MEDICAL MARIJUANA: WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY?

A Look at the Pros and Cons of Medical Marijuana Use, a Topic That
Inspires Strong Opinions on Both Sides.

DEPENDING ON whom you ask, marijuana is a dangerous drug that should
be kept illegal alongside heroin and PCP, or it's a miracle herb with
a trove of medical benefits that the government is seeking to deny
the public -- or something in between: a plant with medical uses and
drawbacks, worth exploring.

As the political debates over medical marijuana drag on, a small
cadre of researchers continues to test inhaled marijuana for the
treatment of pain, nausea and muscle spasms.

All drugs have risks, they point out -- including ones in most
Americans' medicine cabinets, such as aspirin and other
pain-relievers or antihistamines such as Benadryl. Doctors try to
balance those risks against the potential for medical good -- why not
for marijuana as well, they ask.

The truth, these researchers say, is that marijuana has medical
benefits -- for chronic-pain syndromes, cancer pain, multiple
sclerosis, AIDS wasting syndrome and the nausea that accompanies
chemotherapy -- and attempts to understand and harness these are
being hampered. Also, they add, science reveals that the risks of
marijuana use, which have been thoroughly researched, are real but
generally small.

Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of hematology and oncology at San Francisco
General Hospital and professor of clinical medicine at UC San
Francisco, says he sees cancer patients in pain, not eating or
sleeping well, experiencing nausea and vomiting from treatment, and
being depressed about their situation. He says he is glad that he
lives in California, where use of medical marijuana is allowed by
state law, although federal officials continue to raid cannabis
dispensaries in the state and scrutinize practices of physicians who
specialize in writing cannabis recommendations for patients.

"I can talk to patients about medicinal cannabis [and] I'm often
recommending it to them for these indications," Abrams says.

Read on to learn what science has to say about the medical pros and
cons, and some mitigating factors, of Cannabis sativa.

Pro: Marijuana Use for Chronic Pain and Nausea http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n794/a04.html

Con: Marijuana's Damaging Effects http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n794/a06.html