Tag Archives: Shona Banda

Drug War, Featured, Marijuana Prohibition

Shona Banda’s Lawyers File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against State of Kansas

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Attorneys Sarah Swain and Matthew Pappas have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the State of Kansas and its Department for Children and Families on behalf of cannabis oil activist and Crohn’s disease patient Shona Banda, whose 11-year-old son was taken by authorities in April of this year after he spoke out about his mother’s successful medical marijuana treatment during a public school anti-drug presentation. After Banda’s son was seized by the state, Garden City, KS police raided her home on the basis of an unauthorized interrogation of her son, allegedly finding cannabis oil constituents and paraphernalia used to make it, and charged her with 5 criminal charges. Banda faces over 30 years in prison if convicted.

Swain, who said last month that she intends to attack cannabis’ classification as a hardcore Schedule 1 narcotic with no medical use as a part of Banda’s defense, teamed up with attorney Matthew Pappas and announced the lawsuit on Banda’s behalf at a July 3 press conference in Los Angeles, according to The Garden City Telegram. The federal civil rights suit alleges that the State of Kansas and the Department for Children and Families violated Banda’s rights by taking her son.

“There’s a fundamental right in our country that if you’re doing something that is to help a condition you suffer from, and that’s the purpose of what you’re doing, then it would be inappropriate [to seize a parent’s child over the substance], unless there is an extremely important interest and a narrowly-tailored law. It would be necessary to have that situation before you would ever take a child out of somebody’s custody,” said Pappas in an interview with The Garden City Telegram. He continued, “In Kansas the issue comes down to whether or not there is a justification that the law prohibiting marijuana is narrowly tailored given the fact that she’s using it to alleviate serious pain and symptoms related to Crohn’s disease and not to get high.”

Authorities claim that DCF seized Banda’s son because evidence related to her alleged use and manufacture of cannabis oil was found within reach of her child. Banda’s legal team will reportedly argue that her use of cannabis was medicinal in nature and that the substance is less toxic than other legal household items and medications. In his interview with The Garden City Telegram, Pappas cited prior case law that upheld a parent’s right to custody of a child as fundamental under the Civil Rights Act of 1871.

Truth in Media has covered Shona Banda’s cannabis oil activism since March of 2014, as she first gained notoriety after producing her own inexpensive cannabis oil extraction method in an effort to create a home treatment for Crohn’s disease and other ailments. Truth in Media’s exclusive interviews with Banda about her custody battle and the criminal charges she faces were cited by mainstream media outlets like The Washington Post and ABC’s The View and sparked a national discussion over medical marijuana and cannabis prohibition.

To find out more about Banda’s story, click here.

Truth In Media’s latest Consider This episode takes a look at the drug war and non-violent offenders. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zTOFxdUsQw

Drug War, Marijuana Prohibition

Ron Paul Calls for Jury to Nullify Cannabis Oil Mom Shona Banda’s Criminal Charges

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Since March of last year, Truth in Media has covered the work of cannabis oil activist Shona Banda, a mother and Crohn’s disease patient who successfully used cannabis oil to treat her illness and developed her own inexpensive method for extracting it. However, Banda’s ordeal took a serious turn in April of this year when her son was seized by the Kansas Department for Children and Families and her home raided by police after her 11-year-old son spoke out about Banda’s successful cannabis oil treatment during an anti-drug presentation at his Garden City, KS public school.

Truth in Media’s exclusive interviews with Banda about her fight to regain custody of her son and the five criminal charges, three of them felonies, that she faces pursuant to the April raid on her home garnered nationwide attention, with outlets like The Washington Post and ABC’s The View picking up the story.

Now, Shona Banda’s case has caught the attention of libertarian icon and former Republican US Congressman Ron Paul, who weighed in on her case during Tuesday’s episode of the Ron Paul Liberty Report.

In the episode, seen in the above-embedded video player, Ron Paul spoke optimistically of the fact that laws prohibiting treatment with cannabis oil have been overturned in many states, but noted that these changes are happening too slowly to help in Shona Banda’s case. As an alternative, he pointed to jury nullification, a legal tool that jurors can use to defend fellow citizens from unjust laws.

“[Shona Banda] could end up in prison for 34 years,” said Paul, who called the charges against her “so egregious.”

Jury nullification describes a discretionary act in which a juror uses his or her right to acquit a defendant, but does so, not on the basis that the accused is innocent of the charges, but instead based on the belief that the law itself is unjust. Former Congressman Paul cautioned that efforts to stand outside a specific courthouse and educate jurors on the principle of jury nullification could result in activists being charged with jury tampering.

Paul also pointed out the fact that parents who home-school their kids do not face a risk that public school employees will interrogate their children in an effort to spy on parents’ behavior. He concluded by articulating his broader view that the War on Drugs exceeds the federal government’s constitutional limits. “[The federal government] shouldn’t even be involved. Where is it in the Constitution that they’re going to tell us about what our kids can do or what a person can do for their own body, taking something that grows naturally and finds out that its the best medication they could take? I mean that is not a federal function.”

Shona Banda’s supporters have already raised nearly $50,000 to support her legal defense via a GoFundMe page. Banda has predicted that her legal fees may exceed $150,000.

In September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode confronting the federal government’s mixed messages about the efficacy of medical marijuana. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://youtu.be/zuX9y0hiqWE

Drug War, Featured, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition, Politics, US

Shona Banda’s Attorney Plans to Fight Cannabis’ Classification As Schedule 1 Narcotic

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Since March of 2014, Truth in Media has covered the work of cannabis oil activist and Crohn’s disease sufferer Shona Banda, who has successfully used cannabis oil to manage her disease and developed her own inexpensive method to extract it. However, Banda’s story took a dramatic turn recently when her home was raided by police and her son was seized by the Kansas Department for Children and Families after he spoke out about his mother’s cannabis oil treatment during an anti-drug presentation at school. Truth in Media’s exclusive interview with Banda about the State of Kansas’ seizure of her son went viral and attracted worldwide mainstream media attention from outlets like The Washington Post and ABC’s The View.

Last week, Finney County Attorney Susan Richmeier announced that Shona Banda would be facing five criminal counts related to the cannabis oil and paraphernalia items that were found in her home during the aforementioned April raid by Garden City police. Truth in Media spoke exclusively with Banda last week about those charges, three of which are felonies.

Yesterday, as Banda surrendered to Finney County authorities, her attorney Sarah Swain held a press conference, which was captured on video by Jennifer Winn, a well-known Kansas-based political activist who mounted an unsuccessful-but-serious run for the Republican nomination for governor of Kansas in 2014.

Swain said that she intends to challenge the federal government’s classification of cannabis as a hardcore Schedule 1 narcotic with no medical use as a part of Banda’s defense and that she’s willing to take her case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

“The real issue to me in this case is not just about Shona Banda — it’s why do we have marijuana classified as a Schedule 1 drug, which requires… that there be no medicinal benefits to that substance such as metamphetamine or heroin or crack cocaine… There are hundreds of studies that will tell you [the medical benefits of] marijuana,” said Swain.

She continued, “The fact that this country continues the War on Drugs, which is really just a war on families and a war on the poor is absolutely ridiculous, and it’s our goal with this case to, not just to change the way that Shona Banda is treated here in Garden City, KS, but to take this case every step of the way to litigate it all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, if we need to, to make sure that this drug is no longer classified as a Schedule 1 drug, and as soon as it’s classified as something less than that, millions of people’s lives will be positively affected by that change.”

When a reporter asked Swain whether she would be challenging the constitutionality of authorities’ interrogation of Banda’s child at school without parental permission and the use of its findings as probable cause for a raid on her home, Swain said, “My strategy is to do what’s best for my client first, and what’s best for Shona Banda is that the tactics that were employed by DCF, Department for Children and Families, in questioning her child and the tactics that were employed by the Garden City Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department are thoroughly litigated. I certainly think there are some issues that exist with the constitutionality of the way the information was gathered, the search warrant was prepared, the eventual search of her house was done, and I will litigate all of those issues fully, but I’m not going to stop there. I’m going to litigate this issue even at the district court level as if this is a case that can change the law, not just here, not just in Garden City, not just in Kansas, but throughout the entire country. That’s what our goal is, and I know it’s a lofty goal, but I think that it’s an incredibly important goal.”

Swain noted that the Banda could be facing over 30 years in prison if she is convicted on all five charges. “She’s 38, so not only is it essentially a life sentence, but this is a woman who was using cannabis to treat a disease, Crohn’s disease, that’s absolutely debilitating, so not only is it that she’s facing life in prison just due to the years, but, essentially, it’s a death sentence if she is sent to prison and does not have access to the treatment that she was using that cured her of her Crohn’s disease and allowed her to live a somewhat normal life,” said Swain.

Swain noted that Banda could be facing additional personal risk in terms of years behind bars and potential loss of custody of her son due to her decision to let her case be a battleground for a legal fight over the federal government’s classification of cannabis as a Schedule 1 narcotic, but that Banda is willing to take that risk.

Swain also said that the case is important to her personally as her father is a Vietnam veteran who uses cannabis to manage his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Banda’s bond was set at $50,000, and some of the funds raised by her supporters through a GoFundMe page were used to post bond after a hearing on Tuesday morning. At the press conference on Monday, Sarah Swain called on supporters of medical marijuana around the world to continue donating to the GoFundMe page to assist Banda in what is likely to be a protracted legal fight.

In January of 2012, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America Patient Education Committee issued a statement which read, “The CCFA does support the calls by the various health organizations urging review of marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule 1 controlled substance, with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and the potential development of cannabanoid-based medications.” Marijuana’s classification as a Schedule 1 narcotic prevents its potential medical benefits from being directly studied by scientists in a clinical setting.

Back in September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode noting that the federal government holds a patent on medical cannabis despite the fact that it classifies the substance as having no medical use. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuX9y0hiqWE

 

Civil Liberties, Drug War, Editor’s Pick, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition, Police State, Politics, States Rights, US

EXCLUSIVE: Cannabis Oil Activist Shona Banda, Now Facing Felony Charges, Speaks Out

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In April, Truth in Media published an exclusive interview with Shona Banda, a cannabis oil activist and Crohn’s disease survivor whose home was raided by Garden City, KS police and 11-year-old son was seized by the Kansas Department for Children and Families after her son spoke out about medical marijuana during an anti-drug presentation in school.

Banda’s ordeal became a national issue after her interview with Truth in Media was picked up by Radley Balko at The Washington Post and discussed on a wide range of mainstream media outlets and television talk shows including ABC’s The View. Truth in Media has been covering Banda’s activism since 2014, when she went public in an interview with Ben Swann about how she uses cannabis oil to treat her Crohn’s disease.

[RELATED: The Cannabis Oil Invention Shona Banda Wouldn’t Hold Secret]

Meanwhile, The Garden City Telegram is reporting that Finney County Attorney Susan Richmeier announced on Friday that five criminal charges are being filed against Shona Banda pursuant to the April raid by Garden City police. The charges, three of which are felonies, include distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, endangering a child, unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, and two drug paraphernalia infractions. The Garden City Telegram notes that Banda could be facing anywhere between 138 to 204 months behind bars.

On Monday, Truth in Media spoke exclusively with Shona Banda about the charges that have been filed against her and her views on the cannabis oil movement that is exploding across the nation.

“I do believe that they’re trying to make an example out of me,” said Banda about the criminal charges she now faces.

She said of the state’s decision to press charges against her despite an overwhelming public show of support for her plight, “Well, they had a choice. People have made petitions [in support of Banda], over 130,000 signatures on one petition alone. I want to say that there are four or five different petitions out there. Phone calls have been made to the DA Susan Richmeier in Garden City. Letters have been written, and they still chose to charge me with felony 1 charges. They’re charging me with child endangerment, and they’re calling my machine a lab, and anyone can go on YouTube and look up what that lab consists of, because it’s ridiculous what they’re trying to charge me with.”

Garden City police claim that the raid on Banda’s home produced, according to The Garden City Telegram, “1.25 pounds of marijuana in plant, oil, joint, gel and capsule form and drug paraphernalia” along with what was characterized as a “lab used for manufacturing cannabis oil.”

Banda took particular offense to the fact that she was charged with child endangerment and said, “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. There was no endangerment of a child, for one. For two, this plant is the most non-toxic substance on the planet, so, it’s safer to have around my house than aspirin. So the child endangerment charges I can not believe.”

Regarding the charge related to allegedly possessing or selling cannabis in close proximity to a school, she said, “They’re trying to say that it’s 1000 feet from a school. I’m several blocks away from a school. I sure would like to challenge that.”

Banda also pointed out the fact that Finney County Attorney Susan Richmeier took almost two months to come up with criminal charges after the April raid on her home. “How serious of a criminal am I really if it took them this long to charge me? How much of a danger to society am I really? How can you charge someone with a level 1 felony and have those charges be out for so long. If I’m such a danger to society, why did it take this long to charge me?”

In March of 2014, Truth in Media’s Evan Mulch reported on Banda’s innovative process for inexpensively extracting cannabis oil. “My oil was the first CBD oil tested in Colorado. I literally am one of the first patients to come out publicly with this oil… I really did help start an online social media revolution of paying it forward with healing yourself and telling others about it. I helped start all this, and I couldn’t make it in Colorado, so I just moved back home [to Kansas] so I could survive,” said Banda. “I wrote my book [Live Free or Die: Reclaim your Life… Reclaim your Country!] and went to Colorado to get it published. I helped start the medical movement in Colorado.”

[RELATED: Shona Banda Explains Her Remarkable Story On How Cannabis Oil Saved Her Life]

Meanwhile, a frenzy of non-psychoactive cannabis oil legalization bills have been passing in even the most conservative of state legislatures of late, with Tennessee and Texas recently joining the list of states that have legalized low-THC cannabis oil to treat intractable seizures. Said Banda of the low-THC movement, “I’m still for these people who are trying to pass CBD-only laws because hemp is completely legal here, you can use hemp, and use can use the materials from hemp.”

However, she said that the bills did not go far enough and that bans on psychoactive forms of cannabis oil put some sufferers at risk who need it to treat their illnesses, “I fully believe that you need the full spectrum of cannabanoids in the cannabis plant, not the hemp plant, to create homeostasis and healing within the body… Why would you continue to pervert this process by taking out one constituent from an entire plant that is helpful and only allowing that one constituent? Because it doesn’t get you ‘high’? Our endocannabinoid system is made to accept it and work with it, and it works best when it is in its whole form.”

“I started this whole process because I wanted to live and grow and be with my children. I just want to live and survive with my kids and raise my children and live long enough to see grandchildren. It’s an inalienable right to live and I shouldn’t be punished for pursuing that… I shouldn’t be prosecuted for that,” said Banda. She continued, “The people of Kansas want [medical marijuana] available to them. It makes no sense to me that people’s lives in Colorado are more important than people’s lives in Kansas. How is this the United States of America when your life means more if you’re in California, Washington, Colorado, than when you’re in Kansas or Oklahoma or Texas?”

Banda, whose supporters have launched a GoFundMe page that has raised $43,000 so far for legal expenses, said that her legal quagmire has escalated to what is likely a “150 to 200 thousand dollar process.” She called on her supporters to “get this out there as absolutely to the masses as possible, because the mainstream media is not paying attention.” She continued, “There are still too many people who do not know what is going on. This is the most heinous of crimes. Why would you take a child away from his mother because his mother is trying to live. How is that protecting anyone in my family?”

Banda’s next custody hearing where she will learn more about her chances to reunite with her son is set for July 10. She has not yet been arrested on the aforementioned five criminal counts, which have been filed but not yet processed.

She believes that her fate “depends on whether Garden City is willing to accept science.”

She continued, “Wasn’t Kansas the state that said they weren’t going to teach evolution at one point? I mean, the state of Kansas is pretty scary. I’m just hoping that they’ll accept this science with a much more open mind.”

To find out more about Banda’s story, click here.

In September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode tackling the federal government’s mixed messages on medical cannabis. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://youtu.be/zuX9y0hiqWE

Civil Liberties, Drug War, Featured, Marijuana Prohibition, Police State, Politics, US, Videos

VIDEO: Without Warrant, Cops Block Cannabis Oil Activist Shona Banda from Entering Her Own Home

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Last week, BenSwann.com obtained an exclusive interview with Shona Banda, a cannabis oil activist and Crohn’s disease survivor whose 11-year-old son was taken by Kansas’ Department for Children and Families and whose home was searched by police after her son asserted medical cannabis facts during an anti-drug class at school. During the interview, Banda mentioned the fact that she had filmed the encounter with police and DCF at her home, which she characterized as a raid, and that video of the incident would be made available after she had an opportunity to post it online.

The video, now online and seen above, appears to show the fact that, upon her arrival at her Garden City, KS home, local police and DCF agents were already on her property. At the time that the video was taken, police on the scene had yet to obtain a warrant and were waiting for a judge to sign off on one. Despite the fact that a search warrant had not yet been issued, officers were seen searching her backyard. Banda refused to allow the officers into her home without a warrant, and, subsequently, police refused to allow her to enter her own home, claiming that it had been secured in preparation for the impending search.

