Tag Archives: medical marijuana

A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of cannabis cigarettes in neuropathic pain.

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“…many patients routinely use “medical marijuana,” and in many cases this use is for pain related to nerve injury.”

“We conducted a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluating the analgesic efficacy of smoking cannabis for neuropathic pain… A mixed linear model demonstrated an analgesic response to smoking cannabis. No effect on evoked pain was seen. Psychoactive effects were minimal and well-tolerated, with some acute cognitive effects, particularly with memory, at higher dose. PERSPECTIVE: This study adds to a growing body of evidence that cannabis may be effective at ameliorating neuropathic pain, and may be an alternative for patients who do not respond to, or cannot tolerate, other drugs…”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18403272

Cannabis For Infant’s Brain Tumor, Doctor Calls Child “A Miracle Baby”

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“Medical marijuana is gaining acceptance, but could it even help kids? Dr. William Courtney has seen it happen, and on Friday, told HuffPost Live host Alyona Minkovski about it. Saying he was “quite a skeptic 5 or 6 years ago”, Dr. Courtney continued that “my youngest patient is 8 months old, and had a very massive centrally located inoperable brain tumor.” The child’s father pushed for non-traditional treatment utilizing cannabis.

“They were putting cannabinoid oil on the baby’s pacifier twice a day, increasing the dose… And within two months there was a dramatic reduction, enough that the pediatric oncologist allowed them to go ahead with not pursuing traditional therapy.”

The tumor was remarkably reduced after eight months of treatment. Dr. Courtney pointed out that the success of the cannabis approach means that “this child, because of that, is not going to have the long-term side effects that would come from a very high dose of chemotherapy or radiation… currently the child’s being called a miracle baby, and I would have to agree that this is the perfect response that we should be insisting is frontline therapy for all children before they launch off on all medications that have horrific long term side effects.””

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/cannabis-for-infants-brai_n_2224898.html

Cannabis Oil Pills Helped Child Go Into Cancer Remission, Mom Says – ABCNews

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“When 7-year-old Mykayla Comstock was diagnosed with leukemia in July, it was less than three days before her mother filed Oregon medical marijuana paperwork so the child could take lime-flavored capsules filled with cannabis oil.

The decision to give Mykayla the capsules came naturally to Erin Purchase, MyKayla’s mother, who believes marijuana has healing power, but doctors aren’t so sure it’s a good idea.

“The first doctor was not for it at all,” Purchase told ABCNews.com. “She was rude and she told us it was inappropriate. “Basically she blew up at us and told us to transfer to another facility.”

They found a new doctor, who knows that Mykayla takes about a gram of cannabis oil a day — half in the morning and half at night — but he doesn’t talk about it with them.

“This is our daughter,” Purchase, 25, said. “If they don’t agree with our personal choices, we’d rather they not say anything at all.””

.””At first, Mykayla wasn’t responding well to her treatment, and doctors said she might need a bone marrow transplant. Then she started taking the cannabis oil pills. her mother said. By early August, Mykayla was in remission and the transplant was no longer necessary.”

“I don’t think it’s just a coincidence,” Purchase said. “I credit it with helping — at least helping — her ridding the cancer from her body.””

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/medical-marijuana-year-sparks-controversy/story?id=17814636

https://www.facebook.com/BraveMyKayla

“Like some cancer patients in states where it’s allowed, Mykayla Comstock uses cannabis as part of her treatment. Comstock is 7-years old. Her mother, a long time advocate for medical use of the illegal drug, has been giving her a gram of oral cannabis oil every day. Despite the fact that medical marijuana is legal in Oregon, where Comstock lives, the idea of giving it to a child still gives pause to many adults who associate the drug with recreational use that breaks the law.

As reported by ABC News, Mykayla was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in July. Against her doctor’s wishes, her mother, Erin Purchase, began giving her lime-flavored capsules filled with cannabis oil after she had a poor response to her initial chemotherapy treatment.

Her doctors suggested a bone marrow transplant, but while she was taking the medical marijuana, she went into remission in August. She continues to rely on cannabis to ease pain and nausea and her mother plans to continue giving her the drug during the additional two to three years of chemotherapy she still faces.

Purchase believes that certain components in marijuana, which show anti-cancer activity in many early studies, helped spark the remission. Mykayla’s current doctor knows she takes the capsules, but doesn’t discuss the marijuana as part of her medical therapy.”  http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/health/medical-marijuana-children-time/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/leukemia/

Using medical marijuana to treat autism

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“NBC – Plenty of parents give their kids chocolate. But this is not your typical chocolate bar.

