http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000137
Cancer Monthly, a cancer treatment website, stated in its May 2006 e-newsletter article "Medical Marijuana - The FDA Loses More Credibility":
"There are literally hundreds of articles that appear in the peer reviewed medical and scientific literature that discuss marijuana's effects in pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation...
Obviously smoking marijuana is not risk-free especially to respiratory organs and tissue.
However, compared to the risks of a typical chemotherapy agent such as cytoxan which includes: urinary bladder, myeloproliferative, or lymphoproliferative malignancies, potential sterility, urinary system hemorrhagic cystitis, hematuria, cardiac toxicity, anaphylactic reactions, significant suppression of immune responses, and sometimes fatal, infections; the risks of marijuana pale in comparison.
And for cancer patients with advanced cancers who want to improve the quality of their life, a risk versus benefit analysis weighs heavily on the benefit side."
May 2006 - Cancer Monthly
Kate Scannell, MD, Co-Director of the Kaiser-Permanente Northern California Ethics Department, wrote the following in the Feb. 16, 2003 article "Mr. Attorney General, Listen to the Doctors" published in the San Francisco Chronicle:
"I knew this woman was dying a prolonged and miserable death. And, from years of clinical experience, I - like many other doctors - also knew that marijuana could actually help her. From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly saw how marijuana could ameliorate a patient's debilitating fatigue, restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomiting and curtail down-to-the bone weight loss. I could firmly attest to its benefits and wager the likelihood that it would decrease her suffering."
Feb. 16, 2003 - Kate Scannell, MD
Jo Daly, late San Francisco Police Commissioner and lung and colon cancer sufferer, declared on Feb. 14, 1997 in Conant v. McCaffrey :
"A friend then gave me a marijuana cigarette, suggesting that it might help quell my nausea. I took three puffs from the cigarette. One-half hour later, I was calm, my nausea had disappeared, my appetite returned, and I slept that evening.
…My use of medical marijuana had a secondary, though by no means minor benefit: I was able to drastically reduce my dependence on more powerful prescription drugs that I was prescribed for pain and nausea. With the help of medical marijuana, which I ingest only occasionally and in small amounts, I no longer need the Compazine, Lorazepam, Ativan and Halcion. No combination of these medications provided adequate relief. They also caused serious side effects that I never experienced with marijuana."
Feb. 14, 1997 - Jo Daly
Debasish Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California, declared on Feb. 13, 1997 in Conant v. McCaffrey:
"I have prescribed Marinol to some of my patients and it has proven effective in some cases. However, scientific and anecdotal reports consistently indicate that smoking marijuana is a therapeutically preferable means of ingestion. Marinol is available in pill form only. Moreover, Marinol contains only one of the many ingredients found in marijuana (THC). It may be that the beneficial effects of THC are increased by the cumulative effect of additional substances found in cannabis. That is an area for future research. For whatever reason, smoking appears to result in faster, more effective relief, and dosage levels are more easily titrated and controlled in some patients."
Feb. 13, 1997 - Debasish Tripathy, MD
The Institute of Medicine published the following in its Mar. 1999 report titled "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base":
"Most chemotherapy patients are unlikely to want to use marijuana or THC as an antiemetic. In 1999, there are more effective antiemetic agents available than were available earlier. By comparison, cannabinoids are only modest antiemetics.
However, because modern antiemetics probably act through different mechanisms, cannabinoids might be effective in people who respond poorly to currently used antiemetic drugs, or cannabinoids might be more effective in combination with a new drug than is either alone...
The goal of antiemetic medications is to prevent nausea and vomiting. Hence, antiemetics are typically given before chemotherapy, in which case a pill is an effective form or drug delivery. However, in patients already experiencing severe nausea or vomiting, pills are generally ineffective because of the difficulty in swallowing or keeping a pill down and slow onset of the drug effect. Thus, an inhalation (but preferably not smoking) cannabinoid drug delivery system would be advantageous for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea...
It is possible that the harmful effects of smoking marijuana for a limited period of time might be outweighed by the antiemetic benefits of marijuana, at least for patients for whom standard antiemetic therapy is ineffective and who suffer from debilitating emesis."
