Clinical trials show medical benefits of pot

San Francisco Chronicle:

Clinical trials show medical benefits of pot

February 18, 2010

The first U.S. clinical trials in more than 20 years on the medical efficacy of marijuana found that pot helps relieve pain and muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and certain neurological conditions, according to a report released Wednesday by a UC research center.

The results of five state-funded scientific clinical trials came 14 years after California voters passed a law approving marijuana for medical use and more than 10 years after the state Legislature passed a law that created the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC San Diego, which conducted the studies.

Dr. Igor Grant, a UC San Diego psychiatrist who directs the center, called the report "good evidence" that marijuana would be an effective front-line treatment for neuropathy, a condition that can cause tingling, numbness and pain.

"We focused on illnesses where current medical treatment does not provide adequate relief or coverage of symptoms," Grant said. "These findings provide a strong science-based context in which policymakers and the public can begin discussing the place of cannabis in medical care."

Despite California's passage in 1996 of Proposition 215, which allows patients with a valid doctor's recommendation to grow and possess marijuana for personal medical use, the federal government classifies marijuana as an illicit drug with no medical use and has closed pot clubs and prosecuted suppliers. Thirteen other states have passed similar measures legalizing medical marijuana.

Proponents of medical marijuana see Wednesday's news as the turning of the tide for what they hope would become federal acceptance of pot's therapeutic benefits.

A first step

"This is the first step in approaching the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), which has invested absolutely nothing in providing scientific data to resolve the debate," said state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who noted that marijuana showed benefits throughout the AIDS epidemic in helping people afflicted with neuropathy and other ailments.

Dale Gieringer, a Berkeley resident who is executive director of the California branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, agreed.

"This is finally the evidence that shows that the (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) stance that marijuana does not have medical use is just wrong," he said. "It's time for the Obama administration to act."

During the study, volunteers were randomly given marijuana or placebos.

The marijuana was obtained through the University of Mississippi, which has a contract with the federal government to provide the only pot that can be used for scientific research. Grant said the research required heavy federal oversight.

Long-term issues

He noted volunteers had the same amount of pain reduction with low doses of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, compared with high doses of THC. He also said evidence casts doubt on long-term negative impacts of marijuana use, while acknowledging there have not been formal studies on the question.

"There is not very strong evidence that marijuana, for example, produces emphysema or lung cancer or permanent brain damage," Grant said.

That doesn't mean marijuana is harmless, he said. "Anything you smoke in a combustible form has potential risks, but the safety profile seems to be better for it than some other drugs like tobacco," he said.

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research has approved 15 clinical studies, five of which were completed and reported Wednesday, and two are in progress. While researchers said more studies are needed, the future of the center is in doubt.

The center has spent all but $400,000 of the $8.9 million in research funding it started with in 1999. Leno said the state doesn't have the money to continue funding it.

"It may be close to the end of its life unless there's foundation money to continue the work," Leno said.

To read the report

The report by the University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research can be found at :weedpoke: CMCR» Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research.


© 2010 Hearst Communications Inc.

Prop 420 :rastasmoke:

thats cool dog

It just goes to prove that the country is run by liars and myth spreaders and ostriches (politicians who bury their heads in the sand). :D

Would that be a cigarette? Catnip? How do you pull that one off?

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Originally Posted by personified

Would that be a cigarette? Catnip? How do you pull that one off?

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:D hadn't thought about that. maybe it was some of that LegalBud stuff. :jointsmile:

j/k lb.com :)

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Originally Posted by gypski

It just goes to prove that the country is run by liars and myth spreaders and ostriches (politicians who bury their heads in the sand). :D

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lest we forget that the main reason is greed. all of these traitors have stock and vested interests in prisons, pharma, oil, you name it. everything mj stands to corrupt they will not cease in their endeavors. hopefully they all just get old and die off.:thumbsup:

Hey boaz, please go to my contact info and email or IM me. BTW Thanks for adding me to your friend list,

Sorry this is off the topic

^ thank you, McLuvin, sorry I don't have IM or MSN right now so I can't use the IM stuff on here but I'll try to contact you sometime. welcome aboard and glad to have you as a friend. :)

every scientific study done on Marijuana since 1936 has shown the MANY benefits. Every single one. And that includes pregnancy studies....sorry...its the truth wether you wanna hear it or not.

^ this is true, . . . and I love hearing it. :smokin: there just really is no rationalization for keeping it a schedule one. This is my litmus test for the Obama admin, if they don't reschedule then I have no use for them. :twocents:

I learned something interesting the other day that I did not know, even during alcholol prohibition they would still allow "medical use". There has always been a medical exception in the US to prohib laws. It is only recently that we have seen them fight a war against this right. I say it is our god given right to use it medically, and, it my humble opionion :jointsmile:, our constitutional right to use it as simply a persuit of happiness. :rastasmoke:

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Originally Posted by boaz

. . . This is my litmus test for the Obama admin, if they don't reschedule then I have no use for them. :twocents:
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you know in fairness, I don't really know how much control the President has over the FDA's scheduling procedures.

My question is what will happen in Nov if the voters in California pass The Tax and Regulate Cannabis Act of 2010?

I would hope that the President stay true to his word to honor the Constitution of United States and not try to "trump" the will of the states, as previous presidents have done.

I am hopeful :rastasmoke: that he will, irrespective of the scheduling status in Nov.

I just read the 23 page report by the American College of Physicians listed in the link above. Everyone should take time to read this report, and then send an email to your congressman referencing the report.

Check out this web site;)
United States Patent: 6630507

Thanks Boaz for posting this....the more we educate ourselves and learn about the MJ laws....the sooner we can change things! Keep fighting the good fight! Legalize it! :jointsmile:

^ Thank you, everyone for all the kind words and suggestions on this thread.

I agree, read the 23 page report they released that is linked above, :greenthumb: it is a summary of the recent findings and does look very interesting (I admit, I have only skimmed it so far).

MagicDragon, do you have a link to the Cliff Notes' version of that patent desciption, US patent # 6,630,507. :jointsmile: just kidding, that is interesting. I'm no neuro chemical patent attorney or anything but :D it does looks like a LOT of time and money has gone into trying to secure the patent to this worthless weed with "no medical use", hu?. :detective1:

i was told by an attorney that one of the biggest contributers against legalization or any type of rescheduling of cannabis is fought with millions upon millions of dollars by the prison furniture manufacturing industry....without plenty of cheap forced labor of people incarcirated for marijuana they would stand to lose a very large workforce! And we thought slavery was abolished! :wtf:

great thread Boaz! :thumbsup:

^ Thank you, Str8. :greenthumb:

I have actually purchased furniture for a business I worked at that was built with prison labor. I had to, VP orders. :wtf: I remember trying to rationalize it by thinking, well, if I were locked up I probably would want something to do all day, but yeah, I agree. It is modern slavery right here in the USA.

I had not even thought of them as being a big factor in the prohib mafia. Add them to this rapidly growing list, eh? :mad:

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Originally Posted by boaz

^ Thank you, Str8. :greenthumb:

I have actually purchased furniture for a business I worked at that was built with prison labor. I had to, VP orders. :wtf: I remember trying to rationalize it by thinking, well, if I were locked up I probably would want something to do all day, but yeah, I agree. It is modern slavery right here in the USA.

I had not even thought of them as being a big factor in the prohib mafia. Add them to this rapidly growing list, eh? :mad:

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shoooot, you should see my job. 350 a week on a good week no benefits of anykind. no sick pay, health, vacation and i have to work in total pain and misery so i can keep a house and feed three young children. im 43 and it just gets harder and all i ever hear is you should have stayed in school or get a job with benefits. ive owned businesses and rentals and it was all lost due to economies like this one. i was a straight A student and these idiots who have it so easy dont undersatand what the plight of the poor is. not to mention they just want us in prison. traitors! our general labor class is modern day slavery or less than. AMERICA'S NUMBER 1 RESOURCE...cue wwII music...renewable workforce. "we will pay you to have children if we need to, so that the work force continues, however that is it. unless you choose not to work then the others who choose to work will pay for all of your benefits, such as free housing, health, food, whatever else you may or may not need. although we are not sure why we are doing this other than the fact that its fun to see slaves work in misery for not enough to survive."
cue poltitical laughter:mad:

meded so you can mededicate to mededitate

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Originally Posted by MMLoco

thats cool dog

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:smokin: yeah, yeah it is.