You could have saved yourself a lot of time answering this question if all you had done was go out and talk to the patients that use it for their ailments but of course that probably asking to much and it doesnt get you sensatinal ratings

Do you really think that squabbling anecdotalists (including MD's) will add anything to this conversation?

Set aside that there is even the most remote chance of any medical or palliative benefit... why was a natural state agricultural product made illegal in the first place?

Do your own research on that point folks and report back. Ten points off for every reference to "reefer madness".

Widen your data base and include patients who actually use it. You can tell your data is limited by the wording of your article. There is more to medicating with marijuana than just smoking; capsules, tinctures, salves/balms, vaporizing and yes smoking too.

I can prove how it works by the tests I have done. I have degenerative arthritis, PTSD, Chronic pain just to name a few. I stopped taking 3 other pain meds including vicodin and oxycontin, hydromorphone and replaced it with capsules and tinctures.

I am functional and pain is tolerable. With the above pharmaceuticals I was always out of it. What do you think we do, wake up, light up and stay blazed all day?

I have too much to do to stay high all day, I have to be coherent enough to combat all your misinformation. I do that by medicating with my Medicine; Medical Marijuana.

And Marinol,? Well lets really talk about helping patients now. Lets see, Marinol, which costs so much money that people would rather pay their rent than pay so much for one tablet of Marinol. It costs 25- 1000 dollars a month on Marinol depending on your insurance benefits if covered at all. To Grow your own meds costs anywhere between 0 and 300 a month, depending on how many of your Legal plants you decide to grow for your own meds.

There are those that abuse the system just LIKE ANY OTHER system. But for the most part we are just nice people dealt crap in our life that will NOT clear up for most of us. We just want the right to grow our own meds, medicate without all the effects of pharmaceuticals. We are a mellow people...go after those that really need help...go after your killers and thieves and if you feel the need to help a drug user, there are still a lot of meth addicts out there.

all marijuana use has medical benifits, it doesn't have to be smoked. I vaoporize and cook in food.

Why does anyone care if healthy, responsible adults use marijuana?

for anyone over 40 using marijuana it is preventive medicine.

marijuana does not have to be smoked to be medicine. I vaporize and cook in my food.

of course there is no "research" the US gov wont allow any and when the research does come up with good evidence it is suppressed , the US dhss owns a patent on canabinoids.
marinol , synthetic - almost as scary as the GM vegetables
smoking marihuana will make you grow fangs and make you want to sleep with white woman
those are some scary side effects

aspirin kills more people than hemp
hemps seeds are a gift from god ,
I would like to buy some cardhart work pants made from hemp.

oh wait, the us gov wont allow americans to sow hemp so we are forced to buy hemp products from china
and other nations , no wonder we are broke
i could go on forever whats the point
we juast have to sit and wait till the "geezers" die off

Marijuana is one of the most complex organic substances known, it needs to be legalized and fully researched — so more and more of its potential can be discovered.

http://MarijuanaLobby.com
Join the Social networking change – change we can engage in

I was forced by the drug court to take Celebrex and Seroquel because I was on probation for possession of 30 grams of cannabis. To make a long short I had a heart attack after 17mo of Celebrex and now have cataracts a side effect of the Seroquel. I moved to California to use MMJ and avoid Arizona sheriff Joe's tent prison. The marijuana works better than Celebrex and maybe I won't have another unexplained heart attack again.

If THC can be gotten legally from Marinol anyway, then what's the point in making pot illegal? So pharmaceutical companies can make billions, instead of people growing their own harmless medicine?

Every single reason people present to justify the ban on pot is as thin as rolling paper, and often flat-out false. This is America, where freedom rings. There has to be a substantial reason to take my freedoms away. No such reasons exist to ban pot, and never have.

Why don't we refer to history to answer this question. Chinese wrote it down many years ago. There is still historic literature to be found from many countries. It was used by most countries prior prohibition, for many things. It became forbidden for profits sake, not because it all of a sudden became useless. We really need a reality check in this country, because the harm done to us and other countries is astronomical.

Kelly,
I think you failed to mention the major point of the NYT article -- that there hasn't been sufficient research done for marijuana, because the federal government has been blocking it for years.

From the NYT: "Despite the Obama administration’s tacit support of more liberal state medical marijuana laws, the federal government still discourages research into the medicinal uses of smoked marijuana. That may be one reason that — even though some patients swear by it — there is no good scientific evidence that legalizing marijuana’s use provides any benefits over current therapies."

If we're going to have an honest debate about the legitimacy of medical marijuana, the government needs to allow all necessary research, as they do for nearly every other legal and illegal drug. To say such research on marijuana doesn't exist without explaining why is misleading.

Mike Meno
Marijuana Policy Project
mpp.org

Fair point, Mike. Thanks for raising it. Also, in the WSJ story, along those same lines, there is this snippet:

Researchers say it's difficult to get funding and federal approval for marijuana research. In November, the AMA urged the federal government to review marijuana's position in the most-restricted category of drugs, so it could be studied more easily.

"The experts are still debating whether the drug has all the medical properties that proponents claim". The American Medical Association (AMA) believes medical marijuana has plenty of medical value; and the AMA is made up of doctors and physicians; and doctors/physicians generally know what they're talking about when they say something. And regarding the THC pill, marionol, it is useless for those who have nausea. And when you smoke it, you can control the dosage.

The question is really; why is adult use of cannabis prohibited at all when there's no medicinal benefits of alcohol or tobacco use?

Keeping it outlawed to those healthy enough to deserve imprisonment allows the market price of a weed to be more than gold.

and a little research would should you that THC has been clinically proven to kill cancer, protect the brain from alcohol oxidation and rebuild damaged nerve tissue.

Once you give a logical reason for cannabis prohibition, then I will attempt to dispute it.

Where there is a lack of US research, there is a wealth of foreign. Isreal has the largest Cannabis treatment program in the world and is a leader in all aspects of its efficasy. Other countries are far ahead of us in this matter and we are in the Dark Ages.

POLITICAL INTERESTS HAVE CORRUPTED SCIENCE. The IOM report as well as the current American Medical Association (“AMA”) (and the Medical Societies of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania where similar legislation is at issue), the American Cancer Association and the National MS Society's positions are in clear opposition to state legislation. Doctors - the AMA- voting for clinical research, called state efforts SCIENTIFICALLY and clinically "WOEFULLY INADEQUATE" and condemned smoking the stuff. One of the most telling aspects of NJ Bill sponsor Assemblyman Reed Gusciora's floor speech was the number of times he said the medicinal use of marijuana "has shown great promise." Not once did he say it was safe, valid, accurate or reliable.

The AMA points out the NJ Medical Society won't certify its benefits and risks ( nor will the legislature) and the dropping of the requirement was to gain the NJMS support. [www DOT ama-assn DOT org /amednews /2009 /12 /14 /gvbf1214.htm]. HOW can a bill make the basis of its decision to “prescribe” marijuana the patient-doctor relationship when the AMA disapproves of such use and the NJ Medical Society refuses to certify its benefits and risks? How will doctors write a specific prescription when, other than “going to Disneyland”, there is no accurate or reliable standard for treatment?

Not enough evidence that Cannabis has medical benefits? Well, of course there is always truth number 1 - the US blocks major studies wherever it can and is the only medicine that needs special permission from the DEA to study. Read about the fight Dr. Lyle Craker.has had to go through with the DEA http://www.maps.org/mmj/DEAlawsuit.html#16

For tonnes more proof that Cannabis is indeed medicinal, please read the articles: "International Researchers Reveal Medical Cannabis Breakthroughs!" http://maryjanecannabian.blogspot.com/2009/10/international-researchers-reveal.html which actually ends with "I can only hope the mainstream media picks up on these scientific breakthroughs and lets the public know."
and
"The Miracle of Cannabis" http://maryjanecannabian.blogspot.com/2009/07/miracle-of-cannabis.html

I'm not a fancy journalist for a big city newspaper, but just a Mommy who blogs - if I can get this kind of info out there - why cant the main stream media?

Yes, they should be talking to patients and see how much this is working. Its most effective in treating pain from fibromyagia and other neurological problems. Nausea and Migranes and the list goes on and on. Talk to people who live in pain and agony every day and see what they say.

Marinol is just one cannabinoid in cannabis and it is synthetically produced. The dosage is not affective as it some times is too strong for the people using it. If the synthetic works then would not the original pure natural source.. Think about it..

Marijuana prohibition has been a total failure and is perhaps this country's greatest mistake. Not only has it created criminals out of nearly a third of the country's populace, it costs our society billions of dollars every year, creates a strain on our prison system, and has little or no effect on marijuana use in the US. In some cases, prosecuting marijuana use has turned non-violent, middle class kids into violent and unpredictable, career criminals. Once a person has a criminal conviction on their record, they are far less likely to find a good job and become a useful member of society. Other countries with more liberal drug laws have much lower rates of drug addiction among their people. I invite you to my web-page devoted to raising awareness on the assault on our civil liberties: http://freethegods.blogspot.com/