Ptrety amzanig, dno't you tnhik?

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WILD ABOUT HARRY

I ran into Harry McColgan four times this week. That hasn't happened since that summer of fun, three years ago now. I met him on the Deck at the Union Station. We were introduced by a mutual friend. I thought they told me he was the farmer from Hatfield who used to own the little airstrip there, turned out he owns Harry's Bar - companion business to City Cafe.

Harry and I became really close that year. A lot of people thought we were having an affair. Truth is, we were never lovers but we shared a lot and became fast friends. We spent 9/11 together. I've come to love him and his crowd dearly, but then I've always been drawn to the Irish. It was good to see him and Sully as well, although I'm glad I escaped when I did. Word has it they closed the bar that night.

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CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

Drug War Rant posted an excellent piece on a disturbing development in this inhumane WOSDU. the prosecution of doctors for prescribing humane dosages of legal prescriptions to relieve severe pain in their patients. The prohibition warriors apparently not being satisfied with telling the judiciary how to do their job, now want to dictate how a physician practices medicine. If you haven't found a good reason to depose the Bush thugdom, read this post. I'm convinced.

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SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS

This has been lurking in my inbox for a month, but it still makes sense to me and it fits tonight's theme. Scientific studies stay fresh a long time.

Ethan Russo, MD published an edited composite of a Policy Paper on Cannabis in Pain Treatment presented to the American Academy of Pain Management detailing the value of cannabis for pain relief. This is a comprehensive compliation of a much longer study. If you're interested in the medicinal history of our plant, check out that link.

Last word goes to Ethan:

Effective treatment of acute, chronic and intractable pain is a critically important public health concern in the world today. Despite a vast array of analgesic medicines including anti-inflammatory and opioid analgesics, countless patients continue to suffer the burden of unrelieved pain. Opiate addiction, and the recent OxyContin controversy underline the importance of newer effective and safe alternatives.

For over a century, international commissions have studied the issue of cannabis, and virtually uniformly recommended its decriminalization and provision for medical applications, specifically including the treatment of pain.

Cannabis has been employed as an analgesic for thousands of years, and was utilized in this country as well, particularly for neuropathic pain, prior to its effective removal from the American market 65 years ago. Historical cannabis supporters have included such physicians and scientists as Galen, Dioscorides, Parkinson, Linnaeus, Gowers, Weir Mitchell, Osler, Solomon Snyder, and many others. Cannabis remains a frequently employed ethno-botanical agent in pain management among indigenous peoples of the world.

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