Marijuana: The Breakfast of Champions
By: Peter Lang
Tags: Politics, Hemp, Medical Marijuana, Cannabis

If you find the above question alarming, then you have probably never heard of the endocannabinoid system (ECS). And the reason you have not heard of the ECS is due to political, rather than scientific or medical, chicanery.

To borrow a phrase from Al Gore, the endocannabinoid system is a politically inconvenient truth. In 1988, Allyn Howlett and William Devane discovered cannabinoid receptors in mammalian brains. Subsequent research has revealed that the ECS is a complex network of receptors that operate throughout complex organisms (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, etc.) to maintain homeostasis, or a benign state of happy, healthy “stability.”

For nearly a century, anti-cannabis crusaders have maintained a stifling federal prohibition on marijuana by insisting — on the basis of hysteria rather than science — that cannabis is not only dangerous, it is downright evil.

Harry Anslinger, the first US “Drug Czar”, intensified America’s antipathy for marijuana by incorporating crude racist propaganda into his politico-moral crusade of the 1930s:

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” [i]

Does it make sense to wage a moral crusade against cannabis if the human body is literally a cannabinoid factory? That is why we hear so little about the ECS in the United States. If the public knew that, rather than poison, marijuana was in fact the staff of life, the federal prohibition would quickly implode.

Now let’s return to the opening question: Should kids eat cannabis for breakfast?

In the mixed-up moral abyss of Reefer Madness propaganda feeding kids cannabis is tantamount to having them break bread with Satan. Thanks to important scientific and medical breakthroughs we can now confidently delete Satan from the equation. From cradle to grave, regardless of anyone’s personal opinion about cannabis, everyone benefits from endocannabinoid production and consumption. Life as we know it would not be possible without cannabinoids.

Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, but marijuana kills no one. That’s because alcohol and tobacco are drugs and cannabis is a nutrient. No one has ever died from consuming too much cannabis, but many have died from consuming too little. Because homeostatic health is designed around the endocannabinoid system, there is much to be gained by keeping the ECS running at peak efficiency. Just as humans need to consume vitamins to prevent illnesses that arise from vitamin deficiencies the same is true of cannabinoids. There are many illnesses (far too many to list here) that respond favorably, if not remarkably, to cannabinoid therapy. That’s because cannabinoids provide nutrition and ammunition for the endocannabinoid system. By irrationally prohibiting cannabis consumption, we have unwittingly abandoned a vast fortress of natural defenses against a vast panoply of illnesses.

The best MD that anyone could ever have is a well-functioning endocannabinoid system. So, let’s be doctors and heal ourselves by terminating Anslinger’s self-serving prohibition on cannabinoid nutrition.

And YES! You should feed your kids cannabis for breakfast* — and why not have a heaping bowl for yourself too.

*A word of caution about ingesting THC in the morning:

The only cannabinoid that I do not recommend for breakfast is THC. THC is the one-and-only psychoactive compound in cannabis. In other words, THC is the molecule in marijuana that creates its recreational or therapeutic buzz.

Hemp seeds are tasty, nutritious, and contain zero THC. Sprinkle a few on your toast or cereal. You won’t get stoned, but your body will run like a top.