Pubdate: Fri, 31 Aug 2012
Source: Daily Observer, The (Antigua)
Copyright: 2012 Observer Publications
Contact: http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?page_id=41738
Website: http://www.antiguaobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5270
Author: Alicia Simon

SIR PRINCE FAVOURS DECRIMINALISING MARIJUANA

St. John's, Antigua -- A prominent doctor said he would indeed 
prescribe medical marijuana to patients if the drug were 
decriminalised in Antigua & Barbuda.

Sir Prince Ramsey relayed that the positives of medicinal marijuana 
use outweigh the negatives associated with it -- a position that he 
has held for the last 12 years.

"It is the misuse of the drug that causes the problem. They misuse 
the drug by using too much and get addicted and that is the problem," 
the doctor said in an interview with OBSERVER Media.

The long held debate was recently reignited when the Belizean 
government's exploration into decriminalising small amounts of 
marijuana for personal uses was proposed. The country's Chamber of 
Commerce recently endorsed the initiative.

According to Sir Prince, marijuana has been found to be an effective 
treatment for several medical conditions, including reducing pressure 
in the eye for glaucoma, easing muscle spasms for multiple sclerosis 
patients and stimulating the appetite of AIDS patients, to name a few.

Arguments have been made that there is no need to smoke marijuana in 
a cigarette form, now that a prescription drug called Marinol is on the market.

Marinol is a drug that uses a synthetic version of 
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the active chemical in 
marijuana, replicating the effects of inhaled marijuana use.

However, former AIDS clinical care coordinator said that doctors 
rarely prescribe Marinol, because it takes 90 minutes to achieve 
"peak concentration" in the blood stream as opposed to 15 minutes when smoked.

He added, "Moreover, oral THC is quickly broken down by the liver. As 
a result, blood levels of oral THC tend to be only 10 per cent as 
high as blood levels of inhaled THC."

As for concerns over the effects of marijuana use, the doctor said 
any time a substance is inhaled there is "some risk." He noted that 
medical research has found that it is difficult to develop emphysema 
or any other respiratory problem from smoking marijuana because 
"heavy marijuana users smoke far less than heavy tobacco smokers."

According to Sir Prince, a study ranking the dependency potential of 
heroin, alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, caffeine and nicotine "found 
marijuana no more addictive than caffeine."

This is in stark contrast to a document found at the Antigua & 
Barbuda ONDCP website that said, "all forms of cannabis are 
mind-altering (psychoactive drugs)."

It went on to say that some of the short-term effects of marijuana 
include memory loss, distorted perception, difficulty thinking and anxiety.

It added that marijuana has "many of the same respiratory problems 
that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, 
more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung 
infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways."
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