cannabisnews.com: Lone Patient Quits Marijuana Study





Lone Patient Quits Marijuana Study
Posted by FoM on October 15, 2001 at 17:18:18 PT
By Nicole Achs Freeling
Source: Half Moon Bay Review 
One evening last week, AIDS activist Phillip Alden unpacked some groceries in the kitchen of his stylishly appointed Redwood Shores condominium and prepared for his daily pre-dinner ritual.Alden, a long-time AIDS survivor, pulled a tightly rolled joint of marijuana from a plastic medicine jar, noted it on an index card, and then settled back into his recliner and took a long drag.
Seeds in the cigarette sparked and popped."I know after I take a few hits that within 10 minutes I'm going to be hungry and my nausea is going to go away," said Alden, who suffers from chronic persistent wasting syndrome, a condition that inhibits the body's ability to absorb nutrients.He says the drug gives him the appetite to keep the pounds on.Last Thursday, however, in a development that could be a serious setback to San Mateo County's groundbreaking study on the medicinal use of pot, Alden's participation came to an abrupt end.A sudden throat inflammation, which he blamed on the poor quality of the pot, left Alden unable to eat and gulping for air.Alden said the marijuana was not as good as the pot he was used to getting from Bay Area cannabis clubs."The pot was stale and it was full of seeds. When marijuana seeds burn, they smell and taste really bad."Apparently, the two joints a day that he was required to smoke through the study had aggravated a throat condition. The doctor issued an edict - no more smoking."I feel really bad about the whole thing," Alden added. "I'm a big proponent of medical marijuana and I'm very much in support of the study."For the last several months he has been the sole patient in the novel clinical trial in the use of medical marijuana to treat AIDS-related symptoms.The study, being conducted by San Mateo County Health Center, is the first to be done with the aid and support of the federal government.The study, which has involved cautious cooperation among county government officials, health care professionals and federal policy makers, has been off to a slow start.It was launched to great media fanfare in April, but so far the only confirmed participants are Alden, who has been in the study since early July, and another patient who joined in the past two weeks.The trials have stringent participation requirements that bar many potential participants. Subjects must have used marijuana before, but cannot be active recreational drug users."It is a long, tedious process," said Jonathan Messinger, an assistant to program director Dr. Dennis Israelski. "We just have to let the research run its course."The marijuana is grown in a federal government laboratory at the University of Mississippi, and then shipped to the San Mateo County Hospital, where it is kept under lock and key. It arrives dried and frozen and is rehydrated the night before it is dispensed to patients."In terms of the quality of the marijuana, we have to go by what the patients say since we're not trying it ourselves," Messinger said. "We know the level of THC is lower in this federal-provided marijuana, but unfortunately we don't have nay control over that. We have to use whatever we're given by the federal government for this study."The joints are rolled in tobacco-company cigarette paper, rather than traditional rolling papers. Alden said that besides the poor quality of the pot he believed the cigarette paper was harsher on his throat.Messinger said he was hopeful other subjects would fare better with the treatment."It's built into any study that you'll have people that don't complete the study," he said"We're optimistic that most people who enter will be able to complete it. We realize that isn't going to be the case with everyone, however."Doctors have said that they hope to recruit 60 participants over the next two years and to have some results of their research next fall.Messinger said he believed the study was still on track to meet those estimates. "We've been fine-tuning our recruiting process," he said.A clean-cut man who opposes recreational drug use and rarely finishes a glass of wine, Alden is an unusual spokesman for medical marijuana. But he credits the drug with enabling him to live with his disease."I think a lot of people, even those who support medical marijuana, think it's a party scene."In the (pot) clubs, what I see are very sick people. These are people with canes and with limps. They have multiple sclerosis or cancer or advanced AIDS. It's not a bunch of hippies trying to get stoned."For him, marijuana has been particularly effective in alleviating peripheral neuropathy, a condition that causes stabbing pains in the hands and feet."All of a sudden, it'll feel like someone stuck a knife through my foot," he said.That pain was severe during the control arm of the study, when Alden was prohibited from smoking."When I left the control arm of the study and started smoking again, I had no neuropathy pain at all. It worked really, really well."Alden also says marijuana controls the anxiety attacks he has suffered from for years and the nausea and stomach pains that are chronic side effects of AIDS medication.When he started taking one particular protease inhibitor, "I couldn't work for a month. I literally did not leave the house," he said."Medical marijuana was a godsend for me."Such results motivated Alden to take part in the study, which requires a demanding schedule from its participants.Subjects fill out daily logs, go for weekly blood tests and check-ups and follow strict protocols for consuming the joints.They are given three containers: one for new joints, one for those in progress and a third for the butts, or "roaches," which must be logged in at the pharmacy when they receive a new supply.Patients get less than a week's supply at a time and must log all their consumption.During the study, Alden would smoke a marijuana cigarette in the evening before dinner to stimulate his appetite and another before bed to calm his stomach.Once his throat condition clears, Alden says he will go back to treating himself at the cannabis clubs."It works. I have no doubt about that," he said.Newshawk: Ethan Russo M.D.Source: Half Moon Bay Review (CA)Author: Nicole Achs FreelingPublished: October 13, 2001Copyright: 2001, Wick Communications, Inc.Website: http://www.hmbreview.com/Contact: hmbreview hmbreview.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm Medicinal Pot Study Under Way http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10537.shtmlMarijuana Study Finds 1 Patient Joint-Worthy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10406.shtmlSan Mateo County's Clinical Trial is a First in UShttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10405.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by idbsne1 on October 16, 2001 at 10:23:23 PT
Vaporizer rocks!!
Just got my Vriptech bowl attachment and heat gun (ceramic core) from the OCBC. This vaporizer technique is badass!!! I use so little cannabis! The delivery is fine, maybe a slight delay from smoking from a pipe. There is hardly any smoke, the taste is sweet and light, and if you make sure to put ice in an ice catch, your throat will be fine. No heavy feeling in the lungs... it's beautiful. You just feel medicated, not like you're going to hack up your lungs. You also take HUGE rips, so the delay just may be your body realizing how much thc it's receiving...lol. They need to do this study with vaporizers... it figures. I was getting excited with all the States passing medical MJ laws and Congress taking a look at HR 1344, but there is still big time bullshit going on here in Cali... the DEA... the San Bernadino narcotics division...God, when are they going to figure out that all this nonsense is in vain!!! Eventually cannabis will be free... and this prohibition shit, in the meantime, just causes pain and suffering. Think about all the people that were arrested and killed during prohibition of alcohol...all their lives wasted for nothing....just because of the so-called Righteous."Those who know what's best for us....must rise and save us from OURSELVES?"....Witch Hunt, RUSHYeah... how stupid does THAT sound...idbsne1
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Comment #7 posted by Extreme on October 16, 2001 at 08:32:53 PT
Daboo?
"Seeds in the cigarette sparked and popped."
Am I strange, if these prerolled joints come with seeds, why doesn't this guy get a roller, some papers and reroll them. "I know after I take a few hits that within 10 minutes I'm going to be hungry and my nausea is going to go away,"---- I am this way as well and was wondering if anyone could tell me how long the vaporizor takes before these desired effects are felt? and does it take more? 
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Comment #6 posted by observer on October 16, 2001 at 08:30:35 PT
Another Rig
Alden said the marijuana was not as good as the pot he was used to getting from Bay Area cannabis clubs. "The pot was stale and it was full of seeds. When marijuana seeds burn, they smell and taste really bad."All stems and seeds, eh? Rig: "to manipulate or control usually by deceptive or dishonest means." Another rigged test, brought to you by the US Government.
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Comment #5 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 16, 2001 at 06:38:25 PT:
Garbage In, Garbage Out
NIDA is the National Institute on Drug Abuse, not the National Institute for Drug Abuse. That's their attitude: all cannabis use is abuse.The story here totally supports the findings of our research study on 4 of the surviving 7 patients who receive cannabis from NIDA in the Compassionate Use IND Program. It will be published in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics in January.The NIDA "material" (I hesiatate to even call it cannabis) is weak upon assay, is stored for 2 or more years, and is full of stems and seeds. We will publish pictures. Its smoke is stale, acrid, harsh and pervasive.To my knowledge, NIDA has never approved a clinical study of cannabis in which alternative delivery methods are employed (eating, tincture, vaporizer). NIDA attempts to stack the deck in a way that poor results are ensured. Every once in a while, positive results sneak through, such as Donald Abrams study of cannabis in AIDS Wasting. Why haven't you seen the results in a major journal yet? The New England Journal of Medicine rejected it as "biased." Censorship reigns supreme.Science demands real world conditions. If the state of the art in cannabis therapeutics is smoked sinsemilla, vaporized cannabis, or standardized extracts, then those should be what is studied. All the federal roadblocks remain in place, and will continue to do so, unless the public demands changes through the political process. Get your word processors humming, my friends.
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Comment #4 posted by lookinside on October 16, 2001 at 04:33:06 PT:
the guvmint..
doesn't want positive results...they want failure...i'm surprised they aren't(or are they?) lacing these j's with nicotine...most of pot's potency is genetically based....who would want to plant ditch weed?
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Comment #3 posted by Lehder on October 15, 2001 at 19:11:59 PT
10-1
Right-on, mayan. How dumb can they get, smoking seed? 10-1 they're infertile.
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Comment #2 posted by lag on October 15, 2001 at 19:01:33 PT
maybe I should go back and read about the study
Does the trial even involve comestibley prepared cannabis?I've never ingested cannabis, but I understand that it takes longer for it to have its effect than smoking. But, isn't there any sort of middle ground that could be arrived at? Or does his condition not allow for eating cannabis? Are there any other alternatives, ways to get it into the system if ones stomach is not equipped to easily injest it?Also, what medicinal capabilities does most of the cold 'medicines' have? I mean all cold 'medicines' do is pretty much hide symptoms. And yet that's all good. I tried benedryl once, and mind you this was the first time I had taken any sort of over the counter drug being raised a Christian Scientist. It dried out my runny nose just fine. But it made me freaking high at work in the middle of the day. I couldn't stop giggling. They call that medicine? Medication is allowed to cause indigestion, hair loss, death to unborn babies, whatever else that is harmful to the body, but if it gets you high it's no longer medication. Hmm...how did the makers of benedryl get away with it?Needless to say, if it takes away symptoms of a problem then it should be good enough to call it medication based on prior 'legitimate' examples.
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on October 15, 2001 at 18:08:43 PT
Twigs & Beans
Why are they giving these people doobies with all them twigs & beans? Is this study designed to cast a negative light on the healing herb? You would think they would remove the seeds so the patients can't grow their own.
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