SCIENCE SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

This is in response to Julia Dostal's column of July 17 about medical
marijuana. She is largely misinformed.

The New York medical marijuana bill was introduced by Assembly Health
Committee Chair Richard Gottfried in 1997 has been getting voted out
of one committee after another since 2002.

There is certainly ample anecdotal evidence that marijuana is
medicine, but there is more than that. In 1999, the National Academy
of Sciences Institute of Medicine reported, "nausea, appetite loss,
pain anxiety ... all can be mitigated by marijuana."

Three studies since 2007 from the University of California prove the
efficacy of cannabis in relieving hard to treat peripheral neuropathy,
pain sometimes common with diabetes, multiple sclerosis HIV.
Historically, cannabis was part of the U.S. Pharmacopeia for nearly
eight decades, until the late 1930s.

Is it reasonable to conclude that marijuana is not medicine after
being in the U.S. Pharmacopeia for nearly eight decades? While
admitting cannabis is medicine, Dr. Dostal says, "There are other
safer medicines for theses conditions." Some of the conditions
cannabis is reputedly useful for are some types of pain, nausea,
muscle spasm. It is largely effective for these conditions because
marijuana relaxes smooth skeletal muscle. What are these safer drugs
to treat these conditions? Is morphine safer? Baclofen? Valium? In
1988, Frances Young, chief administrative law judge for the Drug
Enforcement Administration, ruled after a two-year examination of the
literature that "Marijuana, in its natural state, is one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known."

Dr. Dostal expressed concern about unintended consequences should this
bill become law. A study by Mitch Earlywine of the State University at
Albany reviewed all public data about teen use of marijuana before
after the enactment of the medical marijuana laws in 10 states. In
every state, there was a decrease in teen use. An earlier study by the
Government Accounting Office found the law in the various states was
working as intended with no increase in youthful use or police
services. Dr. Dostal irresponsibly claims, "Smoking marijuana causes
cancer other health problems."

Smoking marijuana does not cause cancer any health problems arising
from its use are neither life-threatening nor life-shortening. From
the Institute of Medicine, "Assessing the Science Base," 1999: "There
is no conclusive evidence that marijuana causes cancer in humans,
including cancers usually related to tobacco use. ... Epidemiological
data indicate that in the general population marijuana use is not
associated with increased mortality."

The U.S. Food Drug Administration issued its 2006 "this is not safe
medicine" statement without conducting any research or even reviewing
the literature. It ignored the Institute of Medicine's report, Judge
Young's ruling historical data.

The FDA statement was roundly criticized at the time as being
political unscientific. Dr. Dostal expresses fear misgivings should a
medical marijuana law come to pass in New York. Is it better that
medical users now face arrest possible incarceration? Medical
marijuana is not new. It is established law in 14 states, as well as
in Washington, D.C., several countries. The proposed law is not to be
feared.

It builds on the experiences mistakes of 12 other states is based on
New York's Controlled Substances Act, the law that regulates the sale
use of dangerous drugs. Dispensers of the drug would be licensed by
the Board of Health as any pharmacy would be. For patients to access
this medicine they would need a doctor's approval have a diagnosis of
"severe debilitating or life threatening condition."

The Department of Health would have the name of the person, the
condition being treated, dosage, etc. The system proposed would mirror
that for prescribing dangerous drugs. Dr. Dostal erroneously claims
that the American Academy of Family Physicians, National Multiple
Sclerosis Society are opposed to medical marijuana. The AAFP accepts
the use of medical marijuana under medical supervision control for
specific medical indications, according to statements in 1989 2001.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society's "Recommendations Regarding
the Use of Cannabis in Multiple Sclerosis" expert opinion paper from
July 2008 states that "There are sufficient data available to suggest
that cannabinoids may have neuroprotective effects that studies in
this area should be aggressively pursued. ... Because inhaled smoked
cannabis has more favorable pharmacokinetics than administration via
oral or other routes, research should focus on the development of an
inhaled mode of administration that gives results as close to smoked
cannabis as possible."

The American College of Physicians' 2008 position paper, "Supporting
Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana," "strongly urges
protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use
medical marijuana as permitted under state law." With 124,000 members,
the ACP is second largest medical society in the United States.

The Medical Student section of the American Medical Association, the
American Nurses Association, have also voiced their support for
medical marijuana in 2008 2003, respectively. Beyond alleviating
suffering, medical marijunana may have other health benefits,
according to Dr. Gregory Carter, clinical professor of Rehabilitation
Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine,
co-director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association/Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis Center. "I have spent my entire career in search of more
effective treatments for this awful disease (amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease)," Cartrer wrote in 2007.

"We have now found that the cannabinoids, the active ingredients in
medical marijuana, work remarkably well in controlling the clinical
symptoms of ALS. Even more exciting is that we are now discovering
that the cannabinoids actually protect nerve cells may prolong the
life of people with ALS."

The New York State Association of County Health Officials passed a
resolution supporting medical marijuana in 2003, which read, in part,
"Marijuana has proven to be effective in the treatment of people with
HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, cancer, those suffering from severe pain
or nausea ... The legalization of medical marijuana would be a step
forward for the health of all New Yorkers."

The legal system has also shown support for medical
marijunana.

"It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious for the DEA to
continue to stand between those sufferers the benefits of this
substance," chief administrative law judge Frances Young of the DEA
wrote in 1988. Or ... we could lock them up.

Bruce Dunn is a resident of Morris.