I just watched this video about Rick Simpson, a citizen of Canada, who produces his own hemp oil (THC) in order to supposedly cure his friends of terminal cancer…and spread the word. Some even call him “The Mother Teresa of the Marijuana Movement.”
Putting aside the controversial claim of THC curing cancer (and most every other disease as he claims in the video), I was stunned to see how he manufactures THC: by reducing the leaves and resin to a dark, rich oil, by utilizing a highly volatile solvent: naphtha. The film advised anyone watching, to not use this method, due to its dangerous ability to cause explosions! (To get right into how-to-make-your-own-THC, slide the video dial up to 29:30.)
So I found a pro-marijuana site promoting this video, and posted my own comment, thusly::
Isn’t there a safer way to produce this cannabis oil? Bad enough that big crime has overrun the production and distribution of marijuana (including Mexican drug lords)…but now we are likely to see inner-city explosions from THC oil production, just as we now do w/meth labs. Really bad public relations re. those who have been brainwashed to perceive pot as equivalent to (and as dangerous as) hard drugs.
Also, naphtha and similar products are hydrocarbons, and therefore rely on the petroleum industry, which is certainly no friend to marijuana advocates. Not only is naphtha highly flammable…it is also seriously carcinogenic. Now I’m sure you’ll claim that this toxic solvent evaporates in the cooking process, but I am somewhat suspicious: curing cancer by using a powerful carcinogen in the process of making this cure!
Surely, there must be a safe and truly natural method for extracting the hemp oil, instead of using naphtha, a heavily industrialized and toxic catalyst that is the very antithesis of a wholistic approach. As things now stand, your broadcasting this particular method of extracting hemp oil will likely inspire a chain of explosive failures by homebrew amateurs, across the nation…especially in a time of economic despair. (Not to mention distribution of recklessly manufactured THC with lingering toxic residue.)
Someone responded in a rather lame fashion, and you can read it here (comment #7). So I responded back in three posts, all of which have been deleted within 24 hours. I now post the copies here:
8. ZekeBlog Says:
July 27, 2011 at 10:40 am
Quoting from [ nontoxicprint.com/thetoxicityofsolvents.htm ]:
“Although Naphtha (White Spirit, Mineral Spirits) is not classed as carcinogenic, it typically contains 3-4 % benzene, a powerful carcinogen.”
Furthermore, the crux of my warning lies in your own statement “When done properly”. How many folks desperate to cure themselves or loved one-–or desperate for money in these harsh economic times–-are going to ignore these safety rules, and attempt to make your product in poorly ventilated, close quarters? I predict this will follow the same route as the meth lab subcultrue…thanks in large part to the promotion of your method herein.
Cold water extraction is just as effective in procuring the hemp oil, with absolutely no risk as either carcinogen or explosive material. This isn’t even bringing up the highly controversial debate over whether or not marijuana, in any form, can actually cure cancer. It only takes a little research on the web, by anyone, to grow suspicious of Mr. Simpson’s claims, and thereby question his true motives.
9. ZekeBlog Says:
July 27, 2011 at 10:55 am
“Living in exile in europe is not cheap.”
Is he really in exile, of just found a clever way to take free vacations in Europe, by sucking on the wallets of the naive and desperate? I can think of many other places in the world much cheaper to live in exile. Mexico, Thailand, India, Cuba, Costa Rica, for examples.
“Rick has never asked for any money for his contribution to mankind but now he needs our help”
There’s a sucker born every minute. “Contribution to mankind” indeed! Marijuana may be an excellent healing aid during chemotherapy, or assist in appetite, sleep, and relaxation issues…but those are all far cries from an actual cancer cure. If your only “proof” is anecdotal, I’d say good reason for arousing suspicion, and possible arrest and incarceration for promoting snake oil. And inspiring desperate people to build bombs in their homes and ‘hoods.
10. ZekeBlog Says:
July 27, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Simpson did not “invent” the solvent method of extracting oil from plants. It has been used all over the world, since solvents were first invented…maybe thousands of years back, with the discovery of alcohol. It is the method preferred by meth lab operators, BTW.
The reason it’s “hard to believe” that marijuana cures cancer, is because there is absolutely no proof, anywhere. The evidence is /not/ “undeniable” simply because there /is/ no evidence. Your video, which I watched twice, contains only a few testamonials…which is to say: hearsay.
Mr. Simpson has done /nothing/ new or innovative here…he has only set up a racket of a small group of coconspirators, to rip off the naive, and the desperate. Now, while claiming to give all his “wisdom” to the world free of charge, his conspirators now claim he’s on the run from the law, as if he were some saint of compassion being victimized by a brutal regime!
So you ask people to send donations, so he can afford to maintain his extended vacation in beautiful Europe. What a pathetic and /obvious/ scam!
Certainly, the powers that be are terribly anti-marijuana. But that does /not/ mean then, that /anyone/ promoting cures w/marijuana, is no less a charlatan. He is simply piggy-backing on an egregious situation, in an attempt to garner his own /profit/.
The /fact/ that there is absolutely /no/ evidence that pot cures the big C, does not make Simpson a saint for claiming it does…it only serves to make him a black market profiteer, sucking off the capitalist teat. He is therefore no better than a weed-hostile gov’t…in fact, he is /worse/., because he is misleading desperate folks who suffer from cancer.
Simpson is /also/. encouraging the desperate to build /bombs/ in their homes or backyards. Even though he and his conspirators know very well, that the cold water process is just as effective in extracting hemp oil, and one heck of a lot safer. I therefore wonder if this is not a terrorist plot to weaken the citizens of democracy.
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