MONTEL WILLIAMS: MARIJUANA: ILLEGAL DRUG OR MEDICAL TREATMEN

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MARIJUANA: ILLEGAL DRUG OR MEDICAL TREATMENT?

Today Montel will ask some tough questions about a hot political topic that is sweeping the nation. Medicinal marijuana has been approved by 9 states in this country and is currently being considered for legislation by 6 others. Yet the federal government still has power to negate the decisions passed by state legislatures and often targets both producers and users of medicinal marijuana in this country. One main question Montel will pose is that in spite of the federal government's attacks on the use of medicinal marijuana, it has been producing and delivering it's own medicinal marijuana for the past 20 years to a select number of patients throughout the country. We'll speak to one of those patients today. We'll also hear from former political representatives as well as activists who are in support of medicinal marijuana who will discuss the many facets of this issue.

For more information log onto National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (http://www.norml.org) and the Drug Policy Alliance (http://www.lindesmith.org)

To see the show go here (realplayer needed)

http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-3027.html

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Cannabis Shows Long-Term Benefits For Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Study Says

September 16, 2004 - Exeter, United Kingdom



Exeter, United Kingdom: The use of cannabinoids long-term by patients with multiple sclerosis significantly ameliorates pain and improves mobility compared to placebo, according to clinical trial data presented last week at the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

The findings, which are expected to be published shortly, are based on the results of a 52-week follow up trial of more than 500 multiple sclerosis patients. Initial results of the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial after 15 weeks previously appeared in the British medical journal, The Lancet, in 2003.

Lead researcher John Zajick of the Peninsula Medical School at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in Britain said that the follow up trial showed that patients gained significantly greater relief of disabling symptoms after one year of cannabinoid therapy than they did after 15 weeks. Patients received either oral THC, a cannabis extract, or placebo in the study.

"In the short-term study, there was some evidence of cannabinoids alleviating symptoms of multiple sclerosis; in the longer term there is a suggestion of a more useful beneficial effect, which was not clear at the initial stage," Zajick said in a statement.

Speaking at the Third National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics in May, Geoffrey Guy, Executive Chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, said that long-term human trials on cannabis extracts and MS performed by the company had also shown cannabinoids to provide patients with sustained relief - perhaps by inhibiting disease progression. Guy noted that patients in GW's long-term trials have continued to experience relief from the disease without significantly increasing their intake of cannabinoids. Multiple Sclerosis is a progressively debilitating disease and these results would be unlikely unless cannabinoids are modifying the course of the disease, Guy speculated.

Clinical trial data performed on an animal model of multiple sclerosis has previously shown cannabinoids to possess such neuroprotective effects.

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Pot Compounds Halt Spread Of Known Cancer Causing Virus, Study Says

September 16, 2004 - Tampa, FL, USA



Tampa, FL: Compounds in marijuana inhibit the spread of several forms of herpes known to cause cancer, according to clinical findings published this week in the journal BMC Medicine.

Researchers at the University of South Florida Health Sciences Center determined that the cannabinoid THC selectively prevents the activation and replication of gamma herpes viruses. The viruses, which can lie dormant for years within white blood cells before becoming active and spreading to other cells, have been shown to increase an individual's chances of developing cancers such as Karposis Sarcoma, Burkitts lymphoma, and Hodgkins disease.

Researchers found that THC protected cells infected with a mouse gamma herpes virus from reactivation. Cells not cultured with THC died when the virus was reactivated. The results may "provide the foundation for the development of antiviral strategies utilizing ... derivatives of THC," authors concluded.

Scientists noted that THC did not prevent the spread of herpes simplex-1, the virus responsible for cold sores and genital herpes.

In August, clinical data published in the journal Cancer Research determined that pot's constituents selectively inhibit the growth of malignant brain tumors in animals and in human tissue.

Previous research has also shown cannabinoids to selectively target and halt the proliferation of other types of cancerous cells, including skin carcinoma, prostate cancer and breast cancer.

[Stephanie]

I think that it should be allowed for medicinal purposes. There are plenty of presciption drugs out there that can make a person "high", not to mention how addictive they can be (Codeine, Percocet, etc.). If it helps a person who has cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, then it should be made available.

[Aslkahuna]

of the majority of voters who voted for the Medicinal Pot Initiatives here in AZ and as a true Westerner I am totally resentful of the Feds interference in our desires especially since all they want to do is support their DEA Cottege Industry by homing in on Pot and ignoring the really BAD Stuff.


Steve