Pubdate: Wed, 13 Nov 2013
Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA)
Copyright: 2013 Townnews.com
Contact:  http://www.thetimes-tribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440
Author: Ellen Jean Hirst, Chicago Tribune
Page: C6

POT: BENEFIT OR RISK?

Evidence of How Drug Helps With Specific Diseases Lacking

CHICAGO - Even though 20 states have passed laws legalizing medical 
marijuana, swayed in part by thousands of personal testimonies, 
current research hasn't nailed down exactly if, and how, marijuana 
alleviates all the specific diseases the drug is being legalized to 
treat, experts say.

A number of proponents believe marijuana could benefit people with 
everything from glaucoma to cancer, and it's been legalized in 
Illinois to aid patients with some 40 medical conditions. But 
opponents of its medicinal use believe the risks of smoking medical 
marijuana outweigh the benefits, while others question whether 
patients really improve or only feel like they improve.

Marijuana's best-known compound is THC, but the plant actually has 
105 unique cannabis compounds with potential for medicinal use, 
proponents say. THC has already been approved by the Food and Drug 
Administration in synthetic form to help patients with nausea and 
decreased appetite.

Some scientists believe the plant's other compounds - called 
cannabinoids - could have equal promise. Although research has 
increased in recent years as more states legalize medical marijuana, 
solid evidence of how individual cannabinoids could help people with 
specific diseases has been significantly lacking, a review of medical 
literature and interviews with experts shows.

Researching the potential effects of marijuana's various components 
on conditions such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia or lupus could 
have serious implications for doctors who want to prescribe medical 
marijuana to patients.

While most medicines derived from nature are tested before they reach 
the masses, the process to evaluate marijuana has been confounded by 
its longtime status as an illegal drug. A complicated federal 
approval process and limited availability of research-grade marijuana 
add to the difficulty.

The only study specifically cited in Illinois' law, signed by Gov. 
Pat Quinn in August and set to go into effect next year, is a 1999 
Institute of Medicine report. But Dr. John Benson, a lead editor of 
the report, said legislators stretched the conclusion of the 
book-length study when it said modern medical research "has confirmed 
the beneficial uses of cannabis."

While the report did say there was promise that marijuana could have 
medical benefits, it also suggests researchers need to continue to 
dig deeper into the issue. It also says marijuana should not be 
smoked, he said.

In Illinois, legislators relied mostly on personal testimonies and 
compared notes with states that have also passed medical marijuana laws.

[sidebar]

One man's story

Mike Graham of Manteno, Ill., was one person who shared his story 
with Illinois legislators. A little more than a decade ago, he was 
using 14 different pharmaceuticals. Living with an extremely painful 
degenerative spine disease, he has been through multiple surgeries in 
efforts to remedy it. But doctors feared one more could paralyze him, 
so he took medications for pain instead.

When he was in his late 30s, doctors sent him home with a hospice 
care nurse. After reviewing his medications, she told him he would 
die early if he continued taking all of them. To his surprise, she 
recommended pot, he said.

"I almost fell out of bed laughing," Mr. Graham, 51, said. "I come 
from a law enforcement family."

Increasingly desperate, in 2002, he decided to give it a try. He was 
able to cut back on all his previous medications except a morphine 
pump under his skin. Now, he takes three or four puffs of marijuana 
in the morning and at night. Once down to 135 pounds, the more than 
6-foot-tall Mr. Graham now says he's back up to 250 after regaining 
his appetite.

"What it comes down to here (is) I wouldn't be here if I hadn't made 
that decision," Mr. Graham said.
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