Recent Research on Medical Marijuana

Emerging Clinical Applications For Cannabis & Cannabinoids
A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 — 2006

Medical Conditions Foreword Alzheimer's Disease ALS Diabetes Mellitus Dystonia Fibromyalgia Gliomas GI Disorders Hepatitis C Hypertension Incontinence Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis Pruritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sleep Apnea Tourette's Syndrome

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Despite continued political debates regarding the legality of medicinal marijuana, clinical investigations of the therapeutic use of cannabinoids are now more prevalent than at any time in history. A search of the National Library of Medicine's PubMed website quantifies this fact. A keyword search using the terms "cannabinoids, 1996" reveals just 258 scientific journal articles published on the subject for that year. Perform this same search for the year 2006, and one will find close to 1,000 published scientific studies.

While much of the renewed interest in cannabinoid therapeutics is a result of the discovery of the endocannabinoid regulatory system, some of this increased attention is also due to the growing body of testimonials from medicinal cannabis patients and their physicians. Nevertheless, despite this influx of anecdotal reports, much of the modern investigation of medicinal cannabis remains limited to preclinical (animal) studies of individual cannabinoids (e.g. THC or cannabidiol) and/or synthetic cannabinoid agonists (e.g., dronabinol or WIN 55,212-2) rather than clinical trial investigations involving whole plant material. Predictably, because of the US government's strong public policy stance against any use of cannabis, the bulk of this modern cannabinoid research is taking place outside the United States.

As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated exponentially, so too has investigators' understanding of cannabis' remarkable capability to combat disease. Whereas researchers in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s primarily assessed cannabis' ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms — such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy — scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to alter disease progression. Of particular interest, scientists are investigating cannabinoids' capacity to moderate autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as their role in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease.)

Investigators are also studying the anti-cancer activities of cannabis, as a growing body of preclinical and clinical data concludes that cannabinoids can reduce the spread of specific cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and by the inhibition of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels). Arguably, these latter trends represent far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago.

HOW TO USE THIS REPORT

As states continue to approve legislation enabling the physician-supervised use of medicinal marijuana, more patients with varying disease types are exploring the use of therapeutic cannabis. Many of these patients and their physicians are now discussing this issue for the first time, and are seeking guidance on whether the therapeutic use of cannabis may or may not be appropriate. This report seeks to provide this guidance by summarizing the most recently published scientific research (2000-2006) on the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids for 16 separate clinical indications:

* Alzheimer's disease
* Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
* Diabetes mellitus
* Dystonia
* Fibromyalgia
* Gliomas
* Gastrointestinal disorders
* Hepatitis C
* Hypertension
* Incontinence
* Multiple sclerosis
* Osteoporosis
* Pruritis
* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Sleep apnea
* Tourette's syndrome

In some of these cases, modern science is now affirming longtime anecdotal reports of medicinal cannabis users (e.g., the use of cannabis to alleviate GI disorders). In other cases, this research is highlighting entirely new potential clinical utilities for cannabinoids (e.g., the use of cannabinoids to modify the progression of diabetes.)

The diseases profiled in this report were chosen because patients frequently inquire about the therapeutic use of cannabis to treat these disorders. In addition, many of the indications included in this report may be moderated by cannabis therapy. In several cases, preclinical data indicates that cannabinoids may halt the progression of these diseases in a more efficacious manner than available pharmaceuticals. In virtually all cases, this report is the most thorough and comprehensive review of the recent scientific literature regarding the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids.

For patients and their physicians, let this report serve as a primer for those who are considering using or recommending medicinal cannabis. For others, let this report serve as an introduction to the broad range of emerging clinical applications for cannabis and its various compounds.

Paul Armentano
Senior Policy Analyst
NORML | NORML Foundation
Washington, DC
December 13, 2006

* The author would like to acknowledge Drs. Dale Gieringer, Gregory Carter, Steven Karch, and Mitch Earleywine, as well as NORML interns John Lucy, Christopher Rasmussen, and Rita Bowles, for providing research assistance for this report. The NORML Foundation would also like to acknowledge Dale Gieringer, Paul Kuhn, and Richard Wolfe for their financial contributions toward the publication of this report.

** Important and timely publications such as this are only made possible when concerned citizens become involved with NORML. For more information on joining NORML or making a donation, please visit: http://www.norml.org/join. Tax deductible donations in support of NORML's public education campaigns should be made payable to the NORML Foundation.

more studies after a brief word from congress.........

“Prohibition…goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” -Abraham Lincoln 1840

“Prohibition…goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” -Abraham Lincoln 1840

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6338173.stm

Some clinical studies have indicated that marijuana or its active cannabinoid ingredient alleviates symptoms of the inflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Also, researchers have found that the brain's natural "endocannabinoids" are released after brain injury and are believed to alleviate neuronal damage. However, scientists have not understood how such substances act within the brain's own immune system.

Now, experiments by Oliver Ullrich and colleagues have pinpointed how one of the brain's endocannabinoids protects neurons from inflammation after such damage. They say their studies could lead to new drugs to treat the inflammation and brain degeneration from MS or other such disorders.

In an article in the January 5, 2006, issue of Neuron, the researchers reported experiments showing how the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) protects brain cells from inflammation. Such a role in the brain's immune system is distinct from cannabinoids' effects on neuronal signaling that produce the behavioral effects of marijuana.

When Ullrich and colleagues analyzed brain tissue from people with MS, they found elevated levels of AEA, compared to healthy tissue. And in studies with mouse brain slices, they found that inducing damage with a brain-cell-exciting chemical, called NMDA, caused an invasion of the brain's immune cells, called microglia, and an increase in AEA levels.

Importantly, they found that adding AEA to such damaged brain tissue abolished inflammatory damage to the brain cells, but did not reduce the primary "excitotoxic" damage from the chemical. They found similar effects of AEA when they damaged the brain tissue by depriving it of oxygen and glucose.

The researchers also found that when they used a drug to block the receptors on microglial cells by which AEA effects the cells, inflammatory damage was increased.

The researchers also explored the mechanism by which AEA prevents inflammatory damage. They found that, when AEA plugs into its receptors on activated microglial cells, it basically activates a specific molecular signaling pathway that suppresses the production of inflammation-causing nitric oxide, which would otherwise cause brain injury.

The researchers concluded that the release of AEA in injured brain tissue might act as a "gatekeeper" and an important "negative-feedback loop within the CNS [central nervous system] immune system needed to reduce the extent of the inflammatory response and to limit neurodegenerative immune reactions after primary brain damage.

"Moreover, endocannabinoid signaling strongly suppresses attack of microglial cells on nondamaged neurons," they wrote, "suggesting also a physiological function of the endocannabinoid system in maintaining a protective and healthy CNS microenvironment."

They also concluded that "the endocannabinoid system represents a local messenger system between the nervous and immune system and is obviously involved in the control of immune activation and neuroprotection. Therefore, elucidating the pathology of the endocannabinoid system during neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration might open new avenues of therapeutic interventions in the future."

###

The researchers included Eva Eljaschewitsch, Christian Mawrin, Peter M. Schmidt, Regine Schneider-Stock and Oliver Ullrich of the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg in Magdeburg, Germany; Anke Witting of the University of Washington in Seattle, WA; Thomas Lee, Heide Hoertnagl and Robert Nitsch of the Charité University Hospital Berlin in Berlin, Germany; Susanne Wolf of the Max-Delbrueck-Center of Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Germany; Cedric S. Raine of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, NY. This work was supported by the Research Network N2 of the State Saxony-Anhalt of Germany (O.U.) and a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to R.N., O.U., and R.S.S. and National Institutes of Health grants (NS 08952 and NS 11920) to C.S.R.

Eljaschewitsch et al.: "The Endogenous Cannabinoid Anandamide (AEA) Protects Neurons during CNS Inflammation by Induction of MKP-1 in Microglial Cells." Publishing in Neuron 49, 67–79, January 5, 2006 DOI 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.11.027 www.neuron.org

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/cp-boc122705.php

• 16 April 2005
• From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues

CAN smoking pot make you potty? Even as the UK government mulls over evidence that cannabis can cause mental health problems, a new study suggests the link may be hazier than thought.

Last year, the UK downgraded cannabis to "class C", on a par with steroids and some prescription antidepressants. But in March, the government announced plans to review this decision. Some studies have suggested long-term cannabis use can increase your risk of developing schizophrenia (New Scientist, 26 March, p 44). Others have linked the drug to milder "schizotypal traits" that include odd, magical beliefs and social paranoia.

To test whether people who already have these traits are more likely to start using cannabis, Jason Schiffman at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and his colleagues gave 189 students questionnaires about their cannabis use. The students were also asked if they had any schizotypal traits and if so when these traits first arose.

The results showed that the majority of people who'd recently used cannabis had schizotypal symptoms before using the drug (Psychiatry Research, vol 134, p 37). Schiffman admits that the limited study "leaves far more questions than answers" - for instance, it gives no clues as to why people with such traits might be attracted to cannabis.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624953.800

Cannabis as a First-Line Treatment for Childhood Mental Disorders

WHY JUDGES SHOULDN'T HAVE CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING
by Dr. Tod Mikuriya, (Source:CounterPunch )

United States
-------
Cannabis as a First-Line Treatment for Childhood Mental Disorders

In 1996, California legalized cannabis as a treatment for "any... condition for which marijuana brings relief." Although the law does not constrain physicians from approving the use of cannabis by children and adolescents, the state medical board has investigated physicians for doing so, exerting a profoundly inhibiting effect.

Even doctors associated with the Society of Cannabis Clinicians have been reluctant to approve cannabis use by patients under 16 years of age, and have done so only in cases in which prescribable pharmaceuticals had been tried unsuccessfully. The case of Alex P. suggests that the practice of employing pharmaceutical drugs as first-line treatment exposes children gratuitously to harmful side effects.

Alex P., accompanied by his mother, first visited my office in February 2005 at age 15 years, 6 months. At that time he had been prescribed and was taking Fioricet with codeine ( 30 mg, 3x/day ); Klonopin ( 1 mg, 2x/day ); Ativan ( 1 mg, 2x/day ); and Dilaudid "as needed" to treat migraine headaches ( 346.1 ), insomnia ( 307.42 ), and outbursts of aggression to which various diagnoses -including bipolar with schizophrenic tendencies-had been attached by doctors in the Kaiser Healthcare system.

