Cannabis talk sparks lively debate

IF cannabis was a gateway drug, it was a gateway to better health, not a gateway to the use and abuse of more addictive substances.

This, Allan Morkel’s controversial point of view, kicked off what was one of most discussed and debated talks ever delivered from the Tuesday Rostrum podium.

The August guest speaker, Allan is a member of the South African Cannabis Community and Regulatory Association (Saccra). Everyone paid close attention to his talk, ‘Cannabis: The Truth behind the Lies’, and he and his fellow Saccra member, Janet O’Donoghue, were bombarded with questions after he had spoken. By then, there might still have been different opinions about the effectiveness of cannabis as a medicine, but almost everyone saw the need for legislation that would allow its medical use to be well regulated.

Known by many names including dagga and marijuana, cannabis remained an illegal substance in South Africa in spite of a worldwide trend to legalise or decriminalise it, Allan said. He blamed the big pharmaceutical companies for obstructing efforts to legalise the substance in South Africa as he said this would cut into their profits. However, he and Janet spoke convincingly about its medical properties, saying that it had about 700 medicinal applications.

They were adamant that cannabis oil was an effective remedy for many disorders, including cancer and a number of auto-immune diseases. Allan gave case histories of certain patients, some with advanced cancer, who had been successfully treated by cannabis oil. However, too many cancer patients only turned to cannabis oil when their disease was too advanced to treat, he said.

Describing cannabis as one of the most studied of all substances, Allan attempted to dispel what he said were misconceptions and even downright lies about the plant. He said it was physically impossible to overdose on the drug, that it did not kill brain cells as claimed, that it did not contribute to rising crime rates and that it did not cause users to become violent unless it was mixed with other substances. While it did cause some short term memory loss if smoked there were no long-term effects on memory.

Allan gave statistics to support his claims that tobacco, alcohol and certain over-the-counter drugs were more dangerous than cannabis.

A complex substance, the drug contained about 110 compounds or cannabinoids. These included Delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which was responsible for its psychoactive properties, and non-psychoactive compounds like CBD and CBG. There were many different strains of cannabis, all with varying rations of cannaboids.

However, for the extraced cannabinoids to be an effective treatment for cancer, THC and CBD had to be present. High or low ratios of THC to CBD had different applications. There were also very definite protocols for treating different disorders. For this reason it was vital that people received informed advice before using the drug, he said.

As a medicine the plant could be used in different forms including cannabis tea, tincture, balm or oil. Allan said cannabis oil was an expensive substance but warned that very cheap products were probably fake.

Many charlatans took advantage of cannabis oil’s unregulated status and anyone using it should ensure he or she had a reliable supplier.

Janet pointed out that a cheaper option would be for patients to learn how to grow and process their own cannabis medicines for non-life threatening ailments.

By pointing out the complexity of using cannabis as a medical application Janet and Allan both made a very strong case for legalising the use of cannabis in South Africa and for regulating its use. After their fascinating presentation, listeners were left keen to find out more about a substance that many believed was a neglected and marginalised wonder herb.

For more information about Saccra, contact Janet contact Janet at saccralobby@gmail.com

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