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5/5/2011 – Recent scientific articles reviewed the ability of cannabis and cannabinoids to treat pain, especially neuropathic pain. This may be new hope for doctors who are struggling to treat these conditions. Clinical trials on humans using cannabis in various forms (smoked, extracts, oral THC, synthetic analogues) were reviewed by different research teams. Three recent reviews of those human trials demonstrate that cannabis and cannabinoids are effective for treating certain types of chronic pain with acceptable side effects.

A review on the treatments for HIV neuropathic pain concluded that, “evidence of efficacy exists only for capsaicin, smoked cannabis and rhNGF (nerve growth factor). However, rhNGF is clinically unavailable and smoked cannabis cannot be recommended as routine therapy (Phillips et al).”

Meaning, the only medications that have been shown to effectively alleviate HIV/AIDS neuropathic pain are not available on the market. Notably “smoked cannabis” was shown to be effective for the treatment of HIV neuropathy, a condition that affects more than 40% of the estimated 33 million people currently living with HIV.

A University of Pennsylvania research team published a similar review concluding that, “there is strong evidence for a moderate analgesic effect in peripheral neuropathic and central pain conditions, and conflicting evidence for their use in nociceptive pain. For spasticity, most controlled studies demonstrate significant improvement. Adverse effects are not uncommon with cannabinoids, though most are not serious and self-limiting.”

Last but not least, researchers from Canada concluded, that “overall the quality of trials was excellent. Fifteen of the eighteen trials that met inclusion criteria demonstrated a significant analgesic effect of cannabinoid as compared to placebo, several reported significant improvements in sleep. There were no serious adverse effects. Adverse effects most commonly reported were generally well tolerated, mild to moderate in severity and led to withdrawal from the studies in only a few cases (Lynch et al).”

This team from was from Dalhousie University Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto. The researchers go on to say, “this systematic review of 18 recent good quality randomized trials demonstrates that cannabinoids are a modestly effective and safe treatment option for chronic non-cancer (predominantly neuropathic) pain.”

Traumatic pain is scratching your arm, banging your thumb with a hammer or post-operative pain (surgery). But neuropathic pain is something completely different because it is generated by diseases (Multiple Sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, amputation) or as a side effect from medication toxicity. Essentially the brain begins sending pain signals out to the body for no reason. Patients say they experience it as a burning or shooting pain sensation in their hands and feet at first. Neuropathic pain often progresses to become much more intense. Opiates do not seem to have any impact in certain groups of patients. Many HIV/AIDS patients use cannabis therapy already today; anecdotal reports have been confirmed with successful results in top-quality clinical trials.

Read more science at Freedomisgreen.com

Inhaled Marijuana May Keep Brain Cancer in Remission

A Brief History of Cannabinoid Research

Jahan Marcu is currently investigating the pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors. He was working at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute when exciting discoveries were made showing enhanced anti-cancer effects with THC and CBD from the Cannabis plant. The findings were published in the Journal of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. In 2009 he received the Billy Martin Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS). Jahan is currently the vice-chair the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board at Americans for Safe Access (ASA).   Contact:  science { at } freedomisgreen.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent any University, business or affiliates. While the information provided in this blog is from published scientific studies it is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease.

Photo: Chris Goldstein

The New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Services Committee will hold a public hearing on January 20, 2011 to discuss two medical marijuana resolutions SCR 130 and SCR 140. The hearings begin at 12noon in Committee Room #1 at the State House Annex.This is an important part of an ongoing legislative process to re-write regulations proposed by the Christie Administration for the medical marijuana program.Potentially qualifying NJ residents and local medical cannabis advocates found that the draft rules introduce so many new, severe restrictions that they do not follow the intent of the law.Last month the NJ Legislature agreed with that assessment. After hearing testimony before several committees the Assembly and Senate voted forward a set of resolutions introduced by Senator Nicolas Scutari. These resolutions would invalidate the rules and possibly set about re-writing them.The resolution process mandated that a public hearing be called on the issue. The transcript will be placed on the desks of all the legislators for twenty days as elected officials consider the next move. The Senate committee hearings this week will generate that key transcript.The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed exactly one year ago today by then-governor Jon Corzine.Described as the most restrictive medical marijuana law in the nation, it was the first of its kind to remove provisions for home cultivation and allows registered patients just two ounces of raw plant material per month.New Jersey’s new governor Chris Christie has put up a series of barriers to the law’s implementation. So far qualifying patients have no ability to register with the state and no cannabis is being cultivated for them.Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), who is the lead sponsor of the medical marijuana law released the following statement last week:“A year after passage of our medical marijuana law, patients with chronic and terminal illnesses are still awaiting relief. While I believe it is critical to get this program off the ground, implementing it within the guidelines of existing regulations will render it useless.To that end, I am committed to moving forward with overturning unworkable regulations put forward by the administration to ensure that sick and dying patients get relief. However, I am still hopeful that we will not need to see this process through.I have pledged to work with the governor on a medical marijuana program that follows the legislative intent of the law, and fulfills our promise to provide compassionate care to patients who need it the most. I remain hopeful that we will reach a true compromise.”Advocates expect that dozens of potentially qualifying patients will testify at the hearings this week.More info about NJ medical marijuana – www.cmmnj.org

As New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie continues to stonewall, delay and deny voter-approved medical marijuana legislation, women like Irvina Baker go without alternative treatments to serious illnesses. This New York Times piece is an excellent example of how our elected officials decide how laws will or will not be implemented, based on their own political agenda, and not the will of the people.

Irvina Booker makes a most unlikely criminal. She lives in constant pain, disabled by multiple sclerosis and arthritis, a grandmother whose limited mobility depends on her walker, her daughter and marijuana.

Irvina Booker at her home in Englewood, N.J. She expressed frustration about the lack of access to medical marijuana.

“I never smoked it before I got sick, and I don’t smoke it for fun,” said Ms. Booker, 59, who lives in Englewood, N.J. She would not divulge how she obtains her marijuana, but said, “I don’t want to be sneaking around, afraid someone is going to get arrested getting it for me.”

Like many people who contend that marijuana eases pain and appetite loss from serious diseases, Ms. Booker cheered in January 2010, when New Jersey legalized its use in cases like hers. But a year and a half later, there is still no state-sanctioned marijuana available for patients, and none being grown, and there is no sign of when there might be.

In the last few months, officials in New Jersey, as well as several other states, have said that mixed signals from the Obama administration have left them unsure whether their medical marijuana programs could draw federal prosecution of the people involved, including state employees.

A Justice Department memorandum issued late last month left unanswered questions, and Gov. Chris Christie has not said how he will proceed. But medical marijuana advocates say that in New Jersey, at least, the state law is stringent enough not to run afoul of federal policy, and that the governor’s true goal has been to block the program.

“You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that out,” said State Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, a Democrat. “He’s used every tactic he can to delay and deny.”

The governor, a Republican, and his aides have insisted that every delay has been a genuine attempt to make the program work properly.

“In light of the Obama administration’s memorandum, the governor’s office is performing its due diligence to ensure implementation of the program is not in conflict with federal law and does not put state employees charged with directing the program at risk,” Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for Mr. Christie, said.

Read more.

Medical marijuana growing in CA – photo by C. Goldstein

On March 21, 2011 New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced the winning applications for the medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) in the Garden State. Twenty-one applicants submitted exhaustive business plans along with a $20,000 filing fee.

The non-profit’s are:
· Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center, Corp., Ocean, Central Region; The ATC would be located in Manalapan, Monmouth County.

· Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation Inc. (CCCAF), Jersey City, Central Region; The ATC would be located in New Brunswick, Middlesex County.

· Compassionate Care Foundation Inc., West Trenton, Southern Region; The ATC would be located in Bellmawr, Camden County.

· Compassionate Sciences, Inc. ATC, Sea Cliff, NY, Southern Region; The location of the ATC is undetermined, but will be located in either Burlington or Camden County.

· Foundation Harmony, Cliffside Park, Northern Region; The ATC would be in Secaucus, Hudson County.

· Greenleaf Compassion Center, Montclair, Northern Region; The ATC would be in Montclair, Essex County.

However the regulations governing the facilities have not been finalized and remain in a hard-fought Legislative dispute.

Ken Wolski the executive director of The Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey (CMMNJ) said,

“We certainly wish the successful applicants luck because patients need legal marijuana as soon as possible.   However, we have serious doubts that these non-profit organizations will be able to develop a working program with the overly restrictive regulations proposed by DHSS.  CMMNJ still supports the legislative Resolution to invalidate significant parts of the DHSS regulations.”

Read the full press release from NJ DHSS here: http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/dhss/njnewsline/view_article.pl?id=3681

4/13/2011 – Documents from the application process in New Jersey for the medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers are being released. The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) and Freedomisgreen.com acquired the six applications that were approved.They are posted online for public download here: http://www.scribd.com/NJcannabisDocs

Requests for the information were filed through the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) with the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

DHSS officials said that the scoring and review documents from the application process are being released later today. The additional twenty-five unapproved applications are expected later this week.

CMMNJ and Freedomisgreen.com will continue to post the documents online for public review.

Officials may announce the winning applications for the medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers  (ATCs) in the Garden State today. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) confirmed in an email that they would release a statement.

More than 20 applicants submitted exhaustive business plans along with a $20,000 filing fee. But the regulations governing the ATC facilities have not been finalized and remain in a Legislative dispute. Potential non-profits have stated that they would find it nearly impossible to operate under the current proposed rules, even if the state does give them a green light.

Read more: NJ Health Commissioner treats medical marijuana patient

John Ray Wilson in 2010

10/6/2011 – John Ray Wilson has been granted bail by the New Jersey Appellate Division pending his final appeal to the State Supreme Court. Although the New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Russell Curley requested $150,000 cash, the judge set $15,000 and allowed a posting of 10 percent.

His family moved quickly to secure Wilson’s release. In a phone call this week John said he was glad to be home, “My grandma needs a lot of help right now, so at least I can be there for her.”

In January 2010, just as the NJ medical marijuana law was passed, Wilson was convicted of growing 17 cannabis plants. Wilson lives with multiple sclerosis and without health insurance. He has always maintained that the marijuana was cultivated for his personal medical use.

This is the second time that Wilson has been incarcerated and bonded out as his case continues through the courts.

MS is one of the few recognized medical conditions under the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Cannabis treats muscle spasticity in MS patients and been shown to slow the progression of the disease.

New Jersey’s medical marijuana program remains in trouble. Delays and added restrictions imposed by Governor Chris Christie have kept state-sanctioned cannabis from being grown or distributed. Patients with qualifying conditions have only the illegal, underground market for access.

Wilson may not use cannabis while on bail and has gone back to using bee-sting therapy.

The NJ Appellate Division ruled that “manufacturing” marijuana can never be considered for personal use (medical or otherwise).

Legal observers note that granting bail may hint that the state’s highest court may take up the case.

“We think that the appellate decision is misguided,” said Wilson’s attorney William Buckman, “we are hoping that the Supreme Court will set the record straight that New Jersey doesn’t want to put sick people or simple individual marijuana users into prison at the cost of $35,000 a year.”

Pot smokers have endured their fair share of negative publicity. The 1930’s movie Reefer Madness highlighted pot smokers who simply went bonkers from smoking a joint; jumping out of windows, beating each other to death and laughing maniacally (the last part may still hold some truth).

Decades later, pot smoking became personified by Sean Penn’s “Spicoli” in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Damn, that one hurt. For a number of reasons:

1.   The public at large began to think of all pot smokers as Spicoli: brain-fried, dopey and irresponsible.

2.   Sean Penn morphed into a pompous jerk after this role, as if the funny were just smoked right out of him. (Give that man some Spicoli back, damnit!)

But times have changed. Over 40% of the U.S. population has admitted to smoking marijuana. Pot smokers aren’t falling out of vans in a cloud of smoke; they’re running multi-million dollar companies, winning Olympic medals, making movies and writing best-selling novels.

Here are just a few successful and motivated stoners:

• Stephen King, best-selling author
• Anita Roddick, British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner
• Michael Phelps, Olympic Gold-medalist
• Rick Steves, Author and historian
• Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
• Montel Williams, television host, MS spokesperson
• Jodie Emery, executive director of Cannabis Culture
• Carl Sagan, astronomer and author
• Anita Thompson, best-selling author
• Ayn Rand, Novelist, philosopher and playwright
• Oliver Sachs, British neurologist and author
• Ted Turner, American media mogul
• Missy Suicide, founder of Suicide Girls, alternative pin-up site.

So how can you be a more motivated stoner?

Here are a few pointers:

1.   Smoke and Do. Initiate a project after a smoke session. It’s surprising how much you can accomplish. Whether it’s a spring-cleaning or a car repair or a complex splinter removal, smoking pot can free up your mind and help you focus.

2.   Smoke and Move. Physical exercise after getting high is naturally pleasurable. Get outside, breathe in the air, don’t be afraid to care. Fire up the iPod. Go for a bike ride. Run. Dance. Stretch. Have a real-life, aerobic surround-a-sound experience.

3.   Smoke and Sit. Meditating and marijuana smoking go together like peanut butter and that weird marshmallow shit they used to put on our sandwiches way back when.

4.   Smoke and Storm. Feeling at crossroads? Smoke a little weed and brainstorm. Grab a big pad of paper and a black Sharpie. Allow your mind to wander and then write drawn or draw out possible solutions. Weed allows for more fantastical ideas to arise; ones that can easily translate into “real life” if necessary.

5. Smoke and Stay. To be truly motivated, one must be relaxed and ready. For some, smoking weed allows them mental downtime and deep relaxation, which ultimately translates into a well-rested individual, capable of executing the tasks at hand.

6. Smoke and Smile. Nothing can get in the way of a motivated life like anger. Or grief. Or guilt. Marijuana can offer the perspective needed to look at your psychological well-being and make improvements, without being so emotionally enmeshed. Simply the act of laughing is therapeutic, which weed more than happily supplies.

We’ve entered a new era; one in which pot smoking is becoming increasingly accepted, and occasionally extolled for its virtues. And while weed is not going to find you a new job or get you out of your deadbeat relationship, it can be used as a tool for change. Why not?

Or…you could embrace your inner Spicoli and enjoy the blissful state of doing nothing. After all, doing stuff is a little overrated anyway.

All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine. – Jeff Spicoli

Medical marijuana press conference in Trenton, NJ

The New Jersey state Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Services Committee held a public hearing on January 20, 2011 on resolution SCR 130. This is part of a constitutional process to rescind and re-write overly restrictive rules for the medical marijuana program.

Glaucoma – WikiMedia Commons image

A recent review on the applications of cannabinoids for the treatment of Glaucoma suggests that some of these compounds may be “ideal drugs” to manage this disease. The authors call for additional studies that could examine the safety and effectiveness in order to integrate these cannabinoid compounds into daily, clinical use.

Abstract:  Cannabinoid applications in glaucoma.

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