Alex had previously been prescribed Ritalin, Prozac, Paxil, Maxalt, Immitrex, Depacote, Phenergan, Inderal, Thorazine, Amitriptaline, Buspar, Vicodin, Seroquel, Risperdal, Zyprexa, Clozaril, Norco , and Oxycodone.

A history taken from Alex and a separate interview with his mother, Barbara P., were in full accordance. The mother described Alex as a healthy baby who was "never a good sleeper." She had "a rocky relationship" with Alex's father, who had three children from a previous marriage. Alex, their second son, "always saw himself as the peacemaker when there was arguing... I think that's why, when it was time for him to go to school, he never wanted to go. He just didn't like to leave the house."

Although Alex showed facility communicating verbally, his reading and writing skills disappointed his teachers and prior to going to middle school he was evaluated for an Individual Educational Plan.

According to his mother, "They didn't say he was dyslexic, they said he 'had trouble processing things.' He wasn't acting wild in school. He was always well behaved. But they said he had ADD because he couldn't concentrate and process things." At age 11, Alex was prescribed Ritalin for attention deficit disorder.

In middle school Alex befriended some 13- and 14-year-olds, with whom he was caught stealing a car ( and with whom he had shared his stimulant medication, and who introduced him to marijuana ). Thus began a four-year sojourn through institutions of the Central Valley juvenile justice system and Kaiser-affiliated hospitals and clinics.

In this period, according to Barbara P., "They put him on all these medications and not only couldn't he sleep at night, but he started having rampages, hitting -mainly me. He fought with his brother and his dad, too. He beat up the truck. He couldn't remember afterwards what he actually did. He seemed like a completely different person. I don't think that's because of who he is. I think it was because of the medications he was taking." Barbara P. expresses remorse that she obeyed court orders to force Alex to take his prescribed medications.

At age 13 Alex made a serious attempt at suicide by hanging himself from a tree outside his house. He was rescued by his brother returning home unexpectedly. He reports making other attempts to overdose on pills.

Alex had known since age 11, when he first smoked cannabis with his older friends, that it had a calming effect. Many of his encounters with the juvenile justice system were for marijuana possession. His mother says, "He was aware that it helped him not feel stressed out and not have headaches. It helped him concentrate. It helped him sleep. All the things he needed. But I wasn't for smoking it." She reports feeling social pressure from her Central Valley community and pressure from her husband to oppose Alex's attempts to obtain and use marijuana.

"Alex went through three rehabs--two inpatient and one outpatient, all court-ordered, all for marijuana. He could not do inpatient and I told them that. It's not that Alex wanted to be out there doing drugs, he wanted to be home! He had a thing where he didn't want to be put in an institution where he didn't know anybody. That would drive him more crazy. He ended up running from one rehab house and getting kicked out of another."

Perceiving that Alex's mental state was worsening, and in response to his repeated requests to be allowed to smoke marijuana, Barbara did research on the internet that alerted her to similarities between cannabis and Marinol ( dronabinol ), a legally prescribable drug. Her request that a Kaiser physician prescribe Marinol for Alex was rejected.

Through the internet she identified the author as a specialist in cannabinoid therapeutics and arranged an appointment for Alex.

A prescription was written in February 2005 for Marinol ( 10 mg ), along with a recommendation to use cannabis by means of a vaporizer. Alex has consistently maintained he prefers smoking cannabis to ingestion by other means, due to rapidity of onset and ability to titrate dosage. ( "It works great and you can use just as much as you need," he says. )

When a drug test ordered by the Probation department turned up positive for cannabinoids, Alex had a hearing at which a Superior Court judge declared that because Marinol use could mask marijuana use, he would not allow it. He explicitly refused to recognize the validity of a specialist in the field of cannabis therapeutics and ordered Alex to take only drugs prescribed by Kaiser.

Barbara P. says: "I guess judges have authority over anything. He thought Alex had a drug problem with marijuana because he had smoked it before." At a subsequent hearing another judge rescinded the order. When Alex's Probation ended in May, 2005, he began medicating exclusively with smoked cannabis.

Dramatic Improvement

Alex and Barbara P. were seen by the author at a follow-up visit in February 2006. Alex reported dramatically improved mood and functionality with only one migraine attack in the past year, not severe enough to require a trip to the hospital for a Dilaudid injection. He is in an independent study program at a small public school and getting straight As and Bs. "They love me at school," Alex asserts. His teacher is aware that he medicates with cannabis with a physician's approval. He smokes approximately one ounce per week and would use 50% more if it were cheaper to obtain. He does not vaporize because a vaporizer is "too expensive" ( although he has taken up the guitar and purchased several models ). He summarizes his status thus: "I use( d ) to use a lot of medication like Klonopin and other pain medication but I haven't had to since the use of cannabis."

His mother reports: "We knew after about three months on Marinol that he was going to be okay. He started doing a lot better. He sleeps well, he's not on any of the other medications, I haven't had to take him to the emergency room for migraine since he first went on Marinol. He's been totally fine. He walks the dog, cleans up his room, does chores for the family. And I know that he's going to be okay. Before, I never knew what was going to happen. I couldn't picture him getting a job." Alex's father has relented in his disapproval of Alex's cannabis use, having seen its effects on the household.

The case of Alex P. is one of iatrogenic illness in which drug-oriented school counselors and administrators played a harmful role. In a previous era, psychologists would have put more emphasis on examining the family constellation. An adequate work-up would have identified Alex's insomnia as the likely cause of his poor scholastic performance. Failing an adequate work-up, the quasi-diagnosis "inability to process" led to a prescription of methylphenidate, a stimulant, for an 11-year-old with persistent insomnia. The resulting disinhibition led in turn to trouble with law enforcement, a cycle of extreme anxiety and distress, and the prescription of more drugs, irrationally chosen to counteract drug-induced symptoms.

As a result of the federal prohibition, there exist no official guidelines governing when and how cannabis should be used by patients suffering from a given condition. The Institute of Medicine Report of 1999 acknowledges the feasibility of cannabis being used to treat certain conditions when all pharmaceutical options have failed. The case of Alex P. suggests that employing pharmaceutical stimulants, antidepressants and anti-psychotics exposes children gratuitously to harmful side effects in violation of Hippocratic principles. The first-line treatment for any condition, efficacy being equal, would be the drug or procedure least likely to cause harm. Given the benign side-effect profile of cannabis, it should be the first-line of treatment in a wide range of childhood mental disorders, including persistent insomnia.

Physicians and parents both face stigma and take risks in authorizing cannabis use by children, but the risks are legal and social rather than medical. The case of Alex P. exemplifies this reality.

MAP posted-by: Richard Lake



Pubdate: Sat, 08 Jul 2006
Source: CounterPunch (US Web)
Copyright: 2006 CounterPunch
Contact: counterpunch@counterpunch.org
Website: http://www.counterpunch.org/

• 10:28 01 August 2005
• NewScientist.com news service
• Gaia Vince

Cannabis-based drugs could offer treatment hope to sufferers of inflammatory bowel disease, UK researchers report.

Reports that cannabis eased IBD symptoms indicated the possible existence of cannabinoid receptors in the intestinal lining, which respond to molecules in the plant-derived chemicals. Wright and colleagues grew sections of human colon and examined them in vitro.

New Scientist (UK)
Page: 38
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg18524851.200

CANNABIS: PRESCRIBING THE MIRACLE WEED

"It's not just the pain, it's also what it does to your life," Notcutt says. "You've lost your job, you have financial problems, your spouse is fed up. I hear these heart-rending stories of people whose lives are crap."

If there is one thing more frustrating for a doctor than being unable to deal with a patient's problem, perhaps it is knowing that there is a drug that could help - but they are not allowed to prescribe it. For Notcutt that drug is cannabis. Many patients with difficult-to-treat conditions use cannabis to relieve their symptoms, but in most parts of the world that makes them criminals. Otherwise law-abiding citizens dislike having to get their treatments from drug dealers. And the quality of the medication they get that way is variable to say the least.

Sativex will not bring any miracle cures, and in countries like the US where official hostility to marijuana is ingrained, patients may have a longer wait for its benefits. All the same, the availability of a cannabis preparation as a prescription medicine will mark a milestone in a decades-long battle by doctors and patients for public acceptance of medical cannabis use.

Marijuana use has a long history. For thousands of years, people have been harvesting the seeds for food and oil, and making rope from the fibres.

The plant is used in traditional medicine all over the world to relieve pain and muscle spasms, to prevent seizures and to aid sleep. It may also alleviate nausea - though it can sometimes trigger nausea in new users - and it can boost appetite.

But the drug is best known for its effects on the mind: it is an intoxicant that makes people feel happy and relaxed, and over the past century its recreational use has become increasingly popular in the west. Cannabis is not very addictive and its harmful effects are mainly on the lungs, from smoking. In some users it can trigger delusions and hallucinations, and there is debate about whether it can cause longer-term psychiatric problems in a small minority. In the early 20th century, most western governments responded to what they saw as the growing menace of marijuana by outlawing it.

Notcutt's interest grew out of his wish to find something new to deal with his patients' chronic pain. He found repeated references to the drug in historical medical texts on pain relief, and a growing body of research on animals showed that the main active chemical of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), bound to specific receptors in the brain.

In 1982 a form of synthetic THC had been licensed for relieving nausea after cancer chemotherapy, so Notcutt's first step was to investigate this for pain.

He began a small trial in his worst-affected patients, mostly people with spinal injuries. Some of them said THC helped; some of them said it made them feel dreadful. Others said it wasn't as good as the "real stuff". Thus Notcutt was introduced to the underground world of medical marijuana use. Even in sleepy Norfolk he found a small subculture of people who were getting what they viewed as an essential medicine from their local drug dealers.

Notcutt began seeing growing number of MS patients, who said cannabis relieved their pain and muscle "spasticity" - spasms and stiffness - and helped them sleep. The next step, Notcutt says, was to find a better way to give the patients what they wanted. In the early 1990s he and his team began exploring how they might carry out a clinical trial of cannabis.

They immediately ran into difficulties, because of the drug's illegal status and the resulting haphazard supply chain. "Are you going to use any old thing that comes off the Felixstowe docks?" he asks. "What's the quality, how do you standardise it?" They also failed to come up with a safe and effective way to administer the drug. Taken orally, marijuana's potency varies markedly and it doesn't become effective for at least an hour.

In California, Donald Abrams, an HIV specialist at San Francisco General Hospital, was facing similar problems. He was interested in the possibility that cannabis could help people with AIDS stave off catastrophic weight loss. "They'd get loss of appetite and diarrhoea and just sort of waste away," Abrams says. "It was a terrible way to go." In 1992, synthetic THC was licensed for combating the nausea that is a symptom of AIDS, but, as with MS patients, many found marijuana more effective. Like the English patients, they faced supply problems. After a 70-year-old volunteer helper at his clinic was arrested for giving patients cannabis-laced brownies, Abrams decided to carry out a formal trial of marijuana.

If anything, he faced even stiffer opposition than Notcutt. In 1994 the team asked permission from the US Drug Enforcement Administration to obtain cannabis from a Dutch firm called Hortapharm but was turned down. They next approached the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the only domestic body allowed to provide marijuana for research. Again they were rejected, partly because officials said they feared patients might sell their drugs on the street, and partly because the institute was more interested in investigating the harm from recreational cannabis use. A third proposal to NIDA, in 1996, was also turned down.

By then, official attitudes in the UK were showing signs of becoming more favourable to medicinal marijuana. Paradoxically, this stemmed partly from anti-drug sentiment. Increasing numbers of MS patients using marijuana were ending up in court, and many were given light sentences or effectively let off. Concerned that this was bringing drug laws into disrepute, the government started to make positive if cautious noises about legalising medicinal cannabis if a pharmaceutical form of it could be developed.

At the same time, medical research into cannabis was gaining respectability globally as details began to emerge about the cannabinoids our own bodies produce (see "Natural high"). But such research was almost entirely carried out by academics. What pharmaceutical firm would want to risk investing in such a politically controversial and financially uncertain field?

Enter Geoffrey Guy, a businessman with a background in pharmaceuticals who was looking for his next venture. Cannabis's long history ruled out the normal route for making money from a drug: by patenting it as a therapy. But Guy realised he could gain market exclusivity by developing a drug from cloned cannabis subspecies to which he owned the plant-breeders rights. Guy recalls that when he approached government officials for a licence to research his idea, they needed little convincing. "They were almost relieved that a company had turned up," he says. "I was pushing on a door that sprung open."

His new company, GW Pharmaceuticals, bought several strains of cannabis with consistent high drug yields from Hortapharm and by the late 1990s was growing and harvesting a crop of 5000 plants. To avoid the variable absorption of ingested cannabis, the firm decided to produce a spray to be applied under the tongue, where it would be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. And so Sativex was born.

It took about a year to get the go-ahead for a small three-month study in people, some with MS, for whom existing treatments were ineffective against chronic pain. The results, published last year (Anaesthesia, vol 59, p 440), showed that Sativex provided significant pain relief for 28 of the 34 patients in the study. GW began larger trials on people with MS or chronic pain, as well as pilot studies in people with cancer.

At this point GW began looking for a pharmaceutical company with the muscle and money to help market Sativex. Rumours circulating at the end of 2002 suggested that Guy was in talks with a major-league company, perhaps GlaxoSmithKline or AstraZeneca. Guy won't say, because before the deal was done, the firm got cold feet. They were spooked by the "c-word", Guy says. Cannabis was too controversial for the American board members. GW had to find another partner, and in May 2004 it finally struck a deal with the German-based multinational Bayer.

In the meantime, the larger clinical trials were starting to yield positive results. GW has applied for a licence from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to sell the drug in the UK. The MHRA has asked for a "confirmatory study", to prove that the reduction in muscle spasticity seen with Sativex brings meaningful benefits to patients. GW says this will take several months.

But it is in Canada, where patients can legally use cannabis for medicinal purposes, that Sativex is closest to being licensed. The preparation was given preliminary approval in December, and GW and the Canadian regulatory agency are now thrashing out exact terms for a licence to allow Sativex to be sold as a prescription drug. Assuming they reach agreement, Sativex could reach pharmacies within a couple of months. GW says it will be applying for licences in "other Commonwealth countries", probably Australia and New Zealand.

It may not be long before Sativex is joined by other cannabis preparations. A non-profit group, the Institute for Clinical Research in Berlin, Germany, is developing oral cannabis capsules, called Cannador. In November 2003 a study in 630 MS patients produced equivocal results (The Lancet, vol 362, p 1517). While the formal scoring system for measuring muscle spasticity indicated that Cannador performed no better than a placebo, the patients themselves felt it helped. Martin Schnelle, who conducted the trial, says that there are widely acknowledged problems with the formal scoring system used. "There are medicines that are already licensed for treating spasticity that have failed on this scale," he says. The group is planning a further study this year in which the patients' reports will be the main measure by which the drug's effectiveness is judged.

In the US, the NIDA has become more open to research on the benefits of cannabis, and Abrams is studying its ability to ease pain due to nerve damage in HIV, and nausea and vomiting after cancer chemotherapy. He is investigating a device called the Volcano, which heats cannabis to the point of vaporisation without burning it, which he says is less harmful than smoking it in a joint because it releases fewer carcinogens. While Abrams welcomes products like Sativex, he suggests that some people will always prefer marijuana to a commercial preparation - not least because they can grow it themselves.

But however cultural attitudes to street or home-grown cannabis change, its availability in standardised, licensed preparations such as Sativex and perhaps Cannador will be the key to its wider medical use. GW is planning studies of its possible benefits for people with a range of conditions from Crohn's disease to rheumatoid arthritis and heroin addiction. If positive, Canada's decision will signal a big change in the status of cannabis, says Philip Robson, the firm's medical director. "It's the dawning of a new clinical research era."

Experts Call For Legal Cannabis To Treat Hep C Virus

The researchers issued their recommendation following the results of an observational study by the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) that found that HCV patients who used cannabis were significantly more likely to adhere to their treatment regimen than patients who didn't use it.

Patients on HCV therapy medications typically report numerous adverse side effects - including fatigue, headaches, nausea, anorexia, depression, and insomnia that cause many of them to prematurely discontinue treatment.

Commenting on the study, investigators from Canada and Germany wrote that cannabis' "potential benefits of a higher likelihood of treatment success [for HCV patients] appear to outweigh [its] risks. ... Even before such effects are conclusively established, HCV treatment patients ... desiring to aid their treatment adherence by cannabis use should be legally permitted in doing so."

Though survey data indicates that many HCV patients use cannabis therapeutically to treat both symptoms of the disease as well as the side effects of HCV therapy, no clinical studies have been performed to assess the safety or efficacy of cannabinoids for hepatitis C treatment. In addition, a 2005 retrospective study of untreated HCV patients reported that daily cannabis smoking was associated with hepatic fibrosis. However, UCSF investigators found "no significant difference in liver fibrosis" between moderate cannabis smokers and non-users in their observational study.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of studies, "Treatment for hepatitis C virus and cannabis use in illicit drug user patients: implications and questions" and "Cannabis use improves retention and virological outcomes in patients treated for hepatitis C," are available in the October issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

Additional information on cannabinoids and hepatitis C is available in NORML's new report, "Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis," online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7002.

http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El1330&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Health

NEW NORML REPORT SUMMARIZES THE ROLE OF CANNABIS IN MODERATING DISEASE PROGRESSION - Review Of 120+ Recent Scientific Trials Reveals That In US, Politics Trumps Science

September 13, 2006 - Washington , DC , USA

The NORML Foundation report summarizes over 120 recently published trials assessing the therapeutic utility of cannabinoids for the treatment of fifteen specific disease indications: Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, dystonia, fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal disorders, gliomas, hepatitis C, hypertension, incontinence, osteoporosis, pruritis, rheumatoid arthritis, sleep apnea, and Tourette's syndrome .

"Despite continued political debates regarding the recreational use of cannabis, clinical investigations of the therapeutic use of cannabinoids are now more prevalent than at any time in history," states the report's author, NORML Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano. "In some of these cases, modern science is now affirming longtime anecdotal reports of medicinal cannabis users. In other cases, this research is highlighting entirely new potential clinical utilities for cannabinoids."

Whereas initial clinical investigations into the therapeutic use of cannabis focused primarily on whether cannabinoids might provide symptomatic relief, investigators today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to inhibit the progression of several life-threatening diseases including cancer, Armentano says.

"Arguably, this latter trend represents far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago," he concludes. "Unfortunately, because of the US government¹s strong public policy stance against any use of marijuana, the bulk of this modern research is taking place outside the United States and continues to go unrecognized in North America . Nevertheless, the emerging body of clinical and preclinical work published over the past six years makes it clear that the US government's stance against the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids is based on politics, not science."

Full text of the report, " Emerging Clinical Applications For Cannabis & Cannabinoids: A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 - 2006 ," is available online in HTML and PDF formats at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7002.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Foundation Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500 or via e-mail at: paul@norml.org.

In 2003, a team of researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, UK have made public the results of a series of short-term and long-term studies on the effects of cannabinoids among patients with multiple sclerosis. The previously conducted studies involved the active participation of around 600 patients with advanced-stage multiple sclerosis. The participants were divided in two distinctive groups: the first group received cannabinoid compounds in equal doses, while the second group received placebo medications over a period of 15 weeks. By the end of the experiment, the majority of patients who were administered cannabinoids experienced considerable symptomatic improvements, having less muscular pain and being confronted with milder muscular spasticity (less pronounced muscular spasm). Unlike the group that received cannabinoid compounds over the entire period of the study, the control group (patients who received placebo medications) experienced no improvements in their overall condition.

In order to confirm the relevancy of the findings and to discard any doubts concerning the efficiency of cannabis in ameliorating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, the study was later repeated. The ulterior study was performed over a period of 12 months, and involved the participation of the same subjects. However, this time the participants were divided into 3 distinctive groups instead of 2 as in the case of the previous experiment. The first group received pills of D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the active component in cannabis, the second group received natural cannabis extracts, while the third group received placebo medications.

At the end of the experiment, patients were carefully evaluated and examined by a team of physiotherapists and neurologists. The best results were obtained among the patients belonging to the first study group, the majority of subjects who have received equal doses of THC experiencing considerable improvements in their symptoms. The patients in the second study group experienced slight improvements in their symptoms, while the patients in the third group felt no changes in their condition.

Despite the fact these studies clearly suggest that cannabis is an efficient remedy for multiple sclerosis, medical scientists aren’t still convinced that cannabinoids can be successfully used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. However, after performing additional studies on the matter and more elaborate research, doctors may consider to introduce cannabinoid compounds in the treatment of multiple sclerosis in the near future.

By: Groshan Fabiola
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In 2004, 44.2 percent of the 1,745,712 total arrests in the US for drug abuse violations were for marijuana -- a total of 771,605. Of those, 684,319 people were arrested for possession alone. By contrast in 2000, a total of 734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 646,042 were for possession alone.

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1,559,100 682,885 84,191 598,694 675,900 1,805,600

1996

1995

1990

1980

Sources: Crime in the United States: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2004 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2005), p. 278, Table 4.1 & p. 280, Table 29; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2003 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2004), p.269, Table 4.1 & p. 270, Table 29; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2002 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2003), p. 234, Table 4.1 & and p. 234, Table 29; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2001 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2002), p. 232, Table 4.1 & and p. 233, Table 29; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the United States 2000 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 2001), pp. 215-216, Tables 29 and 4.1; Uniform Crime Reports for the United States 1999 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 2000), pp. 211-212; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the United States 1998 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1999), pp. 209-210; Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1997 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1998), p. 221, Table 4.1 & p. 222, Table 29; Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1996 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1997), p. 213, Table 4.1 & p. 214, Table 29; FBI, UCR for the US 1995 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1996), pp. 207-208; FBI, UCR for the US 1990 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1991), pp. 173-174; FBI, UCR for the US 1980 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1981), pp. 189-191.

According to the UN's estimate, 141 million people around the world use marijuana. This represents about 2.5 percent of the world population.
Source: United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Global Illicit Drug Trends 1999 (New York, NY: UNODCCP, 1999), p. 91.

Complete studies

Marijuana was first federally prohibited in 1937. Today, more than 83 million Americans admit to having tried it.
Sources: Marihuana Tax Act of 1937; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Summary of Findings from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, 2002), Table H.1, from the web at http:://www.samhsa.gov/oas/NHSDA/2k1NHSDA/vol2/appendixh_1.htm , last accessed Sept. 16, 2002 .

Cannabidiol Dramatically Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Growth, Study Says

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=2781

This Article is available in .PDF format (195K).

Cannabis (marijuana) is currently classified as a schedule I drug meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value. Other schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and PCP .

However, more than 6,500 reports and journal articles from around the world support the medical value of marijuana. In addition, dozens of public health organizations have endorsed medical use of marijuana including the AIDS Action Council, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the Federation of American Scientists, Kaiser Permanente, the New England Journal of Medicine, the National Association for Public Health Policy, the California Medical Association, the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, and many more.

Here is a sample of the latest research.

ORGANIC CANNABIS SMOKE DOES NO HARM

Cannabis Smoking Does Not Cause Cancer

Sources: Morgenstern H, et al. "Marijuana use and cancers of the lung and upper aerodigestive tract: results of a case-control study." Presentation at the ICRS Conference on Cannabinoids, 24-27 June, 2005, Clearwater , USA

According to Dr. Donald Tashkin and his colleagues at the University of California in Los Angeles results from a case-controlled study demonstrate that even heavy and long-term smoking of cannabis is not associated with lung cancer and other types of upper aerodigestive tract cancers.

The study included 1,209 residents of Los Angeles aged 18-59 with cancer (611 lung, 403 oral/pharyngeal, 90 laryngeal, and 108 esophageal). Interviewers collected lifetime histories of cannabis, tobacco, alcohol and other drug use, and data on other factors that may influence cancer risk, including diet, occupational exposures, and family history of cancer. Exposure to cannabis was measured in joint years (1 joint year = 365 joints). The cancer patients were compared to 1,040 cancer-free controls. Among the controls 46 per cent had never used cannabis, 31 per cent had used it for less than one joint year, 12 per cent for 10-30 joint years, 2 per cent for 30-60 joint years, and 3 per cent for more than 60 joint years.

Compared with subjects who had used less than one joint year, the risk for lung cancer was 0.78 for 1-10 joint years, 0.74 for 10-30 joint years, 0.85 for 30-60 joint years, and 0.81 for more than 60 joint years. A risk below 1.0 means that the risk for cannabis users was slightly lower than for non-users. Similar results were obtained for the other cancer sites. There was no dose-response relationship of cancer risk, which means that there was no increased risks for more intensive users.

Cannabis Does Not Accelerate HIV-infection

Sources: Abrams DI, Hilton JF, Leiser RJ, Shade SB, Elbeik TA, Aweeka FT, Benowitz NL, Bredt BM, Kosel B, Aberg JA, Deeks SG, Mitchell TF, Mulligan K, Bacchetti P, McCune JM, Schambelan M. "Short-term Effects of Cannabinoids in Patients with HIV-1 Infection: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial." Annals of Internal Medicine 2003;139(4):258-266

According to a study led by Dr. Donald Abrams at the University of California in San Francisco , smoked cannabis and oral THC given over a course of 21 days did not adversely affect CD4+ cell counts or viral loads in HIV-infected patients. Instead, researchers found that there was a small non-significant positive effect of cannabis and THC on these laboratory parameters compared to placebo. Cannabis and THC also increased appetite and caused weight gain.

All of the patients had been receiving the same anti-HIV medication for at least 8 weeks before the study began. 67 patients with HIV-1 infection were randomly assigned to a 3.95%-tetrahydrocannabinol marijuana cigarette, a 2.5-mg dronabinol (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) capsule, or a placebo capsule three times daily before meals. Although not statistically significant, compared with placebo use the application of marijuana and THC was associated with a slight drop in viral load of 15% and 8%, respectively.

CANNABIS PROVIDES SYMTOMATTIC RELEIF FOR HIV/AIDS, MS and LUNG DISEASE

Smoked Cannabis Reduces HIV-Related Painful Peripheral Neuropathy

Sources: Abrams DI, Jay CA, Vizoso H, Shade SB, Reda H, Press S, Kelly ME, Rowbotham M, Petersen K. "Smoked cannabis therapy for HIV-related painful peripheral neuropathy: results of a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial." Abstract, IACM 3rd Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine, September 9-10, 2005 , Leiden

The results of a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial demonstrates that smoked marijuana is effective in reducing HIV-related chronic ongoing neuropathic and acute pain. Neuropathy is a nerve disease, which often results in numbness, weakness, and spontaneous muscle twitching. Neuropathy is a serious medical problem with unsatisfactory treatment options.

In a clinical trial at the University of California, research participants smoked one marijuana cigarette containing 3.56% THC or a placebo three times daily for 5 days. Researchers concluded that smoked cannabis provided greater than a 30% reduction of pain in 13 of 25 randomized patients, who averaged 6 years of neuropathic pain.

Cannabis Reduces Neuropathic Pain In Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Sources: Rog DJ, Nurmikko TJ, Friede T, Young CA. "Randomized, controlled trial of cannabis-based medicine in central pain in multiple sclerosis." Neurology 2005;65(6):812-9;

Researchers for the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Liverpool conducted a single-center, 5-week, randomized, placebo-controlled group trial on patients with MS of a whole-plant cannabis-based medicine delivered via an oral spray. Each spray delivered 2.7mg of THC and 2.5mg of CBD ( THC and CBD are two active compounds produced naturally by the cannabis plant), and patients could gradually self-titrate to a maximum of 48 sprays in 24 hours.

The researchers concluded that the cannabis-based extract Sativex, manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals, is effective in reducing central neuropathic pain and sleep disturbance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Based on these study results, which were published now in the journal Neurology, Sativex was approved as a prescription medicine in Canada for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in adults with MS and is available in pharmacies since 20 June 2005 .

THC Is Effective in Appetite and Weight Loss in Severe Lung Disease

Source: Lecture by K-C Bergmann on 17 March 2005 at the Meeting of the German Society of Pulmonology in Berlin

Patients with the severe lung disease (COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) often suffer from appetite loss and cachexia (weight loss) resulting in reduced general well-being and early mortality. In an open clinical study at the Clinic for Allergies and Asthma in Bad Lippspringe, Germany, 18 COPD patients aged 49 to 81 years with a mean body weight of 48.5 kg received 3.3-4.2mg of THC two times daily for 16 days as oily drops delivered by THC Pharm, one-half an hour before breakfast and dinner. In the six months before entering the clinic 7 participants had a constant body weight and 11 lost 2.3 kg on average.

After 16 days of treatment, results indicated a considerable improvement of appetite, general well-being and functional performance (36 per cent mean increase in walking distance) and an average gain in body weight of 1.5 kg, which is significant given the short treatment period.

CANNABIS COMPOUNDS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR CURES

Cannabinoids Reduce the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease in Animals

Sources: Ramirez BG, et al. "Prevention of Alzheimer's disease pathology by cannabinoids: neuroprotection mediated by blockade of microglial activation." Journal of Neuroscience 2005;25(8):1904-13;

Research by scientists of Madrid 's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute published in the Journal of Neuroscience has demonstrated that cannabinoids can reduce pathological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers hope that cannabinoids may be used to develop new drug therapies against the disease.

They began by comparing the brain tissue of patients who died from Alzheimer's disease against the brain tissue of healthy people who had died at a similar age. The researchers found a dramatically reduced functioning of cannabinoid receptors in diseased brain tissue and markers of microglia activation. Microglia activate the brain's immune response and are found near the plaque deposits associated with Alzheimer's disease. When active, microglia cause inflammation. Nerve cells with cannabinoid-1 receptors (CB1), present in high numbers in control subjects, were greatly reduced in areas of microglial activation.

Next, rats were injected with amyloid-beta peptide. This protein plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease, since increased brain levels of amyloid-beta are supposed to result in aggregation of this protein to form plaques. Animals who also received different cannabinoids performed better in tests of their mental functioning.

Analyses showed that cannabinoids had prevented microglial activation and thus had reduced inflammation. These effects were also mediated by cannabinoids that only bind to CB2 receptors. Researchers concluded: "Our results indicate that cannabinoid receptors are important in the pathology of AD and that cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in the disease."

Derivatives of Cannabis May Unlock Anti-Cancer Treatment

Source: Kogan , N.M. , Blaquez, C., Gallily, R., Guzman, M., and Mechoulam, R. "Quinone Type Cannabinoids as AntiCancer Compunds." Abstract, IACM 3rd Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine, September 9-10, 2005 , Leiden

Researchers at the Hebrew University in Israel have demonstrated that derivatives of the cannabis plant can be effective in arresting cancerous growths in laboratory and animal tests. Natalya Kogan, a Ph.D student working under the direction of Professors Raphael Mechoulam and Michael Schlesinger, has developed new compounds - known as quinonoid cannabinoids - that parallel a group of anti-cancer drugs, the best known which is daunomycin. However, whereas daunomycin is toxic to the heart the quinonoid compounds are significantly less toxic. The development of quinonoid compounds that display anticancer activity, but are less toxic is a major therapeutic goal.

Researchers are particularly interested in the cannabinoid quinone known as HU-331, which was very effective against human cancer cell lines in-vitro and also against in-vivo tumor grafts in nude mice. At 35 days after cancer cell injection, the tumors in the treated group were half the size of the tumors in the control group. Researchers conclude that HU-331 has a high potential as a new anti-cancer drug.

Cannabinoids May Promote the Development of New Brain Cells

Sources: Jiang W, Zhang Y, Xiao L, Van Cleemput J, Ji SP, Bai G, Zhang X. "Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects." Journal of Clinical Investigation. October, 2005

According to animal research at the University of Saskatchewan , Canada , cannabinoids that bind to the CB1 receptor promote the development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus, a brain region that is very important for memory and behavior. This cannabinoid effect may decrease anxiety and depression.

Scientists used the synthetic cannabinoid HU210 that acts similar to THC on CB1 receptors in the brain. Chronic, but not acute treatment with this cannabinoid promoted nerve cell proliferation in the hippocampus of adult rats and exerted anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects.

Other illegal and legal drugs, including opiates, alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, have been shown to suppress the formation of new brain cells when used chronically, but the effect of cannabis on that process was uncertain. Cannabis appears "to be the only illicit drug whose capacity to produce increased ... neurons is positively correlated with its (anti-anxiety) and anti-depressant-like effects," Dr. Xia Zhang and his colleagues wrote in an article for the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, of which an advance was posted online on 13 October 2005.

Naples, Italy : Compounds in marijuana inhibit cancer cell growth in animals and in culture on a wide range of tumoral cell lines, including human breast carcinoma cells, human prostate carcimona cells, and human colectoral carcinoma cells, according to preclinical trial data published in the May issue of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Investigators at Italy 's Instuto di Chemica Biomolecolare assessed the anti-cancer activity of various non-psychoactive cannabinoids - including cannabidiol ( CBD ), cannabigerol ( CBG ), and cannabichromine ( CBC ) - in vivo and in vitro. Researchers reported that CBD acts as a more potent inhibitor of cancer cell growth than other cannabinoids, including THC , and noted that the compound is particularly efficacious in halting the spread of breast cancer cells by triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death).

Cannabigerol and CBC also possess anti-tumor properties, but lack the potency of CBD , they found.

"These results suggest the use in cancer therapy for cannabidiol," investigators concluded.

Previous studies have shown cannabinoids to reduce the size and halt the spread of glioma (brain tumor) cells in animals and humans in a dose dependent manner. Separate preclinical studies have also demonstrated cannabinoids to inhibit cancer cell growth and selectively trigger malignant cell death in skin cancer cells, leukemic cells, lung cancer cells, and prostate carcinoma cells, among other cancerous cell lines.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500 . Full text of the study, "Antitumor activity of plant cannabinoids with emphasis on the effect of cannabidiol on human breast carcinoma," is available online at: http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/reprint/jpet.106.105247v1. Additional information on cannabinoids' anti-cancer properties is available in NORML's report, "Cannabinoids as Cancer Hope," online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6814

http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v06/n899/a06.htm another study on the benefits of cannabis.

Although people may think that the drug war targets smugglers and king pins, in 2001, 45.6% of the 1,586,902 total arrests for drug violations were for cannabis - a total of 723,628. Of those 641,109 people were arrested for cannabis possession alone.

The US Federal Government will spend over 19.2 billion dollars at a rate of $609 dollars per second on the War on Drugs this year.

"Tetrahydrocannabinol is a very safe drug. Laboratory animals (rats, mice, dogs, monkeys) can tolerate doses of up to 1,000 mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram). This would be equivalent to a 70 kg person swallowing 70 grams of the drug -- about 5,000 times more than is required to produce a high. Despite the widespread illicit use of cannabis there are very few if any instances of people dying from an overdose. In Britain , official government statistics listed five deaths from cannabis in the period 1993-1995 but on closer examination these proved to have been deaths due to inhalation of vomit that could not be directly attributed to cannabis (House of Lords Report, 1998). By comparison with other commonly used recreational drugs these statistics are impressive.”

Source: Iversen, Leslie L., PhD, FRS , "The Science of Marijuana" ( London , England : Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 178, citing House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and Technology, "Cannabis -- The Scientific and Medical Evidence" (London, England: The Stationery Office, Parliament, 1998).

"The results of our meta-analytic study failed to reveal a substantial, systematic effect of long-term, regular cannabis consumption on the neurocognitive functioning of users who were not acutely intoxicated. For six of the eight neurocognitive ability areas that were surveyed. the confidence intervals for the average effect sizes across studies overlapped zero in each instance, indicating that the effect size could not be distinguished from zero. The two exceptions were in the domains of learning and forgetting." (drunk people can not say the abc’s)

Source: Grant, Igor, et al., "Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ( Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, p. 685.

"In conclusion, our meta-analysis of studies that have attempted to address the question of longer term neurocognitive disturbance in moderate and heavy cannabis users has failed to demonstrate a substantial, systematic, and detrimental effect of cannabis use on neuropsychological performance. It was surprising to find such few and small effects given that most of the potential biases inherent in our analyses actually increased the likelihood of finding a cannabis effect."

Source: Grant, Igor, et al., "Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ( Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, p. 687.

"Nevertheless, when considering all 15 studies (i.e., those that met both strict and more relaxed criteria) we only noted that regular cannabis users performed worse on memory tests, but that the magnitude of the effect was very small. The small magnitude of effect sizes from observations of chronic users of cannabis suggests that cannabis compounds, if found to have therapeutic value, should have a good margin of safety from a neurocognitive standpoint under the more limited conditions of exposure that would likely obtain in a medical setting."

Source: Grant, Igor, et al., "Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ( Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, pp. 687-8.

A Johns Hopkins study published in May 1999, examined marijuana's effects on cognition on 1,318 participants over a 15 year period. Researchers reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis." They also found "no male-female differences in cognitive decline in relation to cannabis use." "These results ... seem to provide strong evidence of the absence of a long-term residual effect of cannabis use on cognition," they concluded.

Source: Constantine G. Lyketsos, Elizabeth Garrett, Kung-Yee Liang, and James C. Anthony. (1999). "Cannabis Use and Cognitive Decline in Persons under 65 Years of Age," American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 149, No. 9.

In March 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on various aspects of marijuana, including the so-called Gateway Theory (the theory that using marijuana leads people to use harder drugs like cocaine and heroin). The IOM stated, "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."

Source: Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999).

The Institute of Medicine 's 1999 report on marijuana explained that marijuana has been mistaken for a gateway drug in the past because "Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana, usually before they are of legal age."

Source: Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999).

The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume . For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison , it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.:

Source: US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], ( September 6, 1988 ), p. 57.

Commissioned by President Nixon in 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that "Marihuana's relative potential for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it. This judgment is based on prevalent use patterns, on behavior exhibited by the vast majority of users and on our interpretations of existing medical and scientific data. This position also is consistent with the estimate by law enforcement personnel that the elimination of use is unattainable."

Source: Shafer, Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. V, (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972).

When examining the relationship between marijuana use and violent crime, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "Rather than inducing violent or aggressive behavior through its purported effects of lowering inhibitions, weakening impulse control and heightening aggressive tendencies, marihuana was usually found to inhibit the expression of aggressive impulses by pacifying the user, interfering with muscular coordination, reducing psychomotor activities and generally producing states of drowsiness lethargy, timidity and passivity."

Source: Shafer, Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. III , (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972).

When examining the medical affects of marijuana use, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "A careful search of the literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not revealed a single human fatality in the United States proven to have resulted solely from ingestion of marihuana. Experiments with the drug in monkeys demonstrated that the dose required for overdose death was enormous and for all practical purposes unachievable by humans smoking marihuana. This is in marked contrast to other substances in common use, most notably alcohol and barbiturate sleeping pills. The WHO reached the same conclusion in 1995.

Source: Shafer, Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. III , (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972); Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 , (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).

The World Health Organization released a study in March 1998 that states: "there are good reasons for saying that [the risks from cannabis] would be unlikely to seriously [compare to] the public health risks of alcohol and tobacco even if as many people used cannabis as now drink alcohol or smoke tobacco."

Source: Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 , (contained in original version, but deleted from official version) (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).

The authors of a 1998 World Health Organization report comparing marijuana, alcohol, nicotine and opiates quote the Institute of Medicine 's 1982 report stating that there is no evidence that smoking marijuana "exerts a permanently deleterious effect on the normal cardiovascular system."

Source: Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).

Some claim that cannabis use leads to "adult amotivation." The World Health Organization report addresses the issue and states, "it is doubtful that cannabis use produces a well defined amotivational syndrome." The report also notes that the value of studies which support the "adult amotivation" theory are "limited by their small sample sizes" and lack of representative social/cultural groups.

Source: Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).

Australian researchers found that regions giving on-the-spot fines to marijuana users rather than harsher criminal penalties did not cause marijuana use to increase.

Source: Ali, Robert, et al., The Social Impacts of the Cannabis Expiation Notice Scheme in South Australia : Summary Report (Canberra, Australia: Department of Health and Aged Care, 1999), p. 44.

"Both simulator and road studies showed that relative to alcohol use alone, participants who used cannabis alone or in combination with alcohol were more aware of their intoxication. Robbe (1998) found that participants who consumed 100 g/kg of cannabis rated their performance worse and the amount of effort required greater compared to those who consumed alcohol (0.05 BAC ). Ramaekers et al. (2000) showed that cannabis use alone and in combination with alcohol consumption increased self-ratings of intoxication and decreased self-ratings of performance. Lamers and Ramaekers (2001) found that cannabis use alone (100 g/kg) and in combination with alcohol consumption resulted in lower ratings of alertness, greater perceptions of effort, and worse ratings of performance."

Source: Laberge, Jason C., Nicholas J. Ward, "Research Note: Cannabis and Driving -- Research Needs and Issues for Transportation Policy," Journal of Drug Issues, Dec. 2004, pp. 978.

"Both Australian studies suggest cannabis may actually reduce the responsibility rate and lower crash risk. Put another way, cannabis consumption either increases driving ability or, more likely, drivers who use cannabis make adjustments in driving style to compensate for any loss of skill (Drummer, 1995). This is consistent with simulator and road studies that show drivers who consumed cannabis slowed down and drove more cautiously (see Ward & Dye, 1999; Smiley, 1999. This compensation could help reduce the probability of being at fault in a motor vehicle accident since drivers have more time to respond and avoid a collision. However, it must be noted that any behavioral compensation may not be sufficient to cope with the reduced safety margin resulting from the impairment of driver functioning and capacity."

Source: Laberge, Jason C., Nicholas J. Ward, "Research Note: Cannabis and Driving -- Research Needs and Issues for Transportation Policy," Journal of Drug Issues, Dec. 2004, pp. 980.

Since 1969, government-appointed commissions in the United States , Canada , England , Australia , and the Netherlands concluded, after reviewing the scientific evidence, that marijuana's dangers had previously been greatly exaggerated, and urged lawmakers to drastically reduce or eliminate penalties for marijuana possession.

Source: Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence, Cannabis (London, England: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1969); Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry, The Non-Medical Use of Drugs (Ottawa, Canada: Information Canada, 1970); The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, (Nixon-Shafer Report) (Washington, DC: USGPO, 1972); Werkgroep Verdovende Middelen, Background and Risks of Drug Use (The Hague, The Netherlands: Staatsuigeverij, 1972); Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare, Drug Problems in Australia-An Intoxicated Society (Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1977); Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, "The classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971" (London, England, UK: Home Office, March 2002), available on the web from http://www.drugs.gov.uk/ReportsandPublications/Communities/1034155489/Classific_Cannabis_MisuseDrugsAct1971.pdf ; House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Third Report, "The Government's Drugs Policy: Is It Working?" ( London , England , UK : Parliament, May 9, 2002 ), from the web at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmhaff/318/31802.htm and "Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy," report of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs ( Ottawa , Canada : Senate of Canada, September 2002).

The Canadian Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs recommended in its 2002 final report on cannabis policy that "the Government of Canada amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to create a criminal exemption scheme. This legislation should stipulate the conditions for obtaining licenses as well as for producing and selling cannabis.

Source: "Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy," report of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs ( Ottawa , Canada : Senate of Canada, September 2002), p. 46.

The United Kingdom officially downgraded the classification of cannabis from Class B to Class C effective Jan. 29, 2004 . The London Guardian reported that "Under the switch, cannabis will be ranked alongside bodybuilding steroids and some anti-depressants. Possession of cannabis will no longer be an arrestable offence in most cases, although police will retain the power to arrest users in certain aggravated situations - such as when the drug is smoked outside schools. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has said the change in the law is necessary to enable police to spend more time tackling class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine which cause the most harm and trigger far more crime."

Source: Tempest, Matthew, "MPs Vote To Downgrade Cannabis," The Guardian ( London , England ), Oct. 29, 2003 .

UK Home Secretary David Blunkett announced in July 2002 that "We must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while sending a credible message to young people. I will therefore ask Parliament to reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C. I have considered the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee, and the advice given me by the ACMD medical experts that the current classification of cannabis is disproportionate in relation to the harm that it causes."

Source: "'All Controlled Drugs Harmful, All Will Remain Illegal' - Home Secretary," News Release, Office of the Home Secretary, Government of the United Kingdom, July 10, 2002 , from the web at http://213.219.10.30/n_story.asp?item_id=143 last accessed July 31, 2002 .

In May of 1998, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, National Working Group on Addictions Policy released policy a discussion document which recommended, "The severity of punishment for a cannabis possession charge should be reduced. Specifically, cannabis possession should be converted to a civil violation under the Contraventions Act." The paper further noted that, "The available evidence indicates that removal of jail as a sentencing option would lead to considerable cost savings without leading to increases in rates of cannabis use."

Source: Single, Eric, Cannabis Control in Canada : Options Regarding Possession (Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, May 1998).

"Our conclusion is that the present law on cannabis produces more harm than it prevents. It is very expensive of the time and resources of the criminal justice system and especially of the police. It inevitably bears more heavily on young people in the streets of inner cities, who are also more likely to be from minority ethnic communities, and as such is inimical to police-community relations. It criminalizes large numbers of otherwise law-abiding, mainly young, people to the detriment of their futures. It has become a proxy for the control of public order; and it inhibits accurate education about the relative risks of different drugs including the risks of cannabis itself."

Source: Police Foundation of the United Kingdom , "Drugs and the Law: Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971", April 4, 2000 . The Police Foundation, based in London , England , is a nonprofit organization presided over by Charles, Crown Prince of Wales, which promotes research, debate and publication to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in the UK .

Cannabis health benefits.

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=36

Therapeutic uses of cannabis

by Jack Herer

Taken from the 1998 edition of The Emperor Wears No Clothes There are more than 60 therapeutic compunds in cannabis that are healing agents in medical and herbal treatments. The primary one is THC , and the effectiveness of therapy is directly proportionate to the herb's potency or concentration of THC . Recent DEA reports of increasingly potent marijuana therefore represent a major medical advance; but incredibly, the government uses these very numbers to solicit bigger budgets and harsher penalties. The following explains how people will benefit when the freedom of choice of doctors and patients is once again respected.

1. ASTHMA

More than 15 million Americans are affected by asthma. Smoking cannabis (The "raw drug" as the AMA called it) would be beneficial for 80% of them and add 30-60 million person-years in the aggregate of extended life to current asthmatics over presently legal toxic medicines such as the Theophylline prescribed to children. "Taking a hit of marijuana has been known to stop a full blown asthma attack." (Personal communication with Dr. Donald Tashkin, December 12, 1989 and December 1, 1997 .) The use of cannabis for asthmatics goes back thousands of years in literature. American doctors of the last century wrote glowing reports in medical papers that asthma sufferers of the world would "bless" Indian hemp (cannabis) all their lives. Today, of the 16 million American asthma sufferers, only those living in California , Arizona and Nevada , with a doctor's recommendation can legally grow and use cannabis medicines, even though it is generally the most effective treatment for asthma. (Tashkin, Dr Donald, UCLA Pulmonary Studies (for smoked marijuana), 1969-97; Ibid., asthma studies, 1969-1976; Cohen, Sidney, & Stillman, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, 1976; Life Insurance Actuarial rates; Life shortening effects of childhood asthma, 1983.) 2. GLAUCOMA

Fourteen percent of all blindness in America is from glaucoma, a progressive loss of vision. Cannabis smoking would benefit 90% of our 2.5 million glaucoma victims, and is two to three times as effective as any current medicines for reducing ocular pressure! Cannabis use has no toxic side effects to the liver and kidneys; nor is there any danger of the occasional sudden death syndromes associated with the legal pharmaceutical glaucoma drugs/drops. Many California eye doctors, through the 1970's 80's and 90's discreetly advised their patients to use "street" marijuana in addition to (or to mitigate) their toxic legal glaucoma medicines. Since November 1996, California , Arizona and Nevada doctors can legally recommend, advise or tacitly approve cannabis use by their glaucoma patients who may then grow and smoke their own marijuana, or go to the Cannabis Buyers' Clubs to acquire medical marijuana. (Harvard; Hepler & Frank, 1971, UCLA; Medical College of Georgia; U. of North Carolina School of Medicine, 1975; Cohen & Stillman, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, UCLA, 1976; National Eye Institute; Records of Bob Randolph/Elvy Musika, 1975, 1988.) 3. TUMORS

A tumor is a mass of swollen tissue. Researchers at the Medical College of Virginia discovered that cannabis is an incredibly successful herb for reducing many types of tumors, both benign and malignant (cancerous). The DEA and other federal agencies had ordered these tumor studies done after hearing erroneous reports of possible immunicological problems associated with cannabis smoke. But, in 1975, instead of health problems, an apparent medical breakthrough occurred and successful tumor reductions were recorded! Following this remarkably positive discovery by the Medical College of Virginia, orders were immediately handed down by the DEA and the National Institute of Health to defund all further cannabis/tumor research and reporting! Millions of Americans who might be alive today are dead because of these and other DEA orders regarding marijuana. Since 1996, the Medical College of Virginia has again applied to receive grants for cannabis research and has been turned down by the DEA. 4. NAUSEA RELIEF (eg, AIDS, CANCER THERAPY, SEA SICKNESS)

Though it is known to be extremely damaging to the immune system, chemotherapy is claimed by practitioners to benefit cancer and AIDS patients. But chemo has serious side effects too, including nausea. "marijuana is the best agent for control of nausea in cancer chemotherapy," according to Dr. Thomas Ungerleider, who headed California 's Marijuana for Cancer research program from 1979 to 1984. This is also true in AIDS and even in the unsettled stomach common in motion sickness. Pharmaceutical nausea-control drugs come in pills that are often swallowed by the patient only to be thrown back up. Because cannabis can be ingested as smoke, it stays in the system and keeps working even if vomiting continues. Throughout the state's 10-year Compassionate Marijuana Medical law, George Deukmejian, both as attorney general and as governor, with no regard for the suffering of dying cancer patients, made it virtually impossible for them to get cannabis. California Governor Pete Wilson was following the same course until the medical marijuana initative passed in November 1996. 5. EPILEPSY, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, BACK PAIN, MUSCLE SPASMS

Cannabis is beneficial for 60% of all epileptics. It is definitely the best treatment for many, but not all types of epilepsy, and for victims' post-seizure mental traumas. Cannabis extract is more effective than Dilantin (a commonly prescribed anti-epileptic with severe side effects). Medical World News reported in 1971: "Marijuana...is probably the most potent anti-epileptic known to medicine today." (Mikuriya, Tod H., M.D. Marijuana Medical Papers 1839-1972, page xxii.) Cannabis users' epileptic seizures are of less intensity than the more dangerous seizures experienced by users of pharmaceuticals. Similarly, smoking cannabis has proven to be a major source of relief for multiple sclerosis, which affects the nervous system and is characterized by muscular weakness, tremors, etc. Aside from addictive morphine, cannabis, whether smoked or applied as an herbal pack or poultice, is also the best muscle relaxant, back spasm medicine and general antispasmodic medication on our planet. In September 1993, in Santa Cruz County , California , Sheriffs rearrested epileptic Valerie Corral and confiscated the five marijuana plants she was growing for medicine even though 77% of the citizens of Santa Cruz voted in November 1992 to instruct local law enforcement not to prosecute medical marijuana users. Charges against Corral had been dropped earlier in March 1993 because she was the first person in California to meet all six points of a medical necessity defense. In 1997 Valerie, who runs a compassionate use club, was named Citizen of the Year in Santa Cruz . (Cohen & Stillman, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, 1976; Consult U.S. Pharmacopoeia prior to 1937; Mikuriya, Tod H., M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, 1839-1972.) 6. ANTIBIOTIC CBD DISINFECTANTS

Young un-budded hemp plants provide extractions of CBDs (cannabidiolic acids). There are many antibiotic uses of the cannabidiols, including treatment for gonorrhea. A 1990 Florida study indicated its use in treating herpes. The acid side of tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiols occur inversely to the amount of the plant's THC and is therfore more acceptable to prohibitionists because "it won't get you high." For virtually any disease or infection that can be treated with terramycin, cannabis derivatives did better in Czechoslovakian studies, 1952-1955. The Czechs in 1997 still published farm crop reports on strategies to grow cannabidiol rich hemp. (Also see Cohen & Stillman, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana; Mikuriya, Tod H., M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers; Roffman, Marijuana as Medicine, 1982; International Farm Crop abstracts.) 7. ARTHRITIS, HERPES, CYSTIC FIBROSIS AND RHEUMATISM

Cannabis is a topical analgesic. Until 1937, virtually all corn plasters, mustard plasters, muscle ointments, and fibrosis poultices were made from or with cannabis extracts. Rheumatism was treated throughout South America until the 1960's with hemp leaves and/or flower tops heated in water or alcohol and placed on painful joints. In fact, this form of herbal medicine is still widely used in rural areas of Mexico , Central and South America , and by California Latinos for relief of rheumatism and arthritis pain. Direct contact with THC killed herpes virus in a University of South Florida ( Tampa ) 1990 research study by Dr. Gerald Lancz, who warns that "smoking marijuana will not cure herpes." However, anecdotal reports indicate a faster drying and healing of the outbreak after topical application of "strong bud," soaked in rubbing alcohol and crushed into a paste. 8. LUNG CLEANER AND EXPECTORANT

Cannabis is the best natural expectorant to clear the human lungs of smog, dust and the phlegm associated with tobacco use. Marijuana smoke effectively dilates the airways of the lungs, the bronchi, opening them to allow more oxygen into the lungs. It is also the best natural dilator of the tiny airways of the lungs, the bronchial tubes- making cannabis the best overall bronchial dilator for 80% of the population (the remaining 20% sometimes show minor negative reactions). (See Section on asthma-a disease that closes these passages in spasms-UCLA Tashkin studies, 1969-97; U.S. Costa Rican, 1980-82; Jamaican studies 1969-74, 76.) Statistical evidence-showing up consistently as anamalies in matched populations-indicates that people who smoke tobacco cigarettes are usually better off and will live longer if they smoke cannabis moderately, too. (Jamaican, Costa Rican studies.) Millions of Americans have given up or avoided smoking tobacco products in favor of cannabis, which is not good news to the powerful tobacco lobby-Senator Jesse Helms and his cohorts. A turn-of-the-century grandfather clause in U.S. tobacco law allows 400 to 6,000 additional chemicals to be added. Additions since then to the average tobacco cigarette are unknown, and the public in the U.S. has no right to know what they are. Many joggers and marathon runners feel cannabis use cleans their lungs, allowing better endurance. The evidence indicates that cannabis use will probably increase these outlaw American marijuana-users' lives by about one to two years-yet they may lose their rights, property, children, state licenses, etc., just for using that safest of substances: cannabis. 9. SLEEP AND RELAXATION

Cannabis lowers blood pressure, dilates the arteries and reduces body temperature an average of one-half degree, thereby relieving stress. Evening cannabis smokers report more restful sleep. Using cannabis allows most people a more complete rest with a higher amount of "alpha time" during sleep as compared with prescription or sleep-inducing patent sedatives. Prescription sleeping pills (the so called "legal, safe and effective" drugs) are often just systhesized analogs of truly dangerous plants like mandrake, henbane and belladonna. As late as 1991, doctors, pharmacists and drug companies wre fighting off new legislation to restrict these often abused compounds (L.A. Times, April 2, 1991). Unlike Valium, cannabis does not potentiate the effects of alcohol, It is estimated that cannabis could replace more than 50% of Valium, Librium, Thorazine, Stelazine, other "-zine" drugs and most sleeping pills. It it unconscionable that, over the past two decades, tens of thousands of parents have commited their own children, aged 11 to 17, to be treated by massive doses of so-called "-zine" drugs in order to get them off pot, at the urging of parent groups, the PDFA, the feds and administrators and doctors from federally approved, private and high-profit drug rehabilitation centers. Often, "-zine" drugs do work to stop these youths from using pot. They also stop a kid from loving his or her dog, and children stand a one-in-four chance of suffering from uncontrollable shaking for the rest of their lives. *But at least they're not high! "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that 20-40% of "-zine" drug users have or will develop permanent lifetime palsies (shakes), November, 1983. These prescription neurotoxins are chemically related to the pesticide and warfare nerve gas Sarin. Hundreds of private drug-rehabilitation centers and their leaders keep this policy alive and in front of the media, often quoting discredited reports from NIDA or DEA because they earn fat profits selling their useless or destructive "marijuana treatment" for children. After all, a relapse just means using marijuana again after a number of bouts with an "authority." This is mind-control and an attempt to destroy individual free will. 10. THERAPEUTIC EMPHYSEMA POTENTIAL

Medical research indicates that light cannabis smoking might be useful for a majority of mild emphysema victims. It would improve the quality of life for millions of sufferers and extend their life spans. The U.S. government and DEA (since 1976) say the side effect of being "high" is not acceptable, no matter how many years or lives it saves; even though some 90 million Americans have tried marijuana and 25 to 30 million still smoke marijuana relaxationally, or use it responsibly as a form of daily self-medication, without one single death from overdose-ever! All research into the oxygen blood transfer effects caused by cannabis indicates that the chest (lung) pains, extremity pains, shallowness of breath, and headaches we may experience on heavy smog days are usually alleviated by cannabis smoking throughout the day. Dr. Donald Tashkin, the U.S. government's leading scientist on marijuana pulmonary research, told us in December 1989*, and again in December 1997, that you cannot get or potentiate emphysema with cannabis smoking! *See Tashkin's Marijuana Pulmonary Research, UCLA, 1969-1997. Since 1981, this author has personally taken part in these studies and has continuously interviewed Tashkin on cannabis' medical indications; last personal interview was in December 1997. 11. STRESS AND MIGRAINE HEADACHE RELIEF

Most of all: it is best for the world's number-one killer- stress. It can safely curtail or replace Valium, Librium, alcohol or even Prozac, for millions of Americans. While cannabis intoxication varies with psychological set and social setting, "the most common response is a calm, mildly euphoric state in which time slows and a sensitivity to sights, sounds and touch is enhanced." In contrast to marijuana's safe, therapeutic action, benzodiazepines (Valium) abuse is the number-one drug abuse problem in the country, and is responsible for more emergency room admissions in the United States than either cocaine-related problems or morphine and herion-related admissions combined. While tobacco constricts arteries, cannabis dilates (opens) them. Because migraine headaches are the result of artery spasms combined with over-relaxation of veins, the vascular changes cannabis causes in the covering of the brain (the meninges) usually make migraines disappear. Evidence of vascular change caused by cannabis can be seen in the user's red eyes, which are extensions of the brain. However, unlike most other drugs, cannabis has no apparent effect of the vascular system in general, except for a slight increased heart rate during the onset of the high. 12. TO INCREASE APPETITE

Users of marijuana often (but not always) experience "the munchies," a stimulated appetite for food, which, at this time, makes cannabis the very best medicine on the planet for anorexia. Hundreds of thousands of Americans in old age, convalescent wards or hospital situations have anorexia. Most could be helped by cannabis- yet these Americans are being denied a healthy life by governmental policy dictated by government police! This effect can also extend the lives of victims of AIDS and pancreatic cancer (eat or die). However, the DEA and U.S. government prevented any research or use of cannabis in pancreatic cancer therapy since 1976. They have effectively allowed tens of thousands of people to die each year, denying them the right to live otherwise normal, healthy and productive lives. 13. TO REDUCE SALIVA

Marijuana smoking can help dry your mouth for the dentist. This is the best way to dry the mouth's saliva nontoxically in what is known among smokers as its "cotton mouth" effect. According to the Canadian Board of Dentistry in studies conducted in the 1970's, cannabis could replace the highly toxic Probathine compounds produced by Bearle & Co. This may also indicate that cannabis could be good for treating peptic ulcers. IN ADDITION...

AIDS, DEPRESSION & HUNDREDS OF OTHER PRIMARY MEDICAL USESOne well known effect of THC is to lift the spirit, or make you "high." Cannabis users in Jamaica praise ganja's benefits for meditation, concentration, consciousness-raising and promoting a state of well-being and self assertiveness. This kind of attitude adjustment, along with a healthier appetite and better rest, often represents the difference between feeling like you are "dying of" AIDS or cancer and feeling like you are "living with" AIDS or cancer. Cannabis also eases small pains and some big ones and helps senior citizens live with aches and pains like arthritis, insomnia and debilitating infirmities, and enjoy life in greater dignity and comfort. Legend has it, and medical evidence indicates, that cannabis is the best overall treatment for dementia, senility, and maybe Alzheimer's disease, for long-term memory "gain" and hundreds of other benefits. U.S. statistics of the 1970s indicated that you will live eight to 24 years longer if you substitute daily cannabis use for daily tobacco and alcohol use. New research is outlawed, of course. ACCEPTABLE RISKSEvery U.S. commission or federal judge who has studied the evidence has agreed that cannabis is one of the safest drugs known. With all its therapeutic uses, it has only one side effect that has been exaggerated as a concern: the "high." The DEA says this is not acceptable, so cannabis continues to be totally illegal in utter disregard for both doctor and patient. Every day we entrust physicians to determine whether the risks associated with therapeutic, yet potentially dangerous, drugs are acceptable for their patients. Yet, doctors are not allowed to prescribe the herb that Federal Judge Francis Young in 1988 called "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." We don't put our doctors in charge of stopping violent crimes. The police, prosecutors and prison guards should not be in charge of which herbal therapies people may use to treat their personal health problems.

Weekend Edition
August 19 / 20, 2006

T here's a perplexing question associated with the prohibition of cannabis by Congress in 1937. Why would U.S. doctors and pharmacists -and we, the people- allow a medically useful herb to be outlawed? Part of the answer, obviously, is that the American people are not the ultimate decision-makers, the government enforces the will of the corporations. But why wasn't there more resistance from doctors and pharmacists?

A succinct, plausible explanation can be found in the 1926 edition of the Dispensatory of the United States of America . We scored a copy of this authoritative 1,792 page compendium for $2 at a garage sale last weekend. The authors of the article on Cannabis didn't question its medical efficacy. Doctors were loath to prescribe it and druggists loath to dispense it due to inconsistent potency.

"Cannabis is used in medicine to relieve pain, to encourage sleep, and to soothe restlessness. Its action upon the nerve centers resembles opium, although much less certain, but it does not have the deleterious effect on the secretions. As a somnifacient it is rarely sufficient by itself, but may at times aid the hypnotic effect of other drugs. For its analgesic action it is used especially in pains of neuralgic origin, such as migraine, but is occasionally of service in other types. As a general nerve sedative it is useful in hysteria, mental depression, neurasthenia, and the like. It has also been used in other conditions such as tetanus and uterine hemorrhage, but with less evidence of benefit...

"One of the great hindrances to the wider use of this drug is its extreme variability. We are inclined to the opinion that one of the important reasons for the lack of confidence in this drug has been insufficiency in dosage. Because of the great variability in the potency of different samples of cannabis it is well nigh impossible to approximate the proper dose of any individual sample except by clinical trial. Because of occasional unpleasant symptoms from unusually potent preparations, physicians have generally been overcautious in the quantities administered.

"While the inclusion of a physiological assay in the Pharmacopoeia has somewhat improved the quality of drug upon the market, it must be remembered that the present method of standardization is not quantitatively accurate; all that can be hoped from this assay is the exclusion of inert samples. The only way of determining the dose of an individual preparation is to give it in ascending quantities until some effect is produced. The fluid extract is perhaps as useful a preparation as any; one may start with two or three minims of this three times a day increasing one minim every dose until some effect is produced.

The key point is repeated:

"No means have been suggested for determining, with even approximate accuracy, the relative potency of different samples of Cannabis indica, the physiological test simply demonstrating that the drug possesses a certain indefinite amount of physiological action. The official test is based on the degree of inco-ordination produced in the dog in comparison with that produced by a standard preparation."

In other words, in the era before the active ingredient(s) were identified and assays developed to determine uniform potency, cannabis products were frequently too weak or too strong. No wonder doctors were reluctant to prescribe them. Some patients would get inadequate doses, others would overdose on unexpectedly strong tinctures. As the Rockefeller Foundation and the academic medical centers promoted "scientific medicine," the cannabis plant seemed increasingly crude. Smoking was not recognized as a proper delivery method except in the treatment of asthma. Not until the early 1990s, when Tod Mikuriya, MD, started advocating vaporization as the ideal ingestion technique in treating a wide range of conditions, was delivery via the respiratory system appreciated from a clinician's perspective.

Ruling Expected Shortly In Legal Challenge To US Government's Pot Monopoly

July 27, 2006 - Washington , DC , USA

DEA Head Examines Harmful Misconceptions About Pot (not addressed, the only harmful misconception is that it is harmful)

Please excuse the first section as she seems to be referring to a death caused by a unknown chemical that was ingested in form of a pill.

When 14-year-old Irma Perez of Belmont , California , took a single ecstasy pill one evening last April, she had no idea she would become one of the 26,000 people who die every year from drugs. Irma took ecstasy with two of her 14-year-old friends in her home. Soon after taking the tiny blue pill, Irma complained of feeling awful and said she felt like she was "going to die."

Myth: If It's Medicine, It's Safe

Smoking Is Harmful (so is lying)

In 1999 the Institute of Medicine ( IOM ) undertook a landmark study reviewing the alleged medical properties of marijuana. Advocates of so-called medical marijuana frequently tout this study, but the study's findings decisively undercut their arguments. I had to look up tout as it was unfamiliar and found it means: to try to attract support, especially in an aggressive or persistent way. I also looked up the study as she seems to think we all know what facts she is talking about and it does not mention smoke so much as that “few marijuana users develop dependence“ when referring to chronic use. The study can be viewed at http://www.marijuana.com/pdf/iom.pdf. The THC burns at 420 degrees and since combustion does not happen till around 850 degrees people inhale THC with out smoke by use of vaporizers. They were invented 35 years ago so welcome to the 70’s and problem solved even though hydrocarbons are smoked only if grown with chemical fertilizers. In truth, the IOM explicitly found that marijuana is not medicine and expressed concern about patients' smoking it because smoking is a harmful drug-delivery system. That’s amazing mentioning a study that is the supposed main argument on a incomplete topic then saying it actually supports her view.

(2 http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever...phy.roots.html
(3) http://www.usask.ca/events/news/arti...0051013-1.html
(4) http://www.norml.org.nz/article480.html

Only Temporary Relief

The IOM found that THC (the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) in smoked marijuana provides only temporary relief from intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with glaucoma and would have to be smoked eight to 10 times a day to achieve consistent results. I am surprised to see she even mentions a medical use. By federl law if a substance has medical use it can not be a schedule one. A schedule one is defined by having no medical use. And there exists another treatment for IOP, as the availability of medically approved once- or twice-a-day eye drops makes IOP control a reality for many patients and provides round-the-clock IOP reduction . These other treatments are not organic and are derived via petroleum byproducts also known as hydrocarbons. Not something I would be putting in my eye.

Smoking Pot Is Not Approved

Over the past decade, drug policy in some foreign countries, particularly those in Europe , has gone through some dramatic changes toward greater liberalization with failed results. To make a statement and fail to give examples is not the way to make a logical point. Consider the experience of the Netherlands , where the government reconsidered its legalization measures in light of that country's experience.

Smoking Rates Increased Among Teens

Marijuana use by Canadian teenagers is at a 25-year peak in the wake of an aggressive decriminalization movement. At the very time a decriminalization bill was before the House of Commons, the Canadian government released a report showing that marijuana smoking among teens is "at levels that we haven't seen since the late '70s when rates reached their peak."

Use of marijuana has adverse health, safety, social, academic, economic, and behavioral consequences; and children are the most vulnerable to its damaging effects. No examples how surprising. Out of six topics that she seems to think are harmful there are no examples and they are all mentioned in one sentence. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America and is readily available to kids. I would say aspirin.

Gateway Drug

Marijuana is a gateway drug. In drug law enforcement, rarely do we meet heroin or cocaine addicts who did not start their drug use with marijuana. Rarely is a baby raised without drinking milk either. Milk like cannabis to my knowledge has never killed a person. Scientific studies bear out our anecdotal findings.

Significant Health Problems

Smoking marijuana can cause significant health problems. Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, of which 60 are cannabinoids. Smoking a marijuana cigarette deposits about three to five times more tar into the lungs than one filtered tobacco cigarette.

Mental Health Problems

In addition, smoking marijuana can lead to increased anxiety, panic attacks, depression, social withdrawal, and other mental health problems, particularly for teens. The latest studies shows how cannabis relieves these symptoms. Research shows that kids aged 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely than nonusers to have suicidal thoughts. The kids in the study were most likely under the care of the mental health field who instead of counseling prescribe anti depressants which are the major cause of child suicide in the nation. The non users may not have been in the care of the mental health field. The latest study once again proves cannabis relieves depression.

We need to put to rest the thought that there is such a thing as a lone drug user, a person whose habits affect only himself or herself. Drug use, including marijuana use, is not a victimless crime. Some communities may resist involvement because they think someone else's drug use is not hurting them. Some communities recognize that cannabis is helpful or in other words not harmful.

But this kind of not-my-problem thinking is tragically misguided. Ask those same people about secondhand smoke from cigarettes, and they'll quickly acknowledge the harm that befalls nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke is a well-known problem, one that Americans are becoming more unwilling to bear. We need to apply the same common-sense thinking to the even more pernicious secondhand effects of drug use. The subject is cannabis not second hand smoke from pesticides that are not washed from the tobacco or the other chemicals added to the tobacco to add to dependence and harm.

Marijuana causes drivers to experience decreased car handling performance, increased reaction times, distorted time and distance estimation, sleepiness, impaired motor skills, and lack of concentration. Untrue unless they are smoking chemicals. To much coffee can impair motor skills as can sugar, cannabis does not which is why many artists smoke it when painting master works.

Driving While Impaired

The extent of the problem of marijuana-impaired driving is startling. One in six (or 600,000) high school students drive under the influence of marijuana, almost as many as drive under the influence of alcohol, according to estimates released in September 2003 by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). A study of motorists pulled over for reckless driving showed that, among those who were not impaired by alcohol, 45 percent tested positive for marijuana. Most tests where done by urine showing 30 day history. How many of them were found with cannabis on their breath as that may be deemed useful information in correlation with other factors and controls.

Innocents Killed

Some such drug-impaired drivers will be detected through the Drug Recognition Expert program, which operates under the direction of the IACP and is supported by NHTSA. However, if we are to bolster cases against drugged drivers, greater protection for innocents on the road requires the development of affordable roadside drug detection tests, and some are in the testing phase now.