cannabisnews.com: Conflict Over Marijuana Use Rages on in California





Conflict Over Marijuana Use Rages on in California
Posted by FoM on January 27, 2000 at 06:56:06 PT
By Francesca Cimino, Daily Trojan
Source: U-WIRE
Ganja, reefer, hashish, weed, pot. With dozens of aliases and a Tom Petty song written about it, marijuana has been on - and in - the minds of millions of people for more than 4,000 years, but this widely used illicit drug is taking center stage once again as the dispute about its medicinal use rages on. San Francisco's city supervisor approved a preliminary special ordinance Monday allowing medical marijuana users to obtain a special card that would allow them to obtain the drug at various dispensaries throughout the city, according to the Associated Press. 
The ordinance, slated for final approval Jan. 31, is yet another twist on the highly controversial Proposition 215, a California and Arizona statute passed in 1996 allowing the restricted use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Marijuana has been used medicinally since as early as 3000 B.C. in China and India to treat everything from the pain of childbirth to asthma, epilepsy and mood disorders. The more recent debate behind its use revolves around its reported ability to relieve the symptoms of treatments for diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Some studies have shown that marijuana is effective in relieving eye pressure related to glaucoma. Anecdotal evidence also indicates that it might help to control muscle spasms, muscle pain and seizures. However, better-known effects include appetite stimulation, which has been used to treat AIDS patients suffering from wasting syndrome, a disease that makes them lose their desire to eat and causes potentially fatal weight loss. Marijuana has also been widely used to counteract the unpleasant effects of anticancer treatments. Studies funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in six states, which are in some cases more than two decades old, showed that inhaling marijuana relieved more than 70 percent of nausea and vomiting symptoms associated with anticancer treatments such as chemotherapy. Marijuana consists of more than 420 different components, 61 of which are cannabinoids, which are only found in marijuana plants. The main psychoactive ingredient in the drug is cannabinoids, which are only found in marijuana plants. The main psychoactive ingredient in the drug is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. A synthetic version of THC was medically approved for use by the FDA in 1985 in a drug called dronabinol, more commonly known as Marinol. Marinol has been used successfully to treat nausea and appetite loss. However, strong anecdotal evidence, as well as some clinical trials currently under way, suggest that inhalation is more effective and the pills are too severe. "The most effective way of getting the drug into the system is through inhalation," said Jennifer Attanasio, a health educator at the Student Health Center. THC is so complex that the body has to take many steps to break them down. The products of the breakdown, called metabolites, cause a variety of changes in the body. Physically, marijuana causes a rapid heart beat and can stimulate appetite. It is 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic than cigarettes and therefore can cause lung damage. Psychologically, the effects are not as well documented. THC is known to have several receptors in the brain, especially in areas that control mood, energy, attentiveness and memory. Marijuana causes problems with short-term memory, concentrating and coordination. One of the most well-known effects of marijuana is the feeling of euphoria it generates. Part of the reason it might work is that it has psychotropic effects, making the pain less bothersome and shifting one's attention elsewhere, said law professor Michael Shapiro. The glitch in California's legalization of medicinal marijuana use is that, while doctors who prescribe marijuana and patients who consume it for medical purposes are protected under state law, they are not protected under federal law. "The federal justice department has not backed off from California legislature," Shapiro said. "So to use marijuana (medicinally) violates federal law." Marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug - that is, it's an illicit substance. In response to the passage of Proposition 215, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said that doctors who act under the California statute would be the new targets of drug enforcement officials. "Every time a doctor prescribes (marijuana) for a person who wants it for medicinal use is automatically liable for prosecution," Shapiro said. However, this has not stopped care providers from recommending its use. A 1991 survey of the American Society of Clinical Oncology of more than a thousand cancer specialists found that 44 percent had recommended marijuana to at least one patient and that 48 percent would prescribe it if legalized. Under Proposition 215, doctors can make recommendations for marijuana use verbally or in writing. However, caregivers have no way of providing the substance, so patients are either forced to grow their own hemp or buy it on the black market. Definitions about how much a person can grow for "personal consumption" are unclear as well. Marijuana use, whether medicinal or not, is high. A 1996 national survey found that more than 71 million Americans have inhaled "laughing grass," and about 10 million smoke it at least once a month. The controversy about pot's medical use will rage on until the state and federal governments lie in agreement. As long as people worry about the implications of legalizing a drug, even with restrictions, the battle will continue. "My personal opinion is that a drug is a drug," Attanasio said. "But if a doctor finds that this is an appropriate method (for stimulating appetite or treating nausea) I think that doctor should be able to prescribe it." (U-WIRE) LOS ANGELESPublished: January 26, 2000(C) 2000 Daily Trojan via U-WIRE  Copyright © 1995-2000 Excite Inc.Related Articles:It's About Time The State Clarifies Med. Pot Rules-1/26/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4492.shtmlCannabis News Medical Marijuana Archives:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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