H.L Tun it up to di Worl.

[Sir X]

NEWS

Lowe launches sport drink, power porridge

Yellow yam, sweet potato and bissy among the mix
BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com
Saturday, July 21, 2012

JAMAICAN scientist and executive chairman of Bio-Tech R&D Institute (BTI), Dr Henry Lowe, has formulated an energy sports drink and a fortified porridge made from sweet potato and yam, which he intends to debut at this year's Olympics in London.

The two products — the Jamaica gold sports drink and the premier power porridge — have already been trademarked and patented, and will be primarily targeted towards an international market. Apart from yellow yam and sweet potato, the energy drink will also have the bissy (kola nut) as one of its major ingredients to enhance metabolism for sporting prowess.

"It is the only organic sports drink that is going to be on the market and that makes it very different from all the other products that you will see on the market anytime soon," Dr Lowe told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday.
Deputy chief executive officer for the BTI, Charlene Ashley, said that while her organisation would be seeking to secure 75 per cent of sale from the international market, it would be launching both products locally at the end of August. She said the BTI has already started to target and sensitise representatives from more than 400 supermarkets so that the products can be easily available to local consumers.
Dr Lowe said the idea to formulate the products was inspired by president of the University of Technology Professor Errol Morrison, who has done extensive research on why Jamaicans run so fast. The professor has consistently attributed the prowess of local athletes to the consumption of staple crops such as yam and green bananas, and was one of the authors of the book Jamaican Gold: Jamaican Sprinters, which was launched in 2010. The book, which is sold in bookstores worldwide, sought to explore some of the factors behind the success of Jamaican athletes such as Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser.
Dr Lowe said his group has been working on the products for the past nine months, and had utilised the expertise of a nutritionist in formulating them.
"We have taken a lot of time looking at the formulation. We have actually used the Jamaican herb as the major ingredient that is going to replenish all the salts and the waters that our athletes and persons that want to excel are going to be using, as well as to give energy," he said.
The instant porridge will be made available as a sweet potato enhanced with yam mix and as a banana enhanced with yam mix. One will also come in a sweetened format to boost energy and the other will be unsweetened and targeted primarily towards persons who are convalescing and diabetic.
Since its inception in 2010, the BTI has manufactured a line of nine nutraceutical products and five medicinal teas and tea blends based on extensive research. The institute was founded by Dr Lowe and a team of scientists, and has primarily focused on researching and developing comercialised pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals from indigenous plants.



Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz21FwEm9Rn

[Sir X]

Have you done anything with gangja as an oil or juice -tea extract.

[HL]

As I pointed our earlier...lots of trickle-down from this venture exists.

Person(s) who can produce consistent quality raw materials for manufacturing can benefit from Henry's effort.

As far as the weed is concerned--the US will monopolize on the 'actives' from this plant.

[Sir X]

Dont give up on di weed,yuh ave di chinese and european market,patent it now in europe and yuh bathe,look to the nordic countries, holland,norway etc...jamaican ganja tea,or white rum ganja,just mek sure yuh put jamaican and ganja on it.........sell off, nuh mek dem monopolize wi plant and sell it back to us.

I read an article in the gleaner from some MD where he stated ganja can give you cancer among other lies, yet he is calling for it to be decreminalise,I would not advocate for such ,if it was true.Talk to yuh colleagues educate dem baba.



It's time to decriminalise ganja
Published: Wednesday | July 18, 2012 6 Comments











1. Unlike alcohol and tobacco which are legal substances, ganja is illegal in Jamaica. Under the Dangerous Drugs Act, any person who possesses or uses ganja is guilty of an offence and, on convection, shall be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, or both.

In addition, this person has a criminal record. The sale, purchase, possession, cultivation, trafficking and exportation of ganja are illegal in Jamaica. I am not calling for the use of ganja to be made legal in Jamaica; what I am calling for is the decriminalisation of ganja.

2. What is decriminalisation? Decriminalisation is the removal, reduction or the non-enforcement of penalties. We are calling for the decriminalisation of ganja for private personal use, medicinal and religious purposes. Technically, this occurs in Jamaica as persons are rarely charged for private, personal use in their homes or if they use ganja for medicinal purposes. Groups that use the drug as part of their religious sacrament are not charged.

The penalty should fit the crime, and the current penalties for ganja use are too excessive.

3. It, therefore, means that the following should attract civil penalties: sale of the drug to minors and smoking in public spaces. The sale of large quantities, cultivation, trafficking and export would still be criminal acts.

4. Note: I am not suggesting that ganja is not harmful; it is. Smoking anything is harmful, whether it is tobacco or ganja. Many people think that the smoking of ganja is less harmful than tobacco. Ganja has far more cancer-causing chemicals than tobacco and can, therefore, lead to lung cancer. Furthermore, the smoking of ganja or tobacco in public exposes persons who do not smoke to the risk of developing cancer. I, therefore, support a ban on smoking in public, and fortunately for us, that law should be coming soon in Jamaica.

Ganja is also associated with mental illness and it may affect thinking, memory and other cognitive functions in young people.

5. Does decriminalisation result in increased use? In places where ganja has been decriminalised, there has not been an increase in use. In Jamaica, the law against ganja use is rarely enforced, and yet we do not have the highest rate of use of ganja in the Caribbean. Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts, St Lucia and St Vincent are countries that report higher rates of ganja use among young people.

6. Apart from supporting decriminalisation of ganja, I think it is important for us to step up on our drug-prevention programmes and to ensure that the youth are fully aware of the harmful effects of ganja.

7. At the same time, I do not think we will be able to decriminalise ganja in Jamaica. Jamaica is listed as a drug-transit country and also a drug-producing country. The USA has a certification process in place which requires that drug transit and drug-producing countries cooperate with the US counternarcotic efforts and that these countries should implement counternarcotic measures. Failure to do so would result in the country not being certified and not being entitled to aid from the USA.

Additionally, the USA would not support these countries in their bid to borrow money from international organisations. Jamaica is indebted and highly dependent on the USA. It is unlikely that we would do anything to jeopardise our relationship with the USA at this time.

Dr Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and head, Section of Psychiatry, Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.