ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE COVERED UNDER MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT

State health officials say the drug can be used to treat the agitation
patients suffer, but experts say there's no evidence it will help

The agitation caused by Alzheimer's disease has been added to the list of
medical conditions covered under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act.

The drug is not going to help the loss of memory and other intellectual
capacities associated with the disease, said Dr. Grant Higginson, state
health officer, but it may ease the agitation often associated with
Alzheimer's.

The Oregon Health Division added agitation from Alzheimer's to the list
after reviewing the recommendations of a seven-member panel of mental health
specialists and a patient advocate. The Health Division also considered
testimony, the medical literature and one research trial of 11 Alzheimer's
patients who were treated with marijuana.

Oregon is one of only a few states to allow certain seriously ill people to
use marijuana for medical conditions. This is the first time a mental health
condition has been added to the coverage list.

"This is a strong step forward for advocates for patients with mental health
conditions, to see that they are being taken seriously under the law," said
Amy Klare, the patient advocate panel member and a lobbyist for a group that
supported the medical marijuana act.

But representatives of the Alzheimer's Association, the only national
voluntary

health organization dedicated to the disease, say they have found no
research supporting the use of marijuana in its treatment.

"It is too early to recommend or deny" the use of marijuana, said Liz
McKinney, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association, Oregon Trail
Chapter. The treatment of Alzheimer's disease requires extensive scientific
study that would reveal both the drug's positive and unwanted effects, she
said.

"That clearly has not happened, and we really couldn't endorse it at this
point," McKinney said.

The Health Division is required to review any serious petitions seeking to
add to the list of debilitating diseases that can be treated with marijuana,
Higginson said.

The division rejected petitions Wednesday that would have led to approval of
marijuana treatment for other mental conditions: anxiety, bipolar
(manic/depressive) disorder, schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, post
traumatic stress, insomnia and adult attention deficit disorder.

In Oregon, an estimated 68,000 people have Alzheimer's disease. Many of them
suffer from agitation, which is the inability to settle down, restlessness
and pacing that can lead to combativeness.

Bill Thies, vice president of medical scientific affairs for the Alzheimer's
Association headquarters in Chicago, said that without clinical trials,
"There is no way to make a benefit-risk analysis on marijuana in a patient."

Marijuana is not the only drug whose benefit for Alzheimer's disease hasn't
been tested specifically.

Typically, Alzheimer's disease causes the kind of behavior that mimics other
kinds of psychiatric conditions, so many doctors prescribe psychoactive
drugs that have been approved for conditions other than Alzheimer's disease.
"There is a limited amount of clinical trial data, so there is actually an
ongoing debate about whether those are useful," Thies said.

Before agitation from Alzheimer's was added, eight conditions had been
approved for medical marijuana use: cancer, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, cacheixa,
severe pain, severe nausea, seizures and persistent muscle spasms.

Under the 1998 act, Oregon doctors may write a statement supporting the use
of medical marijuana for approved debilitating conditions allowing patients
to get a registration card from the Health Division verifying that they can
legally use marijuana. More than 700 patients have registered since May 1,
1999, and about 350 doctors have participated by writing supportive
statements.

"So this is not a fringe medical issue," Higginson said. "This is something
that a number of physicians are participating in, and we are unaware of any
criminal prosecutions of people who have registration cards."

You can reach Oz Hopkins Koglin at 503-221-8376 or by e-mail at
ozkoglin@news.oregonian.com.