cannabisnews.com: High Expectations





High Expectations
Posted by CN Staff on November 06, 2008 at 07:13:54 PT
By Amanda Schaffer
Source: Slate
World -- This summer, British and Italian researchers found that in a laboratory plate, molecules in marijuana can slay the superbug methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, which recently infected seven babies and four employees in a Yonkers, N.Y., maternity ward, heightening fears of outbreaks in schools and locker rooms, as well as in its more familiar breeding grounds, hospitals and nursing homes. In theory, compounds derived from the cannabis plant could someday serve in topical creams for patients with MRSA or other antibiotic-resistant infections.
This isn't the first time marijuana has tantalized the world as a possible wonder drug. In recent years, compounds in cannabis or related molecules have been shown to slow the growth of lung tumors in mice, decrease hardening of the arteries in rats, and boost the egg-binding capability of tobacco smokers' sperm. Research on the receptors that THC and other cannabis compounds attach to—and the nitty-gritty mechanisms by which they exert their effects—has been booming. So has work on native molecules, called endocannabinoids, that bind to the same sites. These molecular interactions affect a wide range of functions, from appetite to inflammation to the perception of pain. The onslaught of basic science has helped to separate cannabis from an association with hippies and recreational pot smokers. It has also spurred hopes that these molecules (or similar ones) might prove therapeutic for traumatic brain injury, inflammatory bowel disease, allergic contact dermatitis, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease, among others. For all the razzle-dazzle, though, potential treatments frequently seem stuck in perpetual adolescence. Research on traumatic brain injury seemed promising but got mixed results in human clinical trials, while most of the others simply haven't gotten very far in the experimental process. Still, a few prospects show signs of inching toward adulthood. The most enticing are aimed at lessening pain associated with nerve damage and improving some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Between 2007 and this summer, several randomized clinical trials have found that smoking marijuana can relieve pain in patients with nerve degeneration caused by HIV or other disorders. Compounds in cannabis also seem to reduce nerve pain and possibly decrease spastic movements in people with MS. A drug called Sativex—which delivers two cannabis compounds in a spray under the tongue—is now in late-stage clinical trials in Europe for MS patients. Much as we've heard the hype before, these findings deserve some notice even from the jaded. Studying the upside of marijuana can be a bureaucratic nightmare. In 1970, Congress deemed it a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse and "no currently accepted medical use"—making research on possible benefits a tough sell. In the 1980s, the Food and Drug Administration approved Marinol, an oral formulation of THC, the most psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, to treat nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. Later, it also approved Marinol to boost the appetites of people with AIDS. But Marinol was never fully accepted by patients, says Donald Abrams, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. It took effect more slowly than smoked marijuana and was also more psychoactive. (When THC enters the bloodstream from the digestive tract, it is broken down by the liver into even more psychoactive molecules.) Nor has Marinol been approved in the United States to treat pain. Those who wished to push research further—whether by studying smoked marijuana, developing better formulations, or testing cannabis for other conditions—got no love from the federal government.Some did get a boost, however, from the state of California, which paid for the recent work on cannabis smoking and pain. In 2000, the state funded the University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, which vets research proposals with an NIH-style review process, pays for projects, and helps scientists navigate state and federal regulations. The center helps researchers obtain cannabis cigarettes, for instance, and deal with federal rules for record-keeping and security—like making sure the safe in which the drug is stored is properly bolted to the floor, says director Igor Grant. The work has moved slowly, but it's finally paying off with a handful of publications. The first clinical-trial-based paper, which appeared in Neurology in 2007, was a randomized study of 50 patients with HIV-related nerve damage, which can cause discomfort often described as aching, painful numbness, or burning. Those who smoked cannabis each day reported a 34 percent decrease in chronic pain—an effect that's on par with medications often used for this condition, like anti-convulsants and antidepressants, says Abrams. Two other randomized clinical trials, published in June and August, found similarly clear benefits. The June study focused on patients with pain related to a range of neurological conditions, including spinal cord injury. The August paper focused again on HIV-related symptoms. Both found that patients who smoked cannabis reported significantly less pain than those who used dummy cigarettes. These studies were relatively small, but cumulatively they are persuasive. Other recent research suggests that cannabis can relieve MS-related pain and may be able to help other symptoms, too. Sativex, which contains THC and cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive compound, and is absorbed through the mouth, is already approved in Canada for cancer-related pain and nerve pain associated with MS. In 2007, this randomized clinical trial of 189 MS patients found that those who took Sativex self-reported a significant decrease in involuntary muscle spasms. (The study was funded by GW Pharmaceuticals, the British company that developed the drug.) Researchers are now conducting a late-stage clinical trial of Sativex in MS patients across five European countries. The company has also begun a Phase II/III clinical trial in the United States for patients with cancer-related pain. Sativex may offer particular advantages because it is neither smoked nor swallowed: It does not introduce toxins to the lungs, as smoking does. It enters the bloodstream rapidly but does not pass initially to the liver, as oral formulations do, which prevents it from getting broken down as quickly and may make it less psychoactive. (GW Pharmaceuticals says that patients who take Sativex tend not to experience psychoactive side effects at normal dosage levels.) If these serious investigations and results continue, soon cannabis therapies may not, in fact, be bolted to the floor.Sidebar: When spasticity is evaluated according to a formal measure called the Ashworth scale, the benefit is less clear, says David Baker, a neuroimmunologist at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry and author of this helpful review. Amanda Schaffer is a science and medical columnist for Slate.Source: Slate Magazine (US Web)Author: Amanda SchafferPublished: November 6, 2008Copyright: 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLCContact: letters slate.comWebsite: http://www.slate.com/URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2203922/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #15 posted by Rainbow on November 07, 2008 at 08:01:19 PT
how to make
Can you show me links to how to make canna-oil and even hashish.Olive canna oil sounds scrumptious :-)
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by museman on November 06, 2008 at 19:54:52 PT
GCW #9
Lest we forget...that oh so important truth, and fundamental fact. I surely believe it.FREE TREE OF LIFE FOR EVERYONE
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by afterburner on November 06, 2008 at 17:20:03 PT
OT: Other Frontiers
HEALTHBEAT: Brain slows at 40, starts body decline.
Comments Nov 3, 2008 3:39 PM (3 days ago). By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP
http://www.examiner.com/a-1670519~HEALTHBEAT__Brain_slows_at_40__starts_body_decline.html
Excerpts:
{
Healthy myelin - good thick insulation wound tightly around those nerve fibers - allows prompt conduction of the electrical signals the brain uses to send commands. Higher-frequency electrical discharges, known as "actional potentials," speed movement - any movement, from a basketball rebound to a finger tap.Consider someone like Michael Jordan. "The circuitry that made him a great basketball player was probably myelinated better than most other mortals," Bartzokis notes.But while myelin builds up during adolescence, when does production slow enough that we fall behind in the race to repair fraying, older insulation? ... 
Bartzokis isn't looking to build a better athlete. His ultimate goal is to fight Alzheimer's disease. The connection: Building memories requires high-frequency electrical bursts, too, and Bartzokis' earlier research suggests an Alzheimer's-linked gene may thwart myelin repair. ...Bartzokis' research supports a recent report from German scientists, that with age comes a weakening of the system that's supposed to repair broken myelin, adds Dr. Bradley Wise of the National Institute on Aging."Any disruption in these neural circuits and networks will have problems for functioning," says Wise, who says the two reports are spurring increased interest into myelin's role in aging. Until recently, most myelin research has focused on multiple sclerosis, where myelin doesn't gradually degrade but disappears.While much more research is needed, Bartzokis has some practical advice:-Keeping active and treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes already are deemed important for good brain health. But physical and mental activity also may stimulate myelin repair, while unused neural pathways wouldn't send out a "help" signal, he says."Remember, these are average people I tested," Bartzokis says. "Someone that's really practicing could make it (myelin) last longer because you're sending the signals to repair, repair, repair."-Stress hormones, however, may hurt myelin.-He's also testing whether consumption of omega-3 fatty acids - the oils, found in fatty fish, already recommended for cardiovascular health - might help maintain myelin.
}And we know what the most balanced source of omega-3 fatty acids is! It's cannabis seeds!
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on November 06, 2008 at 11:17:38 PT
Sam
I didn't even think about Nader. Thanks.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by Sam Adams on November 06, 2008 at 11:16:55 PT
Staff/mrsa
The scientists and greedy Big Pharma can go searching after their "molecules" - I'll keep my little bottle of cannabis olive oil right here. It seems to become more powerful every day! Who would have thought canna-oil could be used as a wound dressing or natural anti-biotic agent?
 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on November 06, 2008 at 11:14:28 PT
FOM
"I think a few more people voted for the Proposition because maybe some Republicans that voted for McCain voted for the Proposition too. "Maybe - I voted for Nader!
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on November 06, 2008 at 11:08:11 PT
Folks, this isn't just a "wonder drug"
Folks, this isn't just a "wonder drug"...Cannabis is the tree of life.It may be a long time before We stop finding new things cannabis helps with on a medicinal level and then it further helps healing in non medicinal ways.Cannabis is no accident. Nothing else comes close; and We continue to learn more about the superplant.Cannabis; from God for the glory of God.The Ecologician Incredible-0-The leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations.From the very last page... Rev. 22:2.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on November 06, 2008 at 10:27:34 PT
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
"Gratitude is important in the world. It's important to show gratitude to those who have helped you.Medical pot would be nowhere without the hippies and the recreational users. It's not like some scientist who works in a federal drug free workplace ever could have discovered it."Thankful for the people, too, of course, "recreational" users, who found themselves fascinated by the plant and it's properties and kept trying to understand it and make the best of it. These guys have been like George Washington Carver and the peanut... for heaven's sake. Except they haven't been treated with the same respect that Mr. Carver received for his efforts.HerbDoc is one of these dear souls that comes to mind.
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on November 06, 2008 at 10:17:34 PT
You're so exactly right, EJ.
"OR it could make us THANK the hippies and recreational pot smokers, because we would not be here at all without them."
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Comment #6 posted by museman on November 06, 2008 at 09:57:05 PT
E_J
"The onslaught of basic science has helped to separate cannabis from an association with hippies and recreational pot smokers."OR it could make us THANK the hippies and recreational pot smokers, because we would not be here at all without them."Vindication comes hard when the 'authorities' have been so wrong for so long, but its coming.There will be a 'Hippy Hall Of Fame' and it won't be sponsored by Hollywood, or a bunch of yuppified boomers claiming hipness.The Hippies kept their state, kept their faith, kept their hair, and kept smoking the medicine that will keep their brains sharp long after those beer-drinkers have succumbed to alzheimers, and other effect of the poisons they believe are 'medicines' just because their well-dressed, well-groomed, well-invested status-quo institutionalists say they are.Cannabis IS a WONDER DRUG!!!!!!!!Proof just keeps coming, while the false assumptions of alcohol poisoned consciousness are being crushed like the flimsy lies they are.FREE WONDER DRUG FOR EVERYONE
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 06, 2008 at 08:58:02 PT
I Agree EJ
I actually think much of it has to do with the age of Democrats rather then a person just being a Democrat. I believe most younger Democrats would have voted yes. 
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Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on November 06, 2008 at 08:46:58 PT
I agree FoM, that must be true
And not all Democrats support these issues. We don't have 100% of the Democrats. I think we run about 80% approval by Democrats (somebody please correct me if I am wrong.) So a significant fraction of these votes could have come from Republicans.When you win 2/3 of the vote, it means you've found an issue that appeals to the center.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 06, 2008 at 08:03:48 PT
E_Johnson 
I think a few more people voted for the Proposition because maybe some Republicans that voted for McCain voted for the Proposition too. 
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on November 06, 2008 at 07:34:02 PT
By the way we beat Obama in MI and MA
I hope the Obama transition team is paying attention to the fact that marijuana reform got more votes than he did in two states. And the public largely ignored the recommendations of the once-powerful law enforcement lobbies, I might add.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on November 06, 2008 at 07:25:07 PT
The article I always wished for in Salon
Joan Walsh did not even give us one passing mention of either marijuana initiative in Salon. We're not citizens to her. We're less zero over there. I'm going to read Slate from now on."The onslaught of basic science has helped to separate cannabis from an association with hippies and recreational pot smokers."OR it could make us THANK the hippies and recreational pot smokers, because we would not be here at all without them.Someone had to learn how to create medical grade pot. Someone had to make it so ubiquitous and easy to get that sick people could experience the medicinal properties and being to fight on that basis.Gratitude is important in the world. It's important to show gratitude to those who have helped you.Medical pot would be nowhere without the hippies and the recreational users. It's not like some scientist who works in a federal drug free workplace ever could have discovered it.
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