SO-CALLED MARIJUANA PILLS FAIL TO HELP MEDICINAL USERS

Re: Marijuana in a pill, March 30.

Letter-writer Heather J. Martelock is mistaken. The "pills" that
allegedly contain marijuana contain only a synthetic mimic of
marijuana, but no actual cannabis.

The only medicine in the world that contains actual cannabis is
Sativex from GW Pharmaceuticals/Bayer. This sublingual spray has been
a disappointment for being made from only a single strain of cannabis.
It is only prescribed in Canada for multiple sclerosis (MS). Its value
is very limited.

I have tried the pills, Marinol and Cesamet, and they don't work.
Side-effects outweigh the benefits. Every medical marijuana user I
have talked to agrees. Lamentably, the only thing that seems to work
is the vaporized or smoked whole cannabis, and that only takes the
edge off. Even putting marijuana into tinctures or baked goods is
strictly forbidden under the medical marijuana access regulations, and
this method of dosing is also inconsistent. We are not allowed to
possess tinctures, butter, hash, or oils -- only dried bud.

Smoking or vaporizing is the best way to quickly titrate a dose. It
acts on the symptoms far better and far faster than a pill or baked
good, which can take up to an hour or more to become effective. There
is also the "too little too late -- too much too soon" problem with
oral dosing of marijuana.

This method would also do little to help my epileptic wife, who needs
to medicate as quickly as possible if one of her life-threatening
seizures or asthma attacks approaches. Smoked pot can stop an asthma
attack in seconds, not minutes.

As for second-hand smoke, the science indicates that marijuana smoke
is less harmful than tobacco smoke. The fact that no one has ever died
from using cannabis is one indication of its safety. Recent science
out of Germany shows how cannabinoids stimulate the body's production
of TIMP-1, which helps healthy cells resist cancer invasion.

It seems absurd and discriminatory to ask me to medicate at home or go
hide in the alley, while allowing people to crowd the sidewalks and
entrances of buildings smoking cigarettes as traffic pollutes the
environment, too. The rights of other people need to be addressed. The
government has failed to do that.

As a federally licensed medical marijuana user, I have a right to use
cannabis. Imposing unfair restrictions on where I can use it violates
my rights.

Russell Barth

Ottawa

Patients Against Ignorance and Discrimination on Cannabis