Pubdate: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA) Copyright: 2002 Santa Cruz Sentinel Contact: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394 Author: Mark Engel Cited: GW Pharmaceuticals http://www.gwpharm.com/ Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1728/a02.html DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA I must correct some errors in Bob Messing's recent letter regarding medical marijuana. True, THC, one of the active substances in marijuana, is available in pill form by prescription, trade-name Marinol. For purely political reasons, this drug was "fast-tracked" by the FDA, without the usual clinical trials, and it's synthesized, not extracted from marijuana, making it unconscionably expensive, around $8 per dose. Marinol is not a good formulation. As anyone who's eaten a brownie knows, marijuana taken orally can take an hour to "come on," whereas smoked marijuana works instantly. Patients with nausea may not be able to keep the pill down; patients with digestive difficulties may not be able to absorb it. Moreover, THC isn't the only active ingredient, just the most psychoactive. CBD may be the anti-spasmodic agent, and the synergistic effects of many other components are being studied. See the Web site of GW Pharmaceuticals (UK) for details. They're developing delivery systems that don't involve smoking. Meanwhile, though smoking may not seem scientific or healthy, a UCLA study found that smoking marijuana causes no impairment of lung function, and no case of lung cancer has ever been documented in a marijuana (but not tobacco) smoker. Marijuana may cause "loss of short-term memory and motor skills" in some people. I smoked before and during the break in my GRE exams and got 800/720/800 out of a possible 800/800/800. I regularly win online trivia contests (instant recall, fast typing) against international competition while smoking. People who don't like what marijuana does for them shouldn't (and don't) smoke it. Marijuana is "fairly harmless" and should be decriminalized. It is also real medicine. The voters of California were right and the DEA should be ashamed. Mark Engel Ben Lomond - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake