The Great Cannabis Conspiracy, while being categorized as a biography/memoir, provides a compelling historical overview of the cannabis plant, covering ancient to modern history, while effectively describing where the plant stands in relation to our society and government in the present day.

#Cannabis #NetGalley

Approaching different aspects as the economical, the medical or the social, the author describes the implication of the Cannabis in our societies around the world specially in Canada,

I had two important reasons for wanting to read this book. The first is that I am a trained Medical Herbalist and so very interested in the medicinal uses and effects of plants. The second, and more personal, is that I have had Multiple Sclerosis since 1994, and for the past 20 months I have been trying to be referred for Sativex (a semi-legal cannabis derivative) to control the painful cramps and spasms that have plagued me for the past 3 years. Because of its illegality in many countries, there is so little formal scientific research on medical uses for marijuana being carried out. I need to learn more about medical marijuana, and this book seemed an excellent place to begin.
I was hoping for some real scientific data and references from this book, however, it contained only anecdotal evidence. This is a major problem that all herbal medicines have. You cannot patent a plant, so there is minimal financial incentive to investigate any therapeutic claims for the plant working as a synergistic whole, rather than just the chemicals contained in it. With marijuana, the illegality raises the costs of research and the attendant bureaucracy.
Much of the book is devoted to the author’s fight against the bureaucracy in Canada in his battle to legally either supply, or have supplied, high quality, medical-grade marijuana in a variety of forms to patients in need of its therapeutic benefits. For the author, having access to medical marijuana is a matter of life or death. He takes it to allay excruciating pain following a car accident and to stave off the liver cancer he believes was caused by opioids originally prescribed by doctors for the pain. He treats and supplies patients with a range of ailments including (but not limited to): the side effects of cancer treatment; cancer itself; glaucoma; chronic pain; opioid addiction; multiple sclerosis; anxiety; PTSD; insomnia; epilepsy and depression. All of theses ailments cost the world’s healthcare systems billions of dollars and cause untold grief for the persons affected. If marijuana can be shown to be of benefit (as the author and millions of others believe) – then why should it not be legally available on prescription?
It has been known for a long time, that marijuana is not physically addictive, and that it does not act as a ‘gateway’ drug to further substance abuse. The author claims that any adverse effects come from the action of smoking the weed, particularly when it is of inferior quality, has been adulterated, or is in the form of Shatter (a butane extract of the plant oil which is also smoked). He strongly advises against going near Shatter. He does not however discuss the link to schizophrenia which has been much touted in the media in Britain. It is never made clear in reports, whether the people affected already had mental health issues, whether they were smoking ordinary marijuana, or skunk. As always, there is very little proper scientific research into this aspect – but I had hoped he would address this matter.
Many of his patients do not want to smoke marijuana – which until recently was the only option available to Canadians using medicinal marijuana – so the author has created a large number of edible medicines, as well as suppositories. He describes the advantages and disadvantages of each method of medicating. I found this very interesting, as I also do not smoke and the smell of burning marijuana gives me panic attacks (as does incense!), but had not heard of ‘edibles’ before this book apart from brownies – which always seemed like a very haphazard means of medication.
I was surprised to find that the author does not advocate the full legalisation of marijuana, only of marijuana for health needs. He believes that full legalisation would be solely profit driven and directed at the recreational rather than medicinal market. I can see his point, but feel that without the drug being legal, further investigations into its medicinal worth will not be forthcoming.
I did not realise that here were so many different strains of marijuana on the market – each containing a different balance of THC and CBD molecules. The author prescribes different strains for different ailments. I am so happy I never tried to access marijuana on the black market, as I would not know what to look for – and sincerely doubt that the vendor would have any idea what he was selling.
Like the author, I would like to see “standards for growing cannabis — safely, organically, away from areas likely to lead to abuse or corruption … standards of packaging for cannabis, standards for distribution, standards for pricing, and standards for reporting that are independent of for-profit entities.” Also, regulations for any dispensaries requiring them to have trained staff, who can “certify the origin, strain, growing method, and cannabinoid content of their products”, and adequately advise their customers – either recreational or medicinal.
The author sees a decades long conspiracy at the heart of marijuana’s criminalisation, and the prevention of its status as a valuable medicine. Maybe if I had had the struggles he has had, then I would be equally paranoid. But, I feel that the truth is more that we have lived so long ‘knowing’ that marijuana is bad, that it has become the unquestioned stance. It will take time to change the public’s mind – but then LGBT rights around the world have come along in huge leaps and bounds over the last 20 years, and merely fifty years ago male homosexuality was a punishable offence in Britain. It should be much easier with marijuana – we just have to focus on education (especially of healthcare professionals), information for all, and intelligent, rational Government legislation.
This book is a very personal view of the state of cannabis as a medicine in Canada. Through marijuana, the author “had found not only the path to my health, but also the path to my redemption”. By supporting so many patients and campaigning against injustices of the current system, Sam Mellace hoped to make up for the inadequacies and felonies of his youth, and finally live up to his dead mother’s expectations. Hopefully, he has achieved his aims.
I found the book very interesting and useful, though not as much as I had hoped – hence only four stars. I would have preferred less personal background, and more focus on medical marijuana – but for the author the two things are too deeply entwined. I hope this will be a forerunner of many more books on the same subject.

I went into reading this book with little knowledge about cannabis, and absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about medical cannabis. The only other thing that I knew about before opening this book was that there had been talk about cannabis being legalized in Canada, and that this would occur in July of 2018. The Great Cannabis Conspiracy, while being categorized as a biography/memoir, provides a compelling historical overview of the cannabis plant, covering ancient to modern history, while effectively describing where the plant stands in relation to our society and government in the present day.

Mellace’s narrative voice is welcoming and makes you want to continue reading long past your bedtime. While I normally struggle with nonfiction that contains a lot of information, The Great Cannabis Conspiracy made me eager to read and to learn more about Dr. Samuel Mellace’s life, as well as about this remarkable healing plant. The tone is engaging, and even when certain scientific details are discussed, it feels more like someone is sitting in my living room, telling me a story, rather than a professor lecturing from the front of a lecture hall. Despite not having a very advanced education in science, I found it all to be both comprehensive and accessible!

It was also a very heartbreaking, and simultaneously heart-warming, tale that Mellace shares with us in this book. Mellace discusses the many obstacles he has faced, and still has to face today, but also shares with us how he has helped others and continues to do so. Mellace believes that patients and their needs should be of a higher priority than money, and he shares some eye-opening material about the greed and ignorance of certain political factions, and large corporations.

This book, while nowhere near the size of a university textbook, still contains a lot of information, and this information was relayed in a straightforward, concise manner. I find that I am now much more educated on cannabis from a scientific, as well as from a political, point of view, and I am grateful for the clear manner in which this material was passed on to me through the pages of The Great Cannabis Conspiracy.

I recommend this book to everyone, because all people should be well-informed about the cannabis plant and related legislation. I also recommend this book to those who enjoy reading memoirs/autobiographies, those who enjoy historical nonfiction, and also those who just plain enjoy an inspiring story about a man’s path to redemption.

This book is up next for me to read. The Great Cannabis Conspiracy by Dr. Samuel Mellace promises to be a compelling read about a very controversial topic- cannabis.

The enormous benefits that the plant provides are staggering! It’s almost like a cure-all. I just read a report this morning that was very interesting about the endocannabinoid system and health problems, read it by clicking here. I don’t know about the THC (the stuff that makes you high) but the CBD part of cannabis is very healing.

Back to the book. Here’s what it’s about:

In less than two years, Dr. Samuel Mellace experienced a life-threatening car accident, a prescription opioid addiction, diabetes, and cancer. He was an ex-convict who was looking to turn around his life, but instead, he found himself fighting for it.

Meanwhile, cannabis was a drug that was slowly turning its fortunes around, too, from a history of stigma and prohibition to a new era of curiosity, openness and incredible medical science.

So Sam did a thing that surprised himself: he bought a farm in British Columbia and started growing weed. He was one of the first to be licensed under Canada’s medical marijuana law, and because of his unusual combination of pain and disease, he fought for and won the right to grow more cannabis than anyone in North America.

Then he started to discover the flaws in the system—the gaps between bureaucracy and decency, between education and criminalization, between dignity and shame. So he began to learn about the budding science of cannabinology, to build a community of patients and heroes, and to fight for “Dignified Access” as a principle, a policy prescription, and a human right. And in doing so, Sam found an enemy even more dangerous than the ones from his criminal past: An ugly conspiracy of corrupt power, ignorance, stigma, criminalization and greed that has been threatening the lives of patients for more than a century.
The story of Sam Mellace, like the story of cannabis, is the story of a struggle for redemption, understanding, and justice. Standing in the way of all of that is the Great Cannabis Conspiracy.

I cannot wait to sit with this. I started and it’s good but I want to get further into it so I can learn. I have a feeling we will see more and more about the healing powers of cannabis as people are unfortunately, diagnosed with more and more illnesses.