Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Stacey Burling
Page: A2

REPORT MIXED ON BENEFITS OF MEDICAL POT

It Could Be Helpful in Multiple Sclerosis, but There Is Insufficient
Data on Other Ailments.

Medical marijuana got a mixed report card when the American Academy of
Neurology reviewed the science on the efficacy of the controversial
substance in neurological disorders.

It could be helpful in multiple sclerosis, the researchers concluded.
It didn't help side effects of the Parkinson's drug levodopa. There
was insufficient evidence to evaluate it in several other diseases,
including epilepsy.

The results were released Monday at the group's annual meeting this
week at the Convention Center. More than 12,000 people are expected to
attend.

"What we're really hoping is, a lot more studies will come from this,"
Barbara Koppel, chief of neurology at New York Medical College and one
of the review authors, said at a news conference. The journal
Neurology will publish the study Tuesday.

"There's a place for it," she said of medical marijuana, "and more
work will need to be done to find out where its indications will be."

Medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey, 19 other states, and the
District of Columbia, but not in Pennsylvania. On Monday in
Harrisburg, parents who want to use medical marijuana for their
children's seizures threatened a sit-in until Gov. Corbett agrees to
meet with them.

The review team examined 32 studies in which pill and oral spray forms
of marijuana were used, as well as the smoked version. Two pills are
approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat nausea. They can
be prescribed in any state.

Ken Wolski, a nurse who is executive director of the Coalition for
Medical Marijuana New Jersey, said there was a "tremendous amount" of
anecdotal evidence that marijuana helps people with neurological
conditions. Extensive clinical trials are very hard to do, he said.

Epilepsy patients have been among vocal supporters of medical
marijuana, but so have those with other neurological conditions,
Wolski said. He has heard from epilepsy patients who said they got
better with marijuana after anti-seizure drugs and surgery failed.

Allison McCartin, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation
Eastern Pennsylvania, agrees that "there isn't a lot of data" but said
her members want the opportunity to try medical marijuana when all
else has failed.

"We've got kids that struggle with hundreds of seizures a day," she
said. "We can't wait for these studies to come out."

The neurologists pointed out that marijuana can have serious side
effects, including nausea, fatigue, suicidal thoughts, dizziness, and
intoxication.

The study found that the pills and oral spray could help spasticity,
pain, and overactive bladder. There wasn't enough evidence for smoked
marijuana.

Pills did not help Parkinson's patients suffering from side effects of
levodopa, the main drug used to treat the disease.

The reviewers found insufficient evidence to say that marijuana in any
form helped with the movement symptoms in Huntington's disease, tics
in Tourette syndrome, cervical dystonia, or seizures in epilepsy.

Clyde Markowitz, a neurologist who runs the University of
Pennsylvania's multiple sclerosis program, said he still has
reservations about the side effects and long term consequences of
medical marijuana. "I think it's something that needs to be studied
before we can make recommendations on a large scale," he said.

Mark Angelo, a palliative care specialist at Cooper University
Hospital, is more comfortable with medical marijuana. He is among 286
doctors in New Jersey who may certify that patients qualify for
marijuana. Among the neurological conditions sometimes covered are
multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and muscular spasticity.

New Jersey patients can get marijuana plant material, buds, or an oil
at one of three Alternative Treatment Centers.

Angelo's patients use medical marijuana to augment pain drugs,
stimulate appetite, and reduce nausea and vomiting. "The patients
who've used it have been very, very happy," he said.

In New Jersey, 2,000 people have registered to use medical marijuana
and 1,733 have been served since the first center opened on Dec. 6,
2012, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. About 222
pounds of marijuana had been dispensed to patients and caregivers by
April 22.
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