NORML's Weekly News Bulletin

[LdyLunatic]

Experts Call For Legal Cannabis To Treat Hep C Virus

September 21, 2006 - Toronto, Ontario

Toronto, Ontario: Patients afflicted with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) should be legally permitted to use cannabis to combat treatment-related side effects of the disease, advises an international team of investigators writing in the October issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

The researchers issued their recommendation following the results of an observational study by the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) that found that HCV patients who used cannabis were significantly more likely to adhere to their treatment regimen than patients who didn't use it.

Patients on HCV therapy medications typically report numerous adverse side effects - including fatigue, headaches, nausea, anorexia, depression, and insomnia that cause many of them to prematurely discontinue treatment.

Commenting on the study, investigators from Canada and Germany wrote that cannabis' "potential benefits of a higher likelihood of treatment success [for HCV patients] appear to outweigh [its] risks. ... Even before such effects are conclusively established, HCV treatment patients ... desiring to aid their treatment adherence by cannabis use should be legally permitted in doing so."

Though survey data indicates that many HCV patients use cannabis therapeutically to treat both symptoms of the disease as well as the side effects of HCV therapy, no clinical studies have been performed to assess the safety or efficacy of cannabinoids for hepatitis C treatment. In addition, a 2005 retrospective study of untreated HCV patients reported that daily cannabis smoking was associated with hepatic fibrosis. However, UCSF investigators found "no significant difference in liver fibrosis" between moderate cannabis smokers and non-users in their observational study.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of studies, "Treatment for hepatitis C virus and cannabis use in illicit drug user patients: implications and questions" and "Cannabis use improves retention and virological outcomes in patients treated for hepatitis C," are available in the October issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

 

[LdyLunatic]

Marijuana Arrests For Year 2005 -- 786,545 Tops Record High... Pot Smokers Arrested In America At A Rate Of One Every 40 Seconds

September 18, 2006 - Washington, DC, USA

Washington, DC: Police arrested an estimated 786,545 persons for marijuana violations in 2005, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The total is the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprised 42.6 percent of all drug arrests in the United States.

"These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre, who noted that at current rates, a marijuana smoker is arrested every 40 seconds in America. "This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that diverts law enforcement personnel away from focusing on serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."

Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 88 percent some 696,074 Americans were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,471 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use. In past years, roughly 30 percent of those arrested were age 19 or younger.

"Present policies have done little if anything to decrease marijuana's availability or dissuade youth from trying it," St. Pierre said, noting young people in the U.S. now frequently report that they have easier access to pot than alcohol or tobacco.

The total number of marijuana arrests in the U.S. for 2005 far exceeded the total number of arrests in the U.S. for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Annual marijuana arrests have more than doubled since the early 1990s.

"Arresting hundreds of thousands of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly needlessly destroys the lives of otherwise law abiding citizens," St. Pierre said, adding that over 8 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges in the past decade. During this same time, arrests for cocaine and heroin have declined sharply, implying that increased enforcement of marijuana laws is being achieved at the expense of enforcing laws against the possession and trafficking of more dangerous drugs.

St. Pierre concluded: "Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers between $10 billion and $12 billion annually and has led to the arrest of nearly 18 million Americans. Nevertheless, some 94 million Americans acknowledge having used marijuana during their lives. It makes no sense to continue to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals for their use of a substance that poses no greater - and arguably far fewer - health risks than alcohol or tobacco. A better and more sensible solution would be to tax and regulate cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco."

YEAR -- MARIJUANA ARRESTS

2005 -- 786,545
2004 -- 771,608
2003 -- 755,187
2002 -- 697,082
2001 -- 723,627
2000 -- 734,498
1999 -- 704,812
1998 -- 682,885
1997 -- 695,200
1996 -- 641,642
1995 -- 588,963
1994 -- 499,122
1993 -- 380,689
1992 -- 342,314
1991 -- 287,850
1990 -- 326,850

 

[LdyLunatic]

Week of September 28, 2006

Study Finds No Casual Link Between Marijuana Use And Depression
September 28, 2006 - Baltimore, MD, USA

Baltimore, MD: Marijuana use by adults is not a statistically significant predictor of depression, according to the results of an ongoing longitudinal study to be published in the October issue of the journal Addiction.

Investigators at John Hopkins University in Baltimore and at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in Santa Monica assessed the association between self-reported marijuana use and current depression in 8,759 adults (age range 29-37 years) over a 17-year period. Investigators concluded, "After adjusting carefully for baseline differences between adults who subsequently use marijuana and those who abstain, the significant associations that are initially present between ongoing marijuana use and depression are substantially reduced, if not eliminated."

They added, "The findings reported in this paper suggest that the associations observed between marijuana use and subsequent depression status may be attributable not to continued marijuana use, per se, but to third (common) factors associated with both the decision to use marijuana and to depression."

A separate study co-authored by NORML Advisory Board Member Dr. Mitch Earleywine and published last year in the journal Addictive Behaviors determined that adults who use cannabis report suffering from less severe incidents and/or symptoms of depression than non-users.

"Despite comparable ranges of scores on all depression subscales, those [respondents] who used cannabis once per week or less had less depressed mood, more positive affect, and fewer somatic (physical) complaints than non-users," authors wrote. "These data suggest that adults apparently do not increase their risk for depression by using marijuana."

Commenting on the most recent study, Earleywine said, "This new data is actually markedly stronger than my earlier work because the investigators utilized a large, representative sample and conducted long-term follow up research. If marijuana use caused depression, this design model would have revealed it by showing the development of symptoms in users. There's simply no support for the idea."

