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Smoking Medical Marijuana May Decrease MS Symptoms
Posted by CN Staff on May 14, 2012 at 12:12:17 PT
By The Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post 
USA -- Smoking medical marijuana could help relieve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a small new study suggests. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, found that people with MS who smoked cannabis had decreased pain and muscle tightness, called spasticity. However, the researchers warned that smoking the cannabis also led to problems with focus and attention. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included 30 people -- 63 percent of them women -- with an average age of 50. More than half the participants needed aids for walking, and 20 percent of them were in wheelchairs. Some of the study participants were randomly assigned to have the cannabis, while others received a placebo.
At the end of the study, researchers found that people who smoked the cannabis had lower numbers on a spasticity scale, as well as a 50 percent decrease in pain scores.But researchers found that the people who smoked the cannabis had decreased cognitive functioning, in that they scored lower on a test that measured their focus. This effect was only seen for a short term. "Smoked cannabis was superior to placebo in symptom and pain reduction in participants with treatment-resistant spasticity," researchers wrote in the study. "Future studies should examine whether different doses can result in similar beneficial effects with less cognitive impact."Just last year, a study in the journal Neurology also showed that multiple sclerosis patients who smoked medical marijuana have a doubled risk of developing cognitive impairments."Whatever benefits patients feel they might be getting from smoking marijuana might come at the cost of further cognitive compromise," the researcher of that study, Dr. Anthony Feinstein, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, told WebMD.Marijuana use is currently legal for medical purposes in 16 states and Washington, D.C., the New York Times reported.Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the brain and spinal cord, according to the National Institutes of Health. It occurs when the myelin sheath, which is responsible for protecting nerve fibers, is damaged, causing symptoms of cognitive problems, muscle weakness, disturbed vision, strange touch sensations and balance and coordination problems. While there's no cure for the condition, current treatments for multiple sclerosis attacks include taking drugs called corticosteroids and undergoing plasma exchange (where blood cells and plasma are mechanically separated), according to the Mayo Clinic. Other drugs and even physical therapy can help reduce symptoms or even slow the disease down. Source: Huffington Post (NY)Published: May 14, 2012Copyright: 2012 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/5KKVZq0xCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on May 15, 2012 at 05:32:16 PT
Smoked cannabis?
Of course, anyway you ingest it will work. If not for the instant relief you get from smoking it, ingesting it is better and last longer.This "smoked delivery system" as the medical professionals call it, is one of their hot button issues like the kid card. If a person is not of the thinking persuasion, and the type who reacts without considering, these hot buttons work.I once saw Dr. Robert DuPont debate the efficacy of cannabis. Dr. DuPoop said that even if cannabis has medical properties[which it doesn't] the American people will never accept a smoked delivery system of delivery for their medicine.Dennis Peron was brilliant and matched Dr. DuPoop and then some when he topped his reasoning with a call for compassion for the suffering.If cannabis was a nothing weed then it should be a nothing issue not worthy of debating on national TV by a prominent Doctor from one of the most powerful families in the world? How to make such an appearance and at the same time try to downplay the herb's importance is incongruent, and conflicts with his very reason for being there."The American People..." he says this not only as if he spoke for us but eerily obvious that they are into mass control and have ongoing studies and polls which they consult, needing to know which way the wind blows. Today the winds of change are blowing down Main Streets around the world. A natural reaction when you discover how much we have been lied to and duped.I have been smoking pot as often as I am able for the past ...since 1964. I have check-ups every six months at the VA. My lungs are clear because pot is an expectorant and is used in China specifically for cleaning out the lungs. I am sure my brain cells have multiplied sufficiently because My brain is so useful to me. I am youthful, I clear brush on my land each spring and work in my garden, weeding and fertilizing and such. No light weight here! I am young looking for my age so I am told. I do not have man breast, I enjoy all of my marital activities. I have never called my wife a derogatory name. If when we bicker, it is never that serious and over within hours. This is because I never lose sight of who my wife is and what she means to me. I discovered young that when you call your spouse a bad name you can never take it back. Even if you apologize that word will ever be in the air. I have the presence of mind to realize at all times that my Wife is the most precious thing in my life and to treat her as so.When I was barely out of my teens I drank. I learned many lessons from my bad behaviour back then. I stopped and have not drank in over 35or 40 years. This I add to reconfirm that pot smokers who only smoke pot are not as prone to marital problems. I think the herb makes men more sensitive and responsive to their mates.Just imagine Dr. DePoop up their defending this mess his family created out of religious greed 75 years ago. It is obvious that this prohibition has been working for them. I also predict prohibition will be their downfall. This is not just wishful thinking either. Just look at Main Street for one thing, the writing is on the wall! 
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on May 14, 2012 at 20:01:06 PT
Smoking?
Sigh.I'm betting a lot of MS patients vaporize or cook with their cannabis. Is that not true? Must the cannabis be smoked for it to work for MS?
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 14, 2012 at 13:26:10 PT
Schmeff I Agree
Methinks the gifted researchers have too much book learnin' and not enough common sense.
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Comment #1 posted by schmeff on May 14, 2012 at 12:50:15 PT
Know what also causes loss of focus & attention?
Drum roll please: Pain, muscle tightness and spasticity.I'm guessing the cannabis causes the patients to quit focusing and paying attention to their MS.Oh gifted researchers, what is the downside of a few moments of tranquility (the gifted researchers call this a decrease in cognitive ability and say that it is temporary & short-lived) compared to the downside of repeatedly stabbing yourself in the thigh because you happened to be holding a pair of scissors when you lost muscle control and went into spasms?Methinks the gifted researchers have too much book learnin' and not enough common sense.
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