cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Research Needed 





Medical Marijuana Research Needed 
Posted by CN Staff on August 29, 2002 at 09:51:16 PT
By Paula Simons,  Edmonton Journal 
Source: Edmonton Journal 
Marijuana is an extraordinary drug. It has the power to cloud people's minds, even if they never smoke it. How else to explain the surreal debate over the merits of turning a recreational drug, loved by many Canadians, into a medical miracle cure.That's not a suggestion that we ought to arrest people who use marijuana as a source of comfort and relief to cope with severe illness or crippling pain. Ottawa's policy of granting people medical exemptions to use marijuana without criminal recrimination displays common sense and human decency.
If marijuana gives people in medical distress some relief, even if that's psychosomatic, it would be cruel to deprive or punish them.But it's a big jump from condoning marijuana use in certain desperate cases to promoting pot as a 21st-century cure-all.Health Minister Anne McLellan has come under fire recently for suggesting more testing to be done on medical marijuana before the government supplies it, and doctors are allowed to prescribe it. And she's perfectly right.Marijuana is not bubble gum. It's a complex plant, whose chemical properties have not been thoroughly, scientifically studied. That's the fault of past governments, which criminalized and demonized cannabis, instead of encouraging a full study of its fascinating range of possible therapeutic properties.Even so, it would be irresponsible and downright dangerous to give marijuana a government stamp of approval as a medical treatment before we conduct the study.We would never license a pharmaceutical without clinical trials, without testing for side-effects and drug interactions. And if we're going to market marijuana as a medical treatment, we must hold it to the same standard as any other pharmaceutical.Marijuana advocates make enthusiastic claims for the curative or palliative powers of their drug.Cannabis is held up as a treatment for everything from glaucoma to multiple sclerosis, cancer, Crohn's disease, arthritis, anorexia and AIDS.Maybe it is.But patients who suffer from such diseases, and other conditions for which marijuana is mentioned as a therapy, have the right to know, definitively, whether cannabis is safe, effective and reliable as a therapy.And they should get their medicine, not in a doobie or a brownie, but in a form which guarantees a measured, consistent dose.Take the case of a patient with severe epilepsy. There are plenty of anecdotal accounts, and even a few scientific studies, which suggest smoking pot can help to control or minimize epileptic seizures.But most people with epilepsy already take drugs to control their seizures, powerful drugs like Dilantin or Tegretol and Lamictal, all of which affect brain function.Without controlled studies of how the active ingredients in cannabis interact with standard epilepsy medication, how can doctors recommend that patients use marijuana, without knowing exactly what they're prescribing and what side-effects might result? How do physicians determine an effective, consistent dose?Some pro-pot zealots seem offended at the idea of subjecting their beloved weed to rigourous testing.But for people who are desperately sick, marijuana isn't a recreational drug. And it's hard to shake the feeling that some people are using the medical marijuana issue to do an end-run around the criminal law.Decriminalization of pot possession isn't necessarily bad public policy. But it has little to do with helping people who are desperately sick to get access to safe, reliable medication.Making marijuana possession more-or-less legal won't help the patient who isn't looking for a high, but for a legitimate and proven therapy.McLellan should stick to her guns. If cannabis is a wonder drug, it will prove itself in the lab. Meanwhile, the government should let those who choose to use raw, untested cannabis as a medical treatment to do so in peace.But let's not allow the decriminalization debate to sidetrack critical medical research.If we want to understand marijuana's therapeutic uses, we need to study it honestly, without romanticizing it, demonizing it, or politicizing it. Only then can patients really benefit.Note: Cannabis should not be legalized as a medicine without rigorous clinical trials.Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)Author: Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal Published: Thursday, August 29, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Edmonton JournalContact: letters thejournal.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/Related Articles:Feds Will Supply Medicinal Pot: McLellan http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13895.shtmlHealth Minister is On a Bad Triphttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13882.shtmlSmoke Out the Politicians http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13880.shtmlHow To Stall On Medicinal Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13823.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on August 29, 2002 at 14:16:51 PT:
The real issue here, Doc, is: Is Canada sovereign?
Or is she the 51st State? And will we have to sew a maple leaf in the center of the blue field on our flag?Face it, friends; the Canadian version of the American AMA is powerful, but not that powerful. They are not behind this, the Canuck government is. Just exactly who pulled the whistle and rang the bell is unknown, but from unverified reports, the cops involved were actually shamefacedly embarassed at this, claiming that this came from 'higher up' the food chain. How high up? M. Chretien's personal executive shijthuis? Or do we have to look, as I keep saying, for a DEA slime trail leading under Mr. Chretien's office door...and a pool of it still on the PM of Canada's chair? Who's giving the orders in Ottawa? Chretien? Or Bush? Seeing as the Justice Minister has been oddly quiet concerning the illegal sting operations in Canada perpetrated by the DEA and exposed for what they are - a violation of Canadian national sovereignty - I find this line of questioning anything but superfluous or trivial.Friends, what has been happening recently bears all the marks of intense pressure upon the Canadian government by the US Feds to 'hold the line' against further 'liberalization' of cannabis laws there. Why else would Canadian police enter a Compassionate Center full of the sick and the dying with guns drawn...like their DEA counterparts like to do, here? What kind of violent mayhem did they expect? To be bashed on the beans with canes, feet crushed by walkers and knees smashed by rampaging paraplegics in wheelchairs? Did they expect to be pelted with concrete-filled bongs lobbed with deadly accuracy? When many of these poor wretches barely have enough strength to effin' breathe? Must be some reeeeeeeeal dangerous people up there in TO, uh-huh. I'll bet those cops wish they have never put on a badge, now. But the damage has been done...and a corner of the curtain lifted. Because, as much as I instinctively distrust cops, I know a few OPP and TO officers, and they are not bad sorts. They probably feel lowre tahn whale manure now...and are mad as Hell they've been used this way.But I repeat: who gave the order? That, I contend, is the real issue, here...
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Comment #4 posted by WolfgangWylde on August 29, 2002 at 12:49:44 PT
The Ontario Court of Appeals...
...is the very real issues at this time. They gave the Gov't one year. The Gov't clearly has not followed their order. When will the Court act to reinstate their previous ruling strking down ALL cannabis laws in Ontario?
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Comment #3 posted by druid on August 29, 2002 at 10:58:14 PT:
The real issue here ....
Marijuana is not bubble gum. It's a complex plant, whose chemical properties have not been thoroughly, scientifically studied. That's the fault of past governments, which criminalized and demonized cannabis, instead of encouraging a full study of its fascinating range of possible therapeutic properties.It should read "past and current governments, ..."
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on August 29, 2002 at 10:52:47 PT
No kidding
This guy is a total prohibitionist, just trying to co-opt some of our rhetoric for credibility. Natural cannabis is NOT a pharmaceutical, it's a herb that grows up out of the ground.  Herbal medicine does NOT come in a standardized dose, self-titration is required. This guys is imposed HIS concept of medicine on me.As far as the safety of cannabis, there is far MORE data on long-term use than on ANY new Big Pharm offering. There are studies of people that smoked huge amounts every day for 25 years, without 1 single instance of liver damage. Compare that to most Big Pharm drugs that have maybe 2-3 years of clinical trials. What this guy advocates is the medical policy of a totalitarian society - where the ruling corporate/government dictates how much sick people suffer. Once again, cannabis policy serves as a window on modern society. Someone slowly dying of cancer needs Big Government "exemption" to grow 2 plants in their back yard. Oh, thank you master for not sending the thugs after me! It's horrifying.
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 29, 2002 at 10:16:52 PT:
When Is It Enough?
Everyone here knows that I am an active proponent of clinical cannabis research and testing. I would be doing it right now, if I were permitted to do so. However, when is it enough? I would like to show this author the 60 books and 1500 articles I have read on cannabis, and inquire whether that is sufficient to have a good idea of its safety and efficacy?In a way, none of this matters. The Canadian courts have ruled that pro or con, known or unknown, some 850 Canadians have exemptions and a right to access to clinical cannabis. The government has not met its responsibility. What is the real issue here?
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