cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Experiment Begins In San Mateo





Medical Marijuana Experiment Begins In San Mateo
Posted by FoM on April 06, 2001 at 19:59:56 PT
By Jean Whitney, Staff Writer 
Source: Alameda Times Star 
With approvals from federal and state agencies, San Mateo County launched a medical marijuana experiment Tuesday that will dispense pot to 60 AIDS patients for pain management over the next two years. Doctors at the San Mateo County Health Center will head up the investigation and identify patients in other county treatment programs for the study. Only those who have used marijuana in the past will be eligible. 
The $500,000 study is said to be the first of its kind in the nation that allows a government agency to distribute the controlled substance for medical study purposes. The pot is grown under federal government supervision at the University of Mississippi. The study also has been approved by both the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Dennis Israelski, Chief of Infectious Disease at the San Mateo County Health Center, said 60 participants would be given up to two marijuana cigarettes a day to use at home over a six-week cycle. Patients would be required to return the butt ends of the smokes and keep a detailed log of use. Half the group would begin six weeks after the other group, and researchers would follow up with patients over the next two years. The purpose of the county's clinical trial is really twofold, according to officials. Researchers will look at the whole process of legally distributing pot to patients for home use, as well as track its medicinal effects on neuropathy -- specifically, limb pain associated with HIV and AIDS. The study was in many ways the brainchild of County Board of Supervisors President Mike Nevin. It was three years in the making, following the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996 by California voters aimed at legalizing medical marijuana. "It started when I thought maybe we could somehow use the marijuana confiscated by law enforcement for medicinal purposes, for people in pain," said Nevin. Nevin described how he was touched by the personal testimony of the late Joni Commons, the county's former Deputy Director of Health Services, who admitted feeling relief from pain by using pot during a lengthy battle with cancer. However, as proponents of medicinal marijuana struggled with federal and local agencies that outlaw pot, Nevin said he turned to Israelski for help. "My first thought was, smok-ing anything is bad," said Israelski. "Before I tell my patients to smoke anything, I want a study." A pill form, Marinol, has been said to be ineffective, or in other cases, too strong for users. Marijuana, in smokable form, has been said to relieve nausea, pain, depression and stimulate the appetite of chronically ill patients. "We believe marijuana has a great future," Israelski said. County Sheriff Don Horsley said he supports the county study. For information about joining the study, contact Clinical Trial Coordinator Mark Traves at San Mateo County Health Services (650) 573-2748. Note: Drug To Be Dispensed To 60 Aids Patients. Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Experiment Begins In San Mateo CountySource: Alameda Times-Star (CA) Author: Jean Whitney, Staff Writer Published: April 6, 2001Copyright: 2001 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.timesstar.com/ Related Articles:New Pot Research Leaves Clinic http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9264.shtmlBreakthrough Study of Medical Pot Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9260.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on April 06, 2001 at 21:07:13 PT
Nothing to do
but does anybody know what LSI Score is?? 
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