Pubdate: Thu, 23 Nov 2000
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2000 San Francisco Chronicle
Page: A25
Contact:  901 Mission St., San Francisco CA 94103
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Bookmark: Cannabis - Medicinal
http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm

MEDICAL POT TO BE STUDIED IN 60 CASES

San Mateo Will Monitor Effect On AIDS Patients

San Mateo County will distribute free marijuana to selected AIDS
patients early next year as part of a first-of-its-kind study to
determine the drug's potential benefits, county officials said yesterday.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has agreed to provide
government-grown marijuana to 60 patients for a 12-week study that
could begin as early as January, said Supervisor Mike Nevin. San Mateo
County officials first proposed the project in 1997, and the DEA
signed off on the plan yesterday.

The county will be the first local government in the country to
distribute the otherwise illegal drug.

"What we could end up with is scientific proof that this is a medicine
that should be prescribed by doctors. It's in the spirit of
Proposition 215," said Nevin, referring to the 1996 California
initiative that legalized medicinal marijuana.

Backers see the study as both a way to find out whether marijuana
relieves pain and promotes appetite as well as proponents maintain,
and to see whether patients can follow a strict regimen on the drug.

The drug will be given to HIV and AIDS patients suffering from
neurological problems. The research will be led by Dr. Dennis
Israelski, chief of infectious diseases and AIDS medicine at San Mateo
County Hospitals and Clinics. Israelski will also be in charge of
selecting participants. Those selected for the study will receive
marijuana cigarettes from the San Mateo County Health Center. Their
regimen will be strictly monitored, with participants required to keep
a log of their marijuana use and to turn in cigarette ends during
doctor visits.

County health officials also will make at-home visits.

Nevin, a former San Francisco police inspector, said he opposes
decriminalizing marijuana. Nevertheless, he has led the county's
effort to win approval for the study, he said, because he believes the
drug's medicinal value needs careful examination.

"To disallow the drug to people who need it is a crime," he
said.

Supervisors have pledged $500,000 of county money for the project,
Nevin said.

If the first 12-week study is successful, the county would like to
follow up with more marijuana trials for cancer and glaucoma patients,
said Margaret Taylor, director of San Mateo County Health Services.
"We hope this is just a beginning," she said.

The DEA was one of several federal agencies that had to approve the
study. Others included the Department of Health and Human Services,
the National Institutes of Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug
Administration.

Taylor said there has been a major change this year in the federal
government's willingness to participate in medicinal marijuana studies.

Dr. Donald Abrams, a professor of medicine at the University of
California at San Francisco, concluded the first federally approved
medical marijuana in July.

Abrams reported that 20 AIDS patients who smoked government-provided
marijuana under close supervision for three weeks gained an average of
7.7 pounds more than 22 patients who smoked a placebo.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake