The phrase Big Lie refers to a propaganda technique which entered mass consciousness with Adolf Hitler's 1925 autobiography Mein Kampf.
In that book Hitler wrote that people came to believe that Germany lost World War I in the field due to a propaganda technique used by Jews who were influential in the German press.
This technique, he believed, consisted of telling a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe anyone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously"....
...

Hitler wrote in his 1925 autobiography Mein Kampf (James Murphy translation, page 134):

All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.
It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.
Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation.
For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.
These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie

Shalom,
IMB
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A BIG LIE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2006
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Inter-Agency Advisory Regarding Claims That Smoked Marijuana Is a Medicine

Claims have been advanced asserting smoked marijuana has a value in treating various medical conditions.
Some have argued that herbal marijuana is a safe and effective medication and that it should be made available to people who suffer from a number of ailments upon a doctor's recommendation, even though it is not an approved drug.

Marijuana is listed in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the most restrictive schedule. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which administers the CSA, continues to support that placement and FDA concurred because marijuana met the three criteria for placement in Schedule I under 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(1) (e.g., marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision). Furthermore, there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful.
A past evaluation by several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use.
There are alternative FDA-approved medications in existence for treatment of many of the proposed uses of smoked marijuana.

FDA is the sole Federal agency that approves drug products as safe and effective for intended indications.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act requires that new drugs be shown to be safe and effective for their intended use before being marketed in this country.
FDA's drug approval process requires well-controlled clinical trials that provide the necessary scientific data upon which FDA makes its approval and labeling decisions.
If a drug product is to be marketed, disciplined, systematic, scientifically conducted trials are the best means to obtain data to ensure that drug is safe and effective when used as indicated.
Efforts that seek to bypass the FDA drug approval process would not serve the interests of public health because they might expose patients to unsafe and ineffective drug products.
FDA has not approved smoked marijuana for any condition or disease indication.

A growing number of states have passed voter referenda (or legislative actions) making smoked marijuana available for a variety of medical conditions upon a doctor's recommendation.
These measures are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process and are proven safe and effective under the standards of the FD&C Act.
Accordingly, FDA, as the federal agency responsible for reviewing the safety and efficacy of drugs, DEA as the federal agency charged with enforcing the CSA, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as the federal coordinator of drug control policy, do not support the use of smoked marijuana for medical purposes.


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Smoked marijuana vs. alternative self-titration methods...
Vaporizer...tinctures...baked goods anyone...
I predict that the trade-marked/ patented/ Name brand Cannaboid product "Sativex" is poised to weasel it's way through the back door for conditional approval with it's own apparent ongoing in-house non U.S. based research studies as a scientific basis for it's eventual conditional approval in the U.S...
IMB
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From "Health Canada" website

SATIVEX®
contains Tetranabinex® and Nabidiolex®, extracts of chemically and genetically characterised Cannabis sativa L. plants (hemp plants).

SATIVEX® is provided as a buccal spray in a 5.5 ml vial, with each 100 microlitre spray providing 2.7 mg delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 2.5 mg cannabidiol (CBD).

Conditional marketing approval was based on a four week clinical trial in patients with multiple sclerosis who had neuropathic pain of at least three months duration.
There was a significant reduction in neuropathic pain as measured by both the Neuropathic Pain Scale and the Numerical Rating Scale (BS-11). Sleep disturbance was also significantly reduced.
...
Dosage and Administration

This medication is administered as a self-titration regimen, with gradual increase in dose as needed and tolerated until satisfactory pain relief is achieved.
During the initial self-titration period, patients may experience adverse effects of intoxication.
These can be used to guide self-titration to establish a satisfactory dosage regime.
Patients should be advised that it might take a week or more to find the optimal dosing level.
The median daily dosage of SATIVEX® in the extension phase of the 4-week clinical trial was 5 sprays per day.
There is limited experience with doses higher than 12 sprays per day.
Some patients may require and may tolerate a higher number of sprays.