Fw: [Medicalnewscommentaries] IMVA - Medial Marijuana and the Treatmentof Disease - August 19, 2007

[Guest guest]

 

Sunday, August 19, 2007 6:53 AM

[Medicalnewscommentaries] IMVA - Medical Marijuana and the Treatment of Disease - August 19, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

Medical Marijuana and the Treatment of DiseaseInternational Medical Veritas Association

AP Photo: Democratic presidential hopeful New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

 

Gov. Bill Richardson ordered the state Health Department on Friday to resume planning of a medical marijuana program despite the agency's worries about possible federal prosecution. However, the governor stopped short of committing to implement a state-licensed production and distribution system for the drug because State employees could face federal prosecution for implementing the law, which took effect in July.

 

The most basic cruelty of the United States government starts with is draconian marijuana laws. One of the greatest injustices of federal law is in making the safest drugs illegal and the most poisonous ones perfectly legal to administer. For example, US law protects organizations and people that inject mercury containing vaccines into newborn infants, a substance that burns their brain[1], sometimes kills[2], while at the same time it puts people in jail for using a drug fantastically safer. “Thimerosal is one of the most toxic compounds I know of, I can't think of anything that I know of that is more lethal,” says Dr. Boyd Haley,[3] former chemistry chariman at Kentucky University.

Kids who received 100 micrograms of thimerosal were over ten times more likely to have autism than the kids who received no mercury containing vaccines. Dr. Mark Geier

The United States government and most medical organizations will defend to the bitter end the safety of injecting mercury into little children while spending vast resources[4] to arrest and imprison up to 700,000 people a year in the United States alone for the use of one of the safest drug in existence[5] in their war on drugs.[6] According to House of Lords (UK) Report on Cannabis for Medical Purposes, "no-one has ever died as a direct and immediate consequence of recreational or medical use."[7] That makes marijuana the safest drug in the world, safer than Bayer Aspirin when you look at the fact that somewhere between five hundred to one thousand people die each year in the United States from aspirin,[8] (and thousands more from other similar nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In the United States, more than 100,000 people with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis are hospitalized every year for gastrointestinal problems caused by NSAIDs--and at least 16,500 of them die from internal bleeding.[9]

Marijuana is the safest therapeutically active substance known to man, safer than many foods we commonly consume. DEA Judge Francis L. Young.[10]

This is an extraordinarily important chapter for it shows us how deeply the rabbit hole goes in modern civilization and medicine and it opens up for clear view one of the safest and most effective natural medicines we can put in our medical cabinets. What we have to deal with here is a psychological wind shear, an insanity of thought, purpose and action that has created an enormous problem for society.

 

The law also protects dentists who are planting highly toxic mercury only inches from peoples’ brains.

 

The reasons for studying marijuana and employing it in our practices of medicine are practically exhaustive, as this chapter will show. Unless one is not interested in the practice of safe and effective medicine much time should be given to this study and to self experiment with this naturally occurring common plant, which is really just an easy to grow weed. Marijuana has mind, body and even spirit effects that come in quite handy when treating stressed out, toxic and sick people.

 

Reason number one: Marijuana cuts lung cancer tumor growth in half, a 2007 Harvard Medical School study shows.[11] The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies. They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy. THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors.

 

"The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine. Acting through cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, endocannabinoids (as well as THC) are thought to play a role in variety of biological functions, including pain and anxiety control, and inflammation.

 

Another new study reveals that marijuana relieves pain that narcotics like morphine and OxyContin have hardly any effect on, and could help ease suffering from illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes.[12] The United States government though would prefer that people with these and other diseases suffer. The study, from the University of California at San Francisco, found smoked marijuana to be effective at relieving the extreme pain of a debilitating condition known as peripheral neuropathy. It was a study of HIV patients, but a similar type of pain caused by damage to nerves afflicts people with many other illnesses including diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Neuropathic pain is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs. Even powerful and addictive narcotics like morphine and OxyContin often provide little relief. This study leaves no doubt that marijuana can safely ease this type of pain.

 

This is not news to the pharmaceutical industry, which is scrambling to isolate cannabinoids and synthesize analogs, and to package them in non-smokable forms that are vastly more toxic and dangerous and less effective than the natural form. Smoking marijuana has many similarities to other medical aerosol treatments; effects are almost instantaneous, allowing each individual patient, who after all is the best judge, to fine-tune his or her dose to get the needed relief without intoxication. (Another safe and effective treatment using aerosol methods would be the delivery of sodium bicarbonate for the treatment of lung cancer. Because it is so difficult to find physicians to administer intravenous sodium bicarbonate aerosol methods offer a potential substitute method when combined with other treatment methods. Order Survival Medicine or contact IMVA’s online clinic for more information. Survival Medicine has expanded from 1500 to 1800 pages and will be available for download at the end of the first week in September. Pre-publication discounts still apply.)

