cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Use Urged for AIDS, Cancer! 





Marijuana Use Urged for AIDS, Cancer! 
Posted by FoM on March 18, 1999 at 06:02:31 PT

WASHINGTON Entering the fractious debate over medical marijuana, the nation's Institute of Medicine recommended Wednesday that marijuana cigarettes be made available for short periods to help cancer and AIDS patients who can find no other relief for their severe pain and nausea.
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services almost immediately responded by saying they would not dispense marijuana to individual patients until more clinical research showed it was safe.Still, the report was seen as a victory by many who advocate the use of marijuana as medicine. The response from drug-fighting groups was subdued.An explosion of recent scientific work, as well as patient anecdotes, shows that compounds in marijuana have potential to ease some of medicine's most intractable problems, the Institute of Medicine report said.But its authors warned that smoking marijuana carries its own health hazards -- including lung damage and low-birth-weight babies -- and should be used only as a last resort after standard therapies have failed. Addiction was seen as a relatively minor problem likely to affect only a few users.To avoid the smoke, they called for new delivery systems, such as inhalers, and for the development of pharmaceutical drugs made from or modeled after the active ingredients in marijuana, chemicals known as cannabinoids."Marijuana's future as a medicine does not involve smoking," said Dr. Stanley Watson, a neuroscientist and substance abuse expert from the University of Michigan who co-authored the report. "It involves exploiting the potential in cannabinoids."The endorsement pleased groups that have been working to make marijuana available to patients. Many were expecting a blander call for further research. "It's a discreet, but clear call to make marijuana available," said Ethan A. Nadelman, who directs the Lindesmith Center, a New York-based drug policy think tank.Other advocates, including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Harvard Medical School professor Lester Grinspoon, were more critical, calling the report "tepid" and "political." They said it ignored the fact that many patients have successfully used marijuana as medicine for years with few harmful effects.Battles over medical marijuana have raged across the nation since 1996, when California passed a ballot initiative that removed any state penalties from people who used marijuana for medicinal purposes. Since then, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington state have passed laws permitting the use of medical marijuana.Many mainstream medical organizations, and the relatively conservative New England Journal of Medicine, have endorsed the use of medical marijuana.But in the fall, Congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the medical use of marijuana and because federal law still outlaws marijuana use, many physicians are reluctant to prescribe it, even in states that have passed initiatives."There are so many strictures on doctors, so much uncertainty on the part of licensing boards . . . that nothing's happened," said Dr. John A. Benson Jr., a former dean of the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine and the report's other co-author.Only eight patients in the United States have federal government permission to smoke marijuana for their conditions. They receive government-grown cigarettes under a "compassionate use" program no longer in existence. Wednesday, Dr. Randy Wykoff, associate commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said individual patients were not likely to receive marijuana until it is proven "safe and effective."Marijuana advocates predicted change is more likely to come with state-by-state ballot initiatives.The federal government's most visible opponent of medical marijuana has been White House drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey. In campaigning against state marijuana initiatives, he said there was no proof marijuana had medical benefits, that marijuana was a gateway drug that led to abuse of drugs such as heroin, and that allowing marijuana to be used as medicine would increase illicit recreational marijuana use.McCaffrey, who heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commissioned the institute's $900,000 report in response to calls that federal drug policy on medical marijuana be changed.The study disarms some of McCaffrey's arguments. Its authors found no evidence that marijuana use caused people to progress to harder drugs or that medical use brought increases in recreational use.In a statement, McCaffrey said he would study the report's conclusions. He emphasized that there is some evidence that marijuana is addictive and can lead to further drug use. He left it to the nation's health agencies to judge whether more patients should be provided with marijuana cigarettes.Other anti-drug groups seemed to signal a softening in their strong public stance against medical marijuana. "We support all the recommendations," said Steve Dnistrian, an executive vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the non-profit organization that creates anti-drug public service announcements. "Who are we to contradict what the doctors and scientists say?"The report concluded that marijuana compounds hold the most potential for easing pain and nausea caused by AIDS, chemotherapy, and nerve damage and would likely benefit only those who do not respond to standard drugs, which work in a majority of patients. It also said side effects such as euphoria can enhance patient well-being. The report found little proof that marijuana will help with migraine headaches, epilepsy, glaucoma, or Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.Research indicates that the active ingredients of marijuana can be helpful in treating a wide array of medical conditions. Here is a summary of findings from recent studies of the medical use of marijuana:Pain relief: Three studies on cancer pain have shown that THC, an active component of pot, is as effective as codeine in reducing pain. The studies also showed that THC curbed nausea and enhanced feelings of well-being. Marijuana compounds are most likely to help with problems of chronic pain caused by cancer, nerve damage, or AIDS. Studies on acute pain, surgical pain, and migraine headaches have been less conclusive.Nausea and vomiting in cancer patients: Marijuana components can reduce the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, but clinical trials show they are not as effective as newly introduced anti-nausea drugs. For patients who do not respond to standard therapy, marijuana may be a good alternative. Smoked marijuana is preferred by some patients because pills are difficult to keep down when nauseated and do not act as quickly.Wasting in AIDS patients: The standard treatment of appetite stimulants has not proven successful in patients who rapidly lose weight. Marijuana is a promising treatment for wasting because it helps control nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety. For this reason, it may also prove useful to counter malnutrition in terminal cancer patients. Marijuana, or THC, is not recommended to treat anorexia nervosa because it could affect underlying psychiatric disorders such as depression, which may contribute to the disease.Multiple sclerosis and movement disorders: There is some evidence that marijuana compounds can reduce spasticity, but more proof is needed. THC might help patients with multiple sclerosis, who can suffer from intense and lengthy muscle spasms. There is little evidence to suggest marijuana can aid movement disorders such as Huntington's chorea or Parkinson's disease.Epilepsy: Despite anecdotal reports that marijuana controls epileptic seizures, there is little evidence to support this.Alzheimer's disease: One study showed THC improved appetite and reduced disturbed behavior in patients, suggesting more studies should be done.Glaucoma: THC reduces intraocular pressure, which increases risk of glaucoma and blindness, but the effect lasts only a few hours and requires high doses. Other treatments, including topical drugs and surgery, are more effective.http://www.bergen.com/news/pot18199903183.htmCopyright © 1999 Bergen Record Corp. 
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