RESEARCH, NOT RHETORIC: MARIJUANA CAN SAVE LIVES for MYTH1184

Illinois
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As Illinois legislators prepare to debate a new, practical plan for legalizing the medical use of marijuana ( the Legislature actually passed a medical marijuana bill in 1971 but that flawed measure was never put into practice ), they should consider a new study, published in the journal Neurology last month.

That Feb. 13 study, conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams of the University of California at San Francisco, found smoked marijuana to be safe and effective at treating peripheral neuropathy, which causes great suffering among HIV/AIDS patients. This type of pain, caused by damage to the nerves, can make patients feel like their feet and hands are on fire, or being stabbed with a knife. Similar pain occurs in a number of other illnesses, including multiple sclerosis and diabetes, and responds poorly to conventional pain medications -- even addictive, dangerous narcotics.

Abrams' study matches my own experience in studying the natural history of AIDS. This experience has led me to focus on complementary medications for treatment of peripheral neuropathy, taking leads from my own patients who have used marijuana for pain relief even though this exposed them to possible arrest and imprisonment.

The federal government has long claimed that -- as a 2003 White House press release put it -- "research has not demonstrated that smoked marijuana is safe and effective medicine." The study from Abrams and colleagues demolishes that claim and underlines the urgent need for federal and state governments to change their policies.

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial ( the design that's considered the "gold standard" of medical research ), a majority of patients had a greater than 30 percent reduction in pain after smoking marijuana. For many, that level of relief means having a significantly improved quality of life, and for some it actually permits return to careers cut short by HIV infection.

This is only the latest in a growing accumulation of research showing that medical marijuana can provide real -- sometimes even lifesaving - -- benefits. In a study published last year of patients being treated for the hepatitis C virus, those using marijuana to curb the nausea and other noxious side effects of anti-hepatitis drugs were significantly more likely to complete their treatment. As a result, the marijuana-using patients were three times more likely to clear the deadly hepatitis C virus from their bodies -- in plain English, to be cured -- than those not using marijuana.

While we don't yet have a way of ridding the body of HIV, there is strong evidence that continuing on treatment without interruption increases one's chances of keeping the virus under control. That translates directly to increased survival. And again, there is published evidence that use of medical marijuana to relieve nausea and other treatment side effects can help HIV/AIDS patients stick to their regimens.

Does all this sound too good to be true? That might be because our government spends many billions of dollars in its "War on Drugs" to make us believe that marijuana is an addictive and dangerous drug and actively spreads disinformation about its medical usefulness.

Clearly, the White House and its drug czar, John Walters, should abandon their rigid, unscientific rejection of medical marijuana and start reshaping federal policy to match medical reality. And if they won't act, Congress should. There are a number of actions Congress can take to put federal medical marijuana policy on a path toward sanity.

The first, and simplest, is to prohibit the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending money to raid and arrest medical marijuana patients and caregivers in the 11 states where the medical use of marijuana is legal under state law. This would remove the cloud of fear that now hangs over hundreds of thousands of desperately ill Americans and those who care for them.

But that should be just the beginning. Everything about federal medical marijuana policy should be reconsidered, based on science, common sense, and simple human decency.

There is no longer any doubt that marijuana can be a useful medicine for some very ill patients, a medicine that can literally help people stay alive. So even as we await federal action, Illinois -- where the Senate Public Health Committee will hold a hearing on the medical marijuana bill Tuesday -- should create a workable medical marijuana program, like those now in place in 11 states.

It is time to end our government's war on the sick and dying.


Myth1184, too bad you're as ignorant as the government. Could you please give me a link to scientific evidence that disproves marijuana's efficacy as medicine?

As a person who has diabetes and arthritis for which I am prescribed pain killers, an article in the Boston Globe this week peaked my interest. Written by Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard Medical School, it's titled "Marijuana As Wonder Drug."

The article focused on a new study in the Journal of Neurology being hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine saying, "It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine--and US drug policy--that we still need 'proof' of something that medicine has known for 5,000 years."

The recorded use of this medicine goes back to ancient times and became a well established Western medicine whose versatility and safety were unquestioned--safer than most medicines prescribed every day. If marijuana were a new discovery rather than carrying so much cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug. *

In the study, marijuana was found to be effective at relieving extreme pain. Neuropathic pain is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs. Even powerful and addictive narcotics like morphine often provide little relief. This study leaves no doubt that marijuana can safely ease the pain of millions of Americans suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and arthritis. It is also very effective at relieving nausea and vomiting, as well as other debilitating illnesses.

Because all marijuana research in the US must be done using government-supplied marijuana of very poor quality, the potential benefits are probably underestimated.

This got me to thinking--What's behind the U.S. drug policy anyway? So I decided to do a little research on the history of this "wonder plant" and wouldn't you know...like most everything else today, all you have to do is "Follow the Money."

But before I delve into the history of marijuana saga, I have to mention a tragedy that occurred last week. A very sad commentary on the state of healthcare in this country, or the lack thereof. If this is not the best argument in favor of universal healthcare, I don't know what is.

Last week a 12-year-old boy in Maryland died of a toothache. A routine, $80 tooth extraction would have saved him. That is if his family could have afforded it, or if his family had been insured, or if his family had not lost Medicaid coverage due to budget cuts.

By the time he got any attention, in the emergency room, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain. After two operations and six weeks in the hospital the boy died. The cost of his care exceeds $250,000.

Unfortunately, those without any insurance coverage are forced to use the emergency room as their primary source of medical care. If society is going to end up paying the tab anyway, what makes more sense, preventive care, or crisis care? You do the math.

Now back to the wonder drug known worldwide as "cannabis or hemp," until the 1930s when it became known as marijuana.

Between 1850 and 1937, cannabis ( marijuana ) was widely used throughout United States as a medicinal drug and could easily be purchased in pharmacies and general stores.

Powerful Cannabis Extractum ( hash oil ) was widely known as a non-toxic, non-addicting medicine. It had been the second most commonly prescribed medication between the 1820s and the 1890s for everything from baby's teething pains to Gramma's hot flashes without a single documented case of addiction or fatal overdose.

The American Medical Association opposed the prohibition of cannabis as a medicine, but in 1936, just before they enacted marijuana prohibition, the US Congress was lied to and was told that the AMA backed the prohibition. Most Americans had no idea that marijuana and cannabis were the same drug. Through its association with minorities in the newspapers, cannabis, a perfectly acceptable drug, was renamed "marijuana," taken from the Mexican-Spanish word "marihuana." A previously unheard of drug being used by evil, violent non-whites to lure our women and children.

In opposition to the "Marijuana Tax Act of 1937," the American Medical Association wrote, "There is no evidence that the medicinal use of cannabis and its derivatives has caused or is causing cannabis addiction. The prevention of the use for medicinal purposes can accomplish no good end whatsoever. The obvious purpose of this bill is to impose so many restrictions on their use as to prevent such use altogether."

The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to create a synthetic version that could be produced in pill or serum form. Any rational person would simply ask, "Why bother when it already exists in plant form? Of course the answer is...medical marijuana is a threat to pharmaceutical profiteering. Big Pharma pumps millions of dollars into campaign coffers to ensure marijuana remains illegal and demonized.

The USDA approved a new drug called "Tysabri" for the treatment of multiple sclerosis that affects 350,000 Americans. The cost of the drug is guesstimated to cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per year. Hmmm...300 million more reasons to keep medical marijuana illegal.

Many researchers agree that marijuana's illegal status has a direct connection to the "gateway theory." Not because of the drug itself, but because, in order to acquire it they are more likely to become acquainted with people who sell other, more dangerous drugs. Some contend that legalization would substantially reduce the use of more dangerous drugs by taking the distribution of marijuana out of the hands of criminals, and regulating it in a similar manner to alcohol or tobacco.

As Paul Harvey says, stay tuned next week for "the rest of the story."

Just some food for thought

MYTH1184, you're a coward. You constantly insist that medical marijuana is fake and these people just want to get high...but you have no PROOF. We have so much proof that it works, so many living souls that prove it works. You're just like the government agencies who claim the same thing. Soon. Very soon, federal policy will be changed and the government's stance on marijuana is going to have to shift.

I agree with you, But what are they gonna say to all the people in jail for Marijuana selling or sumthing?
"Ok umm.. we're sry, it's now legal, funny that! ey? Well, you can leave now, sry to keep you here these last few years. Dont be mad plz!"

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Originally Posted by Jaerl

I agree with you, But what are they gonna say to all the people in jail for Marijuana selling or sumthing?
"Ok umm.. we're sry, it's now legal, funny that! ey? Well, you can leave now, sry to keep you here these last few years. Dont be mad plz!"

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Umm I guess? That's the least of my concerns...I just want to legally be able to smoke marijuana to deal with pain...rather than worrying that my life can be destroyed at such a young age either by pain pills, or in this case by possible imprisonment because my states laws say marijuana can't help me. Maybe I should move next door to Colorado...there the laws say medical marijuana is legal...so technically it works there, but won't work in my state. The laws aren't correct, and should be changed. That's my point.

Holy shit I just noticed you quoted me in your sig... haha that's awesome, dude. :smokin: I was high when I wrote that it's actually Black Friday lol, but I guess it sorta works since I was thinkin it was Thursday night that we went, but it was technically Friday since passing midnight.

I live in Illinois, and I hope we can make some headway in this department. Ugh, I just got done watching George Carlin tear the government a new asshole, but it did remind me of all the reasons to hate the government, including this war on drugs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by A Scanner Darkly

Holy shit I just noticed you quoted me in your sig... haha that's awesome, dude. :smokin: I was high when I wrote that it's actually Black Friday lol, but I guess it sorta works since I was thinkin it was Thursday night that we went, but it was technically Friday since passing midnight.

I live in Illinois, and I hope we can make some headway in this department. Ugh, I just got done watching George Carlin tear the government a new asshole, but it did remind me of all the reasons to hate the government, including this war on drugs.

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lol, yeah that was a great stoner post..I hope all states will get around to changing their laws about medical marijuana...

Yeah eh .. I heard it cures balding too.