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The assertion that the government knew about the therapeutic potential of cannabis, specifically its ability to shrink tumors, and actively suppressed this information, is supported by historical documents and rulings. The 1974 National Cancer Institute (NCI) study indeed showed that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inhibited tumor growth in mice.[1] This research, conducted at the Medical College of Virginia, found that THC slowed the growth of lung adenocarcinomas, breast adenocarcinomas, and a leukemia virus in laboratory animals.[2] Despite these promising early findings, further federal funding for cannabis research, particularly into its anti-cancer properties, was significantly curtailed or redirected towards studying its potential harms.[3]

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In 1988, Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young, in a ruling for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), concluded that cannabis should be reclassified from a Schedule I controlled substance due to its accepted medical use and safety profile.[4] Judge Young stated that "marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."[5] He recommended that cannabis be moved to Schedule II, which would acknowledge its medical utility and allow for prescription.[6] However, this ruling was subsequently overruled by the DEA Administrator at the time, John C. Lawn, under the Reagan/Bush administration, maintaining cannabis's Schedule I status.[7] Modern Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and declassified documents have further revealed that various government agencies and officials were aware of the potential medical benefits of cannabis, yet policies continued to enforce its prohibition, leading to accusations of "policy-driven suppression" rather than mere incompetence.[8]

The concept of "COINTELPRO 2.0" draws a parallel between historical government programs designed to suppress dissent and modern alleged efforts to control information, particularly concerning alternative health and healing modalities. COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program), active from 1956 to 1971, was a series of covert and at times illegal projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.[9] Tactics included psychological warfare, disinformation campaigns, harassment, and sabotage.[10] While there is no official "COINTELPRO 2.0" program, the term is used by some to describe perceived ongoing efforts to suppress information or individuals deemed a threat to established narratives, particularly in areas like health and medicine, through similar methods of surveillance, disinformation, and discrediting.[11]

Authoritative Sources

  1. Munson, A. E., et al. (1975). Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 55(3), 597-602. [National Cancer Institute]↩
  2. Ibid.↩
  3. Siff, S. (2014). The medical marijuana movement: A history. Journal of Policy History, 26(2), 263-291. [Cambridge University Press]↩
  4. In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition, Docket No. 86-22, 53 Fed. Reg. 51530 (1988). [Drug Enforcement Administration]↩
  5. Ibid.↩
  6. Ibid.↩
  7. Lawn, J. C. (1989). Decision and Order on Remand. Federal Register, 54(125), 27925-27932. [Drug Enforcement Administration]↩
  8. Gieringer, D. (2000). The forgotten history of medical marijuana. Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, 1(3-4), 7-20. [NORML]↩
  9. Churchill, W., & Vander Wall, J. (1990). The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States. South End Press. [Internet Archive]↩
  10. Ibid.↩
  11. Parenti, C. (2000). Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis. Verso Books. [Verso Books]↩

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