cannabisnews.com: Major Bummer For Pot Users 





Major Bummer For Pot Users 
Posted by FoM on May 15, 2001 at 08:06:34 PT
By Pia Sarkar, Michael McCabe & Ray Delgado
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
Medical marijuana users across the Bay Area scoffed at the U.S. Supreme Court for discounting the drug's role in easing their pain, with some vowing to keep using cannabis even if they must resort to illegal means. "It's just a major bummer and a serious slap in the face," said Dave Stanley, walking out of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative yesterday morning. "It just goes against the will of the people." A war veteran whose medical conditions include traumatic arthritis, Stanley said he needs marijuana to fall asleep at night. 
"It just allows me to lead a more normal life," he said. Stanley's sentiments were echoed by many medical marijuana users, who have come to rely on the drug as a way to ease their suffering. Advocates say marijuana improves energy levels and relieves pain associated with such diseases as AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and cancer. It can also stimulate appetite and reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy. Angel McCalry, who is anorexic and has been using cannabis since 1998 to gain weight as well as soothe the side effects of a brain tumor and a seizure disorder, said the drug helped her in ways no synthetic medicine ever could. "If it wasn't for cannabis, I'd be sitting in a wheelchair right now," McCalry said. Research has shown that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, kills pain to the central nervous system by tapping the circuitry at the base of the brain and modulating pain signals in much the same way morphine and other opiates do. Opiates generally are more effective than cannabis at reducing pain but may cause nausea and other unwanted side effects. In San Mateo County, where a first-of-its-kind study to determine marijuana's potential benefits for AIDS patients has just gotten under way, officials said the Supreme Court ruling will not halt the study. In November, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration agreed to provide government-grown marijuana to 60 patients for a two-year study to determine its potential benefits. Backers see the study as a way to find out whether marijuana relieves pain and promotes appetite as well as proponents maintain, and to see whether patients can follow a strict regimen on the drug. San Mateo County will be the first local government in the country to distribute the otherwise illegal drug for outpatient research. "If we find that, in fact, marijuana does lessen the pain and suffering in the dying -- I fully expect we will indeed find that to be the case -- God help us if we don't use it," said San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin, a former San Francisco police inspector who opposes decriminalizing marijuana. Nevin added that the Supreme Court ruling makes the study even more important because the results are expected to help persuade Congress and the Bush administration to change laws regarding medical marijuana. Not everyone sees the Supreme Court decision as bad news. Citizens for a Drug-Free Berkeley, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating healthy and drug-free communities, embraced the ruling as a "victory for those wanting to live in a safe, healthy environment." "I only hope that the city of Berkeley and others desiring to smoke weed for so-called 'medical purposes' will now follow the law," said Kevin Sabet, founder and president of Citizens for a Drug-Free Berkeley. "If they don't, we will see them in court." Meanwhile, operators of cannabis clubs in the Bay Area worried about the immediate effect of the court ruling, which may force them to shut their doors for good and leave their clients with few alternatives. "I think people are scared that they'll have to go to the streets to get their medicine," said Greg Howell, manager of the Californians Helping Alleviate Medical Problems, in the Castro. "The needs aren't going to go away," added Wayne Justmann, director of the San Francisco Patients Resource Center on Divisadero Street. "People who have used cannabis in the past and present and know the health benefits will still need it and will find a way to get it." Stanley said he is undeterred by the Supreme Court ruling and intends to keep on using marijuana. "I certainly don't plan to stop," he said. "It's a quality-of-life decision. I like being out of pain. I've seen the promised land and I'm going to stay there." Alternatives To Pot: Yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which upheld a federal ban against the medical use of marijuana, was based partly on a finding that there are adequate alternatives to pot. Here's a look at some conditions that have other proposed treatments: Nausea:Marijuana is often used as an anti-emetic in cancer and AIDS to combat the nausea that can accompany chemotherapy and AIDS-related infections or drug treatments. Two other options now include the