FREE ESSAY ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

One of the most controversial issues in the United States is over medical marijuana. Many
experiments test the validity of the drug as a medicine, and results of these experiments
receive much praise but also some critique. The DEA and the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) are battling over the issue. The underlying matter that
cannot be ignored is that marijuana proves to be a useful medication for many patients,
especially those with wasting diseases such as AIDS and cancer.
In 1996 California passed Proposition 215, which allowed the use of medical marijuana
(4444). Since then, six other states have made medical marijuana legal; Alaska, Arizona,
Hawaii, Maine, Oregon, and Washington. Santa Cruz in California has gone even further,
"allowing the medical use of marijuana with a doctor's note certifying that the patient
has a condition for which marijuana is considered helpful, including AIDS, cancer,
multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, anorexia, chronic pain, arthritis, and spastic diseases
(22222)." Santa Cruz law allows growing marijuana so it may be sold for the cost of
production. This way, medical users do not have to resort to buying at street prices. 
The government made it a requirement that all medical studies on marijuana be paid for by
scarce grant money from the National Institute of Health (NIH). In recent years,
scientists have tried to persuade the NIH to grant them money for medical studies on
marijuana, only to be turned down. Only three studies have been approved by the NIH. On
May 22, 1999 the Clinton Administration loosened that restriction, allowing researchers
to buy Government-grown marijuana for their research, as long as they can fund
themselves. Chuck Blanchard, who is the chief counsel for McCaffrey (director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy) says, "Before, the problem was if you wanted
marijuana, you had to not only show that it was high-quality research, you had to show
that it was more important than other competing applications for NIH funding. Now, as
long as you are willing to show that it is high-quality research and also provide your
own funding, you can have access to medical marijuana (66666)". The decision of the
Clinton Administration came two months after a government-sponsored study concluded that
"the active ingredients in marijuana, called cannabinoids, appeared useful for treating
pain, nausea, and severe weight loss in AIDS patients (666666)." No evidence of marijuana
being a "gateway drug" was found. The study also came up with some surprising results. It
found that treating glaucoma through marijuana was not as useful as we thought. The drug
does reduce eye pressure, but the effects are short-lived. The same study found that
marijuana was effective in relieving muscle spasms due to multiple sclerosis (888888).
At the 13th International AIDS Conference on July 13, 2000, Dr. Donald Abrams of the
University of California released the results of the $1 million study of marijuana on
AIDS patients. Abram's concern was "to determine whether the chemical components of
marijuana in any way interfered with the body's ability to break down components of
protease inhibitors". Protease inhibitors are relatively new antiviral drugs that help
HIV patients retain a healthy immune system. Abram found that there was no interference
between marijuana and the protease inhibitors in any of the 62 patients. Also, Abram's
experiment found that marijuana increased the appetite of the HIV patients. The patients
who smoked marijuana (three times a day for 21 days) gained an average of 7.7 pounds,
while patients who took Marinol (pill containing active ingredients of marijuana
including THC) gained an average of 7 pounds. After the experiment, Dr. Abrams said,
"It's exciting. It's historic. It confirms that all the states that have allowed patients
to use medical marijuana have not made a serious mistake." SABIN 
Other studies have found that marijuana indeed has medicinal value, as well as some risk.
"The US National Institutes of Health and an affiliate of the National Academy of
Sciences have concluded that the active ingredients in marijuana can ease the pain,
nausea, and vomiting of cancer and AIDS. It also is prescribed for certain glaucoma
patients (555555)." The NIH, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, and San Mateo
County will all be sponsoring future medical marijuana studies. One study has found that
smoking marijuana increases the risk of a heart attack. Researchers discovered that the
risk of heart attack was the highest in the first hour after smoking, dropping to twice
the normal risk in the second hour, and then returning to normal quickly after (77777).
Dr. Murray Mittleman, the head researcher of the study, went on to say, "The risk of a
heart attack for a 50-year-old otherwise healthy man after smoking a single marijuana
cigarette would be about 10 in 1 million." 
There are many conflicting viewpoints on marijuana's worth. Dale Gieringer, California
director of NORML, says "... that marijuana is safe and effective and that the government
hasn't a leg to stand on by preventing its medical use (111111)." Dr. Billy Martin, chief
of pharmacology at the Medical College of Vermont says, "We lack evidence that there is
something unique about marijuana, other than an impressive number of anecdotal reports
(44444)." Dr. Lester Grinspoon, chairman of the NORML Foundation says, "We're going to
have to go through this business of doing these studies. They won't prove anything that
clinicians who have paid attention to this don't already know(444444)." The National
Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes if Health both concluded that "there is
evidence that marijuana can be useful in treating some patients who have not responded
well to other therapies (555555)." Dr. Igor Grant, head of UCSD's Center for Medicinal
Cannabis Research brings up a good point, "It seems that if these things are indeed
useful, we would have to find a way to deliver them in a manner that is prescribable
(44444)." He goes on to say that marijuana cigarettes will probably never hit the shelves
of pharmacies. Experts at the Institute of Medicine warn us that the benefits of smoking
marijuana are limited because the smoke itself is toxic, even more so than tobacco
(8888888). Alternative methods of delivering of the drug are already being researched.
Researchers at Albany College of Pharmacy, led by Dr. Audra Stinchcomb are trying to
develop a marijuana patch (similar to the nicotine patch) as an alternative to smoking
medical marijuana. NORML has exclusively researched alternate ways of using marijuana,
such as pills, suppositories, eye and ear drops, and maybe even a marijuana vapor. Allen
St. Pierre, executive director of NORML admits, "However, smoking is a faster way to get
the drug into the system, an important factor in controlling nausea (555555)." Pierre
later says in the AP report, "The American Cancer Society has always been on record
against people smoking tobacco and marijuana. This is a way to assuage opponents
(555555)."
I believe that medical marijuana should be legalized in all states. Although smoking
marijuana may be harmful and risky, there is obvious medicinal value. Alternatives to
smoking medical marijuana are currently being researched to provide a healthier method of
medication. Marijuana is made up of hundreds of cannabinoids, many of which have been
proven helpful for patients with severe illnesses, such as cancer and AIDS. Once the
federal ban on marijuana is lifted, we will finally discover the true medical value of
marijuana. 
Bibliography
Nieves, Evelyn "California Inn Seeking Users of Marijuana as a Medicine" New York Times
20 April 2000: A12
Johnson D. Michael, PharmD Heriza J. Thomas, MD Dennis St. Clark "How to Spot Illicit
Drug Use in Your Patients" Clinical Articles 106.4 (1999): 199
Russell, Sabin "Study Finds Pot Safe for AIDS Patients; Government Funding for Research a
First" San Francisco Chronicle 14 July 2000: A1