Medicinal Cannabis

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Research published online May 14 in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science has shown that marijuana buffers people from experiencing the pain of social exclusion.

"Prior work has shown that the analgesic acetaminophen, which acts indirectly through CB1 receptors, reduces the pain of social exclusion," lead researcher Timothy Deckman of the University of Kentucky and his colleagues wrote in the study, reports Eric W. Dolan of The Raw Story.

The four-part study, including a total of 7,040 participants and three methodologies, was based on previous studies that showed an overlap between physical and psychological pain. Acetaminophen, found in over-the-counter pain pills like Tylenol, has been found to reduce both social and physical pain.

Acetaminophen and marijuana both affect cannnabinoid (CB1) receptors in the brain and both are used to treat physical pain.

For the first two studies, researchers looked at cross-sectional data from major national surveys. The first used data from the National Comorbidity Study and found marijuana users who reported loneliness had higher levels of self-worth and mental health than non-marijuana users who reported being lonely.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Medical marijuana patients, growers and dispensary operators are pushing for new laws that would expand the number of patients who are authorized to legally use cannabis.

Between 13,000 and 15,000 Mainers are currently medical marijuana patients, reports Amy Sinclair at NECN. Ten thousand of those buy from the state's eight licensed dispensaries; the rest get their marijuana from private growers, known as "caregivers."

Lawmakers on the Health and Human Services Committee are considering six bills that would allow for more dispensaries, expand the list of qualifying conditions, and increase the number of plants caregivers are allowed to grow.

"I think the question is how can we get more medicine to patients from the dispensary system we currently have," said Tim Smale, executive director at the Remedy Compassion Center in Auburn, Maine.

Atop the wish list is a new law that would expand the list of qualifying conditions for which doctors may authorized the medicinal use of cannabis. Advocates want to expand the list to include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), opiate addiction and other medical conditions as determined by doctors.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

In a newly published paper, researchers have shown that marijuana can help with diabetes control.

Investigators from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston published a paper in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine detailing how cannabis users have significantly lower fasting insulin, and are less likely to be insulin resistant than those who don't use pot, reports Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com.

The researchers noted that this was true even after excluding patients who had a diagnosis of diabetes.

The BIDMC team analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey between 2005 and 2010. Their research included data from 4,657 patients who completed drug use questionnaires. Of these, 579 reported currently using cannabis; 1,975 had used it in the past; and 2,103 reported never using it.

The team measured fasting insulin and glucose amounts using blood samples after patients had fasted for nine hours. They also evaluated insulin resistance via homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Smoking marijuana caused a "complete remission" of Crohn's disease in half the patients who took part in an eight-week clinical trial, according to data published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers at Meir Medical Center in Israel gave 11 patients with severe Crohn's disease two joints a day for eight weeks. Ten other patients were used as a control group.

The standardized joints contained 23 percent THC and 0.5 percent CBD. The other ten patients smoked placebo joints containing no active cannabinoids.

Smoking the marijuana for eight weeks resulted in a "complete remission" of Crohn's in five of the 11 subjects, according to researchers. Another five of the eleven test patients saw their symptoms reduced by about half.

"Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects," researchers reported. Side effects are severe with corticosteroids used to treat the inflammation of Crohn's; they range from excessive facial hair and insomnia to high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and glaucoma, if used for extended periods.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Stoner icon Tommy Chong announced this week that he is cancer free, having beaten prostate cancer with a treatment regimen including cannabis oil.

"I'm cancer free," Chong wrote in a blog post. "That's right, I kicked cancer's ass!"

Chong, half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, was diagnosed with prostate cancer last June, reports John R. Kennedy at Global News. He told CNN he believes he got it while serving time in a California prison in 2003-2004 for selling glass bongs over the Internet.

"I immediately looked an alternatives," the Canadian-born Chong wrote.

After his nephew in Vancouver, a medical student, suggested meeting with a doctor in Victoria, Chong followed his advice. "That doctor changed my diet and put me on supplements, and within a year I brought my PSA [prostate-specific antigen] numbers down drastically and eliminated the cancer threat," Chong wrote. "I also treated the condition with hemp oil (hash oil)."

"The magic plant does cure cancer with the right diet and supplements," Chong said. "I feel the best I've felt in years."

(Photo: Tommy Chong via Facebook)

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

In a first-of-its-kind study on the biochemical impact of psychological trauma, researchers have discovered a connection between the amount of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain and the chronic, disabling condition post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The findings, from New York University Langone Medical Center, appeared online Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, reports Science Daily. They will also be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in San Francisco.

There are a number of treatments using psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD patients, but these methods aren't always available, reports Loren Grush at Fox News.

No pharmaceutical treatments have yet been developed to specifically target PTSD.

The NYU Langone Center researchers utilized brain imaging technology to highlight the connection between the number of cannabinoid receptors in the brain and PTSD. The cannabinoid receptors, known as CB1 receptors, are activated in the brain when a person uses marijuana, which can lead to impaired short-term memory and reduced anxiety.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Attorney General Eric Holder encountered an unhappy crowd of dozens of pro-marijuana protesters at the University of California Berkeley's campus on Saturday when he visited to address the graduating law school class.

During Holder's visit to campus, an airplane circled above Berkeley's Greek Theater for more than two hours, pulling a banner reading "Holder: End Rx Cannabis War #Peace4Patients," reports Carly Schwartz at The Huffington Post. As the Attorney General's limo turned toward the graduation ceremony, demonstrators were waving signs reading "Fight Crime, Not Cannabis."

"There's no doubt we got the A.G.'s attention," said California NORML President Dale Gieringer. "He can't come to Berkeley and not be reminded of his department's bad faith with respect to marijuana."

Holder and the Obama Administration have been harshly criticized for the stepped-up federal crackdown on the medical marijuana industry in California and other states which allow the medicinal use of cannabis.

Though medical marijuana was legalized by California's voters through Proposition 215, a 1996 ballot initiative, cannabis remains illegal for any purpose under federal law.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon on Sunday said she supports a bill allowing the medicinal use of cannabis, explaining that testimony from seriously ill veterans and other medical marijuana patients helped to change her mind.

"As a former prosecutor my first reaction was, 'I'm not interested in changing our laws on medical marijuana,' " Lt. Gov. Simon told The Associated Press in a Sunday interview.

But after hearing from patients and reading up on the bill -- described as the strictest in the nation among medical marijuana states -- Simon said she is convinced the regulations are stringent enough.

The bill, which has cleared the Illinois House and awaits a Senate vote, would let physicians authorize patients with whom they have "an existing relationship" to use medicinal marijuana for more than 30 medical conditions, including cancer.

A pilot program would be created; patients and caregivers would be required to undergo background checks and would be limited to 2.5 ounces per patient per purchase from state-regulated dispensaries.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Researchers have announced that the conclusion of an 11-year study has found a strong association between frequent marijuana use and significantly reduced risk of bladder cancer. The more pot you smoke, the lower your risk, according to the study.

The new study compared the risk of bladder cancer in more than 83,000 men who smoked cigarettes only, marijuana only, or both substances, reports Kathleen Doheny at USA Today.

The investigators found that men who smoked only cannabis were the least likely to develop bladder cancer over the course of the 11-year study.

"Cannabis use only was associated with a 45 percent reduction in bladder cancer incidence, and tobacco use only was associated with a 52 percent increase in bladder cancer," said Dr. Anil A. Thomas, study author and a fellow in urology at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Smoking both tobacco and cannabis raised the risk of bladder cancer, but not as much as for those who smoked only tobacco, Thomas said. He presented the findings on Monday at the American Urological Association's annual meeting in San Diego.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A bill which would legalize the medicinal use of marijuana in Illinois cleared a key Senate committee vote on Wednesday.

The medical marijuana bill was approved on a 10-5 vote by the Senate Executive Committee late Wednesday night, reports Monique Garcia at the Chicago Tribune.

The bill was approved over the objections of members of the law enforcement community, who claimed the bill wouldn't prevent medical marijuana patients from driving while under the influence of cannabis. (Statistics from states where medical marijuana is legal has shown they have fewer fatal auto accidents than before medicinal cannabis laws were passed.)

The bill now goes to the full Senate, which approved similar legislation in 2009. The proposal already cleared the Illinois House last month, and Gov. Pat Quinn has said he is "open minded" on the subject.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

More California cities are planning to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries following a state Supreme Court ruling that such citywide bans are legal.

San Bernardino authorities raided a dispensary on Thursday, seizing 30 pounds of marijuana, 80 plants, a 12-gauge shotgun and $9,000 in cash, and citing four dispensary employees, according to City Attorney James Penman, report Richard K. DeAtley and John Asbury at the Riverside Press Enterprise.

The city also sent closure notices to about 30 shops, threatening fines of $1,000 a day. By Wednesday, 17 of the shops had voluntarily shut down.

"Most were very friendly; their lawyers had contacted them and they were in the process of removing their signs, their green crosses," Penman smirked.

"We're treating these businesses as illegal drug houses and drug businesses," Penman bragged. "What we hope to find today and every day is that these stores have closed. Our goal is to shut everyone down." Eleven shops were still operating by the end of thursday, Penman said.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Voters in the city of Los Angeles have a decision to make on May 21, with the fate of hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries at stake. Angelenos will have to choose between three medical marijuana measures on the ballot. Estimates of the number of dispensaries in town range between 850 and 1,600.

Widespread confusion among voters appears to be the norm, reports KPCC, as they prepare to decide which of three measures -- D, E, and F -- should be used to regulate medicinal cannabis dispensaries.

Their decision is slightly simplified by the fact that backers of Measure E have abandoned it and thrown their support behind Measure D.

Measure D would shut down most of L.A.'s hundreds of dispensaries, only allowing about 135 of them -- the ones that first registered with the city six years ago -- to continue operation.

Measures D and F and alike in several key ways. Both require dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet form schools. Both raise taxes on the shops from $50 to $60 per $1,000 in gross receipts.

The biggest difference is that Measure F would allow an unlimited number of dispensaries. That's more fair than limiting the number to 135, according to political consultant Garry South of the Measure F campaign.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A 63-year-old Florida woman with Lou Gehrig's disease wants her medical marijuana back -- and she's going to court to make sure the cops never confiscate her pot plants again.

The back yard of Cathy Jordan, director of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, was raided on February 25 by Manatee County Sheriff's deputies working on a tip that she and husband Robert were growing pot. Deputies confiscated 23 plants, according to a sheriff's department spokesman, who claimed the plants were worth about $30,000.

But the state attorney's office decided it was going to be difficult to get a conviction, given the Jordans' medical necessity defense, and it declined to prosecute the case, reports Billy Cox at the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Cathy Jordan said she started smoking marijuana in 1989. According to Jordan, cannabis alleviates her painful symptoms, and prescription medications do not.

Her name has become so synonymous with the medical marijuana movement in Florida that when a medicinal cannabis bill was introduced in the state Legislature, it was called the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Missouri's not a medical marijuana state, but Ken Wells says he's been smoking pot for decades. He has epilepsy, and he says his condition is eased by using cannabis.

"I do it the way I do my other medications -- a measured amount each day," Wells said, reports Anthony Kiekow at Fox 2 Now. Ken said he hasn't had an epileptic seizure since he started using about three grams of marijuana per day as a medication.

Since marijuana works to stop his seizures, Ken is willing to risk arrest every day.

But St. Louis Police Chief Tim Fitch is against legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.

"That is just a front for legalizing it and using marijuana recreationally," Chief Fitch claimed. "They always start with medical marijuana and then it goes to what Colorado and Washington did -- OK, now we are OK with recreational."

Chief Fitch claimed marijuana is a "gateway drug" which leads to the cemetery. "One of the things I have learned over the last 22 Town Hall meetings with folks that lost children as a result of heroin use is every one of them without fail used marijuana first," he claimed.

The chief really should inform himself with the latest research if he's going to be talking in public about this; the gateway theory was debunked years ago.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

In a refreshing show of common sense, some Nevada lawmakers say that medical marijuana patients shouldn't be punished as if they were impaired when driving, just because they have small amounts of marijuana in their systems.

That idea inspired an intense debate in the Nevada Assembly when Majority Leader William Horne (D-Las Vegas) unveiled AB 351 to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, reports Matt Woolbright of The Associated Press.

"Marijuana is currently the only drug we have a limit where we say, 'You have this much, so you must be impaired,' " Horne told members of the committee. "I think that's unfair."

Drivers with traces of cannabis in their blood are considered impaired under current Nevada law, and are guilty of driving under the influence. The same concept applies to the blood alcohol content of drunken drivers.

But this bill would remove the per se power of marijuana metabolites for medical marijuana patients. Prosecutors would still be able to use the blood test to bolster their case, but more proof would be required to prove the driver was impaired.

"I don't have a problem with the per se limits being there for everybody else," Horne said. "What I am saying is, for a patient, those per se limits should not apply because we don't apply them to any other drug."