Mar. 1999 - Institute of Medicine
"Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base" (988 KB)
Francis L. Young, former Administrative Law Judge for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), made the following statement in his Sep. 6, 1988 ruling:
"The overwhelming preponderance of the evidence in this record establishes that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States for nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy treatments in some cancer patients. To conclude otherwise, on this record, would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious."
Sep. 6, 1988 - Francis L. Young
Mitch Earleywine, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at University at Albany at the State University of New York, wrote in a March 5, 2009 article titled “Medical Marijuana Benefits” published at CBSNews.com:
“Opponents of medical marijuana often point to dronabinol, the synthetic version of one of marijuana’s active ingredients that is available in pill form. The use of only one active ingredient makes dronabinol less effective than medical marijuana. Many ailments respond better to a combination of marijuana’s active ingredients rather than just one. In addition, because dronabinol is a pill, it is difficult for people with nausea and vomiting to swallow. Finally, like any medication that’s swallowed, dronabinol takes a long time to digest and have its effects. Inhaled marijuana vapors can work markedly faster."
Mar. 5, 2009 - Mitch Earleywine, PhD
GW Pharmaceuticals stated the following on its website (accessed Jan. 2004):
"The anti-emetic properties of cannabis have been studied in humans more widely than any other indication. Nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy was felt to be one of the best supported therapeutic uses of cannabis and cannabinoids by the British Medical Association in their review of 23 studies, and was also supported by the American Institute of Medicine. This indication for cannabis has become common knowledge among patients, was the subject of a popular book, and has received some endorsement amongst American oncologists in a survey study.
A large body of knowledge has now been amassed in this context as a result of state-sponsored studies in the USA in cancer chemotherapy. Pooling available data in some 768 patients, oral THC provided 76-88% relief of nausea and vomiting, while smoked cannabis figures supported 70-100% relief in the various surveys."
Jan. 2004 - GW Pharmaceuticals
Continuing Medical Education, Inc. (CME), when asked (on its website) in Jan. 2000 if treating cancer chemotherapy with medical marijuana was sound treatment, replied:
"It is established that marijuana does ease the pain of cancer and the nausea of cancer chemotherapy. So, to directly address your question: It is a medically sound treatment."
Cancer Monthly, a cancer treatment website, stated in its May 2006 e-newsletter article "Medical Marijuana - The FDA Loses More Credibility":
"There are literally hundreds of articles that appear in the peer reviewed medical and scientific literature that discuss marijuana's effects in pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation...
Obviously smoking marijuana is not risk-free especially to respiratory organs and tissue.
However, compared to the risks of a typical chemotherapy agent such as cytoxan which includes: urinary bladder, myeloproliferative, or lymphoproliferative malignancies, potential sterility, urinary system hemorrhagic cystitis, hematuria, cardiac toxicity, anaphylactic reactions, significant suppression of immune responses, and sometimes fatal, infections; the risks of marijuana pale in comparison.
And for cancer patients with advanced cancers who want to improve the quality of their life, a risk versus benefit analysis weighs heavily on the benefit side."
May 2006 - Cancer Monthly
Kate Scannell, MD, Co-Director of the Kaiser-Permanente Northern California Ethics Department, wrote the following in the Feb. 16, 2003 article "Mr. Attorney General, Listen to the Doctors" published in the San Francisco Chronicle:
"I knew this woman was dying a prolonged and miserable death. And, from years of clinical experience, I - like many other doctors - also knew that marijuana could actually help her. From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly saw how marijuana could ameliorate a patient's debilitating fatigue, restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomiting and curtail down-to-the bone weight loss. I could firmly attest to its benefits and wager the likelihood that it would decrease her suffering."
Feb. 16, 2003 - Kate Scannell, MD
Jo Daly, late San Francisco Police Commissioner and lung and colon cancer sufferer, declared on Feb. 14, 1997 in Conant v. McCaffrey :
"A friend then gave me a marijuana cigarette, suggesting that it might help quell my nausea. I took three puffs from the cigarette. One-half hour later, I was calm, my nausea had disappeared, my appetite returned, and I slept that evening.
…My use of medical marijuana had a secondary, though by no means minor benefit: I was able to drastically reduce my dependence on more powerful prescription drugs that I was prescribed for pain and nausea. With the help of medical marijuana, which I ingest only occasionally and in small amounts, I no longer need the Compazine, Lorazepam, Ativan and Halcion. No combination of these medications provided adequate relief. They also caused serious side effects that I never experienced with marijuana."
Feb. 14, 1997 - Jo Daly
Debasish Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California, declared on Feb. 13, 1997 in Conant v. McCaffrey:
"I have prescribed Marinol to some of my patients and it has proven effective in some cases. However, scientific and anecdotal reports consistently indicate that smoking marijuana is a therapeutically preferable means of ingestion. Marinol is available in pill form only. Moreover, Marinol contains only one of the many ingredients found in marijuana (THC). It may be that the beneficial effects of THC are increased by the cumulative effect of additional substances found in cannabis. That is an area for future research. For whatever reason, smoking appears to result in faster, more effective relief, and dosage levels are more easily titrated and controlled in some patients."
Feb. 13, 1997 - Debasish Tripathy, MD
The Institute of Medicine published the following in its Mar. 1999 report titled "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base":
"Most chemotherapy patients are unlikely to want to use marijuana or THC as an antiemetic. In 1999, there are more effective antiemetic agents available than were available earlier. By comparison, cannabinoids are only modest antiemetics.
However, because modern antiemetics probably act through different mechanisms, cannabinoids might be effective in people who respond poorly to currently used antiemetic drugs, or cannabinoids might be more effective in combination with a new drug than is either alone...
The goal of antiemetic medications is to prevent nausea and vomiting. Hence, antiemetics are typically given before chemotherapy, in which case a pill is an effective form or drug delivery. However, in patients already experiencing severe nausea or vomiting, pills are generally ineffective because of the difficulty in swallowing or keeping a pill down and slow onset of the drug effect. Thus, an inhalation (but preferably not smoking) cannabinoid drug delivery system would be advantageous for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea...
It is possible that the harmful effects of smoking marijuana for a limited period of time might be outweighed by the antiemetic benefits of marijuana, at least for patients for whom standard antiemetic therapy is ineffective and who suffer from debilitating emesis."
Mar. 1999 - Institute of Medicine
"Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base" (988 KB)
Francis L. Young, former Administrative Law Judge for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), made the following statement in his Sep. 6, 1988 ruling:
"The overwhelming preponderance of the evidence in this record establishes that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States for nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy treatments in some cancer patients. To conclude otherwise, on this record, would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious."
Sep. 6, 1988 - Francis L. Young
Mitch Earleywine, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at University at Albany at the State University of New York, wrote in a March 5, 2009 article titled “Medical Marijuana Benefits” published at CBSNews.com:
“Opponents of medical marijuana often point to dronabinol, the synthetic version of one of marijuana’s active ingredients that is available in pill form. The use of only one active ingredient makes dronabinol less effective than medical marijuana. Many ailments respond better to a combination of marijuana’s active ingredients rather than just one. In addition, because dronabinol is a pill, it is difficult for people with nausea and vomiting to swallow. Finally, like any medication that’s swallowed, dronabinol takes a long time to digest and have its effects. Inhaled marijuana vapors can work markedly faster."
Mar. 5, 2009 - Mitch Earleywine, PhD
GW Pharmaceuticals stated the following on its website (accessed Jan. 2004):
"The anti-emetic properties of cannabis have been studied in humans more widely than any other indication. Nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy was felt to be one of the best supported therapeutic uses of cannabis and cannabinoids by the British Medical Association in their review of 23 studies, and was also supported by the American Institute of Medicine. This indication for cannabis has become common knowledge among patients, was the subject of a popular book, and has received some endorsement amongst American oncologists in a survey study.
A large body of knowledge has now been amassed in this context as a result of state-sponsored studies in the USA in cancer chemotherapy. Pooling available data in some 768 patients, oral THC provided 76-88% relief of nausea and vomiting, while smoked cannabis figures supported 70-100% relief in the various surveys."
Jan. 2004 - GW Pharmaceuticals
Continuing Medical Education, Inc. (CME), when asked (on its website) in Jan. 2000 if treating cancer chemotherapy with medical marijuana was sound treatment, replied:
"It is established that marijuana does ease the pain of cancer and the nausea of cancer chemotherapy. So, to directly address your question: It is a medically sound treatment."
. I am tired from a very long day, and really Hungary,,
