8/14/2019 Medical Marijuana - Mar07Newsletter

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8/14/2019 Medical Marijuana - Mar07Newsletter

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AMERICANS FORSAFE ACCESS

www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org

1322 Webster Street, #402Oakland, California 94612

Phone: 510-251-1856Fax: 510-251-2036

info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org

ASA scientific director Barbara Roberts,Ph.D., a former head of the Office ofNational Drug Control Policy, called publi-ation of the neuropathy study and

Bittner's decision a double blow to thosewho would prohibit such research.

The government wants to have it bothways: they say the study doesn't have scien-ific rigor, so therefore there is no point in

going forward. And, by the way, we are notllowing the science to go forward either,"he said. Roberts said Congress should hold

hearings" on the 1999 IOM report that sup-orted research into the medicinal poten-ial of marijuana.

Download the judge's 87-page ruling atAmericansForsafeAccess.org/downloads/Craker_Ruling.pdf

Clinical Study Shows Cannabis Effectiveor Patients with Neuropathic Pain

For the first time in nearly 20 years, a U.S.esearcher has been able to publish theindings of a clinical study of therapeuticannabis. The study, conducted by Dr.

Donald Abrams of the University ofCalifornia San Francisco medical school,ound that HIV/AIDS patients sufferingrom neuropathic pain got twice as muchelief from cannabis as compared to a con-rol group.

The randomized placebo-controlled trialnvolved 50 patients who were randomlyssigned to smoke either cannabis (3.56%etrahydrocannabinol) or identical placeboigarettes with the cannabinoids extractedhree times daily for 5 days. Smokedannabis reduced daily pain by 34% (medi-n reduction; IQR = -71, -16). Greater than0% reduction in pain was reported by2% in the cannabis group and the firstannabis cigarette reduced chronic pain bymedian of 72% vs. 15% with placebo.

Researchers concluded that smokedannabis was well tolerated and effectivelyelieved chronic neuropathic pain from HIV-ssociated sensory neuropathy. The abstractnd full article can be seen at http://neurol-gy.org/cgi/content/abstract/68/7/515.

cannabis to treat neuropathy and othersymptoms associated with the disease.

The UCSF study was a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 50 patients whohad an average of six years of neuropathicpain. The pain reduction in the groupreceiving the medical cannabis was twicethat of those using a placebo.

"I have been living with HIV/AIDS for 21years and owe my life to the benefits ofmedical cannabis," said UCSF study partici-pant Diana Dodson. "It reduces the painand side-effects such as nausea and stom-ach pains that are caused by the drugs I

need to take in order to stay alive. But Ineed the government to grant me safeaccess to my medicine."

The study adds to the scientific evidenceaccumulated by researchers outside the U.S.and a 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM)report, Marijuana and Medicine, Assessingthe Science Base , which concluded thatthere are patients and conditions for whichcannabis is the best treatment.

"This study demonstrates the potentialeffectiveness of medical cannabis to treat

the chronic pain of people living withHIV/AIDS," said Dr. Barbara T. Robert

Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs forAmericans for Safe Access and a formerSenior Policy Analyst at the White HouseOffice of National Drug Control Policy,which commissioned the IOM report.

"In addition to people living with HIV/AIDS,there are thousands of vets returning fromIraq who will spend decades coping withneurological pain," Dr. Roberts said. "Byimplementing the recommendations of theIOM report, the federal government wouldbe exploring more options for their long-term treatment of neuropathic pain."

The groups are calling on Congress to holdhearings on the IOM report to adopt its rec-ommendations to allow patients andresearchers to have access to medicalcannabis.

"It's time for Washington to stop playingpolitics with patients' lives and advance thisimportant scientific discovery," said StephSherer, Executive Director of Americans forSafe Access. "The study is a wake-up call forCongress to hold hearings to investigatetherapeutic use and encourage research."

RESEARCH UPDATE , continued)

( CALL FOR HEARINGS , continued)

treating pain in people living with HIV/AIDS.

ASA first filed a petition to force HHS - theFDA's parent agency - to correct statementsabout the medical value of cannabis inOctober 2004. Under the DQA, agenciesmust respond or file for an extension 60days from the date of the first petition fil-ing. The government response was a state-ment saying that it would not act on thepetition, a position it has maintaineddespite ASA's May 2005 appeal. Using theDQA's judicial review provisions, theOakland-based organization is now takingits cause to the courts.

"Citizens have a right to expect the govern-ment to use the best available informationfor policy decisions. This innovative caseturns the Data Quality Act into a tool for

the public interest," said case co-counselAlan Morrison, a preeminent legal scholarwho founded Public Citizen's LitigationGroup and currently serves as a senior lec-turer at Stanford Law School.

"I had side effects from morphine patches,oxycontin, and oxycodone before starting amedical cannabis regime that has allowedme to get off prescription drugs and live vir-tually pain-free," said Blackfoot, Idaho resi-dent Victoria Lansford, a named patient inthe lawsuit who suffers from fibromyalgia."The government's refusal to face up to thescience is irresponsible and harms citizens likeme for whom this treatment is a lifeline."

The DQA complaint ASA filed in court is at:AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/DQA_Complaint.pdf. DQA Background info:AmericansForSafeAccess.org/DQA.

FALSE INFO CHALLENGED , continued)

N AT I O N A L A C T I O N A L E R T

Call on Congress to Hold Hearings on Medical CannabisIn light of long overdue research published recently in Neurology, ASA is askingCongress to support our call for congressional oversight hearings to investigate whyfederal agencies resist full implementation of the recommendations provided by theInstitute of Medicine in their 1999 report, Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing theScience Base. E-mail your Senators and Representative and urge support for congres-sional hearings to investigate why federal agencies discourage medical cannabisresearch. Visit ASA's congressional action site to send your letter:

www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/CongressionalHearings or call the CongressionalSwitchboard at (202) 224-3121 to reach your representative.