MARIJUANA HAS MEDICINAL VALUES LSJ DIDN'T REPORT

The LSJ's front page article, "Experts: Medical marijuana best as
pill" (Dec. 29) was almost entirely wrong.

Let's start with the headline: In fact, experts on medical marijuana
are nearly unanimous that ingestion is the wrong way to administer
marijuana's active components, called cannabinoids. In an extensive
2003 review, the medical journal The Lancet Neurology concluded,
"Oral administration is probably the least satisfactory route for
cannabis," because oral cannabinoids are absorbed slowly and
unevenly, making proper dose adjustment nearly impossible.

The Institute of Medicine made the same point regarding Marinol, the
THC pill: "It is well recognized that Marinol's oral route of
administration hampers its effectiveness."

But smoking is not the only alternative. Devices called vaporizers
give patients using whole marijuana the advantages of inhalation -
fast action and ease of dose adjustment - without the tars and other
irritants in smoke. A study of one such device, published last year
in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, found it "a safe and
effective delivery system."

Dr. Anas Al-Janadi was quoted by the LSJ stating marijuana contains
cancer-causing compounds and use can lead to dependence. Many common
foods have cancer-causing compounds (artificial sweeteners or even
broccoli for example). And authoritative studies have consistently
shown that marijuana smokers don't have a higher risk of lung cancer
or other smoking-related cancers; in some studies, marijuana smokers
actually had a lower cancer risk than nonsmokers.

As for dependence, people who are sick are often dependent on
medication to provide some quality of life. Is it better for them to
be dependent on morphine? Many medicines for terminally ill patients
are powerful, addictive and have high abuse potential.

Marijuana is far less addictive and has far lower abuse potential
than many legal medications, like morphine and OxyContin.

This is not about people "getting high." Marijuana contains at least
66 unique cannabinoids, and extensive research has already documented
that several play a role in control of pain, inflammation, spasticity
and other symptoms. At least one, CBD, has been shown to moderate the
unwanted psychoactive effects of THC. Even if oral THC worked rapidly
and could be dosed precisely, it would never be as effective or safe
as whole marijuana.

I used to believe that marijuana was not medicine - it just made
people not mind being sick. Then I saw MS patients get out of their
wheelchairs and walk. I learned about a glaucoma patient being
scheduled for eye surgery. All hope of retaining vision was lost; all
that could be done was to relieve the pain. A doctor took the doomed
patient aside and whispered, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but
if you smoke marijuana you might not need surgery."

Twenty pain-free years later, the patient still has some vision.

Yes, medical marijuana will help a comparatively small number of
people: possibly you or someone you care about. Will you refuse the
medicine that works, or risk going to jail for using it? If that
seems wrong to you, it's time to change Michigan's laws.