[Vision2020] Medical Cannabis: National Academy of Sciences

[David M. Budge]

The reason that most people prefer smoking marijuana rather than taking 
Marinol is that clinical studies have shown that A) Marinol takes 1 to 2 
hours before it works compared to a few minutes for smoking, B) It has 
not proven to increase appetite, reduce nausea and act as an analgesic 
as well as smoking and C) it is significantly more expensive per dose. 

There is in development an aerosol delivery system for inhaling an 
aspirated form of Marinol.  However, questions remains if the active 
ingredients from smoking are significantly different from the 
pharmaceutical formulary.  So far it appears that there may be something 
produced in burning pot that produces a greater efficacy. 

And why, Oh why, would we really want to turn a really inexpensive 
treatment over to those money grubbing pharma companies anyhow? 

db

joanopyr at earthlink.net wrote:

>Debbie writes:
>
>  
>
>>So what is the benefit of using 'medicinal spliff, errr, marijuana'
>>instead of the prescription 'Marinol'? It's synthetic THC without all the
>>other marijuana chemicals.
>>
>>I'm not against medicinal marijuana nor against legalizing drugs, just not
>>sold on the veracity of the 'movement' and the not-so-purely-medicinal
>>motivated throngs.
>>    
>>
>
>
>True, not everyone's motives in this are "pure," but then find me a
>movement in which all members are on exactly the same page, and I'll say,
>"Moonies!"
>
>I know that synthetic THC is often not as effective for nausea as simply
>smoking dope.  Sorry, but I won't cite a study here.  Why?  Because I don't
>have one.  I have only my own observations to report; one was a terminal
>lupus patient; the others a couple of cancer patients.  Now, the lupus
>patient loved pot, period.  He would've loved it if he'd been well, and
>he'd have smoked it and gone to jail.  The cancer patients were not what
>one might call classic pot-heads.  They were members of the country club
>martini crowd and felt like low-lifes when toking away.  That was, in fact,
>a barrier to their initial use.  But they tried it; they felt better; and I
>was glad for them.
>
>Just for the record, I am not now nor have I ever been a marijuana user.  I
>just look like one.  Must be the Guatemalan poncho and the undyed hemp
>socks.
>
>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
>"Legalize it.  Tax it.  End the War on Drugs, or, rather, the War on Drug
>Addicts."   
>
>
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