>From: "Peter McWilliams" >Subject: Gore misstates medical marijuana research >Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 09:04:14 -0800 >X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 >X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 > > >In your December 20, 1999, interview with Vice President Al Gore, he said >about medical marijuana: > >"If the science showed >that it did work and worked better than anything else, then you know, >fine....If the research shows that it is the recommended medical >treatment, then that's a different matter, but it's not there yet." > >It most certainly is there. The two-year, taxpayer-funded, $890,000 National >Academy of Science Institute of Medicine report published in March 1999, >said, and I quote: > >"[I]t it will likely be many years before a safe and effective cannabinoid >delivery system, such as an inhaler, is available for patients....Until a >nonsmoked rapid-onset cannabinoid drug delivery system becomes available, we >acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from >chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain >or AIDS wasting. One possible approach is to treat patients as n-of-1 >clinical trials (single-patient trials), in which patients are fully >informed of their status as experimental subjects using a harmful drug >delivery system and in which their condition is closely monitored and >documented under medical supervision, thereby increasing the knowledge base >of the risks and benefits of marijuana use under such conditions.... > >"Recommendation 6: Short-term use of smoked marijuana (less than six months) >for patients with debilitating symptoms (such as intractable pain or >vomiting) must meet the following conditions: failure of all approved >medications to provide relief has been documented, the symptoms can >reasonably be expected to be relieved by rapid-onset cannabinoid drugs, such >treatment is administered under medical supervision in a manner that allows >for assessment of treatment effectiveness, and involves an oversight >strategy comparable to an institutional review board process that could >provide guidance within 24 hours of a submission by a physician to provide >marijuana to a patient for a specified use." > >In other words, the IOM recommended that until a smokeless delivery system >for cannabinoids is available, which may not be for many years, smoked >marijuana should be made available to qualifying patients within 24 hours. >It is the administration's responsibility to implement the IOM findings, as >Drug Czar McCaffrey repeatedly promised it would do, not to misrepresent >them. > >Sincerely, > >Peter McWilliams > >8165 Mannix Drive > >Los Angeles, California 90046 > >323-650-8488 > >peter@mcwilliams.com > > > > > > > >================================================================ > >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: