Dan Shapiro was the first person I knew to use medical marijuana. As a junior at Vassar College in 1987, he was being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma with potent chemotherapy that caused severe nausea and vomiting. When Dan's mother learned that smoking marijuana could relieve the distressing side effect, to help her son, this otherwise law-abiding woman planted a garden full of the illegal weed in her Connecticut back yard. Decades later, marijuana as medicine has become a national phenomenon, widely accepted by the public. Although the chemical-rich plant botanically known as Cannabis sativa remains a federally controlled substance, its therapeutic use is now legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia. [continues 1006 words]
LONDON - Cannabis-based medicines were approved on Monday for use by the National Health Service in England and Wales, a milestone decision that could change the lives of thousands of patients. Three treatments using medicinal cannabis were authorized by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, a public body that provides guidance on health care practices. The decision comes a year after Sajid Javid, then the British home secretary, said that some doctors could legally prescribe the drug in special cases. [continues 702 words]
Patients still struggling to get covered by insurance plans As Alberta moves forward on retail applications for recreational marijuana, those who use the drug for medical reasons still wait for coverage. Most forms of medical cannabis do not have a Drug Identification Number (DIN) in Canada, which leaves it subject to tax and exempts it from most health coverage plans. "We're not talking about drug users using this to get high, we're talking about patients that need it to be able to function and be part of a working society," said Scott Bladon, an Edmonton man who has legally used cannabis for three years to treat psoriatic arthritis. [continues 523 words]
Moves to make it easier for patients to get cannabis-based medication for pain relief or symptom control have been welcomed by Northland's medical marijuana campaigners. However, some say the change doesn't go far enough or do anything to help patients to pay for medical cannabis. Last week Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced that people who wanted to use non-pharmaceutical cannabis products, which are made from cannabis but with less rigorous standards than those applied to pharmaceuticals, no longer need to get approval from the Minister of Heath. [continues 598 words]
Modern medicine has evolved greatly over the years in treating cancer and other illnesses. We have radiation and chemotherapy to reduce tumour growths, we have opioids to decrease pain and there are a number of over the counter drugs we can buy when we're feeling under the weather. But what about using marijuana in treatments for life threatening diseases and other life-altering ailments? It's not talked about very openly, in fact many who use cannabis oil tend to keep it under wraps, said Don Keith, a medical marijuana license holder in Petrolia. That's why he has planned a discussion group at the Petrolia library on Friday, Oct. 28, to offer support and a safe place to talk about using medical marijuana without ridicule or judgment. [continues 911 words]
VANCOUVER - Apparent laziness caused by the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana persists even when the same amount of pot's medicinal component is added, a new study suggests. Lead author Mason Silveira, a PhD candidate in the University of British Columbia's psychology department, said one part of the research done on rats involved giving them THC, the intoxicating part of cannabis, and having them choose between an easy or hard task to earn sugary treats. Silveira said that under normal circumstances, most rats preferred the more difficult task to get more rewards but they switched to the easier option when given THC. [continues 384 words]
Apparent laziness caused by the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana persists even when the same amount of pot's medicinal component is added, a new study suggests. Lead author Mason Silveira, a PhD candidate in the University of British Columbia's psychology department, said one part of the research done on rats involved giving them THC, the intoxicating part of cannabis, and having them choose between an easy or hard task to earn sugary treats. Mr. Silveira said that under normal circumstances, most rats preferred the more difficult task to get more rewards, but they switched to the easier option when given THC. [continues 527 words]
If a referendum was held on legalising cannabis for personal use, would you support it? You'd have to be off your scone. The New Zealand Drug Foundation (NZDF) has been crowing about the results of its self-selecting poll, indicating broad public support for decriminalising cannabis for personal use. Rebecca Reider made history over the weekend by bringing the first legal raw cannabis flower into New Zealand, campaigners say. The NZDF has steadily become a strident proponent for law reform, to the point that they now sound more like glorified pushers, campaigning for "the removal of criminal penalties for drug use, possession and social supply." [continues 544 words]
While spending endless hours in a waiting room at UAMS I've now read multiple anti-medical marijuana editorials printed in the course of a couple of weeks. It must be nice to have your own bully pulpit. Please excuse my tardiness in responding. I volunteer as a cancer patient advocate and I've been kind of busy. You seem to be under the impression that cannabis is only used for nausea. You mention the synthetic cannabis anti-nausea drug, Marinol, that makes money for a big drug company. I've worked with cancer patients who take it by the handful with no effect in stopping nausea. Smoking real cannabis does. It also stimulates their appetite, improves mental attitude and relieves pain better than constipation-causing addictive opiates. Cannabis contains a component, CBD (cannibidiol), that's been shown effective for the treatment of childhood epileptic seizure syndromes. An CBD/THC oral spray drug called Sativex is currently on fast-track status with the FDA for the treatment of multiple sclerosis tremors. CBD also shows efficacy against colon cancer. Sativex might also prove effective against my patient's colon cancer, but until medical cannabis is legalized, research is stymied. [continues 100 words]
CBD Oil Reduces Seizure Activity but Without the Side Effects of Cannabis Preparations of the leaves and resin of the cannabis plant have been in use for more than 2,000 years. First introduced into western medicine in the mid-19th century, cannabis was prescribed in the past for a diverse range of complaints including anxiety, arthritis and rheumatic disorders, migraine and painful menstruation. A cannabis derivative, nabilone, is effective in treating nausea and vomiting brought on by chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients. The benefits of cannabis in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been well described. It reduces muscle cramps and relaxes bladder and bowel sphincters. And it has been shown to reduce the pressure in the eyeball that leads to glaucoma. [continues 371 words]
Will Making Weed a Schedule II Drug Be Bad for Oregon? I read that weed might be removed from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Is that bad for the Oregon scene? NOT IN MY OPINION, but people disagree. The argument is that if weed were moved to Schedule II or III, big pharma would roll in and crush the little guys (that is, everyone who sells weed in the legit or gray market). But I think the little guys would be fine, just like today. [continues 390 words]
Once again we see another suffering New Zealander on TV news who is having great difficulties getting the only medicine that really helps him, medicinal cannabis. The caregiver of this poor man said that once he started taking Sativex [pharmaceutical cannabis product from overseas], he enjoyed his first good nights of sleep, a reduction in symptoms, had a welcome, healthy appetite and actually "felt good". Sativex costs over $1,000/month. Peter Dunne is insisting that these victims of serious health problems must pay heavily and jump through many hoops in order to get access to a cannabis product. [continues 115 words]
Medicinal cannabis advocates in Nelson are among those wanting international input after a "disappointing" review of guidelines for the drug. A Government review of the guidelines released last month said five medical professionals who had made at least one application to prescribe approved medicinal cannabis product Sativex unanimously supported the current rules, suggesting only minor changes. Requirements that all other treatment options should be exhausted to gain approval for Sativex and to be hospitalised if taking unapproved, cannabis-based medicine were removed but several advocates said the review didn't go far enough. [continues 459 words]
Terminally ill Helen Kelly says the Government has made her a criminal after a review of medicinal cannabis guidelines has resulted in little change. More than a year ago the former Council of Trade Unions president was diagnosed with lung cancer and after trying a variety of different medications she resorted to cannabis for pain relief. Kelly is illegally sourcing her own drugs after her bid for medicinal cannabis was withdrawn - the result of a ''complicated'' application process that required information that was ''impossible to access''. [continues 388 words]
First Minister Makes Controversial Health Announcement As She Confirms Dundee Will Get Its Own Trauma Centre Nicola Sturgeon would back decriminalising cannabis for medicinal use. The First Minister said there was a "specific case" for relaxing laws to treat people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis but reaction to her announcement split the audience of around 150 activists in Dundee's Queen's Hotel. A wide range of topics were covered in the hour long question and answer session, with the SNP leader committing to building a trauma centre in Dundee and said she would "love" to implement Frank's Law but stopped short of committing herself to a fairer care system. [continues 254 words]
Nelsonians wanting a medicinal cannabis prescription are struggling to gain approval because of the lack of appropriate pain specialists in the region. Medicinal Cannabis Awareness New Zealand trustee Shane Le Brun said no Nelson doctor has prescribed medicinal cannabis spray Sativex as yet, despite a number of chronic pain sufferers and their families clamouring for access. The greatest barrier was the lack of a pain clinic in the Nelson region, he said. "No one even has a show of getting it in Nelson at the moment. It's such a rigmarole patients are a bit hesitant to go shopping [around] for it. [continues 376 words]
New Zealand's first medicinal cannabis charity is fundraising to provide patients with the unfunded drugs. Medical Cannabis Awareness New Zealand (MCANZ) became a registered charity on Friday. Co-ordinator Shane Le Brun said it had launched a fundraising campaign, initially to fund Sativex for 10 patients. Sativex is the only approved cannabis-derived pharmaceutical available in New Zealand. The orally administered spray requires ministerial approval before it can be prescribed. "Approximately 30 Kiwis now have active prescriptions for Sativex but MCANZ believes many more New Zealanders could benefit from this medication," Le Brun said. [continues 452 words]
Clinical Trial Shows Reduced Seizures in Children, Possibly Increasing Chances of FDA Approval A marijuana extract significantly reduced seizures in severely epileptic children, according to a landmark study conducted in part at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Supporters said the results greatly improve the chances for the drug, called Epidiolex, to win eventual approval by federal regulators for prescription use to treat Dravet syndrome, a debilitating type of epilepsy that strikes in early childhood. The drug would be the first derived from the marijuana plant to win such approval. [continues 1054 words]
Medicinal cannabis campaigner Rose Renton has started a new petition calling on the Government to make cannabis-based medications available in New Zealand without delay. The petition, which was launched yesterday, urges "reform of the law to allow access to quality, affordable cannabis for medical use" and says current efforts to regulate access to pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products are "too strict, too slow and too expensive". Renton hoped the petition would draw between 50,000 and 100,000 signatories and more discussion in mainstream media. [continues 397 words]
