To the editor: Don Giteronke's June 21 letter to the editor questions
why patients desire medical marijuana when synthetic THC (Marinol) is
already legally available.

The active ingredient in Marinol, delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC),
is only one the compounds isolated in marijuana known to have medical
benefit to patients.

It is likely that many patients favor inhaled marijuana to Marinol
because marijuana includes other therapeutically active cannabinoids
whereas Marinol contains only one. Cannabidiol (CBD) and
cannabichromine (CBC) are two additional naturally occurring compounds
in marijuana that demonstrate medical value in scientific trials.

Animal studies, case studies, and human clinical trials show CBD to be
a potent anticonvulsant for patients suffering from epilepsy.

CBD also appears to reduce certain involuntary abnormal movements in
patients suffering from movement disorders.

According to marijuana and neurological disease expert Dr. Paul
Consroe of the University of Arizona, the compound appears to have
distinctive therapeutic value for several neurological disorders.

This would help explain why many patients who suffer from movement
disorders, spasticity or epilepsy find relief from whole smoked
marijuana but not from Marinol. Also, there is evidence that CBD may
reduce or block some of the psychoactive effects of THC.

Often times, patients complain that Marinol's highly variable and
enhanced psychoactivity discourages them from using the drug.

Thus, CBD (and perhaps other marijuana constituents) can produce
beneficial therapeutic effects and at the same time reduce some of the
unwanted side effects of natural and synthetic THC.

CBC is a nonpsychoactive compound found in cannabis that appears to
have medical value as an anti-inflammatory.

In Holland, scientists now breed strains of cannabis high in
non-traditional cannabinoids like CBD and CBC so that science may
better observe the specific therapeutic effects of these individual
compounds.

By federally prohibiting the consumption of whole smoked marijuana,
and approving the prescription use of oral THC, the government is
unnecessarily forcing patients to use a synthetic drug that lacks much
of the therapeutic effectiveness the cannabis plant may provide.

PAUL ARMENTANO Director of Publications The NORML Foundation
Washington, D.C.