REVIEW HIGHS AND LOWS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Marijuana has been shown to improve some medical problems in patients
who weren't helped by prescription drugs. But research also indicates
that marijuana use may cause or aggravate other health problems. This
balanced assessment of medical marijuana comes from the April Harvard
Mental Health Letter, a publication of Harvard Medical School.

Marijuana has been in Montana news a lot lately, mostly because of
the growing use of the state's medical-marijuana law, which was
enacted by voters approving an initiative. Several Montana cities are
considering restricting the businesses that are springing up to serve
as "caregivers" for some of the 10,000 Montanans who have obtained
permission under the law to possess an ounce of marijuana (or six
plants) for treating specific medical problems.

In Billings, 53 medical-marijuana businesses have obtained city
licenses. The City Council created a medical-marijuana committee to
make recommendations on possible zoning restrictions or other
regulation of these businesses. The committee held its first meeting last week.

The Harvard Mental Health Letter focused on use of marijuana in
treating psychiatric disorders. Montana law doesn't include any
psychiatric disorders in its list of ailments for which an individual
may obtain a medical-marijuana card. However, the Harvard report
sheds some light on overall risks and benefits of marijuana used
medicinally -- or recreationally.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine conducted a comprehensive review
of medical marijuana and concluded that the drug may be helpful in
nerve pain relief, appetite stimulation for people with AIDS, and
control of nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients. However, the
IOM recommended that marijuana be considered only for patients who
weren't helped by other drugs.

"There's no question that recreational use of marijuana produces
short-term problems with thinking, working memory and executive
function (the ability to focus and integrate different types of
information)." the Harvard report said. "Long-term use of marijuana
may cause subtle, but lasting impairments in executive function."

The report made these key points:

There is not enough evidence to recommend medical marijuana as a
treatment for any psychiatric disorder. The psychiatric risks are
well documented, and include addiction, anxiety and psychosis.

The drug appears to induce manic episodes and increases rapid cycling
between manic and depressive moods in people who have bipolar disorder.

Limited research on marijuana and depression is inconclusive. Some
reports suggest that marijuana has antidepressant effects; other
studies indicate that daily marijuana use may actually increase
depression symptoms for some people and may even promote development
of depression.

Observational studies suggest that one in nine people who smoke
marijuana regularly becomes dependent on it.

Smoking marijuana exposes the lungs to multiple chemicals and poses
many of the same respiratory health risks as smoking cigarettes.

The concentration of THC, the chemical that makes marijuana users
high, has increased in the drug sold on the street. Lower doses of
THC can be sedating, but at higher doses, the chemical can induce
anxiety. Although marijuana reportedly calms some users, for 20
percent to 30 percent of recreational users it causes anxiety and
panic attacks.

The Montana medical-marijuana law requires a licensed Montana
physician to weigh the risks and benefits for a particular patient
before recommending marijuana as a treatment -- a recommendation that
allows the individual to get a state medical-marijuana card for a
year. As Montanans grapple with the growth of medicinal marijuana,
they must be aware of the serious risks. Marijuana may be good
medicine for certain individuals with certain ailments, but its
negative side effects are numerous.