“Three out of four doctors would prescribe marijuana to a patient who was experiencing pain from cancer, according to the results of a poll published in the New England Journal of Medicine.”
“Majority would give a prescription to an advanced cancer patient in pain.”
“(HealthDay)—Three-quarters of doctors who responded to a survey about medical marijuana said they would approve the use of the drug to help ease pain in an older woman with advanced breast cancer.
In a February issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors were presented with a case vignette, as well as arguments both for and against the use of medical marijuana. Doctors were then asked to decide whether or not they would approve such a prescription for this patient.
The results now appear in the May 30 edition of the journal.
Seventy-six percent of the 1,446 doctors who responded said they would give the woman a prescription for medical marijuana. Many cited the possibility of alleviating the woman’s symptoms as a reason for approving the prescription.”
More: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-docs-medical-marijuana-survey.html
“Should Professors Cheech and Chong ever receive university tenure teaching the medical history of their favorite subject, the course pack would be surprisingly thick.
As early as 2737 B.C., the mystical Emperor Shen Neng of China was prescribing marijuana tea for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, malaria and, oddly enough, poor memory. The drug’s popularity as a medicine spread throughout Asia, the Middle East and down the eastern coast of Africa, and certain Hindu sects in India used marijuana for religious purposes and stress relief. Ancient physicians prescribed marijuana for everything from pain relief to earache to childbirth…
By the late 18th century, early editions of American medical journals recommend hemp seeds and roots for the treatment of inflamed skin, incontinence and venereal disease. Irish doctor William O’Shaughnessy first popularized marijuana’s medical use in England and America. As a physician with the British East India Company, he found marijuana eased the pain of rheumatism and was helpful against discomfort and nausea in cases of rabies, cholera and tetanus.”
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1931247,00.html
“Marijuana may actually help protect the brain against injury, a new study suggests.”
“While marijuana is most commonly known as a recreational drug, an increasingly number of studies show that the plant has many therapeutic qualities like relieving pain, insomnia, lack of appetite and other symptoms associated with conditions like cancer and PTSD.
Now a new study reveals that very low doses of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, may protect the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia, seizures or toxic drugs.”
More: http://www.counselheal.com/articles/5586/20130530/marijuana-help-fight-brain-damage.htm
“Hasn’t pot always been considered harmful?
Not at all. Marijuana, the dried form of the plant Cannabis sativa, was used as an herbal remedy for centuries in China, the Middle East, and Asia. William O’Shaughnessy, a physician for the East India Tea Company, brought it west in the 1830s as a treatment for rheumatism, tetanus, and rabies. It was commonly prescribed as a pain reliever in the U.S. until the 1930s, when its growing popularity caused such concern that the newly founded Federal Bureau of Narcotics reclassified it as a narcotic. The bureau soon launched a decidedly unscientific campaign claiming that marijuana use provoked insanity, homicidal tendencies, and uncontrollable lust. The marijuana user, the bureau asserted, “becomes a fiend with savage or ‘caveman’ tendencies. His sex desires are aroused, and some of the most horrible crimes result.””
“Was there any evidence for such claims?
None; in fact, the American Medical Association argued against marijuana prohibition in the 1930s, citing its therapeutic potential. But the bureau made its case that marijuana was “dangerous for the mind and the body,” and the federal government outlawed its use in 1937. It wasn’t until the 1970s that a campaign began to restore marijuana’s therapeutic reputation, and in 1996 California became the first state to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes. Psychiatrist Tod Mikuriya, a founding father in the medical marijuana movement, claimed that cannabis has none of the adverse side effects of opiates. “In fact,” he said, “it really enhances both quality of life and rehabilitation.””
More: http://theweek.com/article/index/236671/is-marijuana-bad-for-you
“Marijuana and hydrocodone are two of the most widely used and abused drugs in the U.S. But according to a new study by one of the nation’s largest drug screening companies, chronic pain patients who are prescribed hydrocodone are less likely to take the painkiller if they are using marijuana.”
