The highly anticipated Nov. 4 elections are fast approaching. The “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013,” will decriminalize marijuana at the Federal level, and leave states the power to regulate marijuana, similar to the power of alcohol regulation.

  The federal prohibition of marijuana has held back scientists from further exploring the health benefits of non-psychoactive cannabinoids within the cannabis plant.

  The shortage of experienced scientists, who specialize in the study of non-psychoactive cannabinoids, leaves some patients uneducated about healthy methods of self-medicating using the cannabis flower. The juice extracted from raw cannabis can be incorporated into one’s dietary plan as a source of nutrition. THCA is the chemical found in raw cannabis flower buds and is not a psychoactive cannabinoid, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Raw cannabis consumers will be able to safely ingest the highest potency of the flower’s therapeutic properties without experiencing the temporary “high.”

  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Food and Drug Administration, refers to the term “medical marijuana” as whole (raw or dried) cannabis or its organic extracts. The FDA does not recognize whole, unprocessed “medical marijuana” as an adequate form of medication because of the herb’s potential health hazards and inconsistency in strains is too prevalent to efficiently conduct accurate long term investigational studies. The most challenging aspect of cannabis research is the inconsistency of marijuana strains. Without consistency in the formulation of “medical marijuana,” cannabis cannot be considered a regulated drug by the FDA.

  Introducing cannabis to a source of heat, causes a chemical reaction resulting in the chemical, Tetrahydrocannabinol Acid, or THCA, to lose its acid, then becoming delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, the chemical responsible for causing the psychedelic side effect responsible for the “euphoric” feeling, according to Dr. William Courtney, a member of the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine.

  Patients, who self-medicate by inhaling the smoke produced by the heating of cannabis, alter the chemical composition of the plant and burn away the majority of the herb’s healing properties.

  Consuming cannabis in its freshest form provides patients with all the medical benefits by extracting all of the nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins in the raw cannabis flower. Consuming the juiced extracted from raw cannabis mzy provide all the healing properties without experiencing the unnecessary psychedelic effects that result when consuming heated cannabis.

  The preparation of marijuana intended for smoking purposes involves an aging process requiring dehydration of the raw cannabis flower. Aging or alteration of the fresh, raw cannabis flower lessens the plant’s beneficial medicinal healing properties.