 

[LdyLunatic]

Oral Pot Spray Aids Glaucoma Patients, Study Says

September 28, 2006 - Oxford, United Kingdom

Oxford, United Kingdom: The oromucosal administration of natural THC extracts temporarily reduces ocular hypertension in glaucoma patients, according to the findings of a pilot study to be published in the October issue of the Journal of Glaucoma.

Six patients diagnosed with ocular hypertension or early primary open angle glaucoma participated in the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Investigators measured the impact of THC, CBD (cannabidiol), or placebo on patients' intraocular pressure (IOP) following single dose administration. Elevated IOP can cause damage to the optic nerve and is considered to be a leading risk factor for glaucoma.

"Two hours after sublingual administration of 5 mg [of] delta-9-THC, [patients'] IOP was significantly lower than after placebo," investigators found. "[Patients'] IOP returned to baseline level after the 4-hour IOP measurement."

Investigators further reported that a single dosage of CBD had no impact on IOP in low doses (20 mg) while elevating patients' IOP at high doses (40 mg).

Clinical trials performed at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1971 first reported that inhaled cannabis temporarily reduces ocular tension.

An estimated three million Americans suffer from glaucoma, which leads to blindness if left untreated.

 

[LdyLunatic]

Canadian Parliament Cuts Medical Marijuana Research Funding

September 28, 2006 - Ottawa, Ontario

Ottawa, Ontario: Federal funding that had been earmarked to pay for clinical research on the therapeutic use of cannabis will no longer be available to investigators, under budget cuts announced this week by Canadian government officials.

The $7.5 million dollar Medical Marijuana Research Program (MMRP) , initially established in 1999, was axed as part of a government proposal to eliminate $2 billion in federal programs. A separate Health Canada program that oversees the production and distribution of medical cannabis to federally authorized patients will remain in place, at least temporarily, despite the cuts. Fewer than 300 Canadian patients are estimated to use cannabis provided by Health Canada due to its reportedly poor quality.

Despite earmarking funding for cannabis research, only one clinical trial investigating marijuana's therapeutic potential was ever approved by Canadian health regulators. That study, which seeks to assess the safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis in chronic pain patients, remains ongoing.

 

[LdyLunatic]

Week Of October 5, 2006

California: Medical Pot Patients May Receive Financial Reimbursement
October 5, 2006 - Sacramento, CA, USA

Sacramento, CA: The purchase of medicinal cannabis by state-authorized patients is a "bona fide" medical expense and may be covered in part by California's Medical Assistance program (Medi-Cal), according to a decision released last week by the director of the California Department of Health Services (DHS).

The plaintiff in the case, who uses medical cannabis under her physician's supervision to alleviate symptoms of lupus and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), sought financial reimbursement from the state's medical assistance program for several thousand dollars of expenses she incurred in 2003 and 2004 from the purchase of medicinal marijuana.

Writing on behalf of the DHS, director Sandra Shewry determined that the expenses incurred by the plaintiff should be reimbursed by the agency. "State law recognizes the medical use of marijuana," she wrote. "When used consistent with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and [the] Medical Marijuana Program Act, DHS considers medical marijuana [to be] a bona fide medical expense."

The Office of Legal Affairs of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) offered legal assistance in the case.

 

[LdyLunatic]

North Carolina To Study Economic Impact Of Hemp Cultivation

October 5, 2006 - Raleigh, NC, USA

Raleigh, NC: State officials will assess the economic and environmental feasibility of industrial hemp production, following the approval of legislation authorizing an independent commission to study the domestic production of the agricultural crop.

As enacted by the legislature, "The Beneficial Uses of Industrial Hemp Act," creates a commission to study the "economic opportunities industrial hemp provides to the state and to consider the desirability and feasibility of authorizing industrial hemp cultivation and production as a farm product in North Carolina."

The commission is anticipated to report its findings and recommendations to the 2007 General Assembly and the Environmental Review Commission by December 1, 2006.

Previous state-sponsored hemp studies commissioned in North Dakota, Kentucky, and elsewhere have estimated that hemp cultivation could yield farmers revenues from $320 to $600 per acre.

Earlier this week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed legislation that sought to establish regulations governing commercial hemp cultivation by state-authorized farmers, stating that federal law makes no legal distinction between hemp grown for industrial purposes and cannabis.

According to a 2005 Congressional Research Service report, "The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop."

 

[LdyLunatic]

Cannabis Spray Reduces Pain, Spasticity, And Incontinence, Trial Data Says

October 5, 2006 - London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom: Clinical trial data presented at the 22nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and at the 10th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) demonstrates that the administration of cannabis extracts can reduce feelings of neuropathic pain, as well as spasticity and incontinence in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other diseases.

Investigators at the EFNS conference reported that subjects who continue their use of cannabis extracts long-term maintain reductions in pain, spasticity, and bladder dysfunction, as well as improvements in sleep quality for periods of up to 100 weeks. Researchers evaluated the long-term use of Sativex, an oral spray consisting of natural cannabis extracts, compared to placebo in 507 patients who elected to continue using the drug in an extended, open label clinical trial. Subjects who participated in the follow-up trial did not report developing tolerance to Sativex, and most characterized the drug's side effects as being mild or moderate in severity.

Separate trial data presented this week at ECTRIMS also reported that Sativex administration significantly reduces MS-associated spasticity and has a positive impact on MS-associated incontinence and nocturia.

Clinical trial data published earlier this year in The International Urogynecology Journal reported that both cannabis extracts and oral doses of THC reduced episodes of bladder incontinence in subjects by 38 percent and 33 percent respectively.

Sativex is currently available by prescription in Canada and on a limited basis in Spain and the United Kingdom for patients suffering from MS-associated neuropathy and other symptoms. European and UK regulators are currently reviewing a request to allow for the broader prescription use of the drug in Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands.