cannabisnews.com: Pot Proponents Dismayed





Pot Proponents Dismayed
Posted by FoM on May 14, 2001 at 23:22:44 PT
By Jamie Talan, Staff Writer
Source: Newsday
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that forbids distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes comes at a time when research into cannabis' active ingredient is booming. Marijuana is used by an unknown number of patients to help ease pain and nausea associated with such diseases as AIDS, cancer and glaucoma. "There are promising indications for marijuana use but an inadequate base of data from clinical trials,” said J. Michael Walker, a researcher at Brown University in Rhode Island. "There is a need for rigorous clinical trials in light of this government-driven controversy.” 
Only in the last decade have the major findings on cannabinoids, the potent ingredients in marijuana that produce its noted effects, have come to light. Researchers have found that the brain has an abundance of what are termed cannabinoid receptors. Given that abundance, scientists have come to realize that the active ingredient in marijuana -- tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC -- has critical roles in the brain and behavior. The brain also has its own naturally occurring marijuana-like compound, anandamide, that seems to be triggered in response to pain. Those receptors sit along the pain pathways in the brain and the peripheral nervous system, said Miles Herkenham of the National Institute of Mental Health. "It implies a natural function of this system in the brain,” he said. Many scientists have tried to develop substances like the brain's natural compound, but they have not yet figured out how to tease out the benefits without the herb's other effects, including disorientation, an intoxicated feeling, impaired perception of memory. Marijuana's active ingredients are known to bind to two receptors, and the chemicals inhibit an enzyme called adenylate cyclase, which is crucial for cell signaling. The NIMH's Herkenham expressed frustration with yesterday's ruling. "I don't know when the Supreme Court will be satisfied that there are bona fide medical uses for marijuana,” he said. Cheryl Miller, 55, of Toms River, N.J., has been using marijuana for more than a decade to treat the pain and spasticity of multiple sclerosis. She had never smoked marijuana before. "She's always said no” to recreational use, said her husband, Jim Miller. "Now, when she needs it, everyone else is saying ‘no.'” Her husband cooks the marijuana in butter, and she eats it or spreads it on food. Marijuana is the only pain medicine that helps, according to her husband, who said they obtain it from friends. "It breaks my heart that it isn't available,” he added. "She has so much less pain when she has marijuana.” Eleven states have adopted initiatives allowing marijuana to be distributed for people with severe illnesses. New York is not among them. Nevertheless, the New York Medical Marijuana Patients' Cooperative is a club similar to the Oakland, Calif., group that figured in yesterday's ruling. "We will continue to register patients,” said Ken Toglia, director of the New York organization. A few hundred people have joined the co-op since 1998, most of them AIDS and cancer patients. Source: Newsday (NY)Author: Jamie Talan, Staff WriterPublished: May 15, 2001Copyright: 2001 Newsday Inc.Contact: letters newsday.comWebsite: http://www.newsday.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:CheryHeart Projecthttp://www.cherylheart.org/Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Keep Off The Grass http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9719.shtmlCourt Rejects Medical Use of Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9718.shtmlSupreme Court Rejects Medical Marijuana Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9717.shtml
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