Pubdate: Sat, 24 Apr 2010
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)
Copyright: 2010 Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992
Author: Emily Bregel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

DEBATE FIRES UP OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE

In a recurring dream, John Donovan can run without pain. He races 
down a football field as he did in middle school and glides down a 
flight of stairs with ease.

But in reality, the 25-year-old Red Bank resident wakes up to a 
relentless aching in his joints, mainly his hips, knees and ankles.

Just a few months after the onset of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, 
when he was 16, Mr. Donovan struggled to run or even walk quickly, he 
recalled. He now walks with a heavy limp and spends some days in bed, 
trying to move as little as possible.

For Mr. Donovan -- who doesn't drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes -- 
daily hits of marijuana from a glass pipe lessen his pain, without 
inflicting the severe nausea and other side effects he experiences 
from prescribed painkillers.

He spends $400 to $600 a month to buy an ounce of marijuana from 
friends, and he usually smokes the illegal plant in the afternoon to 
remain "clear headed" in the daytime, he said.

"I'd much rather go to a pharmacy, but right now my choice is I have 
to go and partake in an illegal activity to acquire something that 
could be beneficial to me," he said. "That's not a choice that I want to make."

Mr. Donovan, who qualifies for TennCare under a disability category, 
said he is an avid proponent of a bill pending in the Tennessee 
General Assembly that would legalize medical marijuana use for people 
with certain conditions, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and 
epilepsy, with a physician's recommendation.

Chattanooga oncologist Dr. B.W. Ruffner said he never has felt the 
need to suggest marijuana to a cancer patient.

"I don't think there are any benefits that you can't get in other 
ways," he said.

For nausea control, a synthetic form of THC -- the active ingredient 
in marijuana -- is available legally in pill form as Marinol, said 
Dr. Ruffner, president of the Tennessee Medical Association.

"That's a cleaner, safer way to give somebody cannabinoids if that's 
what you want to do," he said.

Legislative Outlook

The Tennessee bill, pending in the House Health and Human Resources 
committee, has no real chance of passing this session, as its 
counterpart in the Senate has not been debated yet, said the House 
sponsor, Rep. Jeanne Richardson, D-Memphis. She's hopeful about the 
bill's chances next session.

Next week the House committee likely will consider amending the bill 
to create a study committee on the issue, she said.

The suggestion of further study was made by Rep. Joey Hensley, 
R-Howenwald, who opposes the bill. The family medicine doctor said 
he's concerned about the lack of clinical guidelines for doctors to 
follow in recommending marijuana to patients.

"I'm a physician myself, and I have no idea how to prescribe 
marijuana and what it's really for," he said. "I don't deny that it 
probably does help with nausea for people with cancer, but I don't 
know about all these other things it's claimed to help."

Rep. Richardson said she's fully in support of a study committee on the issue.

"The study can't hurt us, because the more you objectively look at 
it, the more you understand" the benefits of medical marijuana, she 
said. "I've read the studies. I know what's out there, and I think if 
we can get people to do the same, I think it will pass."

A supporter of the bill, Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, said 
she's heard from many pain medicine specialists who believe medical 
marijuana should be available to their patients.

"It has less side effects than many of the legal narcotics that we 
have prescribed for us, the hydrocodone and some of the others that 
have caused considerable addiction," said Rep. Favors, who is a 
registered nurse.

Rep. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, voted against the bill when it 
was in the House government operations committee. He worried the bill 
would result in the "free-for-all" of the medical marijuana program 
in California, where he said people easily can access marijuana when 
it is not medically warranted. California became the first U.S. state 
to legalize medical marijuana in 1996.

"As it was written, (the bill) was too wide open for me," Rep. Campfield said.

Tennessee's bill would create one of the more highly regulated 
programs in the nation, said Tamar Todd, staff attorney for the New 
York-based Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for the reform of 
drug laws, including legalized medical marijuana.

About 300,000 sick people in Tennessee are living with conditions 
that could qualify them for the proposed access program, proponents 
of the bill say.

Mr. Donovan might be able to qualify to use medical marijuana under 
the category of chronic, debilitating pain, bill supporters say.

Historical Use

Marijuana has been used therapeutically for at least 5,000 years, 
first recorded in ancient China. The mild hallucinogen was a part of 
the U.S. pharmacological list from the late-1800s to 1942, according 
to a 1999 Institute of Medicine report exploring the therapeutic uses 
of the drug.

Under a federal law passed in 1970, marijuana today is classified 
alongside drugs such as heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug. That 
classification indicates marijuana has high potential for abuse and 
no known medical benefits.

The American Medical Association and American College of Physicians 
have requested a reassessment of marijuana's classification, since it 
hinders future research into the drug's medical benefits. The 
Institute of Medicine reported in 1999 that a range of biological 
studies show a number of therapeutic potentials for marijuana-based 
drugs but that clinical data is scarce due to legal constraints.

Marijuana's medical uses already documented range from an appetite 
stimulant and nausea suppressant for cancer patients to recent 
findings that the chemicals in cannabis can inhibit the growth of 
tumors in prostate cancer patients, according to a 2009 British 
Journal of Cancer article.

Based on patient surveys, it's likely that 25,000 patients in 
Tennessee with cancer, AIDS-HIV, hepatitis-C or multiple sclerosis 
already are using marijuana illegally, often with the quiet consent 
of their medical providers, said Bernard Ellis, a former National 
Institutes of Health official and public health epidemiologist, who 
wrote the Tennessee legislation.

For years Mr. Ellis grew cannabis on his farm outside Santa Fe, 
Tenn., to ease his pain from fibromyalgia, and he said he also 
quietly provided marijuana to a network of cancer and AIDS/HIV 
patients. In 2002, he faced federal prosecution and was put on 
probation after he refused to sell marijuana to a local drug dealer, 
who reported him to the authorities, he said.

Programs Proliferating

Supporters of the legislation in Tennessee say the momentum toward 
legalization of marijuana for medical uses is growing nationwide.

Despite federal law prohibiting the use of marijuana, 14 states allow 
medical marijuana use, and at least 14, including Tennessee, are 
considering legislation to do so, Rep. Richardson said.

"This is no longer a fringe issue," Rep. Richardson said when 
introducing the bill last week to the House health and human 
resources committee.

Medical marijuana is not about "Cheech and Chong smoking a bong. That 
is not what we're talking about here. We're talking about 
compassion," she told legislators.

About 81 percent of Americans support legalizing the use of marijuana 
for medical purposes, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Dr. Gene Huffstutter, a local rheumatologist, said the medical data 
for the drugs' benefits for arthritic patients such as Mr. Donovan is 
very limited. But the drug's classification as a Schedule I drug is a 
barrier to more research, he said.

"There are some potential legitimate uses for it and, unless we're 
allowed to study it and capture that data, we won't know," Dr. 
Huffstutter said.

Mr. Donovan says he feels compelled to take a stand on the issue of 
medical marijuana.

"If it were just me, I probably would continue to just use illegally, 
because I can get the product," he said. "But it does affect so many 
people, so many lives."

The Legislation

Under the House bill, H.B. 2562, patients could be eligible for a 
doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana if they have one of 
the following conditions: cancer, Hepatitis-C, multiple sclerosis, 
epilepsy, glaucoma, severe debilitating chronic pain, severe nausea, 
Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease, wasting syndrome 
or if they are enrolled in end-of-life care through hospice.

Any Tennessee farmer could apply to be licensed and overseen by the 
state Department of Agriculture as a supplier. The state Board of 
Pharmacy would regulate processors who package the drug, and the 
Tennessee Department of Health would license and oversee 
dispensaries. Patients and caregivers would not be permitted to grow 
their own marijuana.

The bill could make an ounce of pot available to patients for as 
little as $60 an ounce, supporters say. Within five years, proponents 
say the program could bring an estimated $450 million in revenues 
annually, $85 million of which would be excess revenues for the state.

Possession

In Tennessee, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is a 
misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail 
or a fine of $250. Any amount over half an ounce is presumed as a 
"resale" quantity and can be classified as felony possession, 
punishable by a $2,000 fine and between one and six years in jail, 
depending on one's prior record. Possession of 20 to 99 marijuana 
plants also is considered a felony.

Source: Jerry Sloan, assistant district attorney, Hamilton County

Fast Fact

This year an ABC News poll found that 81 percent of Americans support 
legalizing use of marijuana for medical purposes. A 2004 AARP poll 
found that almost three-quarters of 1,706 adults 45 and older 
surveyed said they believe adults should be allowed to use marijuana 
legally if a physician recommends it. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake