Pubdate: Sat, 28 Sep 2002
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Martin Griffith, Associated Press

NEVADA CONFERENCE EXAMINES MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH, POLITICS

RENO, Nev. - Marijuana holds promising therapeutic value for a broad range 
of health patients, but further study is needed to determine what types of 
sufferers it can benefit, a conference of pain management experts was told 
Saturday.

At a symposium held in conjunction with the American Academy of Pain 
Management's annual meeting, scientists discussed their latest research and 
the obstacles they face trying to develop marijuana for medicinal uses.

Dr. Mark Ware of Montreal's McGill University said a pilot study is under 
way in Canada to determine marijuana's effectiveness in reducing pain for a 
broad range of patients, including those with cancer, HIV, multiple 
sclerosis and arthritis.

"I think the question is: How many patients could be using it that aren't 
using it?" said Ware, who heads the Canadian Consortium for the 
Investigation of Cannabinoids. "It's clearly been effective for some 
people, and we're trying to find out how useful it would be for others.

"It might not be good for everybody. Much more needs to be done to 
determine who can benefit from it," Ware said.

Dr. Ethan Russo, a Missoula, Mont., neurologist and researcher with faculty 
appointments at the universities of Montana and Washington, accused the 
federal governmment of hampering marijuana research in the United States.

He said he won Federal Drug Administration approval for a study on 
marijuana's effect on migraine treatment, but the National Institute on 
Drug Abuse wouldn't supply the marijuana.

"We're way behind other countries in this area and it's because of 
politics," said Russo, editor of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. 
"There's been a stigma attached to marijuana in the United States over the 
last 65 years.

"It's clear that in the area of pain management a lot of treatments are 
lacking in efficacy, and marijuana has great promise. With government 
cooperation, we can do much more marijuana research in the U.S.," Russo said.

Since California became the first state to approve medical marijuana in 
1996, six other states have followed suit. But federal law prohibits the 
sale of marijuana for medical uses.

Despite the law, the federal government has approved 11 marijuana studies 
now under way in California, said J. Hampton Atkinson of the University of 
California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research.

The studies will examine the effects of marijuana on a broad range of 
patients, including those with multiple schlerosis and nerve pain, he said, 
adding final action on four other other proposed studies is pending.

Dr. William Notcutt of Great Britain's Norwich University said his studies 
to date have shown marijuana can benefit multiple sclerosis and 
chronic-pain patients with intractable symptoms.

Elvy Musikka, 63, of Orangevale, Calif., a glaucoma patient who has used 
marijuana for 26 years, criticized the federal government for restricting 
access to medical marijuana.

"It has worked miraculously for me from the start," she said. "It's the 
oldest medicine known to humanity, and I don't believe more research is 
needed on it. We know marijuana works but we're stalling for political reasons."
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