Conflict In Religion

Religion is supposed to promote more love and less hate. After all, they preach to do good and be a blessing to others. Unfortunately, many of the world’s conflict are often rooted in religion. How can we then expect salvation when the religion we swear by does the opposite?

Many people say that if a religion teaches you to hate other religions, then you need to look for a new religion. And it likely has merit. We have more pressing problems right now than to bicker and argue amongst ourselves because of differences in opinions and religious beliefs.

I take great exception to the article “A Scientist’s New Theory: Religion Was Key to Humans’ Social Evolution,” (March 5). The article quotes evolutionary psychology professor Robin Dunbar saying, “Somehow it’s clear that religions, all these doctrinal religions, create the sense that we’re one family.”

If that is so, we are an extremely dysfunctional family. Does religion do good? Yes, without a doubt. As the article stated, religion does help humans create social networks. But these networks, groups, countries, states, empires are not always there to do good. In the name of religion we had the Crusades, the Thirty Years War (although other factors helped that one along), the French Wars of Religion 1562-1598, the Bohemian Civil War 1465-1471, India and Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and Spain and Islam. Well, I hope you get the idea.

(Via: http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/letters/2017/03/12/Religion-has-been-key-in-human-dysfunction/stories/201703120146)

Unfair treatment to women is also a trait shared by many of the world’s religious orders.

It's sometimes difficult, looking from a male perspective, to immediately notice all of the ways that women are treated less equally than men in so many aspects of their lives. There are the obvious ones: the gender pay gap and lower levels of representation in public life, that no-one could miss, but sometimes we just don't see inequality for what it is.

Religious custom can be so embedded, for so long, that many men fail to even recognise it as inequality. That can be the problem. From insisting that women cover their heads, to refusing to shake women's hands, women have been, and still are, treated as less than men by most religions, not just Islam.

Arguably, gender inequality continues to be the basis of much religious hierarchical power, irrespective of whether you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist.

(Via: http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/graham-perrett/discrimination-against-women-isnt-unique-to-any-one-religion/)

Aside from that, many wars have been won or lost because of religion. And I am not talking about historical accounts – think of the Great Holocaust – but present-day scenarios especially in the East. Countries have been ravaged by war and its citizens displaced because their homes are inhabitable anymore. People of color are continually prosecuted and discriminated because of the paranoia of the West linking them to terroristic activities.

Shortly after September 11, 2001, then President George W. Bush spoke directly to Muslims. “We respect your faith,” he said, calling it “good and peaceful.” Terrorists, he added, “are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself.”

Recently, TODAY’s Matt Lauer reminded Bush of his words. “I understood right off the bat, Matt, that this was an ideological conflict—that people who murder the innocent are not religious people,” Bush explained.

Those words epitomize an important, but controversial question: is someone who acts violently in the name of a faith truly a member of that faith? According to recently highlighted data from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)—which focuses primarily on Christian responses to that yes/no question—potential answers may result in a “double standard.” Christians are more likely to say that other Christians acting violently are not true Christians, while failing to provide the same latitude for Muslims.

(Via: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/05/is-there-a-christian-double-standard-on-religious-violence.html)

If only all religions are open-minded and more compassionate, there will be no room for hate and extremism. We must acknowledge that there is indeed one God even if we call Him many names and that we practice various ways to honor Him.

Violence only begets violence. It becomes an unending cycle of hate and vengeance that is more divisive than any other issue we are facing right now. Religious violence has been around since the beginning of human civilization but that does not mean we have no capacity to make the shift and put an end to it by being a brother or a sister to everyone and prefer to see the good in everybody.

Conflict In Religion was originally seen on IPacBlog

source https://ipaction.org/blog/conflict-in-religion/

The Allure Of Alcohol To Women: Short-Term Solution Or Long-Term Problem

There is nothing more relaxing than drinking a cold glass of beer while hanging out with family or friends. Sharing stories and adventures over a round of alcohol can free your mind from your worries and let you fully enjoy the moment.

Alcohol is a staple at every party or get-together, especially once night has fallen and the party is almost over. It is normal to hear the loud laughter of drinkers and witness them doing things they do not normally do when they are sober like loud singing, dancing, and non-stop teasing.

We think of drinking in two ways: Either you’re a normal drinker. Or you’re an alcoholic. Either you have a serious problem. Or you don’t. But drinking is way more nuanced and much more layered than that.

Maybe you drink a glass of wine every night to alleviate stress or numb the pain. Maybe you drink to temporarily forget your anxiety. Maybe you have a single drink before attending social events because it helps you feel more confident. It helps you to loosen up. Maybe drinking helps to brighten the dark edges of your life. For a few moments. Maybe you’re worried that you look forward to drinking. Too much. Maybe you spend most Sunday mornings worrying about what you said or did the night before.

(Via: https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/10/28/are-you-using-alcohol-as-a-crutch/)

Men and alcohol are a given. However, women are also becoming heavy drinkers themselves today. It is not uncommon to see women drinking alongside men – and not just drinking ladies drinks or a glass of fine wine but strong alcoholic drinks with high alcohol content.

Heavy drinking has become a bigger, more socially accepted part of American women's lives. And health statistics show the results have been deadly.

"Alcohol is killing twice as many middle-age women as 18 years ago," said Kristie Gerrells, a licensed addiction counselor and clinical supervisor at the Red River Behavioral Health System in Grand Forks.

"We have more understanding of why that takes place. Women have an extra predisposition to health problems stemming from alcohol abuse, due to their physiology," she said.

And it is proving to be costly for women drinkers – even costing them their lives.

Other alcohol-related factors may be contributing to the climbing death rates, said Sharon Wilsnack, University of North Dakota Chester Fritz distinguished professor of psychiatry and an internationally recognized researcher of problem drinking in women.

"We know, for example, that alcohol is linked to suicide," she said. "The opioid epidemic may also be a factor—that's a really dangerous combination."

She also cited the possibility that traffic accidents may be boosting the alcohol-related death rate of women, more of whom are driving themselves, she said.

(Via: http://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4228802-women-lure-alcohol-becoming-more-deadly)

It all started with a different approach in advertising to make women believe that they need alcohol in their life to cope with life’s daily stresses.

The ads started popping up about a decade ago on social media. Instead of selling alcohol with sex and romance, these ads had an edgier theme: Harried mothers chugging wine to cope with everyday stress. Women embracing quart-sized bottles of whiskey, and bellying up to bars to knock back vodka shots with men.

In this new strain of advertising, women’s liberation equaled heavy drinking, and alcohol researchers say it both heralded and promoted a profound cultural shift: Women in America are drinking far more, and far more frequently, than their mothers or grandmothers did, and alcohol consumption is killing them in record numbers.

(Via: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-women-heavy-drinking-has-been-normalized-thats-dangerous/2016/12/23/0e701120-c381-11e6-9578-0054287507db_story.html?utm_term=.dd1ae12ccdcc)

Feminists will argue that women have equal rights as men, so it is but fair for them to indulge in alcohol drinking just as much as their male counterparts – if only to let loose and unwind after a long day’s work. However, women should also keep in mind the dangers of such a deadly addiction – and yes – it is an addiction.

The problem is people choose to see it differently than it really is. For them, this new lifestyle is a temporary solution that allows them to temporarily forget their myriad of problems, not a long-term problem that puts their health at risk and traps them in an addiction they can’t easily get out of.

The following post The Allure Of Alcohol To Women: Short-Term Solution Or Long-Term Problem See more on: IPAction.org/blog

source https://ipaction.org/blog/the-allure-of-alcohol-to-women-short-term-solution-or-long-term-problem/

The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana Enjoys Public Approval

If marijuana is as bad as what its detractors say it is, why is it that its legalization is quickly gaining traction among the public and 28 U.S. states already gave it the go signal? They must know something that has not yet been disclosed to all of us about the health benefits this controversial weed offers, right?

We are talking about the medical use of marijuana here and not for recreation purposes. There are medical experts who support its use in treating patients where conventional medicines and treatment have failed.

Americans are increasingly in favor of legalizing some form of marijuana — especially medical — and a majority across the board think the federal government should leave legal states alone.

A new Quinnipiac poll released Thursday found 71 percent of Americans would oppose a federal crackdown on legal marijuana, and 93 percent are in favor of medical marijuana, according to the survey of 1,323 voters nationwide.

There is a public clamor to have medical cannabis use legalized and it is impossible to ignore their growing numbers.

Public support for marijuana legalization has grown since the November election, in which a historic number of states approved medical or recreational legalization measures. A June 2016 Quinnipiac poll showed that 54 percent of adults surveyed favored the legalization of marijuana use in the United States and 89 percent supported allowing adults to legally use medical marijuana if their doctor prescribes it.

