Ohio Patient Network (OPN) - Newsletter

* CONFERENCE ON THE MEDICAL USES OF CANNABINOIDS TO BE HELD SEPTEMBER 7 AND 8

* STUDY SHOWS THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS, NO ADVERSE EFFECTS IN LONG-TERM MARIJUANA USERS

* MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH FINALLY APPROVED

* CANADIAN CANNABIS DECISION MAY SPARK NEW THINKING

* MARIJUANA EXTRACTS FOR PAIN STUDY TO BEGIN IN CANADA

* NORTHCOAST NORML CALLS FOR DIRECTOR'S RESIGNATION

* YOU ARE INVITED TO OPN MEETINGS

* HOW TO GET YOUR INFORMATION IN OPNews

* HOW TO BE REMOVED FROM THE OPNews LIST

* HOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR

(Lafayette, IN) On Friday and Saturday, September 7 & 8, Indiana NORML, in conjunction with Purdue NORML will sponsor Indiana's first ever "Conference on the Medical Uses of Cannabinoids." The conference will be held at Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana.

Featured speakers: Dr. John Morgan M.D., a physician and member of national NORML. Dr. Morgan teaches pharmacology at City University of New York and has published over 100 articles, books and book chapters on the clinical pharmacology of psychoactive drugs. Dr. Clark Brittain, M.D. is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Indiana University and a consultant in gynecology at the IU Health Center. Angel McClary has been a member of the Oakland, California Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative since 1998 and is prescribed Marijuana for the treatment of AIDS wasting syndrome, severe chronic pain disorder, seizure disorder and nausea. Steven W. Dillion, Esq. is a practicing criminal defense attorney in Indiana. He is currently Chairman of the Board of National NORML and also chairs Indiana NORML.

Registration is $75, $35 for students if you register before August 24th. Late registrations: $100, student $45. The fee covers conference materials, welcoming reception and conference refreshments. Lodging is available at the Purdue Memorial Union Club Hotel.

(Missoula, MT) A battery of medical tests on a cohort of chronic, legal medical marijuana smokers reveals no significant physical or cognitive impairment attributable to marijuana, according to preliminary results of a recent study. All four patients examined in the study are participants in the FDA/NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program, and have been smoking government-grown pot daily for more than a decade.

"This data agrees with the results of other chronic use studies performed in the 1970s in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Greece that found no significant attributable health problems in cannabis smokers. However, this study is the first of its kind to examine chronic cannabis usage in medical patients using a consistent source of medicine of known potency," said Dr. Ethan Russo, who headed the study.

Russo did observe "mild changes in pulmonary function" in three of the four patients, but noted these changes weren't significant nor was there any evidence of malignancy. He speculated that the changes could be at least partially due to the weak potency of government-grown marijuana and its large content of fibrous material.

No other tests, including MRI brain scans, chest X-rays, neuropsychological tests, immunological assays, and EEGs showed any significant adverse side-effects attributable to marijuana.

In addition, the study affirmed pot's therapeutic value for a variety of symptoms. The results demonstrate clinical effectiveness in these patients in treating glaucoma, chronic musculoskeletal pain, spasm and nausea, and spasticity of multiple sclerosis, the study's authors wrote. They maintain that all four patients are stable with respect to their chronic conditions, and are taking many fewer standard pharmaceuticals than before they began using medical cannabis.

This study is believed to be the first to examine the overall health status of medical marijuana patients in the IND program. That program began distributing medical pot to patients in 1976, but was closed to new applicants in 1992. Seven surviving patients remain in the program, though their health status is monitored by their individual physicians. Neither the FDA nor NIDA has previously published any follow-up studies on this group of patients.

The study was funded in part by grants from MAPS (The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), philanthropists John Gilmore and Preston Parish, and the Zimmer Family Foundation.

For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation at (202) 483-8751. Dr. Ethan Russo may be contacted at (406) 327-3372. A full report of the study will appear in the January 2002 issue of The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, published by Haworth Press.

(California) On June 13, a federal shipment of marijuana arrived at the San Mateo County Health Center for a medical marijuana study involving people with AIDS. The county will test the feasibility of allowing patients to take marijuana out of a hospital setting to smoke it for medical research. Assuming that there are no diversion problems or other drawbacks, the study’s subsequent phases may generate the clinical data needed to meet FDA’s requirements for the approval of marijuana as a prescription medicine. This study is unique in that it is being funded entirely by the county. (And it is the only study underway in the country.)

Elsewhere in California, the state-funded Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is awaiting federal approval of four grant proposals to study smoked marijuana.

(London) - Advocates of the medical use of marijuana got a boost on Monday when Canada became the first country in the world to allow people suffering from chronic illnesses to legally grow and use the drug.

The landmark decision puts the therapeutic use of the popular recreational drug on the world agenda and could sway other nations reviewing the use of the drug in relieving pain from illnesses such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, cancer and degenerative muscle and bone diseases.

“It is very courageous for the Canadian government to do this,'' Roger Pertwee, a leading expert on cannabis from Aberdeen University in Canada, told Reuters.

“It is the first country that has legalized cannabis for medical use, so in that sense it is very groundbreaking. It will certainly make other countries take it seriously,'' said Pertwee, a neuropharmacology professor.

Possessing, growing and selling cannabis for recreational use is still a crime in Canada but patients whose doctors write a certificate saying they need it for medical reasons will be allowed to grow and use the drug without fear of prosecution.

Patients with chronic illnesses have been forced to either break the law to get cannabis or stick with legal drugs that may not work for them or have unpleasant side effects.

“It is very tough on people who genuinely need it and can't have it just because it is being used so much recreationally and the government is so worried about that,'' Pertwee said.

The Canadian decision puts it on a collision course with the United States, whose Supreme Court ruled in May there could be no exceptions to the illegality of cannabis.

Pertwee applauded the Canadian decision because it relieves the dilemma of patients, but he and other scientists and clinicians say problems remain with the supply, dose and delivery systems of marijuana into the body for medicinal use.

Some scientists also agree with the Canadian Medical Association, which is against the new law because it feels there is not enough scientific proof about how it works, how much should be taken or how it interacts with other medication.

But Mark Rogerson of GW Pharmaceutical, which aims to develop the world's first cannabis-based medicines, said the Canadian decision supported arguments for the medical benefits.

“There is no doubt this demonstrates the Canadian health authorities recognize the potential contribution of cannabis-based medicines,'' he said in a telephone interview.

Britain's Medical Research Council is doing research into the benefits of cannabis for multiple sclerosis. The Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords (upper house) has also suggested there should be more leniency in the therapeutic use of cannabis.

“There may be some countries which don't have a policy on this now which may be forced into having a policy and some of those countries may go the same route as Canada,'' Pertwee said.

(Ottawa, Ontario) An English pharmaceutical company specializing in medicinal cannabis extracts has received permission to study the effects of a marijuana spray on chronic pain patients in Canada. The upcoming randomized, double-blind study will be the first trial of its kind in Canada.

"The start of clinical trials in Canada is the first phase of our international trials program," said Dr. Geoffrey Guy, chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals in London. "The Canadian health authorities have recognized the potential contribution of cannabis-based medicines in the treatment of many different conditions."

Patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, spinal cord injury and other forms of chronic pain will participate in the study, which will be performed at The Rehabilitation Centre in Ottawa.

Results of a previous U.K. trial of 75 patients found that marijuana extracts administered under the tongue greatly reduced pain, muscle spasms and bladder dysfunction in patients with MS.

Since June, Health Canada has appropriated more than a million dollars to fund medicinal cannabis research, including an $840,000 grant to study the efficacy of smoked marijuana in the treatment of the AIDS wasting syndrome.

(Cleveland, OH): The Northcoast chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is calling for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Director Lucille Fleming to resign in response to unsubstantiated and inflammatory statements she made regarding the potential health risks of marijuana.

Fleming alleged that marijuana smoking has "rotted the brains" of many young people currently in drug treatment, on an August 6 Cleveland Public Radio broadcast.

"There is no scientific evidence that marijuana smoking even in chronic users causes any significant physical or cognitive impairment," said Northcoast NORML President John Hartman. He noted that preliminary findings from a recent study released this week of participants in the FDA/NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program who have been smoking government grown pot daily for more than a decade found no significant health effect attributable to marijuana for long term users. Earlier population studies performed in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Greece reported similar results.

"Ohio should enter the 21st century with a director of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services whose views about the health effects of marijuana aren't from the Stone Age," says Hartman. "If we are to truly develop a policy of harm reduction for Ohioans who use marijuana, we need a director in touch with the current scientific data regarding marijuana."

OPNews, a publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN), provides medical cannabis news that affects Ohio patients, caregivers, and health professionals. Articles are intended for information purposes and do not reflect an official position by OPN or the OPN Board of Directors.

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