Medical Journals & United States Government Agencies Publications
Medical Journals
February 1994, Volume 93, Number 2, pp. 254-260. American Academy of Pediatrics - From the Schools of Nursing, Education, and Public Health, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Received for publication Sep 21, 1992; accepted Jun 30, 1993. Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An Ethnographic Study Melanie C. Dreher, PhD; Kevin Nugent, PhD; and Rebekah Hudgins, MA
The Journal of the American Medical Association, June 1, 1994, Volume 271, No. 21, pp. 1636-1639 - Collateral Casualties Climb in the Drug War - by Andrew A. Skolnick
This is a little long, but at least the British see this war for what it is....present policy failure, Prohibition policy failure, whatever. - Read it well. It hits on EVERYTHING, including prison, drug tests, kids natural tendencies to experiment, getting away from yourself and the world... (Escaping Briefly) and that escaping is a natural characteristic of being a human being...it is excellent. BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL Volume 311, December 23-30, 1995 Editorial:
June 1996, the study of 65,171 patients by insurer: Kaiser Permanente Study found that pot-smokers had a lower mortality rate than cigarette smokers or people who drank at least three beers a day. (Men with AIDS who smoked pot had a higher mortality rate, but research concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish a causal link.) "Marijuana isn't the killer drug that some people make it out to be," says Kaiser Permanente's Stephen Sidney, the study's lead researcher.
New England Journal of Medicine Report, January 1997
4 Oct 1997 - chocolate's chemical secrets - The pleasure produced from chocolate may be down to traces of phenylethylamine. - succeeded in isolating cannabinoids from chocolate. - As with caffeine and phenylethylamine, most of their effects work by triggering specific receptors in the brain like cannabis.
Lester Grinspoon, M.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School - before the - Crime Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee U.S. House of Representatives - October 1, 1997 - my views on the use of marihuana as a medicine.
Canada: Doctors Look For Ways To Get Marijuana To The Suffering - 20 Nov 1997 That plea came after a report by the association's board of science and education that concluded: - ``Many law-abiding citizens have resorted to the illegal use of cannabis to alleviate distressing symptoms inadequately controlled by existing drugs.
10 Nov 1997 - THC METABOLITE AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG: CT-3 - Robert B. Zurier, MD, To Present Findings At American College of Rheumatology Conference, Nov. 10 Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq SmallCap: ATLC) announced today that its proprietary lead compound CT-3 has shown anti-inflammatory activity in pre-clinical animal studies that modeled the effects of arthritis.
August 22, 1997 v277 n5329 p1094(4). Title: Functional role of high-affinity anandamide transport, as revealed by selective inhibition. Author: M. Beltramo and D. Piomelli Author's Abstract: COPYRIGHT 1997 American Association for the Advancement of Science - Anandamide, an endogenous ligand for central cannabinoid receptors, is released from neurons on depolarization and rapidly inactivated.
MARIJUANA CHEMICAL TAPPED TO FIGHT STROKES - The breakfast table may someday feature not only orange juice and vitamins but also a more exotic health booster-a compound extracted from marijuana.- -Cannabis contains a chemical that can protect cells by acting as an antioxidant, - More effective than vitamins C or E, it offers an appealing option for the treatment and perhaps prevention of stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, and heart attacks, - The compound, called cannabidiol, doesn't make people high.
