Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Source: Buffalo News (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The Buffalo News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/GXIzebQL
Website: http://www.buffalonews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61
Author: Edward M. Bednarczyk
Note: Edward M. Bednarczyk is chairman and clinical associate 
professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy 
and Pharmaceutical Sciences, at the University at Buffalo.
Page: A6

BROADER LEGALIZATION REQUIRES MUCH MORE RESEARCH

In his State of the State address, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo invoked the 
Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act of 1980, a law that 
provided for the medical use of cannabis a full 16 years before 
medical marijuana was approved by the California legislature. New 
York's legislation provides for carefully controlled distribution and 
study of marijuana for medical purposes.

Unfortunately, this has reignited the call for broader legalization 
of medical marijuana in New York, perpetuating several myths.

One is that the active ingredients in marijuana (collectively called 
cannabinoids) are unavailable to patients.

In fact, two products (dronabinol and nabilone) containing the 
primary active ingredient in marijuana, THC, have been approved by 
the FDA. An oral spray currently approved in Canada and the European 
Union is being tested in clinical trials in the United States. This 
product contains two cannabinoids (THC and cannabidiol) in carefully 
controlled proportions.

Another myth is that medical marijuana has been proven safe and 
effective in numerous conditions. In fact, rigorous data is lacking, 
and many of the claims for medical marijuana are based on research 
done with FDA-approved medications containing THC. To be sure, 
medical marijuana has shown benefit in some conditions, including 
neuropathic pain experienced by patients with HIV, but no studies 
have met the standards that the FDA requires of prescription medications.

Recently, claims have been made for the treatment of serious seizure 
disorders using a strain of cannabis that is said to contain a high 
percentage of cannabidiol, a cannabinoid believed to lack the 
euphoric effects of THC. These reports should serve as a call for 
immediate, careful research rather than uncontrolled experimentation 
on children already suffering from severe and in some cases 
life-threatening conditions.

Many useful drugs start from naturally occurring plant or animal 
sources, and nature will remain an important discovery ground for 
medications. This doesn't mean we should advocate for using 
unrefined, non-standardized products with ingredients of unproven 
safety. Let's stick to the standards for safe and effective 
medications set by the Food and Drug Administration and endorsed by 
the Institute of Medicine.

If we wish to legalize the use of recreational marijuana, we should 
undertake that as a separate discussion. New York should first 
exhaust the limits of the existing legislation before seeking an 
expansion that would serve only to move toward legalization of 
recreational marijuana without bringing the benefits of careful 
research to patients.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom