cannabisnews.com: Natural Cannabis 'Better Than Extracts'  





Natural Cannabis 'Better Than Extracts'  
Posted by FoM on April 05, 2001 at 20:16:03 PT
Cannabis might work better than chemical extracts
Source: BBC News 
Multiple sclerosis sufferers say cannabis relieves their pain Medicines containing every ingredient of cannabis might work better than chemical extracts, says a scientist. Dr Elizabeth Williamson, of the School of Pharmacy, London, said she had found using the whole herb was as effective as an extract at tackling MS symptoms such as spasticity, but worked faster. Much work has already been carried out on a cannabis ingredient, or cannabinoid,called THC, but Dr Williamson said she wanted trials on the whole plant extended. 
She told the BBC : "Multiple Sclerosis sufferers find the herb gives a great deal of relief and we want to know whether it is actually the whole herb which is better than taking the isolated cannabinoids out of it." "We have just found that if we use a plant extract we actually get a better result than if we use pure THC. "We know that THC does work, but the herb does work better and I don't know whether there is actually something in there that is much more potent." Dr Williamson presented her findings to a symposium on cannabinoids as a medicine at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, in London. Legalisation: Earlier this month the House of Lords select committee on science and technology published a report which calls for cannabis to be regarded in the same way as any other potential medicine. The beginning of the year also saw a major clinical trial begin in London, with another due to start in the city later this month. It will be investigating the therapeutic effect of cannabis and cannabinoids for the conditions of post-operative pain and spasticity in patients with MS. Ms Clare Hodges, from the Alliance of Cannabis Therapeutics, said cannabis was vital to help alleviate the symptoms of her MS. She has been using the drug regularly and finds it works better than any prescription drugs. "On the day to day basis my general quality of life is better and as well as relieving the physical problems it lifts your spirits. "You don't have to get high or stoned for it to improve your mood in the way that anti-depressants are supposed to, but often don't. "Cannabis is the only medicine that I and many others have comes across that treats the whole condition." Source: BBC News (UK Web)Published: April 5, 2001 Copyright: 2001 BBC Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Contact: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/Related Articles & Web Sites:Royal Pharmaceutical Societyhttp://www.rpsgb.org.uk/Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics http://www.marijuana-as-medicine.org/alliance.htmCannabis Laws Too Strict Say Doctors http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7524.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on April 06, 2001 at 16:22:57 PT
I thought some of you might like reading this
I have the book by Dr. Culpeper and I thought this would fit in this thread just fine.The English Physitian, Introduction by Richard Siderits, M.D. Nicholas Culpeper, a legendary figure in the field of herbal medicine and author of The English Physitian, transcribed within, was a man of mystery and glory - a revolutionary who taxed the heirarchal politicos, challenged the procedures and policies of the clergy and championed the wonderings of common folk, much to the chagrin of the established pedantists.Within this manuscript, the reader will find the wit, intellect, ethic and conviction of a man maligned by his colleagues and much respected by his community. Culpeper worked to bring medicinal treatments from the mysterious to the comprehensible. His philosophy was to teach the common folk to minister to themselves by providing them with the tools and knowledge for self health. His mind and ambition was to reform the whole system of medicine by being an innovative questioner paving the way for new thoughts and principles contrary to established traditions.A man of and for the common people, Culpeper wrote with a personal style revealing his insights as well as his struggles. Culpeper's writing tends to be comprehensive and exhaustive in its approach to reconciling astrology and medicine.DMSTable of Contenthttp://info.med.yale.edu/library/historical/culpeper/culpeper.htm***HEMP***This is so well known to every good Huswife in the Country, that I shal not need to write any Description of it.Time. It is sown in the end of March, or beginning of April, and is ripe in August or September.Vertues and Use. The Seed of Hemp consumeth Wind, and by the much use thereof disperseth it so much that it drieth up the natural Seed for Procreation; yet being boyled in Milk and taken, helpeth such as have a hot dry Cough. The Dutch make an Emulsion out of the Seed, and give it with good success to those that have the Jaundice, especially in the [EDGENOTE:] Wind, Cough, Jaundice, Gall, Choller. beginning of the Disease if there be no Ague accompanying it, for it [p. 64]openeth Obstructions of the Gall, and causeth digestion of Choller. The Emulsion or Decoction of the Seed staieth Lasks and continual Fluxes, easeth the Chollick, and allayeth the troublesom Humors in the Bowels, and staieth bleeding at the Mouth, Nose, or other place, some of the Leavs being fried with the Blood of that bleed, and so given them to eat. It is held very good to kill the Worms in man or Beast, and the Juyce dropped into the Ears killeth Worms in them, and draweth forth Earwigs, or other living Creatures gotten into them. [EDGENOTE:] Flux, Chollick, Bleeding, Worms, Earwigs, Inflamation, Gout, Sinews shrunk. The Decoction of the Root allayeth Inflamations in the Head or any other parts; the Herb it self, or the Distilled Water thereof doth the like: The Decoction of the Roots easeth the pains of the Gout, the hard Tumors, or Knots in the Joynts, the pains and shrinking of the Sinews, and the pains of the Hips: The fresh Juyce mixed with a little Oyl and Butter, is good for any place that hath been burnt with fire being thereto applied.It is a Plant of Saturn, and good for something els you see than to make Halters only.http://info.med.yale.edu/library/historical/culpeper/culpeper.htm
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Comment #6 posted by bcg on April 06, 2001 at 11:00:47 PT
observer's theory
You are not alone in your theory. I have a friend who researches THC at Wake Forest Univ. in a well-respected drug-abuse lab who has the same idea. His (and my) personal experience seem to bolster this theory.BTW, over the past year and a half or so, I have seen him present his research at meetings, and it has been fun to watch his "spin" on his work (as scientists, we all have to spin to get funding) move from drug use=drug abuse to a completely therapeutic angle (MMJ) - thus freeing himself from the shackles of NIDA funding
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Comment #5 posted by observer on April 06, 2001 at 09:59:02 PT
theory
Medicines containing every ingredient of cannabis might work better . . .There are many (about 60) psychoactive chemicals in whole cannabis.[1] Various strains, plants, samples from a single plant over time, location on the plant, gender of the plant, etc. give rise to varying levels of each of these 60 chemicals. What are some implications of this?  My theory goes something like this. Using a single strain of cannabis over time ("one giant bud"), will cause some tolerance to build up, but the tolerance seems dependent on the specific combination of psychoactive chemicals in that one strain ... switching to another strain (different combination of the chemicals) seems to circumvent the tolerance built up to the previous combination (strain). This is why some users are said to report that changing the type of cannabis taken causes them to lose tolerance built up to the previous strain. Rotating every few weeks the exact strain used (as happens with small contraband purchases by default), might also be helpful for this reason.Of the 60 or so psychoactive chemicals in whole cannabis, the interaction between two of them, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) have been studied to some extent.[2] It was found that "CBD blocks some of the effects of THC in mice but potentiates some other effects."[3] My theory is that tolerance to THC alone is what causes Marinol to fail after a short time, but what causes whole cannabis to then work for THC (THC alone) tolerant patients. _____[1] http://www.google.com/search?exec=google&q=sixty+psychoactive+chemicals+in+cannabis[2] http://www.google.com/search?exec=google&q=tetrahydrocannabinol+cannabidiol+potentiates[3] http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/MEDICAL/cbd.html
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on April 06, 2001 at 04:59:01 PT:
Talk about your synchronicity!
I had no sooner posted my blather than I hit the Reload button on my Opera browser and saw the Good Doc's comments. How's that for timing?
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on April 06, 2001 at 04:50:30 PT:
Sometimes, complexity is good
And the very complex and synergistic effects of the 'raw material' are actualy better than the isolated and isomerized primary components.As many of us have been saying for years about cannabis.Please forgive this recovering Catholic his musings, but you have to ask: why do you think cannabis is the way it is? Is it purely a matter of the blind forces of evolution at work that the stuff is so damned safe? That we have receptors in the oldest parts of our brains that fit hand-to-glove with cannabinoids? Indeed, that the body produces endogenous cannabinoids? That there have been 0% human fatalities related to cannabis use reported in 5,000 years of recorded human history? In other words, how much is the anti's contention that they can make something better than Deity/Nature/Whatever already has made just about friggin' perfect little more than greed combined with a shocking degree of hubris?(Shaking my head sadly.)
