the tiny dot

Seattle company develops 'pot patch' for dogs

Medical marijuana for man's best friend: Seattle company develops 'pot patch' for dogs

By Jennifer Madison

Last updated at 7:51 AM on 1st August 2011

• Comments (4)
• Share

A Seattle company is developing a medical marijuana patch for man's best friend.
Medical Marijuana Delivery Systems LLC has licensed a patent for Tetracan, a 'pot patch' intended as a pain relief alternative to pharmaceuticals.
Company president Jim Alekson says could it used on dogs, cats and horses - and he expects it will be ready for market by the end of this year.

Scroll down for video

Man's best friend: Medical Marijuana Delivery Systems president Jim Alekson says animals suffer from maladies and chronic pain similar to humans

Mr Alekson, who owns three Papillons, said marijuana is safer for pets who suffer from arthritis, cancer or chronic pain caused by other maladies.
He called the pot patch a 'mellow' alternative to traditional pharmaceutical painkillers, which 'have proven harmful, sometimes fatal in animals.'

 

More...

• Is the deadlock finally over? Democrats and Republicans 'really, really close to a deal' on raising debt ceiling to avoid a default
• Battle of the sexes: Men are finally close to doing their fair share of household chores
• Mystery of the art and records that vanished in 9/11 attacks

'Dogs suffer from the same maladies that humans do. It's a question of quality of life.
'I’d much rather they were on something holistic as opposed to something chemical that I know is breaking down some of the organs in their body,' he said.

For the dogs? Medical marijuana was legalised in Washington state - for humans - in 1998

Fifteen states, including Washington, would have to pass legislation first before owners with medical marijuana prescriptions could legally give their pooches the patch.
However, the company intends to press for changes in state law that would allow veterinarians to prescribe the patch to pets.
Medical marijuana was legalised in Washington state in 1998.
Mr Alekson told Seattle Weekly: 'It is our intention, once the patch delivery system is perfected, to approach states for approval to use the patch for veterinary use.'

Mellow: The animal pot patch is an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical painkillers, which 'have proven harmful, sometimes fatal in animals,' Alekson said

The patch would be available for use by humans as well; developers hope to have it ready for market by the end of this year.
The patch was developed and patented back in 2000 by Walter Cristobal, a member of the Santa Ana Pueblo Tribe of New Mexico, as a solution to help alleviate his mother's arthritis pain.
TokeofTheTown.com reports Cristobal didn't have the time or organization to bring his product to market, so when Mr Alekson and his business partner Chester Soliz learned of his patent, the three men formed Medical Marijuana Delivery Systems last year.
The company, 'devoted to the advancement, research and development of marijuana delivery modalities,' is also developing creams, gels and oils 'to people and animals in need of chronic pain management.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2020855/Medical-marijuana-mans-best-friend-Seattle-company-develops-pot-patch-dogs.html#ixzz1fML2f7Tn

Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic flying bomb

Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic flying bomb

(AFP) – 12 hours ago 

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Thursday held a successful test flight of a flying bomb that travels faster than the speed of sound and will give military planners the ability to strike targets anywhere in the world in less than a hour.
Launched by rocket from Hawaii at 1130 GMT, the "Advanced Hypersonic Weapon," or AHW, glided through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific "at hypersonic speed" before hitting its target on the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands, a Pentagon statement said.
Kwajalein is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii. The Pentagon did not say what top speeds were reached by the vehicle, which unlike a ballistic missile is maneuverable.
Scientists classify hypersonic speeds as those that exceed Mach 5 -- or five times the speed of sound -- 3,728 miles (6,000 kilometers) an hour.
The test aimed to gather data on "aerodynamics, navigation, guidance and control, and thermal protection technologies," said Lieutenant Colonel Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The US Army's AHW project is part of the "Prompt Global Strike" program which seeks to give the US military the means to deliver conventional weapons anywhere in the world within an hour.
On August 11, the Pentagon test flew another hypersonic glider dubbed HTV-2, which is capable of flying 27,000 kilometers per hour, but it was a failure.
The AHW's range is less than that of the HTV-2, the Congressional Research Service said in a report, without providing specifics.
The Pentagon has invested 239.9 million dollars in the Global Strike program this year, including 69 million for the flying bomb tested Thursday, CRS said.