cannabisnews.com: Research Begins on Marijuana Patch 





Research Begins on Marijuana Patch 
Posted by FoM on January 25, 2000 at 08:05:47 PT
By Michael Gormley   
Source: Fox News
 Scientists are planning research on whether a "marijuana patch" similar to the patches that help smokers kick the habit could help ease the suffering of cancer patients. The American Cancer Society is funding a three-year, $361,000 grant for research at the Albany College of Pharmacy. A formal announcement was planned for today. 
The marijuana patch could ease the pain, nausea and vomiting that chemotherapy patients can suffer, said Gail Tyner-Taylor of the American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey. No such patch exists now, but Dr. Audra Stinchcomb, an assistant professor who researches medications transmitted through the skin, will explore whether it is feasible. The concept is similar to nicotine patches used as a way to deliver controlled doses of nicotine to help people quit smoking tobacco. The patch could provide an alternative to smoking marijuana for medical purposes, which has been approved in some states but remains a controversial issue nationwide. Advocates for the use of medical marijuana, however, criticized the patch concept as another in a long line of less-effective alternatives to smoking the drug. "The American Cancer Society has always been on record against people smoking tobacco and marijuana," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C. "This is a way to assuage opponents." Previous research included pills, suppositories, eye and ear drops and even talk of creating a marijuana vapor, St. Pierre said. Smoking, however, is a faster way to get the drug into the system, an important factor in controlling nausea. The National Institutes of Health and an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences have concluded that the active ingredients in marijuana can ease the pain, nausea and vomiting of cancer and AIDS. A half-dozen states have offered ballot measures to legalize marijuana as medication, but the drug is banned by federal law and doctors hesitate to prescribe it, even in states that legalized its medical use. The Justice Department is challenging voter-approved laws in Alaska, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington. Maine voters approved a medical marijuana law last year and the law went into effect last month. ALBANY, N.Y. Published: January 25, 2000 © Associated Press. © Reuters Ltd. © News Digital Media 2000. Related Articles & Web Sites:The IOM Reporthttp://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/American Cancer Societyhttp://www.cancer.org/Pueblo Resident Does Marijuana Patch Research - 1/24/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4456.shtmlMarijuana Patch Research For Cancer Patients - 1/19/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4385.shtml Researchers Test Marijuana Patch - 1/20/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4395.shtml 
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