Meiko Hester-Perez is giving her severely autistic 12-year-old son, Joey, chocolate laced with medical marijuana.” 

Joey Hester-Perez

“Hester-Perez didn’t make the decision lightly. But this is what Joey looked like two-and-a-half years ago: he weighed just 42 pounds. It’s a stark contrast to his current weight of 112 pounds.

“My son was absolutely withering away. You could see the bones in his chest,” Hester-Perez said.

Out of desperation, she Googled cannabis and autism, and soon realized she wasn’t the only one that made the connection. Other parents and autism experts found success with medical marijuana as a treatment for autistic children. That was all she needed to take the next step to get a medical marijuana card for Joey. The first time she gave him a pot brownie, she said she saw immediate results.

“Everything is improved. Right now he’s given one brownie every two to three days. Whereas the other medications he was taking every single day, twice a day,” she said.

Hester-Perez said medical marijuana not only gave him a big appetite, which we saw ourselves as he munched almost non-stop on a bag of chips during our interview, it also helped his behavior, she said.

“He was calm, sociable, happy, more productive,” Hester-Perez said.

NBC called dozens of pediatricians, psychiatrists and autism experts looking for someone who would be critical of Hester-Perez’s decision, but no one wanted to talk on camera. We finally found Dr. Seth Ammeran, a Stanford professor who’s also on the American Academy of Pediatrics substance abuse committee. And while he doesn’t question parents’ motives in using medical marijuana to treat autism, he is concerned.

“Parents have the best interest of their kids at heart, and they want to do what’s best for their kids,” said Seth Ammeran. “But as a medical professional who really needs to look at the science behind recommendations, I can’t in good conscience recommend it.”

After all, she has experience. The mother in this story is trying money and awareness for autism and marijuana research through a non-profit called the Unconventional Foundation for Autism.”

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/267091/28/Mom-treating-sons-autism-with-pot-brownies

Can Medical Marijuana Help Severely Autistic Children? – NBCNews

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“While medical marijuana is used to treat dozens of ailments, one mother swears by it to help her severely autistic son.

In fact, she’s convinced pot has saved his life.

Meiko Hester-Perez gives her severely autistic 12-year old son Joey the marijuana in chocolate.

“When your son is knocking on deaths door there’s nothing you won’t do,” according to Meiko Hester-Perez. “It happened to be cannabis for our family.”

Hester-Perez didn’t make the decision lightly, two and a half years ago Joey only weighed 42 pounds. A stark contrast to his current weight of 112 pounds.

“My son was absolutely withering away. You could see the bones in his chest,” according to Hester-Perez.

Out of desperation, she Googled cannabis and autism, and realized she wasn’t the only one who made the connection.

Other parents and autism experts found success with medical marijuana as a treatment for autistic children.

The first time Hester-Perez gave Joey a pot brownie she saw almost immediate results.

“Everything has improved. Right now, he’s given one brownie every two to three days, whereas the other medications he was taking every single day, twice a day,” according to Hester-Perez.

But there are those who aren’t sold on the idea.

Doctor Seth Ammeran says using medical marijuana to treat autism is cause for concern because there has been no research on the topic.

“Parents have the best interest of their kids at heart, and they want to do what’s best for their kids, but as a medical professional who really needs to look at the science behind recommendations, I can’t in good conscious recommend it,” says Dr. Seth Ammeran, of the American Academy of Pediatrics Substance Abuse Committee.

But Hester-Perez says the research is there, it’s just not being done in the traditional sense.

“Whether we like it or not, the studies are being done,” says Hester-Perez, “and they’re being done within our homes.””

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/health/Can-Medical-Marijuana-be-used-to-Help-Severely-Autistic-Children-125125964.html

Mother Gives Son Marijuana to Treat His Autism – ABCNews

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“Given the many challenges involved in raising an autistic child, parents are willing to try a variety of potential remedies, many of which are controversial and unproven.

But one potential treatment that has gained attention recently is one that was controversial well before its first mention in connection with autism.

“At first I did some research, and I found a doctor who actually had a protocol for medical marijuana in children diagnosed with autism,” Mieko Hester-Perez of Fountain Valley, Calif., told “Good Morning America.”

Hester-Perez made her decision to try giving her 10-year-old son, Joey Perez, medical marijuana after his weight had become dangerously low due to his unwillingness to eat. She said that at the time she began the approach, he weighed only 46 pounds.

“You could see the bones in his chest. He was going to die,” she said.

“The marijuana balanced my son,” said Hester-Perez, noting that she has never used marijuana herself. “My son had self-injurious behaviors. He was extremely aggressive, he would run out of our house… he was a danger to himself and others.”