(Via: http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/02/23/quinnipiac-poll-2017-marijuana-legalization-federal-crackdown/74227/)

The public in general, especially the ones with really sick family member or friends who have no hope of ever getting cured, support its legalization because there are countless people who have confirmed that its use have not only offered them relief – especially from chronic debilitating pain - when nothing else did but may possibly cure them for real. It is also a safer alternative to opioid, much to the delight of many, and many scientific studies can prove that.

A trio of authors in October 2014 published a report online in JAMA Internal Medicine that examined the rate of opioid overdose deaths between 1999 and 2010 in all 50 states. The point being to see whether or not opioid overdose death rates declined in states that had legalized medical cannabis. After adjusting for age and other factors, states with medical cannabis laws had a roughly 25% lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate than states without a medical marijuana law. What's more, the longer medical cannabis was legal, the stronger the impact on reducing opioid overdose deaths.

(Via: https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/12/jeff-sessions-just-spoke-candidly-about-marijuana.aspx)

Even President Trump has no qualms about its use as long as it is in the context of medical treatment.

In an interview with Trump on Fox News on Feb. 11, 2016, host Bill O’Reilly described Colorado’s experience legalizing pot as leading to "... all of the dealers, all of the pushers are going to Colorado, loading up on the free pot because it’s legal, not free -- legal and then zooming around the country selling it. Does that concern you?"

Trump responded saying he favors medical marijuana "100 percent."

"But what you are talking about (with recreational marijuana), perhaps not. It's causing a lot of problems out there," Trump added.

And it should not come out as a surprise since Trump had been known to be in its favor for years now.

Long before running for president, Trump voiced strong opinions on drug legalization. In April 1990 in an article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Trump said the United States should legalize drugs and use the money collected to educate the public on the dangers of drug use. "We're losing badly the war on drugs," Trump said at the time, according to the article. "You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars."

(Via: http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2017/feb/28/gavin-newsom/true-campaign-trump-said-states-should-decide-lega/)

We can only wait and see whether nothing – or should I say no one else – can put a halt to the legalization of medical cannabis. For now, marijuana investors have no choice but to wait apprehensively on the sidelines hoping for luck to be in their favor while lawmakers argue on its credibility. In the end, if medical marijuana truly delivers what many says it can, it will eventually be legalized in the entire country on its own merits.

The following post The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana Enjoys Public Approval is available on The IPac Action Blog

source https://ipaction.org/blog/the-legalization-of-medical-marijuana-enjoys-public-approval/

How Drugs Affect Mental Health

A normal and healthy person have various coping mechanisms to stay sane in this increasingly complex urban jungle we call home. Unfortunately, not everyone can keep up with all the stresses that they seek refuge somewhere else. It does not necessarily mean you go somewhere far to get away from all your worries. People often resort to drug use to help them detach from their surrounding and experience an internal high only substance abuse can offer them.

If you do drugs, are you still a sensible individual who is capable of making rational decisions? The answer is likely a BIG no. How can you say you are still a normal walking and breathing person when your system is high on drugs that cloud your judgment. It may be that a person first got hooked on drugs before the deterioration of their state of health or they are already experiencing a major identity crisis and anxiety disorders that they find relief when they do drugs.

At least 50 per cent of regular drug abusers can develop problems of anti-social personality, suicide ideation and depression, said Susan Solomon, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences.

While drugs of abuse such as alcohol, amphetamines, caffeine, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens or nicotine can lead to health hazards and exact heavy personal, economic and social costs, the long-term consequences of abuse included psychotic disorder, mood swings, anxiety, sleep disorder and sexual dysfunction, she said.

(Via: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/drug-abuse-harmful-to-mental-health-too/article17388961.ece)

Drug dependence continues to be a menace to society and leaves behind a mentally unsound populace that may harm themselves or those around them.

Law enforcement officers share concerns about the number of times they deal with people experiencing mental illness. School staff and people working in after-school activities see children and teens struggling with mental illness. Healthcare providers also bring up mental illness as a concern in their work. And, in the work of preventing youth alcohol and other drug use, mental illness is a challenge. In a recent meeting with state senators and representatives, the Coalition once again heard and raised the issue of mental illness.

(Via: http://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/opinion/article_0605ee85-c5af-5fee-84d2-a8a037ec52fa.html)

Poor mental health and substance abuse often go hand in hand and it affects the entire society unless preventive measures are taken before more people die.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S., or 43.8 million, experiences mental illness in a given year, and 1 in 25 adults, or 9.8 million, experience "a serious mental [that] substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities," as do a substantial percentage of kids. As of 2006, 36.2 million Americans also shelled big out for mental health services, totaling $57.5 billion or an average of $1,591 per person. Those 4.6 million children able to access and afford mental health services averaged $1,931 each, which hardly seems fair (or efficient).

Individual costs have since come down, but officials still consider mental illness one of the nation's most expensive, especially when it has gone untreated. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, meanwhile, the overall costs to the U.S. of crime, lost work productivity, and health care related to alcohol and illicit drugs are $224 billion and $193 billion a year, respectively.

(Via: https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2017/03/10/gop-plan-strips-addiction-mental-health-coverage-for-millions-as-deaths-and-costs-soar/#2a069942a3e4)

Considering how big this drug abuse issue has exploded and put at risk the mental health of many, what is the government’s role in addressing the issue and how can they help vulnerable citizens get a hold of their lives once more.

 Contrary to Trump’s talk, his party is aiming to pull the rug out from under people grappling with substance-abuse or mental-health issues. The GOP’s legislation to repeal parts of Obamacare—currently being rushed through Congress, with Trump’s backing—could yank coverage from 1.3 million people with behavioral-health needs, according to an analysis from health-care economists Richard Frank of Harvard University and Sherry Glied of New York University.

“People with substance-abuse disorders are going to be the first casualty if this moves forward,” said Daniel Raymond, policy director of the Harm Reduction Coalition. That’s largely because of significant changes the bill makes to Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income Americans. Under the Affordable Care Act, addiction treatment and mental-health services were newly defined as “essential health benefits,” which meant that Medicaid and other insurers had to cover them.

(Via: https://www.thenation.com/article/the-gops-health-care-plan-could-strip-addiction-and-mental-health-coverage-from-1-3-million/)

The future does not look promising for drug users who are struggling to get back on both feet without the government’s help.

Stripping away addiction treatment services from low-income people is especially harmful, Frank, of Harvard, said in an interview, because the prevalence of drug abuse is much higher for people living well below the poverty line. He said Medicaid recipients who are covered for addiction treatment and maintain their coverage through 2020 would not lose the benefit under the GOP proposal. But, he added, because addiction is a chronic-relapse disease, people may get clean, relapse, stop working and need to go back on Medicaid.

(Via: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/09/gop-health-care-bill-would-drop-mental-health-coverage-mandate-covering-1-3-million-americans/)

Education remains to be the best tool to combat drug addiction. Educated people have better coping skills and do not take the easy way out when facing crossroads in life. They stay above their problems and see drug abuse for what it really is, a problem and never a solution.

How Drugs Affect Mental Health is available on https://ipaction.org

source https://ipaction.org/blog/how-drugs-affect-mental-health/

The Youth: The Hope And The Future Of The Nation

The youth will be the future leaders of our country and as such needs a good and strong foundation to be good leaders and citizens someday. However, there is too much violence in our surroundings right now that we may want to question whether our youth are seeing good role models to emulate in the future. Conflicts in and out of the country are reported on the news day in and day out – without fail. Divorce is common, leaving behind young kids without both parents to guide and mold them as they grow up.

Also, overexposure to unsupervised hours spent surfing the Internet can lead the youth to believe that certain acts are acceptable when in reality they are not. They can access sites that they are not supposed to visit exposing them to pornography. Hence, teenage pregnancy is no longer surprising. Drugs and alcohol abuse is also a constant threat and many youths are already hooked into it. Does the future still look bright when the majority of our youth are riddled with all these problems on a daily basis?

A Teen Summit exploring violence-related issues and other youth topics will be held April 1 at noon at the Booker T. Washington Center, 1720 Holland St.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Mothers Against Teen Violence, an Erie-based anti-violence group founded in 2010 by community activist Sonya Arrington, in partnership with the Youth Leadership Institute of Erie.

"This is a platform for our youth to be heard,'' Arrington said. 

The forum will address issues of bullying, peer pressure, and violence, drugs and alcohol abuse.

The goals is to empower the youth and let them know that help is available whenever they ask for it.

"I want the youth in our community to know that they do have a voice and that we, as adults, are listening to their concerns,'' Arrington said. "Our youth need to know there is help in the community to help get them through these traumatic events with all the violence. There is help.''

(Via: http://www.goerie.com/news/20170312/teen-summit-to-address-violence-related-issues)

Many fail to realize that the youth are still kids and need proper guidance. They have different needs as they grow up and it is the responsibility of their parents and guardians to be sensitive to their needs and extend a helping hand when needed. Remember that things can even spiral out of control once the youth hits puberty and the delicate juggle act starts and persist throughout their lifetime.

From the beginning, some of us can be labelled “different,” separated from the flock and taken aside to receive special treatment. In some ways, it can make things all the more inconvenient.

Children are astute at perceiving the difference and can be especially harsh, forming elites and teasing their classmates; the kids who fall victim to this treatment may experience future problems as teenagers.

As we become older, a whole new world opens up; we understand so much more, for better or worse. Teens will make the transition from elementary to high school, and it can be very stressful trying to balance grades and a social life.

As each year goes by, there seems to be no going back. School can be fast-paced and if you do not understand something the first time it may be difficult to get a second explanation.

And there are also things we are not taught, such as how to manage money, pay taxes or plan for the future. These are the things left to our parents to teach us, or for us to figure out on our own.

(Via: http://www.prpeak.com/community/student-life-exploring-issues-that-matter-to-youth-1.10831479)

The youth can also receive help and support from groups that help them reach their fullest potential. Give them a chance to be kids but also make it a point to guide them in everything they do. This site http://www.nac1985.org/ can help them discover and hone their abilities through engaging physical and outdoor activities in a warm and nurturing environment that every kid needs and deserves.

The following blog article The Youth: The Hope And The Future Of The Nation Find more on: IPAB

source https://ipaction.org/blog/the-youth-the-hope-and-the-future-of-the-nation/

Trump’s New Business Venture: Can He Make America Great Again?

Today is a new era in American politics – the Trump Era. Along with this new presidency are many new policies that are set to shape the future of this country. It will not only affect the common people, and discriminated against minorities, but major business establishments too. After all, President Trump is a renowned businessman himself with multi-million business ventures both in and out of the country.

What can businesses expect from his leadership? Will it propel the economic progress the country has gradually achieved over the years or be the cause of yet another difficult recession because of his outrageous fiscal policies that can affect the many U.S. external relations?

When it comes to President Donald Trump’s constellation of foreign investments, properties, and companies, much of the attention so far has been on his business’s apparent violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which bars officeholders from taking gifts from foreign leaders. According to numerous ethics experts, the clause takes an expansive definition of gifts, encompassing everything from a direct bribe to a foreign official’s approval of construction of a new Trump property. But some of the Trump Organization’s properties raise additional red flags due to the specific partners involved. That’s true in Indonesia, for example, where Trump’s affiliates have been involved in bribery scandals and radical Islamic nationalist parties, and Brazil, where the company pulled out of a branding agreement amid a criminal investigation of a local business partner.

Controversies are surrounding his administration right from the very start.

This, then, is the situation in which the Trump Organization—and, by extension, the president, who has stepped down from his position within the business but who retains ownership—finds itself in Azerbaijan: The company’s direct partner on Trump Tower Baku is the scion of a wealthy and notoriously corrupt family that appears to have only stepped up its self-dealing as its political power wanes. That family is engaged in what appears to be a relationship of mutual graft with Iranian oligarchs with deep connections to their country’s Revolutionary Guard, the ideological militia widely suspected by the international community of gross corruption and sponsoring terror at home and abroad.

(Via: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interests/508382/)

And this is just the beginning of four long years of erratic statements and policies that can either make or break earlier good relations the country has established with other nations - not just with China but many other nations like Japan, Canada, Europe, etc.

"Reciprocity" has become the new buzzword in the U.S. business community in China, with some industry leaders saying they would welcome a tougher approach from the Trump administration in opening up the markets of the world's second-largest economy.

(Via: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-business-idUSKBN15U00H)

The new administration should exercise more caution in issuing statements or policies that can significantly impact the country’s economy. After all, President Trump is known to have a way with words, although not always on the positive side, so it just makes sense for his advisers to guide him in making the best decisions that are for the best interest of every single American who counts on his leadership to make America great again.

China's government has a selection of policy tools that can respond to any potentially hostile trade or economic policies by US President Donald Trump, said Li Daokui, a prominent economist and a former member of the Chinese central bank's monetary policy committee.

"The central government is prepared for Trump," Li told the South China Morning Post outside a meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing. "What's important is not what Trump says, but what his team says. The government has regular communications" with officials of the Trump administration, he said.

Any US protectionist economic measures or trade sanctions can be responded in kind, Li said.

The Chinese government can also apply pressure on American businesses in China, such as last December's fine on General Motors Co.'s Chinese venture, he said.

(Via: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/05/us-businesses-may-suffer-in-tit-for-tat-trade-war-with-china-advisor-says.html)

The U.S. will suffer greatly if this conflict with the Chinese worsens considering our economy greatly relies on Chinese imports aside from the fact that many big American companies and corporations have manufacturing plants in China because of cheaper labor. There is more at stake here but let us put our faith on President Trump to deliver his promise and put the interests of the country before his – or any of his businesses despite his many quirks and eccentricities.

Trump’s New Business Venture: Can He Make America Great Again? is available on IPAB

source https://ipaction.org/blog/trumps-new-business-venture-can-he-make-america-great-again/

Is Cannabis Treatment Safe For Pets?

Pet lovers consider their pets as part of the family and treat them as such. They look after their needs and shower them with love and affection. In a sense, pets are like babies that are the apple of their eyes. Imagine going home to a puppy that is wagging its tail by your doorstep, excited for your return.

But of course, you are free to choose whatever animal you want as a pet as long as you are capable of caring for it and giving it the love and attention it needs – be it a dog, cat, hamster, fish or birds – it is up to you, and not just abandon them or leave animals in shelters when caring for them is no longer convenient for you.

Take responsibility for our pets. No excuses allowed.

Most do. Most are conscientious when it comes to looking after the well-being of their dogs and cats. Most treat them like the family members they are, feed them, bathe them, let them sleep in the house — even on the furniture. Key is, they keep them, to the end. If they can’t, they do their best to find a home for them before giving their dog to KHS.

(Via: http://thegardenisland.com/lifestyles/opinion/responsibility-a-must-for-pet-owners/article_39d2bcf9-248c-58b6-8344-f14fe0ed6306.html)

Like humans, pets get sick too. Both young and old, pet animals can succumb to sickness and suffer in silence. They are not humans who can speak and say exactly what they feel or say where it hurts the most. They can only whimper in pain and hope that their owners will understand what they are going through.

An emerging controversial treatment for sick pets – dogs and cats to be specific - is the use of cannabis. Just like with humans, it elicits mixed reactions with those for and against its use.

As more states legalize marijuana, more pet owners are giving medical-cannabis products to their furry companions to treat a range of ailments.

Well, veterinarians say there isn’t enough scientific data to show that cannabis is safe and effective for treating animals.

Medical marijuana is legal in 28 states, but remains illegal under federal law, so there’s been little research into its potential health benefits for people or animals.

Despite the lack of scientific data, many pet owners are convinced cannabis has improved their animals’ health and well-being based on their own observations.

(Via: https://radio.foxnews.com/2017/03/08/everybody-species-must-get-stoned-medical-marijuana-for-pets/)

Despite appearing to be helpful in restoring the health of sick cats and dogs, some experts in the field oppose its use because again, there is insufficient scientific data to back it up.

Michael Fasman’s 12-year-old dog, Hudson, limps from pain caused by arthritis and an amputated toe, but Fasman doesn’t want to give her painkillers because “they just knock her out.”

So the San Francisco resident has turned to an alternative medicine that many humans use to treat their own pain and illness: marijuana.

On a recent morning, Fasman squeezed several drops of a cannabis extract onto a plate of yogurt, which the Portuguese water dog lapped up in seconds. It’s become part of Hudson’s daily routine.

“We think it’s really lifted her spirits and made her a happier dog,” Fasman said. “It’s not that she’s changed. She’s just back to her good old self.”

As more states legalize marijuana for humans, more pet owners are giving their furry companions cannabis-based extracts, ointments and edibles marketed to treat everything from arthritis and anxiety to seizures and cancer.

(Via: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pets-who-use-pot-marijuana-cannabis/)

Cannabis treatment in pets will continue to be a sensitive topic just like with humans. The medical community should have an open mind about it to find out whether it can be of help in the medical treatment of both man and animals. They should persist to conduct studies and clinical trials to determine the safety issues involved in its use ad how we can all benefit from it in time. Until then, talk to your pet’s veterinarian and find out the best management for your pet’s condition without putting their lives at risk.

The following post Is Cannabis Treatment Safe For Pets? is available on IPAction.org Blog

source https://ipaction.org/blog/is-cannabis-treatment-safe-for-pets/