cannabisnews.com: Researchers Aim To Develop Marijuana Without High Researchers Aim To Develop Marijuana Without High Posted by FoM on February 28, 2001 at 12:33:07 PT By Mark Robichaux, Wall Street Journal Source: Wall Street Journal After 10 years of searching, University of Mississippi Professor Mahmoud El Sohly thinks he has a new way to quiet opponents of marijuana as medicine: a pot suppository. Designed to ease post-chemotherapy nausea, among other conditions, its best feature may be what it doesn't do. "There is no high," says Dr. El Sohly. Whether the Food and Drug Administration ever will approve his drug, which he has tried out on animals and human subjects, is hard to predict, pending clinical trials sure to cost millions he doesn't yet have. He's trying to interest drug companies. For patients turning to marijuana for relief from a symptom such as nausea, the high may be an unwanted side effect. To the government, it's illegal substance abuse. So in labs around the world, researchers like Dr. El Sohly are attempting to create marijuana pills, aerosols, injections and sprays that don't create a buzz. Some are tweaking molecules, while others are in the greenhouse crossbreeding plants. One And The Same: What makes the task so tricky is that the same ingredient that appeals to pot smokers -- tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC -- is what holds promise as a medicine. Of the 400 or so chemicals found in the hemp plant, more than 60 are so-called cannabinoids, and none is more psychoactive than THC. Some challengers in the race are already claiming victory. A tiny New York City firm called Atlantic Technology Ventures Inc. is waiting to unveil a synthetic compound called CT-3 -- claimed to be THC without the high. Sumner Burstein, a professor at the University of Massachusetts department of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology, developed the drug as a pain-reliever and says it is nonpsychoactive: "I took one myself -- no mental aberrations." At least four years of testing await the drug, which the company hopes to market one day as a "super-Tylenol." Prof. Audra Stinchcomb of the Albany College of Pharmacy in New York is testing in the lab a patch designed to relieve the side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. Key to this effort's success is the rate of "transdermal" intake of the drug -- too little and patients feel no effect; too much and they get giggly. She attaches synthetic-THC patches to pieces of skin left over from plastic surgeries to evaluate absorption. Fifteen Tons: In southern England, three-year-old GW Pharmaceuticals is hybridizing cannabis plants to breed out psychoactive agents in some cases, to increase THC in others. The company, which has a unique license from the government of the United Kingdom, grows 50,000 plants, producing 15 tons of marijuana a year for medical research. "We have a perfect factory growing one cannabinoid or another," says founder and chairman Geoffrey Guy. While most other research involves extracting a single THC molecule from cannabis and modifying it, Dr. Guy hopes to use the pharmaceutical extracts of the entire plant. One way to reduce psychotropic effects, says Dr. Guy, would be to increase the content of other helpful cannabanoids besides THC, such as cannabidiol, or CBD, which seems to minimize the high. GW's first product, which could hit U.K. markets as a pain-reliever by 2003: a device the size of a mobile phone that allows a daily dose of a prescribed number of squirts under the tongue of cannabis extract, containing both CBD and THC. The dispenser won't allow extra squirts. "We have chaps [in tests] using heavy machinery ... some are teaching," says Dr. Guy. "They aren't sitting in a corner high as a kite." At London's Imperial College, researchers are testing a THC-based drug that circumvents the brain entirely -- delivered by a spinal injection. Though it is too early for human trials, researchers are hoping to find that THC derivatives are more effective than morphine for relieving pain from spinal-cord injuries. Individual scientists, academic labs and small drug firms are pushing the research hardest, largely because big drug companies have traditionally been leery of the cost and political problems associated with marketing marijuana as medicine. Also, because cannabis is a natural product in the public domain, it can't be patented. Today, the only prescription-based medical marijuana available in the U.S. is Marinol, a synthetic cousin of THC sold and marketed by Unimed Pharmaceuticals Inc. Though approved as a nausea drug in 1985, and as an appetite-stimulant for AIDS patients in 1992, it can induce a drug high. Sales today reach an estimated $20 million annually. Big companies are starting to get interested in the field. "We see them -- Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis -- all the time at the meetings of the society now," says Roger Pertwee, a professor at the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. and secretary of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, a group of medical and academic researchers. "They never came in the past." Spokesmen for all three companies said they wouldn't dispute that assertion but also wouldn't confirm that they have had people at meetings. Kate Robins of Pfizer Inc. said, "Our job is to cure diseases. We have 12,000 researchers. We leave no stone unturned." In 1999, the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, made the strongest case to date for cannabis as a potentially effective treatment for nausea, AIDS-related appetite loss, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and other ailments. Its compilation of studies, "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," concluded that cannabinoids have "potentially far-reaching therapeutic applications." Recent findings suggest that THC holds more potential as a painkiller than anyone ever guessed. Discoveries that the body produces its own cannabinoids that bind with receptors located in the brain and elsewhere lead scientists to believe THC could affect nerve impulses between cells in precise ways. "In war, some men lose limbs and they don't feel pain because the body can turn pain off," explains J. Michael Walker, a professor at Brown University and current president of the cannabis research society. New research suggests that "when you activate parts of the brain that turn pain off, it causes the release of cannabinoids. Can cannabinoids suppress pain pathways? It's a very exciting science question." Some scientists remain skeptical. "Anecdote is not evidence," declares Alan I. Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funds research on addiction. "There is still very little controlled clinical research on cannabis that demonstrates medical benefit." Prof. Burstein, of the University of Massachusetts, says other professors often "get a big grin on their face" when he speaks about his marijuana research. "They ask, 'Did you remember to bring the brownies?'" News Article Courtesy Of MapInc.http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n358/a06.html Source: Wall Street Journal (US)Author: Mark Robichaux, Wall Street JournalPublished: February 28, 2001Copyright: 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.Address: 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281Fax: (212) 416-2658Contact: letter.editor wsj.comWebsite: http://www.wsj.com/Related Article & Web Site:UK Medicinal Cannabis Projecthttp://www.medicinal-cannabis.org/New Cannabis Won't Give A Highhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4100.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #28 posted by dddd on March 03, 2001 at 00:35:38 PT Appreciation Thank you Nifty...That made my nite!....sincerely...dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by NiftySplifty on March 02, 2001 at 22:30:49 PT I think dddd is right... ...after sizzling their sphincters.God, that was friggin' hilarious.N... [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by dddd on March 02, 2001 at 20:49:32 PT no high,,no relief I think HempCanadian is right on in suggesting that the high is an essentialpart of the benificial part of MJ. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by hempcanadian on March 02, 2001 at 06:41:45 PT: Rectal Issues I agree that the #1 reason for alternative delivery methods is patented money making!I can also see how taking cannabis medicine in other ways than smoking would help many non-smoking/non-cannabis using people.Let's face it those people have been reefer madness educated for eons now-they think weed is a killing agent for the devil!However the "high" issue is not being studied to see if it is a real therapuetic part of the healing regime-as I think it is!Which leads me back to the patent/greed issue.Side effects of pot are always the culprit of using it as a medicine.The side effects of smokingAndThe side effects of the High!Some where on my website I list the 5 year side effect personal study of my medical antidepressant/tranquilizermeds versus MJ-and the results are stunning!Not to mention the negative social costs to my using pharma drugs -like almost losing my wife and kid and almost selling my house and almost being branded a criminal after trying to heal myself with cannabis!What a strange and greedy roman world we live in!I'm surprised they dont just kill and eat the weak so the strong and greedy can survive!God help the sick and dying!But I guess he already did!That's why He/She put the herb here in the first place! The Hemp Canadian [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by Vibeye on March 01, 2001 at 18:10:16 PT all about greed The bottom line is this: No drug company can patent grass in it's current natural form. There is no way for the companies to make money here unless they find a way to modify the plant.If medical pot gets legalised, sick people will grow it themselves, at cheaper prices than a sack of potatoes. This will drastically cut the demand for the expensive cocktails of synthetic drugs that the companies sell to cancer and AIDS sufferers, so it ain't too good for business.However, if they can produce an expensive synthetic variant of THC that can be sold at ten times the price of pot, well then, it's all good. 