TEAM TRIES TO REPRODUCE MEDICAL BENEFITS OF POT

CLEMSON--A Clemson University team of researchers is looking at ways to get
the medical benefits found in marijuana without getting bogged down in
politics.

Chemist John Huffman is leading the team working on synthetic versions of
the substances that provide the medical benefits of marijuana without side
effects such as a high or lung damage.

In 11 states, marijuana can be smoked legitimately for medical benefits,
including relief of pain and nausea. But three years ago the U.S. Supreme
Court decided the drug is subject to federal anti-narcotic laws.

Huffman and his team have been working for 20 years on federally funded
research into cannabinoids, the chemicals in marijuana that confer its
potency in the brain.

The idea is to pinpoint what in cannabinoids causes the high so the
synthetic molecules would not contain that trait, but would still have the
medicinal effects.

One piece of the puzzle is the substance THC, which controls nausea but
also produces the high.

"THC is the most effective anti-nausea drug there is, and other than the
effect that it causes a high, it has relatively few side effects," Huffman
said.

A version of THC, called Marinol, is available for treatment of nausea or
to stimulate appetite in AIDS patients, but it causes a high, which many
users find uncomfortable or consider taboo, he said.

One person glad to hear about the research is California accountant Diane
Monson, who was using marijuana in consultation with her doctor for back
pain and spasms.

California's law says people can grow or obtain and use marijuana if a
doctor signs off. But her six pot plants were seized by federal officials
citing laws prohibiting cultivation and use of marijuana.

She sued, and her case is before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Other states with laws similar to California's are Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.