drugs Zofran and Kytril. ''There is a new generation of anti-emetics now that can completely cut out nausea and vomiting," said Dr. Gary Cohan, a Los Angeles physician who treats many AIDS cases. Wasting:Pot's supporters claim it helps stimulate appetite, and the drug is being tested in cases of AIDS-related wasting. Patients can try instead a drug called Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in pot. Although Marinol doesn't work for everybody, some doctors say it is more effective and lasts longer than pot. Pain:Pot has not been proved effective as a pain reliever, although many pain sufferers swear by it and some doctors say it can help in cases where standard options don't work. Among the many alternatives now are long-acting forms of opiates and new anti-inflammatory drugs designed to be easier on the stomach. In cases of hard-to-treat neuropathic pain, alternatives to marijuana include a drug called gabapentin, or Neurontin, originally used to control convulsions. Multiple Sclerosis:Some people with multiple sclerosis say that smoking marijuana alleviates the spasticity and muscle stiffness that accompany it. FDA-approved alternatives include Baclofen, Tizanidine and Valium. Dr. Douglas Goodin, neurologist and director of the MS Center at the University of California at San Francisco, said the three drugs are typically tried in sequence and can also be used in combination. "You can achieve reasonably good success in most cases of mild to moderate spasticity," he said. Baclofen can be delivered by a surgically implanted pump in severe cases. The pump "almost always works," Goodin added, although the chief side effect -- weakness in the leg muscles -- restricts use of the pump to those who have lost voluntary use of their legs. . Chronicle staff report Note: Many plan to keep smoking in Bay Area. Chronicle staff writer Jim Doyle contributed to this report. Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Pia Sarkar, Michael McCabe, Ray Delgado, Chronicle Staff WritersPublished: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 Copyright: 2001 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Site:Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Supreme Court's Reefer Madness http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9723.shtmlLet Them Eat Chemo - Salon.comhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9722.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 15, 2001 at 11:00:07 PT:
I Beg to Differ
''There is a new generation of anti-emetics now that can completely cut out nausea and vomiting," These work 70-80% of the time and are fabulously expensive, frequently requiring IV administration. Cannabis often works where these don't. Many patients prefer it(but then personal choice counts for nothing in some jurisdictions)."Although Marinol doesn't work for everybody, some doctors say it is more effective and lasts longer than pot."Yeah, sure. I don't believe this. Apparently no one would allow their name used associated with this statement. Marinol is to clinical cannabis medicine as Tang is to freshly squeezed orange juice, a sad imitation that leaves the consumer wishing for what might have been."Pot has not been proved effective as a pain reliever"This is plainly false, and I have hundreds of studies to refute it. Please see:http://www.montananorml.org/docs/Hemp_for_Headache.PDF"In cases of hard-to-treat neuropathic pain, alternatives to marijuana include a drug called gabapentin, or Neurontin, originally used to control convulsions."This drug is an expensive joke. It is far less effective than amitriptyline, which is cheap and often effective in neuropathic pain, but very tough with respect to side effects. Gabapentin has worked in about 1 of 50 patients I have seen for neuropathic pain. Others may have better results, but a certain placebo effect is operative: When you pay $100 or more per month for a prescription, you want it to work. Cannabis has been an effective drug for neuropathic pain for probably 2000 years and was a standard medicine in Europe and Amerika for such conditions between 1842 and 1942.""You can achieve reasonably good success in most cases of mild to moderate spasticity,"I am happy for him and his patients. I rarely use standard muscle relaxants because they are poorly helpful, frequently sedating, and often increase weakness. Cannabis is unique in this regard, often giving excellent clinical results in spasticity diseases without impairment."Baclofen can be delivered by a surgically implanted pump in severe cases. The pump "almost always works," I have seen several treatment failures, and a couple of surgical disasters with infections and multiple surgeries. It is truly ugly and life-threatening to have an infection associated with foreign surgical appliances. Then figure the $30,000 or more cost of the procedure even without complications. Most of my patients are too sensible to go this route, and cannabis doesn't knock out their legs, either. I could go on and on, but that's enough for now.
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