Sat, 04 Apr 1998 - British Medical Journal, No 7137 Volume 316 - Editorial CANNABIS AS MEDICINE: TIME FOR THE PHOENIX TO RISE? - Since 1971 British doctors have been barred from prescribing cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Many otherwise law abiding people have subsequently thought it worthwhile to expose themselves to the risk, inconvenience, and expense of obtaining illegally a drug they believe can ease symptoms inadequately controlled by conventional medicines. Patients have told me how effective cannabis can be in relieving aches and pains, numbing the symptoms of opiate withdrawal, improving sleep, reducing anxiety, and alleviating the vomiting, anorexia, and depression associated with AIDS related disorders. Anecdotes such as these are all very well, but is there any scientific evidence that cannabis has real therapeutic value? - The BMA has addressed this question with an excellent report, which begins by reviewing the pharmacology.(1) Only a few of the 60 or so chemicals unique to Cannabis sativa (cannabinoids) have so far been studied,
Jun11 23:08:53 1998 - Subject: Potential health system cost savings from mmj The New Zealand Drug Policy Forum Trust is embarking on an analysis of the potential cost savings to the NZ health care system if medicinal cannabis were legal and used to the fullest extent appropriate, given usual cost-effectiveness considerations. - . I take these to be: nausea and vomiting, especially produced by chemotherapy muscle spasms, especially associated with major neurological diseases, epilepsy, glaucoma, migraine headache, anorexia, especially but not limited to that produced by AIDS and cancer, certain psychological or mental-heath related conditions, including (some cases of) depression, anxiety, and stress-related conditions.
09 Jun 1998: 1986 Book from Reader's Digest Calls Marijuana Medicine! - The following is an excerpt from the 1986 edition of the Reader's Digest publication called Magic and Medicine of Plants: - Marijuana Cannabis sativa L. Bhang, Ganja, Grass, Hashish, Hemp, Mary Jane, Pot, Reefer Hemp family Cannabacceae - Although often abused, marijuana is one of the world's oldest economic plants. Besides providing the material, hemp, for a lucrative cordage and cloth industry, it has been a valuable medicinal drug. The ancient pharmacopeias of China, going back more than 2,000 years,
Fri, 07 Aug 1998 GENES MAY INFLUENCE MARIJUANA USE - NEW YORK, - A study of female twins - Dr. Kenneth Kendler of Virginia Commonwealth University and Dr. Carol Prescott of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, both located in Richmond, Virginia. - Their study, published in the August issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry,
September 23, 1998 Author: Ulysses Torassa, Examiner Medical Writer - UCSF STUDY BACKS CLAIM POT KILLS PAIN - Research adds to evidence drug is medically useful.
UK: Chapter 1: The House of Lords Cannabis Report - Wed, 11 Nov 1998 - The House of Lords, Science and Technology Committee (UK) -
PREPUBLICATION COPY UNCORRECTED PROOFS - MARIJUANA AND MEDICINE: ASSESSING THE SCIENCE BASE - INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE - MARIJUANA AND MEDICINE: ASSESSING THE SCIENCE BASE Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A. Benson, Jr., Editors - Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Health, 1999
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY 156:3 MARCH 1999 - Treatment of Tourette's Syndrome With Delta-9-Tetrnhydrocannabinol - TO THE EDITOR: Tourette's syndrome is a complex neuropsychiatry disorder of unknown etiology. Earlier reports suggested beneficial effects in Tourette's syndrome when smoking marijuana (Cannabis sativa) (1, 2, 3). We report a successful threatening of Tourette's syndrome with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC), the major psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.
Sat Feb 20 00:05:57 1999 - Subject: AIDS Treatment News: THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer - 'AIDS Treatment News' Obtains 126-Page Study, 'NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans- Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F(1) Mice, Gavage Studies'
Sat, 6 Feb 1999 HARD DATA TRICKLES IN AS SCIENTISTS STUDY MARIJUANA
MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA: ASSESSMENT OF THE SCIENCE BASE - Review - Insttitute of Medicine National Academy of Science - MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA: ASSESSMENT OF THE SCIENCE BASE - Review By Lester Grinspoon, - M.D. Harvard Medical School 1)
Sat, 29 May 1999 - ARE PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA DRAWN TO SMOKING POT? - A COMPOUND related to the active ingredient in marijuana may be accumulating in the spinal fluid of people with schizophrenia. This might explain why many sufferers smoke pot. - Many researchers blame schizophrenia on an overactive dopamine system in the brain. Daniele Piomelli and colleagues at the University of California at Irvine already knew that making rats' dopamine receptors hyperactive caused a surge in anandamide, a lipid that binds to the same receptors in the brain as marijuana. 1)
A whole new meaning has been given to the term Stone Age by archaeologists who have discovered an unexpected inspiration for prehistoric cave art.Research centres on wall-paintings in caves in France and Spain dating back to 16,000BC where ritual, often associated with drug use, is thought to have played an important part. Mr Cowland, a postgraduate at Bradford's archaeology department, said: 'We know that shamans, credited with magic powers, were important in primitive societies, and the use of magic mushrooms tallies with that.'
