Medical Marijuana National News

Feb 18, 2010 - Trials Show Marijuana Eases Pain

Text Copied from: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/health/main6220151.shtml

(AP)  The first U.S. clinical trials in more than two decades on the medical benefits of marijuana confirm pot is effective in reducing muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological injuries or illnesses, according to a report issued Wednesday.

Igor Grant, a psychiatrist who directs the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego, said five studies funded by the state involved volunteers who were randomly given real marijuana or placebos to determine if the herb provided relief not seen from traditional medicines.

"There is good evidence now that cannabinoids may be either an adjunct or a first-line treatment," Grant said at a news conference where he presented the findings.

The California Legislature established the research center in 2000 to examine whether the therapeutic claims of medical marijuana advocates could withstand scientific scrutiny. In 1996, state voters became the first in the nation to pass a law approving pot use for medical purposes.

Thirteen other states have followed suit, but California is the only one so far to sponsor medical marijuana research. After 10 years and nearly $9 million, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is preparing to wrap up its work next year.

Along with the studies on muscle spasms and pain associated with spinal cord injuries and AIDS, the center also has funded research on how marijuana affects sleep and driving, limb pain due to diabetes, and whether inhaling vaporized cannabis is as effective as smoking it.

A laboratory study supported by the center examined if pot could be helpful in treating migraine headaches and facial pain. In that study, rats given a cannabis-like drug exhibited reduced activity of nerve cells that transmit pain.

State Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs a budget subcommittee on health and human services and supports medical marijuana, said he doubted there would be more financial support for the center, given California's ongoing budget crisis.

The federal government classifies marijuana as an illicit drug with no medical use but produces the only pot legally available for scientific research under a contract with the University of Mississippi.

Grant said obtaining some of the Mississippi crop and meeting the complex security regulations required by the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal agencies was time-consuming and cumbersome.

Grant, however, had no problem with the quality of the government's supply. Its consistency was helpful in determining that patients who smoked less-potent marijuana enjoyed the same amount of pain relief but less mental confusion than those who inhaled a more powerful strain, he said.

Such quality control is notably absent from the marijuana that patients with a doctor's recommendation can legally obtain in California through hundreds of cooperatives and storefront dispensaries, Grant said.

He said more research was needed on how pot works and its side effects.

"Because we don't know the composition of the strains that are on the street, we don't know what patients really are getting," he said. "As a doctor I feel some discomfort when someone says take X or Y pill or herb because we think that might be helpful."

Since its founding, the center has approved 15 research studies, but five had to be discontinued because there were not enough volunteers willing or able to meet the criteria for participating.

One proposed study on the effectiveness of marijuana in reducing chemotherapy-related nausea was canceled because researchers could not recruit enough cancer patients who weren't already treating their symptoms effectively with anti-nausea medications.

In the 24-page report submitted Wednesday to the Legislature, Grant said research protocols had been rigorous, with six studies published or accepted for publication in peer-reviewed science journals.

In four studies, participants suffering from multiple sclerosis, AIDS or diabetes, along with healthy volunteers injected with a chili pepper substance to induce pain, were randomly assigned to receive cigarettes filled with marijuana. Half had the active ingredient delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, removed.

Not every patient who smoked the real marijuana reported improvement. But the percentage who did was comparable to those who said they experienced relief from antidepressants and other medications commonly prescribed for neuropathic pain, the study said.

Feb 17, 2010 - Iowa pharmacy board opens door for medical marijuana

Text Copied from: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100217/NEWS/100217017/Iowa-pharmacy-board-opens-door-for-medical-marijuana

BY TONY LEYS • tleys@dmreg.com

Des Moines Register

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously this afternoon to recommend legislators reclassify marijuana in a way that could open the door to medical uses.

The board recommended that legislators reclassify the drug from Schedule I, for which there are no permitted uses, to Schedule II, which could allow medical uses.

The board also recommended the state set up a broad task force, including patients, medical professionals and law enforcement officers, to come up with a way to safely implement a medical marijuana program.

Marijuana proponents cheered after the vote was taken, but they acknowledged that hurdles remain before the drug could become available to patients.

"This is a big thing. This is momentum," said Carl Olsen, one of the measure's main Iowa proponents. He said he didn't expect legislators to consider the matter until next year's legislative session.

The vote came after a morning of discussion in which the six board members appeared split on whether medical marijuana would be a good idea.

Vice Chairwoman Susan Frey, a Villisca pharmacist, said marijuana clearly has benefits for some patients. But she said current pharmaceutical medications based on marijuana offer the same benefits. She raised the specter of problems in California and other states that have let people smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes. “I think without adequate controls, we would have mayhem,” she said.

Board Chairman Vernon Benjamin, a Fort Madison pharmacist, said he doesn’t believe marijuana is more likely to cause addiction than alcohol or prescription narcotics can. He also said the attraction of marijuana to young people probably is enhanced by the fact that it’s illegal.

A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll released this week found that 64 percent of Iowans support allowing patients to use marijuana if their doctors approve.
The Pharmacy Board previously expressed reservations about medical marijuana. But proponents sued, and a judge ruled last year that the board had to consider the matter.

The board last fall held a series of hearings around the state, at which most speakers spoke in favor of medical marijuana.

Board staff members noted a decades-old section of Iowa law giving the board authority to set up rules allowing medical uses of marijuana. But several board members said they thought the Legislature or a broad advisory panel should decide the matter.

Medical marijuana bills in the Legislature are considered dead for the year, but proponents hope the pharmacy board's vote will give the issue momentum next year.

A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll released this week found that 64 percent of Iowans support allowing patients to use marijuana if their doctors approve.

 

Nov 10, 2009 - AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research

Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group
reverses long-held position on medical marijuana
Americans for Safe Access Press Release copied from:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5838

Houston, TX -- The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research. The CSAPH report concluded that, "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis." Furthermore, the report urges that "the Schedule I status of marijuana be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."

The change of position by the largest physician-based group in the country was precipitated in part by a resolution adopted in June of 2008 by the Medical Student Section (MSS) of the AMA in support of the reclassification of marijuana's status as a Schedule I substance. In the past year, the AMA has considered three resolutions dealing with medical marijuana, which also helped to influence the report and its recommendations. The AMA vote on the report took place in Houston, Texas during the organization's annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. The last AMA position, adopted 8 years ago, called for maintaining marijuana as a Schedule I substance, with no medical value.

"It's been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that marijuana has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility," said Sunil Aggarwal, Ph.D., the medical student who spearheaded both the passage of the June 2008 resolution by the MSS and one of the CSAPH report's designated expert reviewers. "The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report that they are seeking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal that will help to educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines." Aggarwal is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest medical marijuana advocacy organization in the U.S.

The AMA's about face on medical marijuana follows an announcement by the Obama Administration in October discouraging U.S. Attorneys from taking enforcement actions in medical marijuana states. In February 2008, a resolution was adopted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the country's second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. The ACP resolution called for an "evidence-based review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance to determine whether it should be reclassified to a different schedule. "The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical marijuana as a health care issue that must be addressed," said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson. "Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics."

Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released to the public, AMA documentation indicates that it: "(1) provides a brief historical perspective on the use of cannabis as medicine; (2) examines the current federal and
state-based legal envelope relevant to the medical use of cannabis; (3) provides a brief overview of our current understanding of the pharmacology and physiology of the endocannabinoid system; (4) reviews clinical trials on the relative safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis and botanical-based products; and (5) places this information in perspective with respect to the current drug regulatory framework."

Further information:
Executive Summary of AMA Report: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report_Executive_Summary.pdf
Recommendations of AMA Report: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report_Recommendations.pdf
American College of Physicians resolution: http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf

 

Oct 27, 2009 - Medical Marijuana and the Law (On Point, Boston NPR)

Listen to the show: http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/10/marijuana-and-the-law

Oct 20, 2009 - Baltimore Cop Neill Franklin, of LEAP, Praises New Obama Marijuana Policy (CNN)

Oct 19, 2009 - Attorney General Eric Holder announced formal guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes

http://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/medical-marijuana.pdf (Official DoJ PDF)

http://mdsafeaccesstest.normlterps.org/index.php?id=31 (HTML copy)