But just hours after she gave him one of the pot-infused brownies, she said she could see a change — both in his appetite and demeanor.”

Mother Gives Son Marijuana To Treat His Autism
ABC News
 

“”Within hours, he requested foods we had never seen him eat before,” said Hester-Perez.

She added that her son used to take a cocktail of medications, three times every day, for his condition. He now takes only three, and he has a marijuana brownie once every two or three days. He still cannot communicate verbally.

“I saved my son’s life, and marijuana saved my son’s life… When a mother hears that her son is knocking on death’s door, you will do anything to save his life,” said Hester-Perez.”

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AutismNews/mother-son-marijuana-treat-autism/story?id=9153881

Research: Marijuana can treat chronic pain – ABC

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“SACRAMENTO, CA (KGO) — A program commissioned more than a decade ago by the state Legislature to look into the therapeutic value of medicinal marijuana is expected to release a report on its findings today, a spokeswoman for state Sen. Mark Leno said.

A UC medical marijuana research panel today released the results of a ten year clinical study and according to its report, pot can effectively treat chronic pain.

Volunteers with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries were randomly treated with marijuana or a placebo. Patients given cannabis reported fewer multiple sclerosis muscle spasms, and less spinal injury pain.

In another study, the panel found that pot effectively also treats migraines.

But researchers used marijuana grown by the federal government, not the kinds available to California medical marijuana users.

Medical marijuana has been legal under California law since voters approved Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, in 1996.

The state Legislature clarified in 2004 that the Compassionate Use Act allows qualified patients and their primary caregivers to cultivate marijuana for medicinal use.

Medical marijuana remains illegal under federal law, though, leaving patients and providers open to prosecution in federal court.”

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7283032

Medical Marijuana Inc. Marijuana Extract Cannabidiol (CBD) Anti-inflammatory Properties

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 “SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Medical Marijuana Inc (OTC: MJNA) is pleased to announce that studies have shown Cannabidiol (CBD) has anti-inflammatory properties. Medical Marijuana Inc. through CannaBANK has a patent pending on an extraction method from Cannabis (Marijuana) and its industrialized non psychoactive counterpart Hemp, allowing Cannabidiol (CBD) to be isolated in its pure form. Once isolated the Cannabidiol can be added as a direct counter agent or as an additive to other current anti-inflammatory products.

Medical Marijuana Inc. is planning on expanding its Cannabidiol sales through licensing agreements with companies already involved in the heavily marketed nutraceutical and pharmaceutical markets.

Resources and Abstracts on Anti-inflammatory properties of Cannabidiol:
United States National Library of Medicine (PubMed)”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19199042
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3034694/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19070683
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18641283
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18469842
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14963641

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110923005989/en/Medical-Marijuana-Marijuana-Extract-Cannabidiol-CBD-Anti-inflammatory?fb_action_ids=459561104080536&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=news_view&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Prospects for cannabinoids as anti-inflammatory agents.

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Abstract

“The marijuana plant (Cannabis sativa) and preparations derived from it have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. It is likely that the therapeutic benefits of smoked marijuana are due to some combination of its more than 60 cannabinoids and 200-250 non-cannabinoid constituents. Several marijuana constituents, the carboxylic acid metabolites of tetrahydrocannabinol, and synthetic analogs are free of cannabimimetic central nervous system activity, do not produce behavioral changes in humans, and are effective antiinflammatory and analgesic agents. One cannabinoid acid in particular, ajulemic acid, has been studied extensively in in vitro systems and animal models of inflammation and immune responses. This commentary reviews a portion of the work done by investigators interested in separating the medicinal properties of marijuana from its psychoactive effects. Understanding the mechanisms of the therapeutic effects of nonpsychoactive cannabinoids should lead to development of safe effective treatment for several diseases, and may render moot the debate about “medical marijuana”.”

Medical Marijuana as Treatment for Alcoholism & Addiction

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“Medical marijuana is frequently in the news, and hopefully the growing awareness of the benefits of medical marijuana will lead to more sensible regulations and deeper research into why cannabis is so helpful in treating so many different conditions. Among the conditions that medical marijuana can treatis addiction, whether to drugs or alcohol.”

“Medical Marijuana as a Recovery Treatment”

“Marijuana as a recovery treatment is controversial, not least because there is conflicting research about whether medical marijuana is or is not addictive. However, many studies have found that medical marijuana is not addictive, or as harmful, as other drugs such as alcohol and opiates. Additionally, several studies have shown that marijuana can be an effective treatment for recovery from other substances.”

Read more: http://www.unitedpatientsgroup.com/blog/2012/07/26/medical-marijuana-as-treatment-for-alcoholism-addiction/