Chronic City: The Results Are In -- Medical Marijuana Works
By Steve Elliott in Chronic City, Health
Tue., Sep. 15 2009 @ 1:30PM
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| julianayrs.com |
| You can't argue with results. |
As baffling as it may be, just listening to the patients (what a concept!) isn't considered "proof" by the medical establishment, which considers such evidence interesting, but "merely" anecdotal.
"The most common misconception among doctors and the general
public regarding medical marijuana is that its effectiveness claims
are substantiated only by compelling anecdotes from patients," Aggarwal told SF Weekly. "What is not acknowledged is that 33
separate controlled clinical trials with patients -- at least a third
of which are of gold standard design -- have been conducted
and published in the United States by investigators at major
research centers using the same federal cannabis supply and mode of
delivery.But after a new groundbreaking round-up clinical evidence for the efficacy of medical pot, however, such misconceptions are going to be a lot easier to shoot down.
In the landmark article, published in the Journal of Opioid Management, University of Washington researcher Sunil Aggarwal and colleagues document no fewer than 33 controlled clinical trials -- published over a 38-year period from 1971 to 2009 -- confirming that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine for specific medical conditions.
"In fact," Aggarwal and
colleagues write, "nearly all of the 33 published controlled clinical
trials conducted in the United States have shown significant and
measurable benefits in subjects receiving the treatment."
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| Photo by Joe Mabel |
| Dr. Sunil Aggarwal: The results are in. |
Notably
absent from medical marijuana patients in the published trials -- and
in glaring contrast to opiate drugs -- are withdrawal symptoms and
other signs of drug dependence. Adverse effects were relatively rare,
and "the vast majority of reported adverse effects were not serious...
It is clear that as an analgesic, cannabis is extremely safe with
minimal toxicity."
Unfortunately, ignorance
regarding marijuana still remains widespread, even in the medical
community, according to the article. "There remains a near complete
absence of education about cannabinoid medicine in any level of medical
training," Aggarwal writes.
"This is arguably
the most thorough review of the literature on medical marijuana since
the Institute of Medicine report over a decade ago, with a trove of
data that wasn't available to the IOM," said Rob Kampia, executive
director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which works for legalization.
"It is simply incomprehensible that a medicine that is so clearly safe
and effective remains banned from medical use by federal law and the
laws of 37 states."
Under current federal law,
marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, defining it as having
high potential for abuse, unsafe for use even under medical
supervision, and lacking currently accepted uses in the U.S.
The
article, "Medicinal Use of Cannabis in the United States: Historical
Perspectives, Current Trends, and Future Directions," is available here (PDF).
Aggarwal offers a complete list of the 33 U.S. clinical trials; contact him here.
Aggarwal offers a complete list of the 33 U.S. clinical trials; contact him here.
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