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on April 06, 2001 at 04:40:57 PT:
Former Colonial Overlord Leads the Way
This is an important article in many ways. First, note the serious tone. It educates without joking about the subject (e.g., "Pot Plot is Merely Piffle Says Government Official": just facts, without propaganda. It also supports a concept that some have been trying to present for years: herbal synergism. That is, cannabis works through a unique mixture of ingredients with results that are not obtainable with single components or any current synthetic substitute. My friend John McPartland writes eloquently on this:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10394675&dopt=AbstractAlternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 1999. July;5(4):57-62. Side effects of pharmaceuticals not elicited by comparable herbal medicines: the case of tetrahydrocannabinol and marijuana.McPartland JM, Pruitt PLDepartment of Family Practice, University of Vermont College of Medicine in Middlebury, USA.OBJECTIVE: Herbalists claim that the polypharmacy of botanical remedies provides 2 advantages over single-ingredient drugs: (1) primary active ingredients in herbs are synergized by secondary compounds, and (2) secondary compounds mitigate the side effects caused by primary active ingredients. To examine this second claim, medical marijuana was compared with its primary active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol. DATA SOURCES: A search on MEDLINE (1966-1999), AGRICOLA (1990-1999), and Biological and Agricultural Index (1964-1999) using keywords "cannabinoids," "marijuana," "tetrahydrocannabinol," "Cannabis," and "hemp." Phytochemical and ethnobotanical data were searched with the Agricultural Research Service database. Unindexed botanical journals were scanned by hand. STUDY SELECTION: Studies documenting the efficacy of secondary compounds mitigating side effects of tetrahydrocannabinol consisting of double-blind trials, unblinded studies, animal models, and in vitro experiments. DATA EXTRACTION AND DATA SYNTHESIS: Data validity was assessed by consensus, weighted by source (peer-reviewed article vs popular press), identification methodology (analytical chemistry vs clinical history), and frequency of independent observations. CONCLUSIONS: Good evidence suggests that some side effects of tetrahydrocannabinol are mitigated by other volatile compounds present in the essential oil of marijuana. Inhaling tetrahydrocannabinol, which avoids first-pass hepatic metabolism, has advantages over ingesting it. Other cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids can reduce tetrahydrocannabinol-induced anxiety, cholinergic deficits, and immunosuppression. Other compounds increase cerebral blood flow, enhance cortical activity, kill respiratory pathogens, and provide anti-inflammatory activity. The hazards of marijuana smoke can be reduced with appropriate technology. Proprietary Cannabis extracts containing a mixture of cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids are currently being developed and tested.PMID: 10394675 See also, "Cannabis: A Breed Apart" in my Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs: A Scientific Analysis of Herbal Remedies for Psychiatric Conditionshttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789010887/qid=986556372/sr=1-1/ref=sc_b_2/103-5083188-5771859   Finally, John and I will have an article in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics 1(3-4) coming out in about October that addressed the issue directly: "Cannabis and cannabis extracts: Greater than the sum of their parts?"   The cannabis debate in Great Britain has been much more rational, reasonable and fruitful than that in Amerika. We could certainly take a few lessons in this regard. Merely view the following recent position statement of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society:"CannabisMedicinal use of cannabinoids: Royal Pharmaceutical Society policy The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's policy on cannabinoids (the active constituents of cannabis) is that it wants to see clinical trials undertaken to show the therapeutic benefit of these drugs. In the meantime, the Society would like to see cannabinoids being prescribed by doctors for specific medical conditions since the clinical trials will take many years to complete."   In other words, let us proceed with research, but show compassion and allow current cannabis usage by desperately ill people in need. Could you imagine McCaffrey endorsing that? Dubya? Bill Bennett? Hardly! It is time for sanity to prevail on this side of the pond, as well.
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Comment #1 posted by MDG on April 05, 2001 at 22:55:59 PT
Herb, not drug. 
It's about time it came from docs. The first time I heard anyone say herb was Willie Nelson. He said, "It's not a drug, it's an herb." Yeah, man....smokin' reefer with my friends,I just can't wait to get on the road again."He's cool.Mike...
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