Cancer Cerebral

i have made the full decision to comprehensively revise the law 20,000 and the rescheduling of marijuana as a hard drug. a 4.2% increase in the consumption of cannabis by the chilean population. this was the result of the latest national drug study done by senda. the main problem of marijuana in chile is its consumption. it is not trafficking. it's not organized crime. it's not street violence. i think the problem in chile is not individual consumption or medical use but effectively the trafficking networks that plague the streets of our country, and that is where we aim to put our main efforts.

it is a fallacy to say that marijuana has alternative uses who could oppose if the active ingredient in marijuana could be, - and i hope it is - helpful for patients that require analgesics? even though marijuana is classified as a hard drug in chile. i don't think it is. and besides, chile has signed an international treaty that declares it would be unconstitutional to legalize it this right here is more dangerous than some paedophile priests on the loose out there

yes ladies and gentlemen! marijuana. would you legalize its consumption, its domestic cultivation for example? i do not have it in my program. and what is your personal stand? all i can say is that i do not have it in my program. you would not do it? i'm saying, i do not have it in my program. ok. how are my eyes? are they red, are they red?

nah! they're ok! i always had a positive relationship with the plant, without any prejudice. it was never a taboo subject. i mean, a very natural relationship with the plant. i met this plant because my grandmother introduced me to it and she was already using it as medicine. i have the utmost respect for this plant. and that is my bond. more than smoking, even though i smoke it occasionally.

for me, on a personal level, it is a partner. i have learned to understand that's what it is. it is a plant whose spirit i seem to recognize, although not really know and that sense has accompanied me for a long time and has been vital to me for my mental health and my balance and my openness to certain things that perhaps would have been more difficult to get from other paths. at 18 i had my first plant and i smoked it, and have never stopped since. it's been 12 years i think. cannabis is a wonderful plant. for many it is a prohibited plant,

but for us it gave us life. it's a tool that i have used for many things. i use it for some of the many possibilities we have. as i always say, it can be used to see god... or to watch the simpsons. and it's not just a fun plant. it's a plant that's going to serve as a treatment, as a medicine. from the point of view of physicians, we have a responsibility to generate valid scientific information, valid for making clear decisions for patients. a drug will be good to the extent that is used for a good purpose. a drug will be bad to the extent that is misused for another purpose.

the first sign my mother noticed was that i was very thirsty. at night i drank a lot of water and often went to the bathroom. of course that was the first sign that caught my attention. that for a two year old girl she drank a lot of water. i asked to have her blood sugar tested. it was normal, so they discarded it. she likes water. and then i began to notice other symptoms, but the symptoms were very... her hair was more dry, her skin a little more dry. she had no appetite i had no appetite i didn't want to eat anything. now i can eat everything i want! and that same day we found she had a (brain) tumor, we went to the roberto del rio hospital.

it was a big tumor and the region where the tumor... . now it is so tiny. there's a little bit remaining but you cannot take it out because it can cause me many problems this whole process started over a year ago. ana maria gazmuri, who is also my partner, became a public figure, defending some cases of arrest for the use of, or possession of, cannabis. our protests continue to be heard. we invite you, as the president of all chileans, to place yourself in our shoes against this background, i thought i'd make a documentary. i began to root through available material and,

through research, i started to find the reality of the medical world. and in this context the first case i witnessed was a child (amalia) with refractory epilepsy. i had in my possession a small amount of resin (cannabis extract) that had been given to me. that night the parents took the resin and gave it in small doses to amalia and the next day i opened my computer and saw the email from the mother. and the happiness was absolute because she said that, for the first time, amalia had slept through night, and her father too. it came to the point when we realized that we had to form a foundation and act as an institution.

and that's where the daya foundation began. daya in sanskrit means compassionate love, and that was the name we chose as we felt it represented the place from where we wanted to work from. i think that the foundation has played an important role by speaking in the language of public policy. i think the foundation has found the right tone. to open this debate and cross those borders. i think that it is the most significant contribution we have been talking with daya foundation from the beginning. since the bill project was drafted, of which i am a co-author of one of them,

we have worked together to articulate what the law should be in terms of the working experience they have had. i think that the seriousness with which we have worked, and the spirit with which we have worked, has created this scenario. it is impressive how social acceptance has turned so much in the past 2 or 3 years. today the cultural change that exists, regarding the perception of cannabis and its uses, has been very important and i think daya foundation should take great merit for that. so this is it. these are the ones we are using for the moment. and right now she is using very low doses at night.

and when we have stressful situations, like today when she's going to take some tests, i give her a little bit. so we put it under the tongue so it doesn't taste so much what does it taste like emilia? like wheat. the idea of the foundation is always to teach you how to make your medicine. many people believe that you are going to the foundation to buy the oil, and it is not the case. they teach you how to plant, they teach you how to do the extraction. it is up to you to prepare the medicine for your family. when the cultivation was authorized we immediately contacted our supplier which

had already been selected - paradise seeds - and began the importation paperwork. this approval was a milestone in history. in fact, this is the first legal medical cannabis plantation in latin america. happily i got one answer, from the owner of paradise seeds. he was the only one who saw the seriousness with which we were managing the project. he had the vision to see that we were not crazy asking for seeds for a project like this in chile. les ofrecimos plantas con diferentes proporciones de cannabinoides, de thc o cbd. dependiendo de las condiciones de las personas, les sugerimos plantas con mã¡s contenido de thc o de cbd.

we planted 4 varieties. three feminized and one automatic variety. the automatic strain is pandora, and the other three are durga mata ii cbd, ice cream and wappa. in this case these 3 varieties were chosen for their pain relief, as they were indica-dominant with a sleepy effect, and the other was rich in cbd. la cbd tiene diferentes influencias en algunas enfermedades que el thc y para cada condici'on hay varias cepas de las cuales nosotros recomendamos pueden usar, algunas son mã¡s ricas en cbd y otras en thc o tambiã©n una buena combinaciã³n de ambos. at this moment we know what they have, especially thc and cbd. now we have to determine, because not all of them are equal. some have more thc

and others have more cbd. the evaluated strains are super different. son muy buenos cultivadores, pero nuestras genã©ticas han probado tener grandes flores, mucha resina y ricos contenidos de cannabinoides, asã­ que es algo de lo cual estamos realmente orgullosos. they were the first seed bank to have legally imported marijuana seeds for propagation in latin america. what we had planned was to harvest approximately 73 kg to comply with a dose of cannabis oil for 200 patients, for 1 year. the extraction conditions are not entirely clear to us. why? because these plants do not have a study or an official monograph. we are having to develop the analytical

part, to determine the composition of the plant in its different strains and with that you can select the solvent, temperature conditions, the extraction time, all the operating parameters for the chemistry of the plant material. part of this learning process is finding which format will bring more benefits to the patient. what we think the ideal dosage will be in drops. in this case the patients are cancer patients who are taking multiple drugs, which are often not independently functional. we have selected a pharmaceutical format for easy administration, such as oral drop solutions, that allow management of the best dose to give.

we need a standardization of strains. cbd does not work for many children. we need thc and we also also need terpenes. we need the whole plant. and for that we need a study to tell are you giving 50% thc, 5% cbd?... this is what you need ... we need that. we are convinced that the synergy of compounds is very beneficial. as far as the clinic thinks, we believe that the combination of compounds simulate the way they're found in the plant.

perhaps by changing them, depending on the condition, it could work better than as isolated compounds . the quantity of plants we received was not for selling, but enough to develop a clinical study. that's important to note, because this product is not for marketing. so what we need to ensure now is that we will have, in the future, plantations of identical quality to this one in order to produce the medicine. by not producing hormones many things in the body, that one is often not even aware of, become deregulated sleep, appetite, the fact she is not growing,

all round development, temperature...everything. we are confronting an unknown, complex disease, to which the doctors say 'wait to see what happens... see if it grows'. and i refused to do that. i refused to wait in my house for it 'to grow'. so i started looking for alternatives, and that's how we found out about the oil. the first thing they did was to regulate the hormones. they gave her cortisone and eutirox. it was the first thing they did. they wanted to operate directly through her head and i refused. after, my wound was infected... but that was recently. i'm talking about the first time you had surgery.

it is very clear to us that the compounds of marijuana are antitumoral, we are very clear about that. i have no doubts about it. what we do not know for sure is if they work in humans too, and the only way to answer that question is to do controlled studies on humans. what we are trying to do is a high quality methodological scientific study that shows the medicinal use of cannabis has positive effects, first to reduce pain in cancer patients, to improve quality of life, improve appetite and, consequently, improve weight in those patients that are underweight.

when these patients are admitted, they continue their treatment with traditional allopathic medicine. the idea is to add a derivative or cannabis extract. the trial here is about following 200 oncology patients 100 from the health service of the municipality of la florida and 100 patients from us, daya foundation. they are going to be given weekly doses that will be controlled to assess the response and, if it is necessary, the dose of cannabinoid resin or oil will be raised. we are aware that the commitment we made in this pilot program was extremely conservative but we chose to go down the most conventional route because we are leading the way. by not having much concrete scientific data

it is a free space for those who oppose on moral grounds, or for religious reasons, for political reasons... or whatever. finally you give them the arguments to their flawed argument. it is about delivering information to people in order for them to make an informed decision. in general, from the start, there has been no prejudiced opinion from the scientific world. what exists is a condition where there has to be proof they are doing things seriously, that they are using scientific methodology, in order to give an opinion that is valid. in my opinion the main importance of this study is not to convince me, or people who are in this cannabis movement, but to convince society

that the plant really helps and is beneficial. and best of all, anyone can have this plant in their home. for us, the study is the scientific validation of what we experience every day with people attending the foundation in search of this medicine. we have absolute confidence that the results will be very positive and i think to have those results will have a huge impact on chile. we all have in our bodies what is called an endocannabinoid system, which, basically, constitutes receptors for thc. because our bodies produce endocannabinoids,

compounds which are very much alike those produced by marijuana, there are different medicinal effects that have been proved. but that does not mean that one can say today that cannabis cures any disease. various marijuana compounds, several compounds of this family of cannabinoids, have the property of activating the suicide of tumor cells, inducing their death. not only that, but they also induce other (positive) phenomena associated with tumor progression, and the advance of the disease. there are incipient experiences regarding the use of marijuana in refractory epilepsy;

children who had epileptic crisis episodes almost daily, with tremendous neurological damage and impact on quality of life. and this medication, or this extract, has been shown to reduce seizures, and improve the quality of life for the patients and for their families. for my daughter's epilepsy, we tried 5 anticonvulsants, at maximum doses all of which had gruesome side effects. within the first week (of using cannabis oil) the seizures decreased, within 2 weeks we stopped a drug, sabril, that caused vision loss. the changes were very noticeable because from 7 to 10 seizures a day,

she went to one and, after a while, she no longer had any. when we started with the oil our way of life changed a lot, and how we visualised life, really. even my mother began to see it as a plant that could deliver many benefits for us. so much so that she asked me for some leaves to relax. my children, all my children were motivated to get some soil, to plant them. to take an interest in seeing how much light there is, to look at the plants, to check how they were doing. we make the oil with our friends and family, all together, so it has been super positive and very natural. i speak for the people. i represent the districts of pudahuel,

quilicura, colina, lampa and tiltil. i see how drugs destroy the young, destroy homes. they lead to crime to acquire them and i think we give negative signals when normalizing such negative use to the whole of society, and the enormous damage that cannabis causes people. in the history of mankind, for the most part, cannabis has been used as a medicine. only in recent years has there been a prohibition on its use. i think it was for multiple factors. personally, i think it is a particularly dangerous substance: it makes you think, makes you feel, makes you question! it's hard to find a pot smoker that is an asshole,

and that's not the case with an alcoholic! one way or another, it humanizes you. i would like to think that those who justify the prohibition do so out of ignorance. the valuation of myths over the valuation of a deeper analysis of a reality. when you demonize cannabis, you also demonize users of cannabis, because it is much easier in this country to place all the blame on drugs instead of building decent schools, raising the minimum wage, building decent houses for people so they can escape the situation in which many of them live. we are talking about more than 80% of young chileans who have tried cannabis in the last three weeks.

so what are we going to bet on? closing our eyes? saying 'let's ban it' because that's the way young people will stop consuming? live in fear that the state is going to deny your health, take away your medicine? that is the serious problem of illegality. i have the impression, in the position of senda, that people need more health protection. this freedom, they do not understand it, because it is a freedom to get hurt. a freedom for what? to use a substance which is not beneficial. there is a lot of ignorance, and that ignorance leads to people being afraid. and when there is fear, of course all the interest groups pushing for this not to be regulated

push on the people who are afraid. this plant has absolutely nothing to do in terms of addiction to heroin, cocaine and even, if you ask me, with alcohol or tobacco, which are legal drugs. if they prefer to sacrifice our children to maintain their stand, wrapped up in a false morality, and with a prohibitionist logic, the only thing they will generate is potential harm to this country and further enhance the illegal black market. it seems to me that demonizing marijuana and regulating alcohol generates a more passive, less questioning, society and one that is, ultimately, more easily tamed. a handbook for people under the influence of marijuana:

how to put on your shoes? first, remember where you keep your shoes. no! try again. very good! now take the pair you like best not those ones. yes! those ones. now put them on... come on, on your feet. tie them up .... try again.

