Scientists, politicians, pundits and everyday people want to understand what science has been able to accomplish so far with marijuana's medical potential. As medical marijuana was discovered, many questions have also risen: Can marijuana really help people with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, or any of several other conditions it is purported to relieve? How does marijuana affect the human body? Could the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use possibly outweigh the risk of encouraging drug abuse? All of these questions remain to be answered completely, but Alison Mack is trying to give what answers she can in her book "Marijuana As Medicine: The Science beyond the Controversy."
Recently these questions are starting to be asked here in Illinois, mainly because of the medical marijuana bill that has passed in the Illinois Senate. Senate Bill 1381, sponsored by Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) and co-sponsored by Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) and Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston), would create the "Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program," allowing a person diagnosed by a doctor with a "debilitating medical condition" to legally possess marijuana. This bill still needs to be passed by the House and then signed by our governor before it becomes law, but once it does, Illinois will join the 13 other states that currently have legalized medical marijuana.
Many never get past the media image of marijuana being a "gateway" drug, yet many are now seeing the medical discoveries and benefits of this drug. In the pursuit of finding new and better pain relievers, people discovered the pain-relieving properties of marijuana. It has since been used to treat a wide variety of painful conditions, from headache to the pain of childbirth, without the consequence of serious side effects.
Now, the predominant use for medical marijuana has been to help AIDS patients. Mack asserts that the drug has "a purported ability to soothe a variety of debilitating symptoms." Many such patients echo the comments of the HIV-positive man cited in Mack's book, who claimed that marijuana calmed his stomach after taking medication, stimulated his appetite, eased his pain and lifted his mood. Because HIV attacks the immune system, it wreaks havoc throughout the body. Additionally, the virus also triggers a potentially lethal wasting syndrome, painful nerve damage and dementia. The AIDS patients cited by Mack have reported that marijuana eases all of these problems and more.
Furthermore, not only is medical marijuana seen as useful for patients suffering from AIDS, but is also being increasingly recognized for the benefits that it gives to cancer patients as well. Mack reports, "People with cancer who use marijuana say that it benefits them in several ways: by quelling nausea, suppressing vomiting, increasing appetite, relieving pain, and soothing anxiety.
There is considerable clinical evidence indicates that marijuana could yield a variety of useful medicines, especially for nausea, vomiting and appetite stimulation. Many of these symptoms are induced by chemotherapy, but with the use of marijuana, or marijuana-derived drugs such as Marinol, relief may be provided to these patients without serious side effects and without interfering with the chemotherapy.
Although marijuana has been recently gaining momentum in becoming a legal medical use drug in Illinois, it's still difficult to remove the stigma that the drug also has in the eyes of the USA's law enforcement. The point here is to not let the impact of drug laws on society overshadow the science that is backing up the medical use of marijuana.
Despite that there is a chance for medical marijuana becoming legalized in Illinois one should also know that there are strict regulations on how it will be distributed based on recommendations by the Institute of Medicine. Such IOM recommendations cite that there should only be short-term use of smoked marijuana (less than six months) for patients with debilitating symptoms (such as intractable pain or vomiting) and it must meet the following conditions: all other approved medications have failed to help alleviate the patient's symptoms, the symptoms can reasonably be expected to be relieved by rapid-onset cannabinoid drugs, and such treatment is administered under medical supervision.
With the hope of legalization, IOM recommendations and other safety guidelines, patients suffering from several diseases may soon find an alternative way to find relief.
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Chicago Flame Online
Author: Quetzalli Castro
Copyright: 2009 Campus Chronicle
Contact: Chicago Flame
Website: Marijuana's future as a legal medicine - Pulse
Recently these questions are starting to be asked here in Illinois, mainly because of the medical marijuana bill that has passed in the Illinois Senate. Senate Bill 1381, sponsored by Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) and co-sponsored by Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) and Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston), would create the "Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program," allowing a person diagnosed by a doctor with a "debilitating medical condition" to legally possess marijuana. This bill still needs to be passed by the House and then signed by our governor before it becomes law, but once it does, Illinois will join the 13 other states that currently have legalized medical marijuana.
Many never get past the media image of marijuana being a "gateway" drug, yet many are now seeing the medical discoveries and benefits of this drug. In the pursuit of finding new and better pain relievers, people discovered the pain-relieving properties of marijuana. It has since been used to treat a wide variety of painful conditions, from headache to the pain of childbirth, without the consequence of serious side effects.
Now, the predominant use for medical marijuana has been to help AIDS patients. Mack asserts that the drug has "a purported ability to soothe a variety of debilitating symptoms." Many such patients echo the comments of the HIV-positive man cited in Mack's book, who claimed that marijuana calmed his stomach after taking medication, stimulated his appetite, eased his pain and lifted his mood. Because HIV attacks the immune system, it wreaks havoc throughout the body. Additionally, the virus also triggers a potentially lethal wasting syndrome, painful nerve damage and dementia. The AIDS patients cited by Mack have reported that marijuana eases all of these problems and more.
Furthermore, not only is medical marijuana seen as useful for patients suffering from AIDS, but is also being increasingly recognized for the benefits that it gives to cancer patients as well. Mack reports, "People with cancer who use marijuana say that it benefits them in several ways: by quelling nausea, suppressing vomiting, increasing appetite, relieving pain, and soothing anxiety.
There is considerable clinical evidence indicates that marijuana could yield a variety of useful medicines, especially for nausea, vomiting and appetite stimulation. Many of these symptoms are induced by chemotherapy, but with the use of marijuana, or marijuana-derived drugs such as Marinol, relief may be provided to these patients without serious side effects and without interfering with the chemotherapy.
Although marijuana has been recently gaining momentum in becoming a legal medical use drug in Illinois, it's still difficult to remove the stigma that the drug also has in the eyes of the USA's law enforcement. The point here is to not let the impact of drug laws on society overshadow the science that is backing up the medical use of marijuana.
Despite that there is a chance for medical marijuana becoming legalized in Illinois one should also know that there are strict regulations on how it will be distributed based on recommendations by the Institute of Medicine. Such IOM recommendations cite that there should only be short-term use of smoked marijuana (less than six months) for patients with debilitating symptoms (such as intractable pain or vomiting) and it must meet the following conditions: all other approved medications have failed to help alleviate the patient's symptoms, the symptoms can reasonably be expected to be relieved by rapid-onset cannabinoid drugs, and such treatment is administered under medical supervision.
With the hope of legalization, IOM recommendations and other safety guidelines, patients suffering from several diseases may soon find an alternative way to find relief.
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Chicago Flame Online
Author: Quetzalli Castro
Copyright: 2009 Campus Chronicle
Contact: Chicago Flame
Website: Marijuana's future as a legal medicine - Pulse
