The One Essential Article About Medical Marijuana

[Jim Finnel]

We’ve all heard the claims before – from federal officials, police groups opposing state medical marijuana bills, etc. – that there is no evidence that marijuana is a legitimate medicine. Readers of this blog know that’s nonsense, but there’s been a need for an article in the peer-reviewed scientific literature that lays out the scientific case in a clear, tightly-focused way.

Recently, a group of scientists published a review article in the Journal of Opioid Management that does just that. The article, “Medicinal Use of Cannabis in the United States: Historical Perspectives, Current Trends, and Future Directions,” is one every medical marijuana activist should keep handy.

The authors, led by Sunil Aggarwal of the University of Washington, walk readers through the massive body of medical evidence for marijuana’s safety and efficacy, including “the 33 completed and published American controlled clinical trials with cannabis.” They note that “nearly all of the 33 published controlled clinical trials with cannabis conducted in the United States have shown significant and measurable benefits in subjects receiving the treatment.”

They also point out that the federal government has conducted only one long-term study of medical marijuana, the IND program that still provides marijuana to four patients. But it’s a study in name only, as “no clinical response data in the patient cohort have ever been systematically collected or disseminated.”

Translation: If officials don’t know that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine, it’s because they don’t want to know.


News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Author: Bruce Mirken
Copyright: 2008 Marijuana Policy Project Contact: Contact MPP
Website: The One Essential Article About Medical Marijuana — MPP Blog

 

[Keith Lake]

Here's the abstract from the peer reviewed paper..


Cannabis (marijuana) has been used for medicinal purposes for millennia, said to be first noted by the Chinese in c. 2737 BCE. Medicinal cannabis arrived in the United States much later, burdened with a remarkably checkered, yet colorful, history. Despite early robust use, after the advent of opioids and aspirin, medicinal cannabis use faded. Cannabis was criminalized in the United States in 1937, against the advice of the American Medical Association submitted on record to Congress. The past few decades have seen renewed interest in medicinal cannabis, with the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Medicine, and the American College of Physicians, all issuing statements of support for further research and development. The recently discovered endocannabinoid system has greatly increased our understanding of the actions of exogenous cannabis. Endocannabinoids appear to control pain, muscle tone, mood state, appetite, and inflammation, among other effects. Cannabis contains more than 100 different cannabinoids and has the capacity for analgesia through neuromodulation in ascending and descending pain pathways, neuroprotection, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This article reviews the current and emerging research on the physiological mechanisms of cannabinoids and their applications in managing chronic pain, muscle spasticity, cachexia, and other debilitating problems.

Source

 

[Keith Lake]

Well isn't that a shocker; Marijuana inarguably has medicinal properties.

Hope the FDA stops by for a read

 

[michaelkaer]

I read a piece done several years ago about a couple of celeb types going to the person in charge of the FDA. They said they had found a plant that could be the best crop we could grow and generate lots of money and food. They got an audience with the director and when he asked about this new wonder plant they told him about hemp. It was said he went rigid and told them the audience was finished. He refused to listen. He may as well have stuck his fingers in his ears and go "lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.......". Even when they have been handed all the information in a clear manner they can not use it. I would like to know why. What exactly is so powerful that it can keep this prohibition in place in spite of all logic to the contrary? I came across this quote and it says it all.

"This is a disaster and it wouldn’t be happening if our marijuana policy weren't such a mind-bending theater of idiocy and intolerance."

Copyright: 2008 StoptheDrugWar.org

 

[Propa Gator]

Translation: If officials don't know that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine, it's because they don't want to know.

They won't say it. They're not. They're getting paid​