very good!! congratulations! be smart again. do not smoke marijuana marijuana discourages you, alters your memory, and lowers your performance a message from conace and the government of chile the main illness that this country has is that people are assaulted by a system where they have to run all day, where they have to work all day. where there is rarely a space for distraction, for diversity, to develop in other areas. neo-liberalism embodies much competition, is very strict, is zero rest and just work. i mean, it generates a super harmful dynamic to your spirit,

your soul and to your body. and marijuana counteracts this cannabis is always medicine... many people say they use it recreationally, but actually when you smoke it you are sharing and laughing and all that joy is medicinal. because nowadays, people in this world do not have too much joy, you know? they are duty bound to look forward and continue going. varela, maturana and other very powerful scientists question that border between feeling and thinking. it seems that both operate in the nervous system. they seem to be the same. and i think that plants connect you with that.

so when one begins to listen to one's heart to one's body, one's spirit, one begins to understand what is wrong. sometimes even if you are unable to express it, you feel it. i think that plants open that door, to seek internal balance and turn the head off for a bit! some people do not have access to cannabis, not even home grown, and do not know they could call on something that could help them. in that sense i think it is a responsibility of government to allow access to the plant in its different formats, so that people can have a better quality of life. for example, we saw some cases, that mama cultiva showed us, of children

with refractory epilepsy who take a banquet of drugs to have some control over their lives. nevertheless the results were terrible, painful, disastrous. and they themselves say 'our lives have changed'. it changed our lives, today we have a different quality of life. you remember the first time we took the oil? you remember what happened? it made us laugh so much, remember? she was transformed, saying "mom i've got wings!" she sang and danced and gave us fits of laughter. and my youngest joined in of course.

it was like a girls' only party! it is a natural medication, one that could be planted in the backyard of your house. and that makes it a very relevant agent of democratization in the access to health. any type of drug that works, even for one person, has to be validated, regulated, and has to have legal access, be accessible and not expensive. i think ultimately, that is a human rights issue. access to health is a human right, and access to complementary therapies to enhance health should be an essential part of that right. and that's our vision. when we talk about natural alternatives

that people can access directly, like through their own cultivation, for example, it seems to me that we are also talking about very significant steps from that perspective. first they gave me syrup and paracetamol, and the headache didn't go away, and then they gave me the oil and the headaches went away. that's how it went. in the middle of chemotherapy, the oil is always in my purse. during the second chemo emilia was very ill, and i realised there was no other choice but the oil. and so it was. when i saw how emilia instantly stopped having the urge to vomit, began to eat after 6 days... she returned to being the same smart, funny girl so that every day,

despite her swollen eyes and her scar and everything, it was as if nothing was happening, and without the headaches. so it was kind of magical. our country is sadly known for being one of the countries where the citizen is the largest investor in access to medicines. i mean, 70% of medicine costs in chile are paid for out of the pockets of the people. this has to be a topic of relevance and urgency in the agenda of the government, in the health agenda, because there are people who are really suffering and there is no need for them to suffer this way

because they can access a medication that can relieve pain and serve them in many different ways. we are helping hundreds of families to stop their suffering. to make them visible to a blind society that has abandoned us, one that does not give us the freedom to be an ordinary human being. we cannot say that chileans have a good quality of life. health is privatized. in our country, those who have access to quality healthcare are the ones that have the resources to pay, and those who don't simply have to conform with what the state has the ability to deliver. to be able to enjoy the sunny days.

to go to the pool without your child convulsing, that's quality of life. for many, that isn't much. but for us it's everything. if you cannot grow it because you are a medicinal user and are bed bound, there has to be some subsidy that assures you'll have the medicine to take. there is a light of hope, let's fight for this! do not lock yourself up, do not wish to die so let's fight together. let's hug and move on.