new medical studies

by: RiaD

Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 07:00:45 PST

Medical studies show cannabis effective for treating pain, spasms
With the results of a medical study summarized by a new report delivered to the California state legislature, the California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) claims it has established scientific proof that inhaled cannabis holds medical value at or above the level of conventional prescription medicines used for a variety of ailments.

"As a result of the vision and foresight of the California State Legislature Medical Marijuana Research Act
(SB847), the CMCR has successfully conducted the first clinical trials of smoked cannabis in the United
States in more than 20 years," the group said in the study's conclusion summary. "As a result of this program of systematic research, we now have reasonable evidence that cannabis is a promising treatment in selected pain syndromes caused by injury or diseases of the nervous system, and possibly for painful muscle spasticity due to multiple sclerosis."

"Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any
measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care."~DEA Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young,1988
**PDF WARNING** Marijuana Rescheduling Pamphlet

If scientists will continue to research and publish their results we will soon be looking at rewriting &/or rescinding these ridiculous laws.
**PDF WARNING**Smoke Screen: America's Drug Policy and Medical Marijuana

Marijuana, or marihuana (Cannabis sativa), has been used medicinally for over
5,000 years, recognized by U.S. physicians for its medicinal value as early as 1840, and
included in the United States Pharmacopoeia as a treatment for lack of appetite until
1942.

Marijuana use in the United States was not regulated by the federal or state governments until California prohibited its possession or sale in 1915. Virtually all of the states followed California's lead by the time the federal government, in a move opposed by the American Medical Association (AMA), initiated its first attempt to "tax [marijuana] out of  existence" with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
In 1951, the Boggs Act established mandatory prison sentences and significant monetary fines, penalties which subsequently were strengthened by the 1956 Narcotic Control Act.

The CMCR study found:

'There is good evidence now that cannabinoids (the active compounds in the marijuana plant) may be either an adjunct or a first-line treatment for ... neuropathy,' said Dr. Igor Grant, Director of the CMCR, at a news conference at the state Capitol,'" according to Salem-News. "He added that the efficacy of smoked marijuana was 'very consistent,' and that its pain-relieving effects were 'comparable to the better existing treatments' presently available by prescription."

While the dangers of smoking remain, a study published by the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2006 showed that inhaling vapors from the cannabis plant, created by flushing heated air through a small chamber, is a "safe and effective" mode of transmission for the drug.

& just btw~ this study was done in Leiden, the  Netherlands!