Starting to talk about pot

I would suggest this sums up the medical cannabis aspect of the debate rather well. Not that I would expect it will get the opportunity to be a debate issue as its conclusions do not fit the agendas of those controlling the politics of cannabis in NZ.It does not focus on the rather flaky reports that creates media hype and research funding grants ......................... tony ..................................

American College of Physicians Speaks Out for Medical Marijuana In January 2008, the American College of Physicians (ACP) — the largest medical specialty organization and the second largest physician group in the United States, representing over 124,000 members — released a landmark position paper calling for legal protection for medical marijuana patients, reconsideration of marijuana’s federal classification as a Schedule I drug (banned for medical use), and expanded research.

Entitled “Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana,” the paper cites extensive evidence for the clinical safety and efficacy marijuana and its active components, called cannabinoids. ACP is one of the world’s most prestigious medical societies and publishes Annals of Internal Medicine, the most widely cited medical specialty journal in the world. ACP joins the Institute of Medicine, American Public Health Association, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and dozens of other medical and health organizations that support medical marijuana access. Key excerpts from the report are below.

Changing Marijuana’s Legal Status and Providing Protection for Patients

• “A clear discord exists between the scientific community and federal legal and regulatory agencies over the medicinal value of marijuana, which impedes the expansion of research.”
• “ACP urges review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance and reclassification into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions.”
• “Given marijuana’s proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity, reclassification would reduce barriers to research and increase availability of cannabinoid drugs to patients who have failed to respond to other treatments.”
• “ACP strongly urges protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws.”

Marijuana’s Medical Uses

• “Anecdotal, survey and clinical trial data suggest that smoked marijuana and oral THC provide relief of spasticity, pain and tremor in some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injuries or other trauma.”
• “Current available data suggest numerous indications for cannabinoids, especially antiemesis, appetite stimulation, and pain relief.”
• “Clinical trials have demonstrated that both oral and smoked marijuana stimulate appetite, increase caloric intake and result in weight gain among patients experiencing HIV wasting.”
• “For patients with AIDS or those undergoing chemotherapy, who suffer severe pain, nausea and appetite loss, cannabinoid drugs may provide symptom relief not found in any other medication.”
• “Studies of chemotherapy patients with nausea and vomiting found THC to be equivalent or superior to other antiemetics (including prochloperazine or metoclopramide) for symptom reduction.”
• “Research suggests that cannabinoids may have synergistic effects that may indicate its use as an adjunctive therapy to both antiemetics for nausea and vomiting and opiods for pain relief.”

Disadvantages of Oral THC (Marinol®)

• “While useful for some, these drugs have serious limitations. The oral route of administration hampers the effectiveness of THC because of slow absorption. In addition, for patients with severe nausea and vomiting, for whom oral THC is indicated, swallowing a pill may not be feasible.”
• “The oral, synthetic THC has low and variable bioavailability. Oral THC is slow in onset of action but produces more pronounced, and often unfavorable, psychoactive effects that last much longer than those experienced with smoking. On the other hand, smoked THC is quickly absorbed into the blood and effects experienced immediately. Studies have found that patients prefer the immediate effect on symptoms that occurs after smoking marijuana.”

Vaporization Answers Concerns Regarding Smoking

• “The development of a vapor route for THC delivery offers promise for the future of medical marijuana research. A recent study found that THC administered through the Volcano vaporizer resulted in higher plasma THC levels compared to smoked marijuana at both 30 and 60 minutes post administration. It also found that exhaled carbon monoxide increased very little after vapor compared with smoking. ... Vaporization of THC offers the rapid onset of symptom relief without the negative effects from smoking. It allows patients to self regulate their dosage immediately by ceasing inhalation when or if psychoactive effects become unpleasant.”

Medical Marijuana and Drug Abuse (the “Gateway Theory”)

• “Marijuana has not been proven to be the cause or even the most serious predictor of serious drug abuse. It is also important to note that the data on marijuana’s role in illicit drug use progression only pertains to its non-medical use.”

We spend millions of dollars of tax payers' money punishing cannabis users with the justification that the use of cannabis is harmful to society. The first mistake here is that marijuana use does not cause harm to other individuals. Even if we argue that marijuana is harmful to the individual using it and therefore society has the burden of the health costs, we let people drink alcohol and consume tobacco, which are far more harmful. It is incredibly hypocritical to allow things which are clearly more harmful, to be exempt from prohibition if it's justification is based on this rationale.

What's more, if marijuana is really harmful (which, the weight of evidence suggests is unlikely to be the case) surely it would make more sense to take the power back from the gangs and blackmarket drug dealers so that we can tax this product to fund any necessary health bills or drug education.

If we do accept the gloomy prospect that marijuana users should be singled out and punished, all evidence clearly suggests that punishment doesn’t effectively reduce marijuana consumption. In fact, ever since Britain has stopped punishing people for possession of small amounts of marijuana, their usage rate has decreased. And in Amsterdam, where small amounts of marijuana can be purchased legally, usage rates are a third of those here in New Zealand.

It is inherently clear that prohibition of marijuana is neither effective nor ethical. Yet the latest poll probing New Zealanders’ views on the legal status of marijuana suggest that the majority of tax payers are still happy spending all their hard earned money on prohibition. Instead of putting the onus onto others to explain why marijuana users shouldn’t be punished, society should be made to explain what their reasons are for continuing to punish marijuana users.