 

Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.

 

In the Feb. 2005 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience researchers, who studied the brain tissue of deceased Alzheimer's patients, discovered that many of these patients lose the function of important cannabinoid brain receptors, which seem to guard against cognitive decline. They further discovered in a rat study involving synthetic marijuana that when these brain receptors were working, they reduced the brain inflammation that is associated with Alzheimer's. "This is the first time the effects of such damage have been found in Alzheimer's patients," said study co-author Maria de Ceballos, head of the neurodegeneration group at the Cajal Institute, Spain's largest neuroscience research center, in Madrid.

 

The special active compounds in cannabis are referred to collectively as "cannabinoids."

 

A cannabinoid is the signaling molecule within a unique system of communication that is activated intermittently between two of the brain's most ubiquitous nerve cells -- neurons containing the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, and neurons containing the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. The modulation of inhibitory and excitatory signals leads to the regulation of excitation and inhibition within clusters of neurons that is the basis for all action and thought.

 

The researchers studied cannabinoid receptors called CB1 and CB2, which are proteins that bind with cannabinoids, the active ingredients of marijuana. The synergy between these receptors and cannabinoids are known to provide protective effects against inflammation in the brain. In the first part of their study, they compared the brain tissue of deceased Alzheimer's patients to similar tissue from healthy people who had died at the same age. Those who suffered from Alzheimer's had significantly reduced functioning of their cannabinoid receptors compared to the healthy group, which meant those with the disease had lost the capacity to experience the protective effects of cannabinoids.

 

Cannabinoids reduced inflammation in the brain and prevented cognitive decline. Cannabinoids have also been shown to alleviate neuropathic pain.[13]

 

Dr. Gregory T. Carter, Clinical Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine says, “Marijuana is a complex substance containing over 60 different forms of cannabinoids, the active ingredients. Cannabinoids are now known to have the capacity for neuromodulation, via direct, receptor-based mechanisms at numerous levels within the nervous system. These have therapeutic properties that may be applicable to the treatment of neurological disorders; including anti-oxidative, neuroprotective, analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions; immunomodulation, modulation of glial cells and tumor growth regulation.[14] Intracellular changes and altered signalling of the neurons seems to be the principle effects of the cannabinoids in marijuana.

 

Cannabinoids such as THC are capable of inhibiting nociception, i.e., pain transmission, at least in part, by interacting with spinal cannabinoid receptors[15].

 

Brain inflammation contributes in many age-related degenerative brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. "Inflammation appears to be present many, many years prior to the onset of the symptoms," says Dr. Gary L. Wenk from Ohio State University. Dr. Wenk and his associates have discovered that daily treatment with cannabinoids reduced inflammation in the brain and improved memory. Studies have shown that people who routinely use anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly the ones that cross the blood brain barrier, have a significantly reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Marijuana has strong anti-inflammatory effects. "This is why I believe that people who used marijuana a few decades ago are much less likely to develop any disease, such as Alzheimer's, that relies upon the slow development of brain inflammation," said Wenk.

 

The recent discovery of an endogenous cannabinoid system with specific receptors and ligands (a compound that activates a receptor and triggers its characteristic response) has increased our understanding of the actions of marijuana. Excessive inflammatory responses can emerge as a potential danger for organisms’ health. Physiological balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory processes constitutes an important feature of responses against harmful events. Studies on the effects of marijuana smoking have evolved into the discovery and description of the endocannabinoid system. To date, this system is composed of two receptors, CB1 and CB2, and endogenous ligands including anandamide, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, and others.

 

Signaling by the cannabinoid system represents a mechanism by which neurons can communicate backwards across synapses to modulate their inputs. Dr. Roger A. Nicol UCSF professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology

 

CB1 receptors and ligands are found in the brain as well as immune and other peripheral tissues. Conversely, CB2 receptors and ligands are found primarily in the periphery, especially in immune cells. Cannabinoid receptors are G protein-coupled receptors, and they have been linked to signaling pathways and gene activities in common with this receptor family.

 

What we found is old animals have the receptors and they actually get better if we treat them with the drug. If we give an old rat a high enough dose ... we will reduce their brain inflammation and what we actually do is make them smarter as we do it. Dr. Gary L. Wenk

 

In addition, cannabinoids have been shown to modulate a variety of immune cell functions in humans and animals and more recently, have been shown to modulate T helper cell development, chemotaxis, and tumor development. Many of these drug effects occur through cannabinoid receptor signaling mechanisms and the modulation of cytokines and other gene products. It appears the immunocannabinoid system is involved in regulating the brain-immune axis and might be exploited in future therapies for chronic diseases and immune deficiency.

 

The same brain machinery that responds to the active substance in marijuana provides "on-demand" protection against seizures.

 

Dr. Carter says, “The cannabinoid system appears to be intricately involved in normal human physiology, specifically in the control of movement, pain, memory and appetite, among others. Widespread cannabinoid receptors have been discovered in the brain and peripheral tissues. The cannabinoid system represents a previously unrecognized ubiquitous network in the nervous system. There is a dense receptor concentration in the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and hippocampus, accounting for the effects on motor tone, coordination, and mood state. There are very few cannabinoid receptors in the brainstem, which may explain marijuana's remarkably low toxicity.”

 

In 1937 all use of marijuana was criminalized against the advice of the medical community, including the American Medical Society (AMA).

 

In 2000, the Oregon Health Division expanded the state's medical marijuana program by adding "agitation of Alzheimer's disease" to the list of qualifying medical conditions, making patients eligible to use state-sanctioned marijuana.[16] Some Alzheimer's patients develop the agitation syndrome, which is defined as the inability to settle down and includes symptoms such as verbal outbursts, pacing, and restlessness, all of which may lead to patient combativeness. Oregon is one of a handful of states to allow seriously ill people to use marijuana for medical conditions. Measure 67, the successful 1998 initiative allowing medical marijuana use for Oregon residents, already provides for its use in cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, cacheixia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures and persistent muscle spasms.

 

Rhode Island in January of 2006 became the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana and the first since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2005 that patients who use the drug can still be prosecuted under federal law.

 

The Institute of Medicine continued saying, “We acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting.” Obviously there are more people in the medical community than it seems who feel whole heartedly that medical marijuana can and should be used, illegal as it still is in many places in the world, as an important part of treatment. This is a crucial topic and it highlights the difference between practicing pharmaceutical terrorism and honest medicine in the tradition of the Hippocratic Oath. Because it is illegal in many parts of the United States is no reason to hide from the medical truth that indicates that medical marijuana is the drug of first choice in the entire pharmaceutical lineup of possibilities for certain medical conditions. Depriving patients of its use for any reason is morally and medically cruel and the sooner medical officials concede this point the better for medicine.

 

Nausea appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana.

Institute of Medicine[17]

 

Because the rising tide of neurological diseases in both children and adults is a catastrophe beyond reckoning it behooves us to use every medical tool at our disposal and if that includes a natural substance like marijuana. Doctors, nurses and healthcare practitioners of all stripes should have as much courage as many former law enforcement officials have when they publicly trash the American government’s war against drugs. See dramatic presentation from police captains: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayaGk0TMDc & eurl=

 

Medicinal marijuana user should not be considered a criminal in any state. Most major medical groups, including the Institute of Medicine, agree that marijuana is a compound with significant therapeutic potential.[18] Dr. Gregory T. Carter

 

The rebellion against federal fanaticism against marijuana is gaining mainstream status with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the country's largest public service workers' union, passed a resolution endorsing medical marijuana at its national convention in Chicago. This year also witnesses the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Citizens Against Government Waste also coming out publicly for humane medicine and the legalization of medical marijuana.

 

 

Leading medical, religious, and legal organizations that now support physician-supervised access to Medical Marijuana according to the Marijuana Policy Project, include the American Nurses Association, The American Academy of Family Physicians, The American Public Health Association, The American Medical Student Association, The American Academy of HIV Medicine, The Lymphoma Foundation of America, and The American Bar Association. The American Bar Association “recognizes that persons who suffer from serious illnesses for which marijuana has a medically recognized therapeutic value have a right to be treated with marijuana under the supervision of a physician. Religious organizations in support include The United Methodist Church’s Board of Church and Society, The Presbyterian Church, The Episcopal Church, The United Church of Christ, The Unitarian Universalist Association and The Union of Reform Judaism.[19]

In medicine we have only one concern, finding the very safest and most effective medicines and treatments.

Drug Enforcement Administration's Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis Young said, "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.”

It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance. Francis Young DEA Law Judge

“It seems to me if one is going to need to use drugs, one ought to consider a relatively safe drug, like marijuana,” said Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. of the Autism Research Institute. Marijuana, the forbidden medicine, seems to be useful for some people with adult attention deficit disorder, impulse disorders and bipolar disorder. Some families have found marijuana to be nothing short of miraculous. Some of the symptoms marijuana has ameliorated include anxiety--even severe anxiety--aggression, panic disorder, generalized rage, tantrums, property destruction and self-injurious behavior. One mother commenting on using marijuana for her autistic child said, “I know it's not the end all answer but it's been the best answer for the longest time for us in regards to ALL the other medications. I cannot tell you how many months we would go on a medication wondering if it was doing anything, anything at all. Here we can see the difference in 30-60 minutes guaranteed."

Patients report medical marijuana as more therapeutic and better tolerated than other medications.[20]

On top of everything cannabis contains a chemical that can protect cells by acting as an antioxidant, an older study shows. In test-tube experiments, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., exposed rat nerve cells to a toxin that is typically released during strokes. Cannabidiol reduces the extent of damage researchers reported to the National Academy of Sciences. More effective than vitamins C or E, strong antioxidants such as cannabidiol will neutralize free radicals and so might limit the damage and reduce the severity of ischemic strokes.[21]

Present evidence suggests that the endocannabinoids and their receptors constitute a widespread modulatory system that fine tunes bodily responses to a number of stimuli.

NIH researchers have suspected for a while that the group of molecules including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the marijuana ingredient that produces a high, would act as antioxidants. In their study, THC and cannabidiol provided equal defense against cell damage. An earlier study at the University of Arizona in Tucson turned up no side effects of cannabidiol in people given large doses. This is a promising area of research particularly since we have so few effective means of treating neurological damages. Similarly medical marijuana could be effective of reducing the side effects from the toxicity of traditional chelators like DMPS and DMSA.

The House of Lords in England have written about marijuana and have stated that not a single death can be attributed to its use anywhere on the planet. That would make marijuana the absolute safest medicine available today.

“Marijuana has remarkably low toxicity and lethal doses in humans have not been described. This is in stark contrast to a number of commonly prescribed medications used for similar purposes, including opiates, anti-emetics, anti-depressants, and muscle relaxants, not to mention legal substances used recreationally including tobacco and alcohol,” writes Dr. Carter.

This entire issue is not a joke or something to be reduced to a cops and criminals story. When you look at the plans of the pharmaceutical companies for the youngest children, and the dramatically escalating need for medications of some sort for certain children who are climbing the walls and out of control with violent behavior, you will see how important medical marijuana can be. A study that appears in the November 2006 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a case in point. The research involved children with severe cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — cases that included hanging from ceiling fans, jumping off slides or playing with fire. The researchers say the benefits of treatment with Ritalin outweigh the risks for these youngsters even though the drug isn't approved for use in children under age 6.

Dr. Laurence Greenhill, lead author of the study and psychiatrist with Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, who has been a paid speaker for pharmaceutical companies, is for drugging preschoolers with Ritalin even though about 40 percent of children developed side effects and roughly 11 percent dropped out because of problems including irritability, weight loss, insomnia and slowed growth. "Preschoolers on methylphenidate, or generic Ritalin, grew about half an inch less and gained about 2 pounds less than expected during the 70-week study. "This is a catastrophe. It just opens up the way for drugging the younger kids," said Dr. Peter Breggin, a New York psychiatrist and longtime critic of psychiatric drug use in children. Breggin said the research is part of a marketing push by the drug industry to expand drug use to the youngest children.[22]

"I found babies, 2-year olds, 3-year olds being given mind-altering drugs," says Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas' state comptroller. Strayhorn conducted a two-year investigation into allegations that foster kids in Texas are over medicated." Children in foster care in Texas are dying. Children in foster care are being drugged," Strayhorn says. If we concede that child psychiatrists are not absolutely out of their minds themselves, we can grant that there is a real need for something to calm down these children but certainly to poison them with a very toxic medicine when their brains are still forming is outside the range medical reason. It is an insane paradigm and a cruel system of government that would keep the safest and most effective drug out of the hands of parents and the most harmful toxic medicines legal, medicines that are addictive and can ruin a child’s entire life.

According to Dr. Rimland, “Clearly, medical marijuana is not a drug to be administered lightly. But compare its side effects to the known effects of Risperdal, which include massive weight gain, a dramatically increased risk of diabetes, and an elevated risk of deadly heart problems, as well as a host of other major and minor problems. Other psychotropic drugs are no safer, causing symptoms ranging from debilitating tardive dyskinesia to life-threatening malignant hyperthermia or sudden cardiac arrest. Of all drugs, the psychotropic drugs are among the least useful and most dangerous, and the benefit/risk profile of medical marijuana seems fairly benign in comparison.” He continues, “The reports we are seeing from parents indicate that medical marijuana often works when no other treatments, drug or non-drug, have helped”.

None of this is very interesting to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which approved the anti-psychotic drug Risperidone (trade name Risperdal) in October of 2006 for use among children diagnosed with autism. Manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen, Risperdal sales figures were over $3 billion in 2005. Documented potential side effects of Risperidone include lactation both in girls and boys, weight gain, and development of the often irreversible movement disorder tardive dyskinesia. “Any medication that can induce lactation in boys is clearly a dangerous drug, and in my opinion should only be used when all avenues of biomedical treatments have been exhausted,” said National Autism Association executive director Rita Shreffler. “Parents are faced with extremely tough decisions when it comes to medicating their children, and extra caution should be used with Risperdal in particular given what we know about it.” Commented Shreffler, “Risperdal does nothing to address the neurological injuries of children diagnosed with autism, and the potential side effects are frightening.”

Zyprexa from Eli Lilly; Seroquel from AstraZeneca; and Risperdal from Janssen Pharmaceutical — belong to a class of medications known as atypical antipsychotics. The drugs are used to treat schizophrenia and other psychoses. These drugs are no more effective than placebos for most patients, and put them at risk of serious side effects, including confusion, sleepiness and Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms.[23]

The tragic failure of medicine is seen clearly in this terrible conditioning which would have anyone contemplating the use of a drug like Risperdal for autism spectrum disorders. From a medical perspective the last thing we need to say about medical marijuana is that extra caution needs to be used and that it’s a tough decision. The tough decision comes from the legal side for most but medically there is no contest between this most common weed called marijuana and the line up of toxic pharmaceutical drugs.

When we look at what Dr. Carter has to say about using marijuana for the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) we begin to wonder why we continue to be shy about its use. “Marijuana is a substance with many properties that may be applicable to the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These include analgesia, muscle relaxation, bronchodilation, saliva reduction, appetite stimulation, and sleep induction. In addition, marijuana has now been shown to have strong antioxidative and neuroprotective effects, which may prolong neuronal cell survival. In areas where it is legal to do so, marijuana should be considered in the pharmacological management of ALS.”[24]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord, brain stem, and motor cortex. An estimated 30,000 Americans are living with ALS, which often arises spontaneously and afflicts otherwise healthy adults. More than half of ALS patients die within 2.5 years following the onset of symptoms.

Pharmaceutical companies and doctors agree that THC is a medicinal agent though they synthesize it making it more expensive, toxic and dangerous for public use.

As is often attempted with any natural substance that helps our body heal, THC, the active ingredient in marijuana has been synthesized. Research has resulted in development and marketing of the dronabinol (synthetic THC) product, Marinol®, for the control of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotheraputic agents used in the treatment of cancer and to stimulate appetite in AIDS patients. Synthetic THC is used and legal in 11 states in the US. Marinol, is seemingly a pretty potent substitute for naturally grown marijuana. But a number of people using it claim its not as effective as naturally grown. Orally swallowed, it can be a problem for anyone with nausea and vomiting, or other intestinal disorders. The onset of action is delayed, a high dose must be taken, and it must move to the small intestine before being absorbed into the bloodstream. After absorption, it passes through the liver, where much is biotransformed into other chemicals and 90% fails to reach sites of activity in the body. In tests, after six hours, 57% of subjects taking oral THC had no measurable amount in the bloodstream. Psychoative side effects are greater with synthetic oral THC due to changes in the liver and the lack of other cannabinols which may serve as buffers. Heavy psychoactive side effects may be more prominent in the elderly. Synthetic Marinol and similar drugs contain none of the natural compounds which work synergistically and offer unique therapeutic benefits and lastly the cost of prescription dosage ranges from $362 to $624 per month, with huge profits going to multinational drug corporations.[25]

Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana

Marinol's usefulness is limited by the fact that it has poor bioavailability and delayed onset of action in addition to all the central nervous system (CNS) effects associated with marijuana. Peak plasma levels are not reached until 2–4 h after dosing, compared with 1–2 min for smoked marijuana. As a result, patients complain that they cannot adjust doses of Marinol to minimize CNS side effects, as they can with marijuana.[26]

Food refusal is a common problem in patients who suffer from Alzheimer's type dementia. In one study dronabinol treatments resulted in substantial weight gains and declines in disturbed behavior.[27]

Investigators at Berlin Germany’s Charite Universitatmedizin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, reported that the daily administration of 2.5 mg of synthetic THC over a two-week period reduced nocturnal motor activity and agitation in AD patients in an open-label pilot study.[28] And clinical data presented at the 2003 annual meeting of the International Psychogeriatric Association previously reported that the oral administration of up to 10 mg of synthetic THC reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain in late-stage Alzheimer’s patients in an open-label clinical trial.[29] Improved weight gain and a decrease in negative feelings among AD patients administered cannabinoids were previously reported by investigators in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry in 1997.[30]

There is little understanding in the medical profession about the reasons why medical marijuana in a natural form is so helpful. Marijuana is not a drug solely in a physical sense, it has dimensions that transcend the body and directly impinge on the mind and emotion in what can only be seen as a calming way.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US have found that psilocybin an important element in mushrooms is capable of instilling a deep feeling of spirituality, which may bring about healing, especially for those patients who have a huge psychological baggage weighing them down. The researchers administered magic mushrooms to 36 study participants who had never consumed any hallucinogenic drugs. All these participants were firmly rooted in their religious beliefs. The study found that nearly two-thirds of the subjects felt a unique spiritual experience, akin to the birth of a baby. Even two months after the consumption of the magic mushrooms, the subjects felt peaceful with a sense of well-being.

Medical marijuana, even at its strongest concentration is a distant weaker cousin of psilocybin, which could not be used on a daily basis for medical purposes. It is a medical crime to deny sufferers of neurological disease the safest and cheapest drug available though in today’s criminalized drug oriented society dangers do exist. For example, it has been said that there are circulating highly dangerous forms of it. The thought is that part of the current marijuana in the US is nitrogen based - extremely hallucinogenic and not organic, certainly not medical grade. This kind of report mirrors the problem of a system that criminalizes drugs; meaning it refuses to deal intelligently with a health problem in a small percentage of the population. When responsibility is taken in a medical sense the public would be assured of a safe supply.

When it comes to neurological diseases we have to rely on natural substances much more than pharmaceutical ones for all pharmaceutical drugs have neurological side effects because of their toxicity. Not everyone agrees obviously. "We are not going to go out and suggest that people start smoking marijuana," Dr. Wenk said. “Researchers need to narrow down the compounds that are having the effects and try to make a "high-free" alternative.” What Wenk is inferring is that it would be better to turn marijuana into a poison and use it as a pharmaceutical drug. The whole idea of pharmaceutical medicine breaks down when we are dealing with such substances from Nature.

Marijuana, a natural substance of very low toxicity has a wide variety of positive therapeutic applications that includes relief from nausea and increase of appetite, reduction of inner eye pressure in Glaucoma patients, reduction of muscle spasms; and relief from chronic pain. In AIDS marijuana can reduce the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the ailment itself and by various AIDS medications. In Cancer it can stimulate the appetite and alleviate nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy treatment. It has also been suggested that Cannabis could be very effective in treating anorexia. Meaning smoking the stuff and getting high is not such a bad thing and reefer madness was just that, an invention by a very sick mind.

The claim that THC has grown in potency to alarming degrees, although widely accepted, is substantially inaccurate. Although marijuana grown in the United States was once considered inferior because of a low concentration of THC, advancements in plant selection and cultivation have resulted in higher THC-containing domestic marijuana. In 1974, the average THC content of illicit marijuana was less than one percent. Today most commercial grade marijuana from Mexico/Columbia and domestic outdoor cultivated marijuana has an average THC content of about 4 to 6 percent. Superior strains are being produced, but are destined for medical use. Studies show stronger cannabis has a lower tar to weight ratio than weaker cannabis. An increase in cannabis potency may be viewed as a threat by the US government, but it is a boon for medical users. Chris Conrad, internationally known cannabis consultant who has testified as an expert witness in dozens of California marijuana cases said, "You want to get the THC compounds while minimizing the amount of smoke and exposure to potentially carcinogenic matter. It is an odd thing to argue that medicines should be weaker."[31]

In Multiple Sclerosis marijuana can limit the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease, as well as relieving tremor and unsteadiness of gait. We might expect the same in Parkinson’s disease sufferers

The entire pharmaceutical empire is threatened to the foundation of its soul by medical marijuana for it is far superior to anything they have come up with in their laboratories for a broad range of disorders and conditions. This covers many billions of dollars of pharmaceutical sales and it is a shame psychologists did not point this out a long time ago. Medical marijuana is not something new in the world and even the American Medical Association (AMA) resisted its removal from the lists of medical substances. We should celebrate the reality that the pharmaceutical mind has not been able to beat out old Mother Nature.

God seems to be the best pharmacist on the planet.

What nobody has seen yet is what would happen to neurological patients if they were prescribed strong doses of magnesium chloride and medical marijuana together. Mix in some super nutrition with spirulina, organic foods, and the use of clay for Detox and intestinal cleaning; add natural chelators and we would in most likelihood we would see many medical miracles with these and other kinds of patients. We have reached the point where patients around the world are trashing their trust in the medical doctors who only know how to add to the toxic burdens of their bodies with toxic medications so it does make sense to start moving over to Natural Allopathic Evidence Based Medicine. There is no shortage of evidence that marijuana is medicinal and highly useful in the practice of medicine.

Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence, and Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence, introduced state legislation last year after watching family members suffer from terminal illnesses. Perry's nephew died last January of AIDS. Although marijuana may have relieved his suffering, he never used it because it was illegal, she said. Doctors and health care practitioners of all stripes owe it to their patients to take a stand against Neanderthal laws that distance patients from the natural and safe medicines they need.

To the practicing physician Dr. Carter has these closing words. “Physicians must take special care when discussing medicinal marijuana with their patients and be sure they understand the state and local laws governing what physicians can safely say and what patients can legally possess and use. As with any medication, proper documentation of the risks and benefits and any other requirements mandated by local laws must be clearly noted in the medical record. Physicians must be careful not to let their enthusiasm, frustration, and concern for suffering cause them to be careless when taking advantage of any law allowing their patients to use medicinal marijuana. Physicians who frequently authorize the therapeutic use of marijuana potentially could be investigated by authorities for compliance with the law, even in the form of an undercover agent disguised as a patient. Fortunately, despite threats from former "drug czar" Barry McCaffrey and former Attorney General Janet Reno, no physician has yet lost his or her license to prescribe medications or has been prosecuted federally for authorizing the medicinal use of marijuana. At the state level, compliance with the terms of the local law allowing medicinal use of marijuana continues to protect the physician who authorizes such use to alleviate suffering.”

In a toxic world the antioxidant effects of marijuana might make it required for survival in the 21st century.

The New York Times printed a long article about Haley Abaspour, a ten year old girl diagnosed bipolar disorder with psychotic features, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and Tourette’s syndrome.[32] Her illness dominates every moment of her and her family’s life. Mr. Abaspour said: “This is the point of no return. She’ll scream and cry and kick. If the neighbors could hear, they would think we were abusing the kid.” Haley refuses to be consoled or touched, all the while saying, “Please help me, please make it stop, please make it go away,” her mother said. The Abaspours look on helplessly or send her to another room. Haley’s eruptions, often 20 minutes long, occur almost daily, especially in the evenings. They often begin with Haley revved up.

Haley resumed taking Risperdal. Then, abruptly, her condition worsened. “She couldn’t function, she couldn’t go to school,” said Ms. Abaspour, who took Haley to a hospital.

What kind of medical world do we live in when no mention of treating this young tormented girl with mega doses of magnesium? At least six million American children have difficulties that are diagnosed as serious mental disorders, according to government surveys — a number that has tripled since the early 1990’s. Most are treated with highly dangerous psychiatric medications. How many of these millions could be helped with magnesium? Probably all of them. How many would be helped with medical marijuana is anyone’s guess but after covering the basics with transdermal magnesium chloride treatments if there is a need for deeper relief medical marijuana should be rapidly implemented.

What kind of world we want to live in starts right here with the medical marijuana issue. If we want to live in a kinder, gentler more loving world we will draw the line in the sand against the administration of toxic drugs to children. We will also take a stand for the safest medicine of all medicines for neurological problems, which anyone who cares to can grow at home. Marijuana is the Fire Element in action in medicine, its one of the basic elemental substances we have for pain relief which also gives a respite from the cold rational aspects of the mind. Though medical marijuana is healing through Fire it also represents the feminine principle compared to the heavily masculine aura of alcohol.

Mark Sircus Ac., OMDDirector International Medical Veritas Association http://www.imva.infohttp://www.magnesiumforlife.com

[1]Haley, Boyd. Thimerosal exposure results in toxic biochemical effects that fit very well with the biochemical observations seen in autistics. These are (1) truncated neurons (ethylmercury inhibition of tubulin polymerization) in brain tissue and (2) inability to make methyl-B12 (Dr. Deth's work on thimerosal inhibition of the enzyme methionine synthetase) and (3) the subsequent decrease in methylation of cellular constitutents that require methylation to operate properly.

[2] Reported to VAERS from 1999-2002

Adverse Reactions Reported Age 0-6

Hospitalizations reported age 0-6

Deaths reported age 0-6

DPT

16,544

1,631

394

Flu

419

41

11

Hep

13,363

1,840

642

Hib

22463

3,224

843

MMR

18,680

1,736

110

OPV

22,915

2,868

866

Total

94,384

9,604

2,866

As of the end of 2002, the VAERS system contained 244,424 total reports of possible reactions to vaccines, including 99,145 emergency room visits, 5,149 life-threatening reactions, 27,925 hospitalizations, 5,775 disabilities, and 5,309 deaths[2], according to data compiled by Dr. Mark Geier, a vaccine researcher in Silver Spring, Md. The data represents roughly 1 billion doses of vaccines, according to Geier. Dr. J. Anthony Morris, former Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the US Federal Drug Administration agrees that such evidence has great bearing on the entire vaccination question saying, “There is a great deal of evidence to prove that immunization of children does more harm than good”

[3] Haley, Boyd. Affidavit of Boyd E Haley, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky http://64.41.99.118/vran/vaccines/mercury/mer_haley.htm

[4] The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has also advocated decriminalization, saying prosecuting people for small amounts ties up scarce resources.

[5] Grinspoon, Lester MD. WHY WON'T GOVERNMENT LET US USE MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE? 12/07/2000 Boston Globe Op/Ed

[6] The War on Drugs has so changed societal conditions that rural counties, which were once places so safe that people left their doors unlocked, are now quite dangerous. This war has been nothing short of disastrous for civilization; it’s a war not based on any kind of sane rationality, no logical reason, no lines to differentiate between legal and illegal, between alcohol and lighter drugs like Marijuana. But in essence, no rationalization justifies what America is doing to people and their families in the name of fighting drugs. The U.S. government propaganda about the "war on drugs" disguises the fact that this is a war on people. In a civilized society, war is a response by the government to a military attack from a hostile power. In a civilized society, the government does not make war upon its own people.

[7] House of Lords Session 1997-98 Science and Technology - Ninth Report http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/hlords/15101.htm

[8] Kimmey, Michael B. Examining the Risk/Benefit Ratio of Long-term Aspirin Therapy. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/481811_5

[9] New England Journal of Medicine: "It has been estimated conservatively that 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur among patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis every year in the United States. This figure is similar to the number of deaths from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and considerably greater than the number of deaths from multiple myeloma, asthma, cervical cancer, or Hodgkin's disease. If deaths from gastrointestinal toxic effects from NSAIDs were tabulated separately in the National Vital Statistics reports, these effects would constitute the 15th most common cause of death in the United States. Yet these toxic effects remain mainly a "silent epidemic," with many physicians and most patients unaware of the magnitude of the problem. Furthermore the mortality statistics do not include deaths ascribed to the use of over-the-counter NSAIDS."

[10] Source: US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22] (September 6, 1988), p. 57. On September 6, 1988, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chief Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, ruled: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known....[T]he provisions of the [Controlled Substances] Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance." The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.”

[11] http://www.primidi.com/2004/09/05.html

[12] Lester Grinspoon, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is the coauthor of "Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicinehttp://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/48749/

[13] A pair of studies published in the journal Neuroscience Letters in 2004 reported that mice administered a cannabis receptor agonist experienced a reduction in diabetic related tactile allodynia (pain resulting from non-injurious stimulus to the skin) compared to non-treated controls. The findings suggest that “cannabinoids have a potential beneficial effect on experimental diabetic neuropathic pain.” Dogrul et al. 2004. Cannabinoids block tactile allodynia in diabetic mice without attenuation of its antinociceptive effect. Neuroscience Letters 368: 82-86.

[14] Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2002 Mar;3(3):437-40.

[15] Jennelle Durnett Richardson, Lin Aanonsen, and Kenneth M. Hargreaves1. Hypoactivity of the Spinal Cannabinoid System Results in NMDA-Dependent Hyperalgesia. The Journal of Neuroscience, January 1, 1998, 18(1):451-457

[16] http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/143/oregonokay.shtm

[17] Joy JE, Watson SJ, Benson JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1999.

[18] Institute of Medicine. Division of Health Sciences Policy. Marijuana and Health: Report of a Study by a Committee of the Institute of Medicine, Division of Health Sciences Policy. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1982.

[19] Marijuana Policy Project; http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQIsG/b.2028479/k.E0D0/Leading_Medical_Religious_and_Legal_Organizations_Support_PhysicianSupervised_Access_to_Medical_Marijuana.htm

[20] Amtmann D, Weydt P, Johnson KL, Jensen MP, Carter GT. Survey of cannabis use in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2004;21:95-104.

[21] Science News, Vol. 154, No. 2, July 11, 1998, p. 20.

[22] http://news./s/ap/20061019/ap_on_he_me/preschoolers_adhd

[23]http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/health/12dementia.html?_r=1 & th= & adxnnl=1 & oref=slogin & emc=th & adxnnlx=1160744882-RP7OoP3RZoZtIK2VGjHrbg

[24] Carter GT; Rosen BS. Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Neuromuscular Disease Clinic, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. ; 18(4):264-70 (ISSN: 1049-9091)

[25] Comparison chart: http://www.ardpark.org/reference/synmjcompare.htm

[26] Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base; Joy, J. E., Watson, Jr., S. J., Benson, Jr., J. A., Eds.; National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1999; p. 288.

[27] Joy, Janet E.; Stanley J. Watson, Jr.; John A. Benson, Jr., Eds. "The Medical Value of Marijuana and Related Substances," in Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Washington, DC: Division of Neuroscience and Behavoiral Health, Institute of Medicine. 1999. 259 p.

[28] Walther et al. 2006. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol for nighttime agitation in severe dementia. Physcopharmacology 185: 524-528.

[29] BBC News. August 21, 2003. “Cannabis lifts Alzheimer’s appetite.”

[30] Volicer et al. 1997. Effects of dronabinol on anorexia and disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 12: 913-919.

[31] http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/373/marijuanapotency.shtml

[32] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/health/22kids.html?pagewanted=1 & _r=2 & th & emc=th

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