medical cannabis - asthma, psychosis, pain... - various

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1 joint equals up to 5 cigarettes

 

By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 31, 11:00 PM ET

 

 

 

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A single joint of marijuana obstructs the flow of

air as much as smoking up to five tobacco cigarettes, but long-term pot use does

not increase the risk of developing emphysema, new research suggests.

 

The study by New Zealand's Medical Research Institute found that longtime pot

smokers can develop symptoms of asthma and bronchitis, along with obstruction of

the large airways and excessive lung inflation. The paper was released Tuesday

ahead of its publication in the journal Thorax.

 

" The study shows that one cannabis joint causes a similar degree of lung

damage as between 2.5 and five tobacco cigarettes, " said lead author Sarah

Aldington.

 

However, the researchers found that the progressive chronic lung disease

emphysema, often associated with cigarette smoking, was uncommon among marijuana

smokers. Only 1.3 percent of the long-term pot smokers were found to have signs

of the disease compared to 16.3 percent of those who combined marijuana and

tobacco, and 18.9 percent of those who only smoked tobacco.

 

Marijuana smokers had symptoms that included wheezing, coughing, chest

tightness and phlegm — all of which were associated with tobacco smokers, except

chest tightness.

The study, which used lung function tests, high-resolution X-rays and

questionnaires, also revealed that among marijuana smokers damage occurred to

the small, fine airways which are important for taking in oxygen and removing

waste gases. The extent of damage rose in proportion to the number of joints

smoked.

 

Last week, another study published in The Lancet medical journal suggested

that using marijuana may increase the likelihood of becoming psychotic, with

even infrequent use potentially raising the overall small risk by up to 40

percent.

 

The three-year Thorax study involved 339 people in New Zealand, where pot

smoking is fairly common. An estimated 160 million people use marijuana

worldwide.

 

Participants were recruited into four groups based on smoking habits —

nonsmokers, tobacco-only smokers, tobacco and marijuana smokers, and

marijuana-only smokers.

To qualify as a long-term marijuana user, participants had to have smoked a

minimum of one joint a day for five years, said institute director Richard

Beasley, who also participated in the study. Tobacco users had to have smoked a

pack a day for one year.

 

Earlier studies have shown that smoking one joint results in three to five

times more carbon monoxide and tar inhaled than smoking a cigarette of the same

size. The New Zealand research also showed that the " products of combustion " in

marijuana are very similar to tobacco, Beasley said.

 

Part of the reason for this is the way joints are smoked, with users often

inhaling and holding the smoke in longer for a better hit. Marijuana joints

typically do not have filters and they have shorter butts than cigarettes with a

higher smoke temperature. Pot also is commonly smoked through various types of

pipes.

 

Jeff Garrett, president of the Australia-New Zealand Thoracic Society, who was

not involved in the study, said that although researchers found emphysema among

marijuana smokers relatively rare, he emphasized that it does occur.

 

Hospital specialists also are seeing an increasing number of people with

emphysema specifically related to marijuana smoking, he said.

____

Associated Press Medical Writer Margie Mason contributed to this report from

Hanoi, Vietnam.

 

http://news./s/ap/20070801/ap_on_he_me/pot_vs_cigarettes;_ylt=Andy7PYx0\

cvYUQgwkJPaUZER.3QA

 

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Source: Cardiff University August 1, 2007

Cannabis Could Increase Risks Of Psychotic Illness By 40 Percent

Science Daily — Cannabis could increase risk of psychotic illness later in

life by 40 per cent.

 

There is now enough evidence to warn young people that using cannabis could

increase their risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life, a

collaborative Cardiff University study has found.

 

Cannabis, or marijuana, is the most commonly used illegal substance in most

countries, including the UK and USA. In studies over the last decade up to 20

per cent of young people (aged 14-21) in different parts of the world have used

cannabis regularly (at least once per week) or used heavily (on more than 100

occasions in total).

 

Dr Stanley Zammit in the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychological

Medicine and colleagues at the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Imperial

College, London analysed 35 studies dated up to the end of 2006. The researchers

assessed the strength of evidence for a causal relationship between cannabis use

and the occurrence of psychotic or other mental health disorders.

 

The study, funded by the Department of Health, found that individuals who had

used cannabis were 41 per cent more likely than those who had never used the

drug to have any psychosis (presence of delusions or hallucinations). The risk

increased relative to dose, with the most frequent cannabis users more than

twice as likely to have a psychotic outcome. Depression, suicidal thoughts, and

anxiety outcomes were examined separately, and findings for these outcomes were

less consistent, with fewer attempts made to address non-causal explanations

than for psychosis.

 

Dr Zammit, School of Medicine said: “The studies we looked at showed a

consistent association between cannabis use and psychotic symptoms, including

disabling psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.”

 

“Despite the inevitable uncertainty, policymakers need to provide the public

with advice about this widely used drug. We believe that there is now enough

evidence to inform people that using cannabis could increase their risk of

developing a psychotic illness later in life.”

If having ever used cannabis increases the risk of a psychotic outcome by 41

per cent as indicated by the results of the study, about 14 per cent of

psychotic outcomes in young adults in the UK would not occur if cannabis were

not consumed.

 

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Cardiff

University.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070731125526.htm

 

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Source: University of California - San Francisco

May 16, 2007 More on: Marijuana, Controlled Substances, Illegal Drugs,

Today's Healthcare, Addiction, Teen Health

 

Marijuana Vaporizer Provides Same Level Of THC, Fewer Toxins, Study Shows

Science Daily — A smokeless cannabis-vaporizing device delivers the same level

of active therapeutic chemical and produces the same biological effect as

smoking cannabis, but without the harmful toxins, according to University of

California San Francisco researchers.

 

Results of a UCSF study, which focuses on delivery of the active ingredient

delta-9-tertrahydrocannibinol, or THC, are reported in the online issue of the

journal " Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "

 

" We showed in a recent paper in the journal 'Neurology' that smoked cannabis

can alleviate the chronic pain caused by HIV-related neuropathy, but a concern

was expressed that smoking cannabis was not safe. This study demonstrates an

alternative method that gives patients the same effects and allows controlled

dosing but without inhalation of the toxic products in smoke, " said study lead

author Donald I. Abrams, MD, UCSF professor of clinical medicine.

 

The research team looked at the effectiveness of a device that heats cannabis

to a temperature between 180 and 200 degrees C, just short of combustion, which

occurs at 230 degrees C. Eighteen individuals were enrolled as inpatients for

six days under supervision in the General Clinical Research Center at San

Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.

Under the study protocol, the participants received on different days three

different strengths of cannabis by two delivery methods--smoking or

vaporization--three times a day.

 

Plasma concentrations of THC were measured along with the exhaled levels of

carbon monoxide, or CO. A toxic gas, CO served as a marker for the many other

combustion-generated toxins inhaled when smoking. The plasma concentrations of

THC were comparable at all strengths of cannabis between smoking and

vaporization. Smoking increased CO levels as expected, but there was little or

no increase in CO levels after inhaling from the vaporizer, according to Abrams.

 

" Using CO as an indicator, there was virtually no exposure to harmful

combustion products using the vaporizing device. Since it replicates smoking's

efficiency at producing the desired THC effect using smaller amounts of the

active ingredient as opposed to pill forms, this device has great potential for

improving the therapeutic utility of THC, " said study co-author Neal L.

Benowitz, MD, UCSF professor of medicine, psychiatry and biopharmaceutical

sciences. He added that pills tend to provide patients with more THC than they

need for optimal therapeutic effect and increase side effects.

 

Patients rated the " high " they experienced from both smoking and vaporization

and there was no difference between the two methods by patient self-report of

the effect, according to study findings. In addition, patients were asked which

method they preferred.

 

" By a significant majority, patients preferred vaporization to smoking,

choosing the route of delivery with the fewest side effects and greatest

efficiency, " said Benowitz.

 

Co-authors include Cheryl A. Jay, MD, UCSF neurology; and Starley B. Shade,

MPH; Hector Vizoso, RN; and Mary Ellen Kelly, MPH, UCSF Positive Health Program

at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.

 

The study was funded by the University of California's Center for Medicinal

Cannabis Research.

 

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of

California - San Francisco.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070515151145.htm

 

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Research Institute Adds Nothing To Knowledge Wednesday, 1 August

2007, 12:06 pm

Press Release: Blair Anderson

 

The New Zealand Medical Research Institute adds nothing to our collective

medical knowledge in its Cannabis/Lung research on 300 plus kiwis, writes

Christchurch public health advocate and Mayoral candidate, Blair Anderson.

 

Nor is this research finding remotely relevant when used to justify punitive

cannabis laws in any jurisdiction centred around tobacco's largely successful

'education' based public health response. Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive

of the British Lung Foundation throws us a straw man. " Smoking a joint is more

harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette and we have just banned people

from doing that in public places because of the health risks. " When

Shovelton says " The danger cannabis poses to respiratory health is consistently

being overlooked " , global tobacco uptake these past 20 years has, as a DIRECT

consequence, placed a health burden that will result in ONE BILLION DEATHS by

2021. Cannabis on the other hand, if history and epidemiological data well known

to science is to be taken into account will account for ZERO. Anderson, who

has a long time interest in public advocacy for better air notes that New

Zealand's latest Air quality data (Gavin Fisher,

Endpoint Research ) suggests 1100 deaths per year, and a Billion dollars every

year in 'losses' consequence to that respiratory burden, noting that in this

matter the public has no choice. Anderson asked the question at the 2002

" Road to Cleaner Air " Conference [Wellington] as to what research funding do we

allocate in this area, Professor Alistair Woodward [then] of the Department of

Public Health, Wellington School of Medicine, University of Otago replied

'none'. When pressed to indicate a best guess how many kiwi's die from mobile

source diesel emissions Woodward said, 'about twice the national road toll',

there was an audible gasp from the 400+ delegates present. Anderson says

none of this is new, public health centred about what we can choose to do versus

what we have imposed on us is a constant challenge, recalling the scientific

spat over anti-smoking and pollution advertisements that promulgate lies or

half-truths, 'which statisticians declared were

acceptable' and explored by the Press Council [see note 2]. " The question is,

when it comes to drugs... why does everyone run for cover? " Which part of

'consistent' public policy is being overlooked?

 

And why is medical science so determined to prove the inconsequential, when the

odds are a billion to nothing!

 

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00014.htm

 

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TODAY'S EDITORIAL: Rehashing the Evidence

31 Jul 2007, 0237 hrs IST

 

It's difficult for anyone to eat crow, let alone a prestigious medical

publication like The Lancet. Back in 1995 the journal had pronounced — almost ex

cathedra — that marijuana was safe. " The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is

not harmful to health " , the editors had asserted in what subsequently turned out

to be much quoted words by proponents of the weed. In its latest issue, however,

they've taken it all back. Now they're saying that in the light of new research

findings, governments would do well to invest in sustained and effective

education campaigns on the risks to health of taking cannabis.

 

So, why the abrupt turnaround? Well, according to an analysis of published

studies conducted by British researchers, people who have ever used marijuana in

any form — grass, hash or mixed with sweet drinks — risk boosting their chances

of developing a psychotic illness later in life by about 40 per cent. That's not

all. Those who use the drug on a regular basis can increase that risk factor by

50 to 200 per cent. The study, which was published in The Lancet, estimates that

14 per cent of 15 to 34-year-olds currently suffering from schizophrenia in

England are ill because they smoked cannabis.

 

Supporters of the substance, like the National Organization for the Reform of

Marijuana Laws in the US who advocate its decriminalisation, have of course

criticised the study. They say if an association exists between marijuana use

and psychotic illness there should have been an explosion in schizophrenic cases

also, especially since there's been an explosion in marijuana usage among adults

and young people in most western cultures. And, in order not to throw the baby

out with the bathwater, the proven medical uses of marijuana in the treatment of

Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and hypertension, for instance, should

not be disregarded.

 

Nevertheless, the study as such cannot be easily dismissed or refuted. India's

laws have banned cultivation, possession and use of cannabis since 1985. The

latest findings are a setback for those who argue that the ban should be

reviewed. Authorities therefore would indeed do well now to create a sustained

awareness among recreational users of marijuana of the potential dangers

involved. Public health warnings too should be used to advise teenagers who take

to smoking joints under the misapprehension that it's safer than, say, tobacco

or alcohol. And since bhang is a form of cannabis, the warnings ought to extend

to consumption of bhang, especially during Holi, when it is quite an accepted

ritual.

url

 

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Medical Marijuana POSTED: 11:10 am EDT July 17, 2007

 

BACKGROUND: Estimates are that about 300,000 people in the United States use

medical marijuana. In April 2007, New Mexico became the 12th state to allow it

-- joining Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Maine, Nevada, Vermont,

Colorado, Montana, Hawaii and Rhode Island. By federal law, however, the

substance is illegal.

 

 

PRO: Advocates of the drug argue it is an effective pain reliever that can

work when other drugs don't. It's used by patients with a variety of ailments,

including cancer, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, multiple sclerosis and hepatitis C.

Donald Abrams, M.D., the Chief of Hematology Oncology at San Francisco General

Hospital and a longtime HIV researcher, says, " Marijuana has been a drug or used

as a medicine for 5,000 years. It's only a short period of time that it hasn't

been viewed as a medicine. " He adds, " Yes, we have many more potent drugs, many

more modern drugs that work for more people. But in somebody for whom those

drugs don't work, if inhaling cannabis works to allow them to tolerate their

chemotherapy, then that's important. No other drug that works against nausea

also decreases pain. " He adds it's safe, saying, " When we talk about the side

effects of marijuana compared to many prescription drugs that doctors prescribe

on a daily basis, it's really quite safe. The

number of patients I admit to this hospital who have complications of alcohol,

tobacco, heroin, cocaine, speed, even sugar, far surpasses the number of

patients that I've ever admitted or ever seen where I attribute the damage to

marijuana. " In response to the allegation that marijuana can cause lung cancer,

Dr. Abrams says a recent study shows it may actually prevent it.

 

 

A PATIENT' STORY: Brian Klein is in his late 40s and was diagnosed with both

HIV and hepatitis C in 1996. His treatment for hepatitis C caused fatigue,

nausea and brain fog. He tried medications to curb the nausea but was allergic

to them. Others made him so sleepy he couldn't function. He then tried the

FDA-approved pill version form of marijuana called Marinol but got the head buzz

from it without the nausea relief. Finally, he opted to try smoking medical

cannabis. Relief came within 60 seconds. Brian says, " Within a few minutes I

could go eat, whereas before using it, I couldn't even keep down water. So this

made a dramatic difference in my life, in my ability to be able to stay on the

treatments so that I could get through it and have a successful result. " He is

now free of the hepatitis C virus.

 

 

CON: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's position on medical marijuana,

as stated on its Web site, is: " Smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of

science -- it is not medicine and it is not safe. " The DEA goes on: " The FDA

noted that 'there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful,'

and 'that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for

treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety

or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use.' " Other DEA points include:

 

 

•Marijuana use has been linked with depression, suicidal thoughts and

schizophrenia

 

•Marijuana takes the risks of tobacco and raises them: marijuana smoke

contains more than 400 chemicals and increases the risk of serious health

consequences, including lung damage

 

•Marijuana use narrows arteries in the brain, similar to patients with high

blood pressure and dementia, and may explain why memory tests are difficult for

marijuana users

 

•Chronic consumers of cannabis can have blood flow problems in the brain,

which can cause memory loss, attention deficits, and impaired learning ability

 

•The British Medical Association maintains marijuana " has been linked to

greater risk of heart disease, lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema "

 

Copyright 2007 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be

published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.wftv.com/health/13696141/detail.html

 

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New Studies: Medical Marijuana Laws Don't Increase Use Tuesday, July 03 2007

@ 11:54 PM EDT

Edited by: Michael Hess

 

Weak Marijuana Works as Well as High-Dose THC Pills

BBSNews 2007-07-03 -- (MPP) WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two just-published scientific

studies provide further evidence that medical marijuana laws do not increase

marijuana use, and that even weak marijuana works as well as (and in some ways

better than) high-dose Marinol, the THC pill sometimes touted as a substitute

for marijuana.

In a study published online by the International Journal of Drug Policy,

researchers from the Texas A & M Health/Science Center analyzed two sets of data

designed to monitor emerging drug-use trends, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring

System (ADAM) and the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), from locations where

medical marijuana laws have been put into effect. ADAM is based on urine tests

of adult and juvenile arrestees, while DAWN tracks mentions of drug use in

records of hospital emergency departments. Both sets of data, from before and

after implementation of the medical marijuana laws, were looked at in a

" time-series analysis " based on the premise that " if the law in question has an

impact (either positive or negative) then the series of observations that follow

its implementation will have a different slope or trend than those that occurred

before. "

In both sets of data -- from California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington --

the researchers found no change in the trend after medical marijuana laws went

into effect. " Consistent with other studies of the liberalization of cannabis

laws, " they wrote, " [the results] indicate that medical cannabis laws do not

increase use of the drug. "

A second study, in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and

also published online ahead of its appearance in print, compared the THC pill

marketed as Marinol to smoked marijuana supplied by the National Institute on

Drug Abuse. While both medications proved effective at stimulating appetite,

reducing the need for other medications to combat gastrointestinal problems, and

helping patients sleep, it took eight times the recommended dose of Marinol to

roughly equal the efficacy of weak marijuana, with 3.9 percent THC, supplied by

NIDA. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the

average THC content of marijuana seized by law enforcement during the first

quarter of 2007 was 8.5 percent.

The study's " double-dummy " design successfully prevented patients from

identifying which active treatment they were receiving at any given time,

overcoming a common problem with marijuana and THC studies. Although researchers

characterized the efficacy of Marinol and whole marijuana in the study as

" similar, " only whole marijuana produced statistically significant improvements

in patients' levels of hunger, desire to eat, and quality of sleep. Marijuana

also produced a higher daily caloric intake than even the highest Marinol dose,

although in this small and relatively brief study, that difference did not reach

statistical significance.

Neither treatment produced significant negative side effects. Strikingly, when

patients were given a series of tests measuring learning, memory and other

cognitive functions, neither marijuana nor oral THC produced any significant

changes in performance.

Gorman DM and Huber J Charles Jr. Do Medical Cannabis Laws Encourage

Cannabis Use? International Journal of Drug Policy, 2007 Vol. 18 no. 3, pp.

160-7.

Haney M, Gunderson EW, Rabkin J, Hart CL, Vosburg SK, Comer SD, and Foltin RW.

Dronabinol and Marijuana in HIV-Positive Marijuana Smokers: Caloric Intake,

Mood, and Sleep. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2007 Jun 21; [Epub ahead of print]

 

http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20070703235428924

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How Risky Is it to Smoke Pot? One Expert's Take By Katherine Hobson

Posted 7/30/07

 

Marijuana has long had the reputation of being a relatively harmless drug. Two

recent studies, however, highlight its potential dangers: One suggests that

using marijuana increases the odds of eventually developing a psychotic

disorder, while the other found that smoking one marijuana joint affected the

lungs as much as smoking five cigarettes. We spoke with Marc Kaufman, director

of the Translational Imaging Laboratory at McLean Hospital, a Harvard-affiliated

psychiatric hospital, and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard, to

get some perspective on pot. He studies the effects of drugs on the brain and

other bodily systems.

 

Is it biologically plausible that marijuana could mess with your head?

Sure. There are receptors for cannabinoids [the active compound in marijuana]

in the brain that send signals and modify other systems, such as the dopamine

and glutamate systems. Changing the neurochemistry of the brain may alter those

systems–it's very hard to predict. They all interact with each other.

 

 

The study on psychosis showed that smoking marijuana raised the risk–which is

quite low–by 40 percent. Does this mean that smoking marijuana causes

schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders?

No. It shows that people are more likely to get those symptoms if they use

marijuana, but it might be that the marijuana is unmasking something that's

already there. It's very hard to say there's a definitive cause and effect.

 

 

You say the study about lung function has much broader implications for public

health.

If marijuana can unmask a predisposition for psychosis, only a small number of

people might experience this unmasking. But the lung findings are very

interesting, apart from what they mean for lung health [the study found that

smoking cannabis is associated with impeded airflow]. Other research has shown

that in people who aren't necessarily drug abusers, poor lung function is

related to poor cognitive function. That would affect more people.

 

 

What about the medical benefits of marijuana?

There's clearly a debate in society about whether people should be able to use

these drugs [in a medical setting] to counteract the nausea associated with

cancer treatment. But what we can tell from the lung study is that while there

may be some beneficial effects, marijuana may have some downstream effects on

the brain. What many researchers are trying to do is to come up with drugs that

are selective–they'll bring the same benefit, such as combating nausea, but

won't produce a high or damage the lungs.

 

 

I was always taught that marijuana wasn't physically addictive. True?

There's been a controversy over the years, but we're seeing that there really

is a withdrawal or a dependence syndrome. People who have smoked a lot of

marijuana tend to experience increased cravings, sleep problems, increased

aggressiveness, and restlessness when they try to quit. The symptoms can last 10

days, so it can be really hard to quit. People are beginning to accept that

there's this dependence system, and there's an appreciation that we have to

consider marijuana abuse treatment. We need to come up with some medications

that can treat dependence.

 

http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070730/30pot.htm

 

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