Source: Self Healing Copyright: 1999 Self Healing Pubdate: July 1999 Contact: Author: Dr. Andrew Weil - WHY I SUPPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA - The IOM panel's call for changes in federal policy on medical marijuana echoed those in recent years of an expert panel of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Medical Association, and voters in seven states. Despite long years of use as a folk medicine and anecdotal evidence of its usefulness in medical conditions from epilepsy to migraine to chronic pain, until now the federal government has balked at approving, funding, or providing legal marijuana for clinical research on conditions that might benefit from the herb.
09 Sep 1999 Source: New England Journal of Medicine (MA) Author: John A. Benson, Jr., M.D. Oregon Health Sciences University - MARIHUANA AND MEDICINE
5 Oct 1999 - Study Released As Discipline Law To Go Before Courts - Children who are spanked are twice as likely to develop alcohol and drug abuse problems and engage in anti-social behaviour when they grow up, a powerful new Ontario study warns. - The study, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, is bound to heat up one of the most hotly contested issues on child rearing: to spank or not to spank.
170.Htm - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ETHAN RUSSO, MD PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (406) 327-3372 October 1, 1999 ptm5739@montana.com - USA FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVES INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUG APPLICATION FOR CANNABIS IN MIGRAINE TREATMENT - After almost three years of effort, the FDA has just granted approval to Ethan Russo, MD, a neurologist in Missoula, Montana,
Thu, 02 Sep 1999 - A Dutch teaching hospital said Thursday it would shortly start a study on the usefulness of cannabis to help multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers. - ``There are indications cannabis products can contribute to the alleviation of complaints and symptoms which can occur with patients suffering from MS," the Free University hospital said in a statement.
Fri, 02 Jun 2000 Chronicle of Higher Education, Author: Lila Guterman - THE DOPE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA - Legend has it that the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung discovered the medicinal properties of marijuana almost 5,000 years ago, observing that it was not only psychoactive but useful for pain control. A physician in ancient Greece, Dioscorides, noted that cannabis could treat pain, rheumatism, and gout. Queen Victoria's physician recommended it for insomnia, migraines, menstrual cramps, and muscle spasms. One neurologist estimates that today, perhaps as many as 50,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis illegally smoke marijuana to alleviate their symptoms.
Fri, 4 Aug 2000 Scientists at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London and Hebrew University in Jerusalem discovered that cannabidiol suppressed the immune response of mice with a disease resembling human arthritis.Research supported by the Arthritis Research Campaign suggests that cannabidiol - a natural constituent of cannabis that has no mind-altering effects in it natural form - may be useful for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, August 2000, Author: A.J.S. Rayl, with medical adviser Stephen A. Shoop, M.D. - MARIJUANA AND MIGRAINES -cannabis works on serotonin and dopamine receptors, and has anti-inflammatory activity," says Russo, who is just finishing the paper.
United States Government Agencies
The Scientists and the General, NIH, February 1997
Thu, 18 Mar 1999 MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS ENDORSED BY RESEARCHERS IN A FEDERAL REPORT
Research Journal American Medical Association Regular Outpatient Medical & Drug Abuse Care & Subsequent Hospitalization of Persons Who Use Illicit Drugs, May 9, 2001