Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

The end of the school year is a bittersweet time. Summer vacation is almost attainable - all that stands in the way are final exams. It is a time of excitement, of hard work, and, unfortunately, of saying a temporary farewell to old friends. We at Medicine Gone Green take no pleasure in parting from you, but rest assured, it’s not you, it’s us. We will always remember the good times.

Like that sunny day in the park, when you wore your white dress, and we discussed government hypocrisy regarding medical marijuana. Or the late nights, staring up at the moon, contemplating marijuana’s medical uses. Of course, who could forget your birthday, when we all went bowling? You spilled beer on the lane and we spoke of barriers to marijuana’s legalization. Ah, the good times. I recall with vivid memory the day you came to our door crying, mascara running down your cheeks, and you were comforted by our stories of marijuana’s ability to treat the symptoms that come along with chemotherapy. Sure, there were dark times, too, like when we argued over cannabinoids. But we settled that argument with a grown-up discussion of medical marijuana’s major drawback. Oh, to be young again.

And while we at Medicine Gone Green look back fondly at our time together, we also realize that this is not the end. Nay, this is merely the beginning of something very special. You see, medical marijuana is constantly mentioned in the news and spoken of by politicians and legislators alike. The push for the legalization of medical marijuana does not end here, old friend. We will always think of you when we hear of a new state legalizing medical marijuana, when the warm breeze of August brings word of DEA raids of medical marijuana clinics, and when new medical research brings to light previously unknown uses for medical marijuana. We, too, hope that you stay up-to-date on the issue and look back at our time together with a smile, for our time here has been one of growth and learning, for both of us.

Thanks for the memories…

Medical Marijuana Laws Around the World

Often, it is easy to assume that a policy debate is taking place only in our own backyard. However, medical marijuana has been in use for thousands of years and debates over its effectiveness and legality have been raging for nearly as long. Worldwide, the issue of medical marijuana gets attention and has its supporters and detractors. Here are some of the medical marijuana laws of foreign countries.

Australia – Legislators in the Australian Capital Territory voted to allow doctors the right to determine when medical marijuana was appropriate. Enraged, Australian law enforcement agencies began intense lobbying efforts to reverse the decision. Eventually, the politicians caved in to law enforcement agencies and reversed their earlier decision. However, in that territory, the possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana or two plants is not a criminal offense but carries only a $100 fine.

Belgium – The Belgian government has recently initiated clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of medical marijuana and may soon decriminalize it. However, individual marijuana use by adults takes a very low priority with Belgian police, as long as it doesn’t cause any problems in the user’s environment. Only public use, possession of over 3 grams, and the sale of marijuana are pursued in court.

Canada – The Medical Marijuana Access Regulations allow for the legal use of marijuana by medical patients, but did not set up a legal apparatus by which to attain it. Now, Canada produces about 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of medical marijuana annually and in 2005 approved the prescription sale of the marijuana extract drug Sativex.

Germany – Consumption of marijuana is legal and possession is treated differently between federal states. There are no special laws for medical marijuana, but in 2007 some patients got an exception to use medical marijuana from the public health authority.

Netherlands – The possession and purchase of marijuana is “tolerated”. Famously, those 18 and over can purchase and use marijuana in “coffee shops”. Laws are on the books that criminalize marijuana use and possession, but due to non-enforcement it has been effectively decriminalized.

Portugal – In 2001 officially abolished all criminal penalties for the personal possession of all drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. This was done at the recommendation of a commission analyzing Portugal’s drug problem, which found that jailtime was offered instead of therapy. They found that the fear of incarceration drove drug use underground, and in the years since the decriminalization of drug possession, drug use and HIV rates have fallen significantly, while the number of those seeking drug therapy has doubled.

Perhaps we in America, with some of the highest rates of criminal violence and jail overpopulation in the world, can learn something about drug policy from one of these countries, where leniency on drug offenders and the allowance for medical marijuana has not created chaos but rather social stability.

Medical Marijuana's Major Drawback

Throughout the course of this blog, we have examined some of the major benefits that marijuana offers as a medical treatment. Its ability to treat numerous diseases, conditions, and symptoms are a major pro in the argument for medical marijuana. Its incredible safety when compared with many current drugs is another notable benefit. But despite all its wonderful benefits as a medical treatment, it is impossible to ignore a major drawback to medical marijuana: the sensation of feeling “high”.

When marijuana is smoked, a user feels the sensation of what is called a high. With a marijuana high comes intensified sensation, as in the skin becoming more sensitive to stimuli such as heat and cold. The common side effects of a high include a distorted perception of reality, an altered sense of time, a feeling of disassociation, an onset of hunger, and an increased heart rate, among others. Sometimes, a user can feel a loss of control or overwhelming anxiety and paranoia during the course of the high, which usually lasts for between two and three hours.

The feeling of a high is notably uncomfortable for many patients. Many find the concept of an altered perception or distorted sense of reality to be frightening, and others simply do not feel like themselves when under the influence of marijuana. This is an important and major drawback to medical marijuana, as the feeling of a high is directly correlated with the effectiveness of the drug.

So, while we examine and recognize the many benefits of medical marijuana, it is important to consider some of the cons that come with the substance. As with any medication, medical marijuana isn’t the best option for everybody in every situation. However, we at Medicine Gone Green still stand by the idea that a patient, along with their primary physician, should have the right to evaluate their treatment options and make the decision as to what medication they feel would be most effective in their case. Many patients will find the benefits of marijuana to outweigh the cons such as a high, and others will feel the opposite, but they all deserve the legal right to choose.

Montel Williams, Medical Marijuana Advocate

Montel Williams is a television personality best known for The Montel Williams Show, which ran between 1991 and 2008. More recently, though, he’s been known as a vocal public advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana.

Montel was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999. Depressed and dismayed, he founded the Montel Williams MS Foundation in October of 2000 to fund the scientific study of multiple sclerosis by various organizations and institutions. The Foundation donates 100% of its proceeds directly to the study of MS. As a public figure, he felt that his diagnosis was a “call to action” on behalf of multiple sclerosis sufferers and research.

Montel has publicly admitted to having used marijuana over the course of the past 10 years to treat the depression, sleep disorders, and nerve pain that afflict him as a result of his MS. Fearing the addictive nature of pain medications such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, and having realized the ineffectiveness of Percocet, Montel turned to marijuana to treat his symptoms. Though he has been arrested for marijuana on several occasions, he maintains that it is the most effective treatment for him and continues to smoke it daily.

Now a notable figure in the fight for medical marijuana, Montel works to support motions for legalization on the state level and actively campaigns for the complete legalization of marijuana, for both medical and recreational use. Leaders like Montel, with a strong personal connection to medical marijuana, give a voice and a face to the struggle for patients’ rights. As a source of courage to others and a source of financial support to medical research, Montel sets a strong example and should be looked up to and admired.

Here is an emotional Montel speaking in Annapolis, MD on behalf of the medical marijuana legislation that was pending there:

Cannabinoids - What Make Marijuana Work

We know that marijuana can be used to treat a number of physical symptoms of illness and can in some cases be used to treat or slow the disease itself. But what is it about cannabis that gives it these abilities?

Medical studies on marijuana have been relatively limited, and many of the over-400 compounds it contains are not yet well understood. However, science has uncovered some of the mystery regarding a few of these compounds and their effects in the brain.

Some of the most medically important compounds contained in marijuana are known as cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are produced by almost every living being on earth, including humans. While medical science has long been aware of the cannabinoid system, which has been used by organisms for 600 million years, it wasn’t until 1988 that cannabinoid receptors were discovered in the brain. Two specific cannabinoid receptors, the CB1 and CB2 receptors, have been discovered to date. The CB1 receptor has been found to be responsible for regulating functions in the brain and central nervous system, while the CB2 receptor affects the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system. Together, these receptors are responsible for the regulation of pain, memory, mood, appetite, and inflammation in the body.

When marijuana is smoked, its cannabinoids are taken in by the receptors and are used to help in the regulation of bodily functions. They are also a contributing factor in marijuana’s effectiveness as a neuroprotectant, slowing degradation of the brain and its neurons and synapses. Cannabinoids are the reason behind the effectiveness of marijuana as a medical treatment in pain management, appetite stimulation, headache relief, spasms, loss of spasticity, and in slowing the progression of neurological or immunodeficiency diseases.

Cannabinoids and their receptors are an incredibly valuable discovery for medical science. Understood properly, these compounds have a great potential in the eradication of diseases as well as in the treatment of disease symptoms. However, more research is needed on the topic. We as a society need to put more emphasis on the medical research community and push for further research into cannabinoids and their receptors in the brain. The potential of these compounds is far too great to squander on illegality and the resulting difficulties imposed on the scientific community.