“A smokeless cannabis-vaporizing device delivers the same level of active therapeutic chemical and produces the same biological effect as smoking cannabis…
…smoked cannabis can alleviate the chronic pain caused by HIV-related neuropathy, but a concern was expressed that smoking cannabis was not safe. This study demonstrates an alternative method that gives patients the same effects and allows controlled dosing but without inhalation of the toxic products in smoke,” said study lead author Donald I. Abrams, MD, UCSF professor of clinical medicine.
…pills tend to provide patients with more THC than they need for optimal therapeutic effect and increase side effects.
Patients rated the “high” they experienced from both smoking and vaporization and there was no difference between the two methods by patient self-report of the effect, according to study findings. In addition, patients were asked which method they preferred.
“By a significant majority, patients preferred vaporization to smoking, choosing the route of delivery with the fewest side effects and greatest efficiency,” said Benowitz.”
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070515151145.htm
“Oral cancer represents 3% of all cancers and its overall survival rate of 50% places it among the worst of all cancers
For many years cannabinoids have been used for medicinal and recreational purposes.
Recently, studies have focused on the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids on different cancers. The current study was the first to investigate the therapeutic effects of synthetic cannabinoids on oral cancer.
We investigated the effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists on (1) oral cancer cell viability in vitro and (2) oral cancer pain and tumor growth in a mouse cancer model.
Here we demonstrate the anti-nociceptive and anti-proliferative effects of systemic administration of cannabinoid receptor agonists on human oral cancer cells.
Our results suggest that systemic administration of cannabinoids decease oral cancer pain.
Our findings suggest a direct role for cannabinoid mechanisms in oral cancer pain and proliferation.
The systemic administration of cannabinoid receptor agonists may have important therapeutic implications wherein cannabinoid receptor agonists may reduce morbidity and mortality of oral cancer.
The present findings suggest that cannabinoid treatment may be a promising alternative therapy for oral cancer pain management. Furthermore, CBr2 agonism is not only palliative, but it may also be effective in inhibiting oral cancer growth, making the agonist a particularly desirable therapeutic agent.”
Full Text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3099480/
“The term ‘endocannabinoid’ – originally coined in the mid-1990s after the discovery of membrane receptors for the psychoactive principle in Cannabis, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and their endogenous ligands – now indicates a whole signalling system that comprises cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands and enzymes for ligand biosynthesis and inactivation. This system seems to be involved in an ever-increasing number of pathological conditions. With novel products already being aimed at the pharmaceutical market little more than a decade since the discovery of cannabinoid receptors, the endocannabinoid system seems to hold even more promise for the future development of therapeutic drugs. We explore the conditions under which the potential of targeting the endocannabinoid system might be realized in the years to come.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15340387
“NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) –The 31-year-old Norwich man was arrested for growing marijuana inside his home, but says he was only trying to ease his pain.
Tuesday, a Norwich man was in court facing drug charges. Wednesday, he felt comfortable enough to show News 8 how he uses medical marijuana to ease his pain.
31-year-old Joseph Tamborra says the effects are immediate.
“What is the difference after you take a hit,” asked News 8’s Tina Detelj.
“Uhhh it just takes my nausea completely away. It’s like night and day,” Tamborra said.
Relief from nausea caused by his Crones Disease and the pain from a hip and back injury after a car accident.
“I don’t have any cartilage in my hip,” Tamborra said.
It was too much to take, so he took matters into his own hands growing pot plants in a second floor bedroom of his Norwich home. However, that’s illegal and he was arrested for possession and operating a drug factory.
While his court case continued he received his medical marijuana card in March. A picture shows him after losing 90 pounds, unable to smoke after his arrest and too nauseous to eat.
“That helped me out like tremendously,” he said. “Once they realized okay there’s a reason for him doing this.”
At New London Superior Court Tamborra was ordered to perform community services and the charges will go away, but he’s still faced with a dilemma. He says because the medical marijuana law is so new there’s no process in place for him to buy the medical marijuana.
“Hopefully mid-summer, by the end of the year, they might have a dispensary or two set up,” Tamborra said. “I’ve also heard they might just limit it to pharmacies, I’m not really sure.”
The state says it is still working on how the medical marijuana will be dispensed and who can be a licensed producer.”
-Tina Detelj
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_london_cty/using-medical-marijuana-to-ease-pain#.UYu7Dcp48Qs