'For patients turning to marijuana for relief from a symptom such as nausea, the high may be an unwanted side effect.'Oh yea? How many cancer patients did they find that said 'Pot would be great if only it didn't get me high.' These people are suffering, if they get high, their pain becomes more tolerable. What is so hard to understand about that? The reason the article states: 'MAY be an unwanted side effect.' is because they couldn't find any cancer patients who don't want the high.How about you consult the people that you're trying to help, before you spend millions on tests that will benefit only the drug companies. [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by SuperStoner on March 01, 2001 at 08:54:13 PT: ill tell ya what to stick up your ass how about these stupid people who try and make medical subsituits that will probly not work. Big brother needs to get out of the fuckin lab and return to nature. if i had my way native americans would be the strongest influnce in our government. After all we did steal it from them and fuck their lifes up miseably ... and for what so people can suffer and researchers can find new ways to put things in your butt ... man i dont know if a single person with a brain exist in the government, somebody has to be lookin at this and sayin ... why the hell are we doing all this rediulsoue and destuctive things. Life liberty pursuit of happiness my asscrack. If government didnt try to take the same approach as the catholic church of "We Are never wrong" maybe people who do suffer from lack of control over drugs can get help insted of locking them up in prisons where they have greater access to experinceing and learning crimnal actives and they get drugs at the same time. thus produceing more of a problem cause now they are not only not in control of drugs but they are commiting crimes. And All this comes from a plant. America Is bull Shit!!SuperStoner [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by dddd on March 01, 2001 at 07:00:28 PT chopped liver thanx alot greenfox,what about me?....No laughs from my circus?,you are probably not even a real fox,,,just a dog who is pretending.no....just kidding,,,if I was you,,I would have said the same thing.The honest inquiry into prudently balanced commentaters would not include my old ass,,,,,,And that's the way I like it,,,,,,,,,in fact,,,I subliminally encouraged it!.I'm way more fun to read when you're stoned,,and that's because I'm weird,,andproud of it....I've also been drinking,,,,,more than is prudently excusablelucky it's legalalmost not submitted,,,and proud to be embarassed.....sheepishly yours.......dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by greenfox on March 01, 2001 at 06:37:12 PT OBSERVER! Observer, whoever, whatever, or wherever you are.... you made me laugh. Thank you. I needed that. -gfps- observer, kap: you guys should do some actual debating. You both are very intelligent & have offered realistic insight on this posting channel on more than one occasion. Thank you both.!!!!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by shu on March 01, 2001 at 04:40:52 PT: Why ??? What a waste - for once there is a medicine with a pleasant and often positive side effect. Why not keep it and enjoy the benefits. There seems to be a law that says:"Thou shalt not feel good" !!!! Spend those resources reducing the negative side effects of medicines instead. Stefan [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by mungojelly on February 28, 2001 at 22:04:14 PT: Leshner is an idiot "Anecdote is not evidence," declares Alan I. Leshner. What is it, then? The delusional ravings of pot-crazed maniacs, I suppose? Ever heard the phrase "anecdotal evidence," Alan? I've heard anecdotal reports that Mr. Leshner is an ass -- but I suppose I'll have to do a controlled statistical study before I can be absolutely sure. On the subject of trying to Stop The Dreaded High... I can see how there might be some people who need the medicinal effects of marijuana and just don't like being stoned. I say, let them develop their toys. It will just polarize the issue even more clearly; it will be abundantly clear that what they are trying to stop is not any sort of antisocial behavior or medical harm -- they are trying to stop people from being happy. A newspaper headline saying MARIJUANA MAKES TEENS HAPPY isn't very intimidating, eh? Let them try to base their prohibition on that, if they think they can get away with such absurdity. I say: the more absurd, the better. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by observer on February 28, 2001 at 20:11:32 PT Why? Why do these guys hate the "high"?hmmm. Maybe these suppository guys are a classic case of "Anal-Retentive" personality? [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by dddd on February 28, 2001 at 19:24:58 PT D.U.R.E. Drug Use Rectal EducationNifty's got it.No wonder the antis cant see any good in weed,,,after sizzling their sphinctersthey couldnt understand. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by NiftySplifty on February 28, 2001 at 19:12:23 PT Why do these guys hate the "high"? I have never, ever met a person who didn't like partaking of the herb once they gave it a try. Most of them stopped drinking so much! Of course, none of them had to shove a hot, cherry-red reefer up their booty. Maybe I'm being presumptuous.Nifty... [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Lehder on February 28, 2001 at 19:08:06 PT simplest answer Why is it so wrong to takes something that makes you feel good? They do it everytime they open a Budweiser.--fivepounderI'll venture avery simple answer:Alcohol is violent like much of our culture; mj is peaceful so its effects are scorned. Violence is manly and American, peace is feminine and weak. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by dddd on February 28, 2001 at 19:02:46 PT What is "high" Good point from 5lb.erWhat is the opposite of pain?What is the opposite of "high"?Would abnormal qualify as the opposite of normal? [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by fivepounder on February 28, 2001 at 18:54:51 PT The product of fascist thinking If left to these so called scientists they would take the fun out of the whole experience. Why is it so wrong to takes something that makes you feel good? They do it everytime they open a Budweiser. Like any painkiller, you only get high if you are not in pain. If you are in pain you do not get high, you just don't feel the pain. That's true for pot and demerol and alcohol and all the others. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by dddd on February 28, 2001 at 17:57:33 PT Pass it over here This reminds me of the great comment by Nifty a while back,about...dont bogart that suppository my friend,,pass it on over to me.Now head shops will be replacing the "roachclip",,with the "suppository clip" [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Dankhank on February 28, 2001 at 17:04:28 PT: Oh Yea? Dr L is trying for the last laugh and here it is ..."You can have your medical marijuana, you just have to stick it up your ass ..."It's a good one ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by MikeEEEEE on February 28, 2001 at 15:57:51 PT This is non-sense Legalize it.Playing with test tubes when nature has already given us an effective medicine doesn't make sense. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Kickaha on February 28, 2001 at 14:32:16 PT High, or not too high, that is the question I think this is more complicated than simply 'high' or 'not high'. I have a friend with HIV, and he says the commercial crap available on the street knocks back his nausea, but that's it. No high, no cravings. The finer stuff actually kills his nausea and makes him crave food, but still does not make him 'high'. He was a recreational smoker before his illness, so he knows what he's talking about. Whatever he smokes is in addition to the 40mg of Marinol he takes daily.Also, we have discovered(or confirmed) that different varieties have different effects: So far Durban Poison is the best combination painkiller/nausea fighter we've tried. In general, the pure sativas seem best at killing pain in our experience. Combining Sativas and Indicas (by mixing the end product, not interbreeding) sometimes seems to actually diminish the efficacy of the dose, which we speculate is due to CBN/CBD antagonism, if I'm using that term correctly.We have also speculated that the cannabinoid molecules are getting 'used up'in helping him fight nausea and eat, leaving nothing for the 'high'. Or, alternatively, that he's been exposed to THC/Whole Marijuana so much that he is inured to the effects. Certainly practice and experience can aid in controlling the effects of the 'high'.We're computer guys, not molecular biologists, so we may be way off base, but the observational evidence certainly provides for interesting speculation. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 28, 2001 at 14:30:22 PT My Opinion I just want to add a comment. I know that smoking is the most effective and pleasant way to use Cannabis as medicine but there are people who can't smoke or don't want to or people that are so ill that can't handle the high and for these people I don't object to this or other studies but the mood elevating properties of Cannabis can work very well when the smoke is inhaled and you still have a high. The high is what elevates the mood in my opinion. This is not a medical opinion just mine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Imprint on February 28, 2001 at 14:19:06 PT: Drug companies smell the money Because of the problems with smoking cigarettes, marijuana’s preferred delivery method is constantly under fire. I can understand the science side of this; extract the active ingredient and deliver it to the patent in another way thus eliminating the controversy over getting high and smoking marijuana. But, I have two questions over this. First, could the simple fact that the drug is delivered to the lungs in a smoke form be part of the therapy? Second, could the high be part of the therapy? If the answer to either of these questions is “yes” then the logical answer is to smoke raw marijuana. If anyone can give me some insight on this I would appreciate it. I also want to make one more additional point. Why do we need to spend millions of dollars on research, clinical trials, marketing and packaging to create something we already have? The answer is simple, MONEY. If the drug companies see money in their future they will peruse it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 28, 2001 at 14:01:21 PT: DrugSense FOCUS Alert #199 February 28, 2001 The Wall Street Journal is reporting that several researchers are trying to develop derivatives of marijuana that can be used medically without inducing a high. Some of the big pharmaceutical industries are interested. The article does not address the people who need medical marijuana right now regardless of its intoxicating qualities. Please write a letter to the Journal to say that efforts should be made to allow people who need marijuana for medical reasons to get it now, and to point out the hypocrisy of the pharmaceutical companies, which help to support the anti-marijuana propaganda of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.Pharmaceutical Companies Attempt To Synthesize Marijuanahttp://www.mapinc.org/alert/0195.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Neutrino on February 28, 2001 at 13:35:20 PT The Dreaded High This is so sad from the point of view that the "dreaded high" can be extremely benefical to the seriously ill. Does anyone know of any studies on this subject? Of course the government will fight tooth and nail to avoid this one regardless of any benefit to the sick and dying. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by meagain on February 28, 2001 at 13:25:05 PT Abort Abort Abort Need I say more ?Like Al Yankovic said "Just eat it" [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 28, 2001 at 13:07:04 PT: My $.02 Kevin, I fully understand your point of view. Many of these researchers do as well. The problem is, even if all the other dominoes fall, it is extremely likely that the US Government will never allow smoked cannabis as medicine. Many "legitimate" patients would prefer a standardized cannabis or cannabinoid vehicle that produces symptom relief without significant side effects. Should you feel that way? By no means is that necessary. Many scientists realize that there will always be people who prefer smoked cannabis to any technological "improvement." Euphoria is not a disease, and it is not an affliction. However, some regard it as such. Although I have an obvious conflict of interest that I freely admit, the GW program has the best chance of success because it is unique in acknowledging and exploiting an extract of the whole cannabis plant, retaining the THC, CBD, other cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenoids that combine synergistically to make clinical cannabis what it is. THC alone does not equal cannabis in most clinical applications. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 28, 2001 at 13:00:13 PT: Je suis, donc, je dois prohibir. "There is still very little controlled clinical research on cannabis that demonstrates medical benefit." What Dr. Leshner leaves unsaid is that he is the primary reason that there is no research. That has been his mission for years. With apologies to Descartes, "I am, therefore I must prohibit." [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Kevin Hebert on February 28, 2001 at 12:45:24 PT: Interesting, but a little nuts. Why would you want to squirt cannabis extracts under your tongue, stick pot suppositories up your ass, or stick a cannabis patch on your skin? Cannabis can be eaten with virtually zero negative physical side effects. It can be smoked with very few negative physical effects. So what if it makes you high? The fact that people go to jail so that suppossedly upright and moral people can have fewer "high" people around them boggles my mind. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: