MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Medicinal and Psychotherapeutic Uses of Cannabis Sativa

This page presents current news and information on the medical use of marijuana, legislation governing its use, the psychophysical effects of the medication, and resources for further reading.

We firmly believe that the decision to work with this medicine rests with the individual, notwithstanding legislation to the contrary.

This research page has been prepared in an effort to consolidate authoritative sources of information for current and prospective users.

Source:
NORML Responds To Latest Warnings Regarding Marijuana Use And Schizophrenia
NORMLezine, Vol.13, Issue 9 (updated: 5.03.10)

Washington, DC: The findings of a study published earlier this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry alleging that smoking marijuana can 'double' one's risk of psychosis or schizophrenia are in conflict with those previous reviews and ought to be interpreted with caution, says NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano.

"Despite claims that marijuana use may play a causal role in diagnosed incidences of schizophrenia, there exists no empirical evidence anywhere on Earth indicating that populations which have experienced rising rates of cannabis use have also experienced a parallel increase in rates of mental illness," Armentano said.

Most recently, a 2009 systematic review published in the scientific journal Schizophrenia Research compared trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. Researchers reported that the "incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining" during this period, even the use of cannabis among the general population was rising.

Armentano said that a non-causal association likely exists between marijuana use and psychosis because the symptoms of mental illness often strike early in life — at a time when young people are likely to be already experimenting with cannabis. He also speculated that some people diagnosed with psychotic disorders might be turning to cannabis after the onset of symptoms as a form of self-medication.

Ultimately, however, Armentano said that even if the latest concerns about the potential adverse effect of marijuana use are to be taken at face value, then such findings support a policy of cannabis legalization and regulation – not criminal prohibition.

"Health risks connected with pot use — when scientifically documented — should not be seen as legitimate reasons for criminal prohibition, but instead, as reasons for the plant's legal regulation." he said. "For example, we as a society don't regulate the production, use, and sale of alcohol because it is innocuous, but rather because we acknowledge that its consumption, in some situations, may pose a risk of harm. Placed in this context, today's latest warnings do little to advance the government's position in favor of tightening prohibition, and provide ample ammunition to wage for its repeal." [...]

Source:
Over 2,500 Subjects Since 2005 Have Used Marijuana-Based Medicines In Controlled Clinical Trials
Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director (24.02.10)

Hurth, Germany: Researchers worldwide have performed 37 separate clinical trials assessing the therapeutic safety and efficacy of inhaled cannabis and marijuana-based medicines since 2005, according to a review published online last week in the journal Cannabinoids: The Journal of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM).

Investigators from Leiden University in the Netherlands and the nova-Institut in Germany conducted a systematic review of recent clinical trial data pertaining to the medical use of whole smoked marijuana and cannabinoids.

Authors identified 37 controlled studies since 2005 evaluating the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. The trials involved a total of 2,563 subjects.

Of the 37 clinical trials that have been recently conducted, eleven assessed the drug's impact on chronic neuropathic pain – a difficult to treat type of pain resulting from nerve damage. Other studies assessed the efficacy of cannabinoids to treat multiple sclerosis-associated spasticity (nine separate studies); HIV/AIDS (four); experimental pain (four); intestinal dysfunction (two); nausea/vomiting/appetite (two); schizophrenia (two); glaucoma (one); and 'other indications' (two).

Authors concluded, "Based on the clinical results, cannabinoids present an interesting therapeutic potential mainly as analgesics in chronic neuropathic pain, appetite stimulants in debilitating diseases (cancer and AIDS), as well as in the treatment of multiple sclerosis."

Last Wednesday investigators from the California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research released the results of a series of double blind, placebo-controlled trials that determined that cannabinoids could be "a first-line treatment" for patients suffering from neuropathy.

Commenting on the review, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "The safety and efficacy of marijuana as a medicine has now been established by the 'gold standard' of clinical study. Further, over 2,500 patients have used cannabinoids in controlled clinical trials over the past five years alone. This is a far greater total than the number of subjects that would likely be administered any other new drug pending United States FDA approval, and is a large enough population to once and for all establish marijuana's objective value as a medicine." [...]

Source: Medical marijuana could help our war-stressed soldiers
The Ottawa Citizen (18.06.08)

Israel has been testing treating their soldiers who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with medical marijuana, and having positive results. My wife and I have medical marijuana licences from Health Canada for PTSD.

Canadian soldiers would be eligible for such treatment under Health Canada's medical marijuana program, but it likely wouldn't be compatible with the Canadian Forces' zero tolerance policy on drug use. [...] [Read more]

Source: Marijuana may stave off Alzheimer's - U.S. study
Andy Sullivan, Reuters (5.10.06)

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) — Good news for aging hippies: smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer's disease.

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer's, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly. [...] [Read more]

Selected Reports and Academic Presentations

How Marijuana Works by Kevin Bonsor Introduction to How Marijuana Works The Plant Entering the Body Marijuana and the Brain Other Physiological Effects Potency Usage Lots More Information Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana  • Cannabis Cultivation Outdoors Video: A twelve-step guide for growing medical marijuana  • How To Use Medical Marijuana  • Recipes Medical Marijuana is Legal in Canada. The Canadian Medical Marijuana website provides information on how to apply to possess, use, grow and sell marihuana in compliance with Health Canada's guidelines. FREE DOWNLOAD How to Grow Medical Marijuana, by Todd McCormick. Design, editing, and Introduction by Peter McWilliams. Medical Marijuana Press © 1998. (PDF - 6.8MB) Download courtesy of DrugSense: Drug Law Reform. FINAL REPORT: CANNABIS: OUR POSITION FOR A CANADIAN PUBLIC POLICY The Special [Senate] Committee on Illegal Drugs Summary — html | pdf Volume I: General Orientation — html | pdf Volume II: Policies and Practices in Canada — html | pdf Volume III: Public Policy Options — html | pdf Volume IV: Appendix — html | pdf RxMarijuana Lester Grinspoon, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and James Bakalar, J.D., Lecturer in Law in the Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School Cannabis Studies Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), University of California The therapeutic potential of cannabis Baker, D., Pryce, G., Giovannoni, G., Thompson, A.J. Lancet Neurology 2003; 2: pp.291-98 The classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Home Office, UK (March 2002) Medical Marijuana Briefing Paper Marijuana Policy Project (Revised 01/08) Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base (1999) Institute of Medicine House of Lords (UK) Report on Cannabis for Medical Purposes (4 Nov 1998) Exposing Marijuana Myths: A review of the scientific evidence Lynn Zimmer, Associate Professor of Sociology at Queens College, and John P. Morgan, Professor of Pharmacology at City University Medical School (1995/6/7) REVIEW OF HUMAN STUDIES ON MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA Dale H. Gieringer, Ph.D. (August 1996) California NORML Medical Marijuana Briefing Paper - 2010 Source: Medical Marijuana Briefing Paper: The Need to Change State and Federal Law Marijuana Policy Project, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 400, Washington DC 20002. www.mpp.org (Revised 1.10) For thousands of years, marijuana has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments. Until 1937, marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) was legal in the United States for all purposes. Presently, federal law allows only four Americans to use marijuana as a medicine. On March 17, 1999, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that "there are some limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses. "The IOM report, the result of two years of research that was funded by the White House drug policy office, analyzed all existing data on marijuana's therapeutic uses. Please see http://www.mpp.org/SCIENCE. MEDICAL VALUE Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. No one has ever died from an overdose, and it has a wide variety of therapeutic applications, including: Relief from nausea and appetite loss; Reduction of intraocular (within the eye) pressure; Reduction of muscle spasms; and Relief from chronic pain. Marijuana is frequently beneficial in the treatment of the following conditions: AIDS. Marijuana can reduce the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the ailment itself and by various AIDS medications. Observational research has found that by relieving these side effects, medical marijuana increases the ability of patients to stay on life-extending treatment. (See also CHRONIC PAIN below.) HEPATITIS C. As with AIDS, marijuana can relieve the nausea and vomiting caused by treatments for hepatitis C. In a study published in the September 2006 European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, patients using marijuana were better able to complete their medication regimens, leading to a 300% improvement in treatment success. GLAUCOMA. Marijuana can reduce intraocular pressure, alleviating the pain and slowing—and sometimes stopping — damage to the eyes. (Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. It damages vision by increasing eye pressure over time.) CANCER. Marijuana can stimulate the appetite and alleviate nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy treatment. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. Marijuana can limit the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease, as well as relieving tremor and unsteadiness of gait. (Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults in the United States.) EPILEPSY. Marijuana can prevent epileptic seizures in some patients. CHRONIC PAIN. Marijuana can alleviate chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries. Since 2007, three published clinical trials have found that marijuana effectively relieves neuropathic pain (pain cause by nerve injury), a particularly hard to treat type of pain that afflicts millions suffering from diabetes, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other illnesses. Each of these applications has been deemed legitimate by at least one court, legislature, and/or government agency in the United States. Many patients also report that marijuana is useful for treating arthritis, migraine, menstrual cramps, alcohol and opiate addiction, and depression and other debilitating mood disorders. Marijuana could be helpful for millions of patients in the United States. Nevertheless, other than for the four people with special permission from the federal government, medical marijuana remains illegal under federal law! People currently suffering from any of the conditions mentioned above, for whom the legal medical options have proven unsafe or ineffective, have two options: Continue to suffer without effective treatment; or Illegally obtain marijuana — and risk suffering consequences directly related to its illegality, such as: an insufficient supply due to the prohibition-inflated price or scarcity; impure, contaminated, or chemically adulterated marijuana; arrests, fines, court costs, property forfeiture, incarceration, probation, and criminal records. [Read More] See also: Questions about medical marijuana answered by the Institute of Medicine’s report Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base Excerpts compiled by the Marijuana Policy Project. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base (Free Executive Summary) Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A. Benson, Jr., Editors; Institute of Medicine http://www.nap.edu/catalog/6376.html → Warning: This writer, responsible scientists and doctors advise: There is no pharmacological free lunch in cannabis or any drug. Negative reactions can result. A small percentage of people have negative or allergic reactions to marijuana. Heart patients could have problems, even though cannabis generally relieves stress, dilates the arteries, and in general lowers the diastolic pressure. A small percentage of people get especially high heart rates and anxieties with cannabis. These persons should not use it. Some bronchial asthma sufferers benefit from cannabis; however, for others it may serve as an additional irritant. For the overwhelming majority of people, cannabis has demonstrated literally hundreds of therapeutic uses... [Read more] Jack Herer, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Chapter 7, Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 – 2010 Source: Recent Research on Medical Marijuana Paul Armentano, Deputy Director, NORML | NORML Foundation, Washington, DC (Updated 30.01.10) [...] As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated – there are now more than 17,000 published papers in the scientific literature analyzing marijuana and its constituents — so too has investigators' understanding of cannabis' remarkable capability to combat disease. Whereas researchers in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s primarily assessed cannabis' ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms — such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy — scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to modify disease. PDF: Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 – 2010 Medical Conditions FOREWARD Alzheimer's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Chronic Pain Diabetes mellitus Dystonia Fibromyalgia Gastrointestinal disorders Gliomas Hepatitis C Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Hypertension Incontinence Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA) Multiple sclerosis Osteoporosis Pruritis Rheumatoid arthritis Sleep apnea Tourette's syndrome Of particular interest, scientists are investigating cannabinoids' capacity to moderate autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as their role in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease.) Investigators are also studying the anti-cancer activities of cannabis, as a growing body of preclinical and clinical data concludes that cannabinoids can reduce the spread of specific cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and by the inhibition of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels). Arguably, these latter trends represent far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago. [...] HOW TO USE THIS REPORT As states continue to approve legislation enabling the physician-supervised use of medicinal marijuana, more patients with varying disease types are exploring the use of therapeutic cannabis. Many of these patients and their physicians are now discussing this issue for the first time, and are seeking guidance on whether the therapeutic use of cannabis may or may not be advisable. This report seeks to provide this guidance by summarizing the most recently published scientific research (2000-2009) on the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids for 19 clinical indications  Potential Therapeutic Uses of Medical Marijuana

This Web site is an excellent resource on the medical use of marijuana, presenting, in an unbiased, primarily pro/con format, responses to the related and core question; "Should marijuana be a medical option now?" Here you can find information on the medical value and use of marijuana, the medical risks of use, diseases and conditions in which marijuana is used, U.S. government policies and medical marijuana, legal issues, and non-smoked marijuana. There's also a fascinating section that provides a three-part overview of the history of marijuana as medicine, from 2737 B.C. to the present.

Source: Therapeutic Uses of Marijuana Medical Marijuna Information Resource Centre Cannabis and cannabinoid drugs (e.g. Marinol, Cesamet, etc.) are used to successfully  treat a wide range of disorders and symptoms. Clinical evidence for specific disease conditions ranges from anecdotal reports to peer reviewed randomized controlled double blind trials.  A non-exhaustive selection of the disease conditions for which cannabis and cannabinoids may be useful in symptomatic management and/or for improving the quality include: Cancer Chemotherapy Management Epilepsy Glaucoma HIV/AIDS Symptomatic Management Migraine Multiple Sclerosis Pain Severe Arthritis Spinal Cord Injury and Disease

Marijuana Vaporizer

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Source: MarijuanaVaporizer.com
 Benefits

Vaporizer Study...
Vaporization is a technique for avoiding irritating respiratory toxins in marijuana smoke by heating cannabis to a temperature where the psychoactive ingredients evaporate without causing combustion.

Laboratory studies by California NORML and MAPS have found that vaporizers can efficiently deliver cannabinoids while eliminating or drastically reducing other smoke toxins.

Like tobacco, marijuana smoke contains toxins that are known to be hazardous to the respiratory system. Among them are the highly carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, a prime suspect in cigarette-related cancers. These toxins are essentially a byproduct of combustion, separate from the pharmaceutically active components of marijuana, known as cannabinoids, which include THC. Although there is no proof that marijuana smoking causes cancer, chronic pot smokers have been shown to suffer an elevated risk of bronchitis and respiratory infections. Respiratory disease due to smoking may therefore rightly be regarded as the primary physiological hazard of marijuana.

Cannabis vaporizers are designed to let users inhale active cannabinoids while avoiding harmful smoke toxins. They do so by heating cannabis to a temperature of 180 - 200º° C (356º° - 392º° F), just below the point of combustion where smoke is produced. At this point, THC and other medically active cannabinoids are emitted with little or none of the carcinogenic tars and noxious gases found in smoke. Many medical marijuana patients who find smoked marijuana highly irritating report effective relief inhaling through vaporizers. Users who are concerned about the respiratory hazards of smoking are strongly advised to use vaporizers. Alternative devices, such as waterpipes, have been shown to be ineffective at reducing the tars in marijuana smoke (Report).

Did you know: ...In Canadian studies it has been shown that marijuana produces 50% more tar than strong tobacco of the same weight and that marijuana smoke contains 70% more benzopyrene than cigarette smoke.

Smoking two or three marijuana cigarettes a day is estimated to have the same effect on the risk of cancers and on the prevalence of acute and chronic respiratory symptoms as smoking 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day. Using a vaporizer negates all of these effects — besides the ease of use and the innumerable health benefits. (Wu et al 1988; Fehr 1983; Tashkin 1980).

Go to MarijuanaVaporizer.com

In the News: Medical marijuana user opens 'inhalation room'
A Regina man has opened an inhalation room in his hemp store for people who can legally use medical marijuana, but questions are swirling about its legality... As of Monday, anyone with a stash of legal pot has been able to take it to Foster's Field of Dreams hemp store east of the downtown. The service is free. Instead of lighting up, Foster's customers will be shown into a back room where they use an inhaler. The marijuana is inserted into a capsule, a machine blows through heated air and the vapours are gathered in a plastic bag...
CBC News, 5 March 2007