Some interesting facts about cannabinoids:

• Cannabinoids kill brain cells known as glioma, or tumor cells in the brain. All other healthy cells are protected by cannabinoids. It is believed that cannabinoids can be used to treat or cure cancer for this reason.
• Rats that have had their CB1 receptors blocked die young.
• CB2 receptors are found in white blood cells and regulate the shift of the immunological system to the anti-inflammatory mode.
• Cannabinoid receptors are abundant in: the cerebellum (movement/coordination), the hippocampus (learning/memory), the cerebral cortex (higher cognitive functions), the nucleus accumbens (“reward center”), and the basal ganglia (unconscious movement control).
• Cannabinoid receptors are also found in lower density in: the hypothalamus (body regulation of temperature, water & sugars), the amygdala (emotional response/fear), the spinal cord peripheral (sensation/pain), the brain stem (sleep/arousal, motor control), the central gray area (analgesia/pain control), and the nucleus of the solitary tract (visceral sensation, nausea/vomiting).

Barrier to Legalization: Pharmaceutical Industry

While there are many barriers to the legalization of medical marijuana, some are far more influential than others. One of the largest barriers to legalization, pharmaceutical companies comprise a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Two US companies alone, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, have combined annual revenues upwards of $100 billion. With such huge profits, these corporations have very strong incentives to work toward marijuana’s continued prohibition. Here are a few reasons the pharmaceutical companies don’t want medical marijuana as an option:

Marijuana can replace hundreds of pharmaceuticals. Pain pills, antiemetics, antidepressants, appetite stimulants, and more, all can be replaced with marijuana. The pharmaceutical companies know that if patients have legal access to marijuana to treat them for their various ailments, annual sales will plummet.

Marijuana is less harmful than many FDA-approved pharmaceuticals. Countless studies, credible medical professionals, and FDA statistics all show that marijuana has both less side effects and less harmful side effects than many current pharmaceuticals.

Patients can cultivate their own marijuana. Under most state laws, medical marijuana patients can grow their own marijuana. This violates some founding concepts of capitalism, and therefore violates the pharmaceutical companies’ credos – keep the customer coming back, and always turn a profit. A patient that buys one inexpensive seed can eventually turn that into a self-replenishing medicine cabinet, forever cutting the cord between them and the pharmaceutical industry.

The bottom line is that medical marijuana will hurt the profits of one of the largest global industries in the world. Knowing this, huge, well-funded pharmaceutical lobbies spend a great deal of time with congressmen on Capitol Hill, making “campaign contributions” and ensuring their interests remain protected. And, so far, the interests of this enormously powerful industry do remain protected by their friends (supposedly our representatives) in Washington.

The fact that an industry based around providing medication to sick individuals would work to prevent an effective medication from becoming available is truly appalling. Of course, those jaded by the sad realities of our society would accept this as “just the way things are”, just as the fact that those same pharmaceutical companies add a significant markup on many medications sold in the United States.

But, the truth is, this isn’t the way things have to be. We all must forever strive to improve our society, and never accept the status quo. If a corrupt money-fed system has become the norm, we must all work to see honesty, transparency, and the well-being of average Americans restored as the top priorities of our policymakers.

Chemotherapy and Marijuana

Chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs used to kill cancer cells, essentially involves pumping poison through the veins of cancer patients. The drugs target cells that divide rapidly, which is one of the main properties of cancerous cells. Though chemotherapy is one of the most effective treatments in expelling cancerous cells from the body, it does result in a variety of adverse side effects for patients. These side effects can include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and cachexia, all which can be treated with marijuana.

According to the National Cancer Institute, chemotherapy can cause nausea and vomiting because the drugs “affect parts of the brain that control vomiting and/or irritate the stomach lining”. These symptoms are treated with antiemetic drugs which help to curtail nausea and vomiting. There are a number of antiemetic drugs in existence, but some drugs don’t work for certain patients. In these cases, doctors turn to marijuana as a last resort. Marijuana has been shown to be an effective antiemetic in many of these cases, and research has been performed both on synthetic THC pills and smoked marijuana. Smoked marijuana is found to be more effective than synthetic pills as THC is absorbed more quickly into the body when smoked.

Anorexia is a condition in which a patient loses appetite or the desire to eat. The most common symptom in cancer patients, it is often accompanied by cachexia, a condition characterized by weakness and the loss of body weight, fat, and muscle. Marijuana and synthetic THC pills have both been found to be effective appetite stimulants for patients suffering from these conditions. Studies performed on the drugs found “significant improvement” in patients’ appetites and body weights as a direct result of being treated with marijuana.

Chemotherapy takes a huge toll on a patient’s body. It entails months of fatigue, hair loss, pain, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and weight loss associated with it. If marijuana can ease these patients’ ailments, shouldn’t it be a legal option for them?