At one point, an officer denied Banda entry into the home to retrieve diabetes medication for a child in her care, telling her that police would contact EMS if the child slipped into a diabetic attack as a result of the refusal to allow her inside. The officer appeared to attempt to use the diabetic attack as leverage to coerce Banda into waiving her right to refuse a search by suggesting that he could enter the home to get the medication, but informing her that she could not. DCF bureaucrats said that Banda could not be allowed into the home until officers determined whether it was safe for children. Banda was told by police many times that she was free to leave her own home, but could not enter.

Following Banda’s interview on BenSwann.com and a report by The Human Solution International, her story was picked up by Radley Balko at The Washington Post and subsequently went viral. Banda’s supporters have started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign, which has already raised over $25,000, to help with her legal expenses.

The Garden City Telegram notes that Banda is set to appear in court today at a hearing at Finney County District Court, where she will fight for custody of her 11-year-old son. According to The Daily Mail, Banda’s son, who had been originally placed in his father’s custody temporarily, was seized from his father on Thursday in advance of today’s hearing.

In September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode reporting on the federal government’s mixed messages on medical marijuana. Watch it in the player below.

Drug War, Featured, Interviews, Marijuana Prohibition, Police State, Politics, US

EXCLUSIVE: Cops Raid Cannabis Oil Activist Because Her Son Discussed Medical Pot Facts at School

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On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down after her son was taken from her by the State of Kansas. The ordeal started when counselors at her 11-year-old son’s school conducted a drug education class. Her son, who had previously lived in Colorado for a period of time, disagreed with some of the anti-pot points that were being made by school officials. “My son says different things like my ‘Mom calls it cannabis and not marijuana.’ He let them know how educated he was on the facts,” said Banda in an exclusive interview with BenSwann.com. Banda successfully treated her own Crohn’s disease with cannabis oil.

After her son spoke out about medical marijuana, he was detained, and police launched a raid on Shona Banda’s home. “Well, they had that drug education class at school that was just conducted by the counselors… They pulled my son out of school at about 1:40 in the afternoon and interrogated him. Police showed up at my house at 3… I let them know that they weren’t allowed in my home without a warrant… I didn’t believe you could get a warrant off of something a child says in school.” Banda continued, “We waited from 3 o’clock until 6 o’clock. They got a warrant at 6 o’clock at night and executed a warrant into my home. My husband and I are separated, and neither parent was contacted by authorities before [our son] was taken and questioned.”

“They subsequently conducted a raid and then called me when the raid was over letting me know that there was a list of items they took on my kitchen table, I was allowed to go home, and [an officer] gave me his word I would not be arrested in person or at work and that charges would be given to me in a postcard in the mail. I have not been charged with anything at this point, but I have a hard time believing that it’s OK for them to interrogate my child without parental consent for hours,” said Banda. A report by The Human Solution International notes that officers found 2 ounces of cannabis and an ounce of cannabis oil during the raid.

Banda then described the actions that the State of Kansas began to take in an effort to take her son from her, “On the 24th, he was taken into custody. That was on a Tuesday. He was taken out of town Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday we had a temporary hearing… and temporary custody was granted to my ex. Now the only reason why temporary custody was granted to my ex is because the judge said something to the effect that the amount of cannabis found in my home was going to possibly be felony charges and it was pointless letting the child return home to his mother.” She believes that the state is trying to take her son away and said, “The state is trying to deem it to where [Shona’s ex-husband] is not fit and I’m not fit and they’re trying to take custody of our child.”

“For him to have spoken up in class I can’t be upset about because he hears me daily on the phone talking with people, encouraging people to speak up and speak out. We did have the talk about how it’s not OK to bring this up in Kansas, because it’s a different state [than Colorado]. It’s very confusing for a child,” said Banda, noting how difficult it can be for children to understand how something could be considered legal medicine in one state and contraband in another.

Authorities have yet to charge Banda with a crime, and her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20.

Update April 17, 2:20 PM: In light of new details confirmed by Radley Balko at The Washington Post, the first paragraph of this article has been edited to clarify the fact that the Garden City Police Department did not participate in the school’s drug education class, but were called by Child Protective Services to search Shona Banda after school officials contacted CPS in response to her son’s comments during the class. 

In September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode exposing the government’s mixed messages on medical cannabis. Watch it in the video player, found below.

Politics

Ben Swann Radio: Shona Banda Explains Her Remarkable Story On How Cannabis Oil Saved Her Life

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After being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2002, Shona Banda went through the struggles that many suffer with when battling the autoimmune disease. On the Ben Swann Radio Show, Ben and Shona discussed her tribulations while suffering from the disease and her immediate experiences after finding the cure to her disease.

During the show, when Shona Banda discussed her experiences while raising her kids with the disease, she said:

“I literally raised my kids from the couch and tried every pharmaceutical option that was offered including many many surgeries, so when I watched Rick Simpson’s movie Run From The Cure online I knew for sure I wanted to try it.”

Shona couldn’t believe the amazing effects of cannabis, when she told Ben about her first experience while smoking the plant, she said:

“Just smoking it made me fall to the floor and cry, because it’s like finding like Santa Claus isn’t real as an adult – your whole world changes. Because it helps me better than any pharmaceutical I had ever had…just smoking it.”

The road to recovery after finding the cure has taken years for Shona but the feeling of surviving came immediately to her:

“I literally went from feeling the degradation of dying, the pain from dying, knowing that I wasn’t going to be here very long to literally waking up on day three knowing that I was going to live long enough to see my grandkids someday.” 

When Ben asked Shona if people she consults with realizes the same results that she has experienced, Shona said:

“Yes, the longer you’re on the medicine the more healing happens and cancer patients actually seem to heal faster a lot of the times than people with autoimmune disease — and the longer that you had a disease or illness the longer that you need to be on the oil. I had mine seven and a half years and it took me a full year to be on the oil three times a day for me to feel comfortable enough to go down for a maintenance dose.” 

Shona went on to talk about the current media obsession with CBD oil and why modern medicine is falling behind the grassroots when it comes to the healing properties of cannabis.  You can hear more about that as well as the rest of the interview here:

The interview with Shona begins at 19:20.

More about Shona can be found in a story we published earlier this year called, The Cannabis Oil Invention Shona Banda Wouldn’t Hold Secret.

 

To watch a video of Shona making the oil, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5K_lcBU-sI

Government Accountability, Health, Marijuana Prohibition

The Cannabis Oil Invention Shona Banda Wouldn’t Hold Secret

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN has recently blown the doors wide open on medical marijuana and the people in America are acting fast. Even while cannabis remains a Schedule I substance under federal law, politicians are quickly changing state laws to allow people to use the plant.

So who is it that should get credit for the medical marijuana momentum that we are experiencing right now? Dr. Sanjay Gupta definitely deserves credit but who inspired him to take a deeper look at benefits of medical marijuana?

We may never know exactly who or what inspired Dr. Sanjay Gupta to report many of the fascinating facts about medical marijuana but the discovery of the Charlotte’s Web oil can be linked to two people that have never had the spotlight in the mainstream media.

One of those people is Rick Simpson, the first person to show others how to make cannabis oil on the internet. His documentary Run From The Cure was launched on the internet in 2008 and suddenly there was a tidal wave of people creating a substance that Rick Simpson called Phoenix Tears.  At the time, the tidal wave was not visible to most people in America but there were plenty of people secretly creating and sharing Phoenix Tears in the same fashion that the bootleggers created and shared alcohol during the time of prohibition.

Although there were people having success with making oil in the same way that Rick Simpson taught, the process was impractical for people with limited amounts of marijuana. Luckily for all of us, there was a lady in Kansas named Shona Banda that was so desperate to make Phoenix Tears to save her life from Crohn’s disease that she found a way to make the oil by using a vaporizer that cost less than $50. Not long after using the oil, she was back to good health and decided to tell the world about her invention and her experiences before and after the oil.

Last Friday marked 5 years of what Shona calls her “Canna-Birthday”. On her Canna-Birthday she posted the following Facebook post with the video below:

shona-banda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM5xzL2Ta90

Americans have now recognized that the secrets about the benefits of marijuana were held long enough by people in the federal government. Due to Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s latest marijuana reports Americans are now well aware that in 2003 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services patented the oil in Patent No. 6630507 in what some would call a heavy-handed measure to halt the use of the oil.

As Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote, “It is about emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics override science and patients are caught in the middle.”

It goes without saying that countless lives would have been saved in America and around the world had marijuana never been made illegal by the U.S. federal government.  Thankfully, Shona Banda has courageously helped to boost the understanding of Phoenix Tears and at the same time has helped people understand (even many politicians) that humanity is greater than politics.