[H1]Unprecedented SF study find pot helps ease pain[/H1] [P class=byline][A href="mailto:srussell@sfchronicle.com"]Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer[/A]
[P class=date]Monday, February 12, 2007
[SPAN id=articlebody] (02-12) 12:59 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Doctors at San Francisco General Hospital reported today that HIV-infected patients suffering from a painful nerve condition in their hands or feet obtained substantial relief by smoking small amounts of marijuana in a carefully constructed study funded by the State of California. Although the study itself was small, it is the first of its kind to measure the therapeutic effects of marijuana smoking while meeting the most rigorous requirements for scientific proof -- a so-called randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial. As such, the results of the trial are being hailed by medical marijuana advocates as the most solid proof to date that smoking the herb can be beneficial to patients who might otherwise require opiates or other powerful painkillers to cope with a condition known as peripheral neuropathy. Federal agencies oppose the use of marijuana for medical purposes on the grounds that it is harmful and that there is no scientific evidence to support medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States. "It's time to wake up and smell the data,'' said Bruce Mirkin, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a group advocating legalization of medicinal use of the drug. "The claim that the government keeps making that marijuana is not a safe or effective medicine doesn't have a leg to stand on.'' The study found that most volunteers who were given three marijuana cigarettes a day experienced a significant drop in the searing pain of peripheral neuropathy, which patients liken to a stabbing or burning sensation, usually on the bottoms of their feet. On average, the participants in the experiment reported at the start that their pain was roughly at midpoint on a 100 point scale, where zero was no pain at all and 100 was "the worst pain imaginable.'' At least half the volunteers who smoked the active marijuana experienced a 72 percent reduction in pain after smoking their first cigarette on the first day of the trial. Over the course of five days, the median reduction in pain reported by the marijuana smokers was 34 percent, compared to 17 percent reported by those who smoked placebo cigarettes that had the active ingredient THC removed in a process akin to decaffeinating coffee. "This is evidence, using the gold standard for clinical research, that cannabis has some medicinal benefits for a condition that can be severely debilitating,'' said Dr. Donald Abrams, lead author of the study released today by the journal Neurology. The trial was conducted over a two-year period during which 50 volunteers each spent a week at a secured laboratory at San Francisco General. After a two-day orientation period, during which they stopped smoking marijuana they may have been using, they were given one cigarette three times a day. Half of the volunteers received marijuana containing about 3.5 percent of THC, the active ingredient of the drug; the other half received the placebo. Abrams said that the placebo cigarettes looked and smelled identical to the ones containing active ingredients Because of the unusual nature of the experiment, Abrams first had to receive clearance from eight different government agencies, including the University of California, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The cigarettes were made from marijuana grown on a federal marijuana farm in Mississippi, and stored in a locked freezer at San Francisco General. E-mail Sabin Russell at [A href="mailto:srussell@sfchronicle.com"]srussell@sfchronicle.com[/A]. [/SPAN] [P id=url]vny!://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/12/BAG6KO3BLP5.DTL
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Duuuuuude, I was totally going to post this but then.... Hey, where did i put my Doritos?
LOL. Nice.
The government's stand has always been idiotic.
We won't support marijuana for critically ill patients because it is "harmful" (more harmful than intensely addictive drugs like vicadin??) and there is no scientific evidence that it works. Oh yes, and we will also conveniently oppose scientific testing by independant (non-governmental) researchers.
I think we can easily knock out the first claim. Yes, marijuana is harmful. As harmful as cigarettes. Of course, in a clinical setting it could easily be administered via vaporizer, making that issue pretty much moot.
The second issue would be addressed if they simply tested marijuana objectively as they do with other painkillers. The opposition to medical marijuana is primarily not a scientific issue. It's political/ethical one based on ill-founded fears lingering from the decades-old reefer madness campaign.
When you tell a terminal cancer patient they can't take a puff to get some relief, you aren't protecting them. So who ARE you protecting?
Not to mention the 'safe injection' sites, where it is perfectly legal to go shoot up with heroin, in a nice healthy environment. But we are not willing to lend a hand to someone dying a slow painful death.
I'm all for the safe injection sites. They can work to help people ease off this drugs but nobody wants to advocate the site. Good for Sam Sullivan for sticking to his guns.
Uhm. Pass the magick brownie, plez.
I could be wrong Lise, but as far as I know, there are NO programs related to rehab. They are strictly a place to keep the needles off the street. I've never been able to decide how I feel about these places. My gut tells me there is something wrong with a legal place to do something illegal, all with the governments blessing.
P.C. wrote:
I could be wrong Lise, but as far as I know, there are NO programs related to rehab. They are strictly a place to keep the needles off the street. I've never been able to decide how I feel about these places. My gut tells me there is something wrong with a legal place to do something illegal, all with the governments blessing. [/DIV]
They are helping to reduce the costs associated with aids and hiv cross infections through needle sharing.
The costs of running it are negligible compared to the medical costs of dealing with teh above as well as the information on who does what and how much.
Well, I don't see how the current way of treating them is working. There's got to be a better alternative. Choose the lesser of the two evil. With a safe injection site, you can work with the people to reduce their dependency, control what they shoot into them and gradually ease them off. There's also the advantage of disposing needles in a safe manner, rather than discarding them anywhere.
It's not the best answer out there but it's one that might work given the chance. All else have failed so why not try something radical and see what happens?
Here in the states we prefer to try the same old failed policies, only hit them with a bigger hammer. It doesn't work, but it sure feels truthy!!
I'm all for that Lise. But are safe injection sites accomplishing that? So far, all observation of the project say no. What's offered there, is information only, on rehabilitation and reducing dependancy, but it is not put into practise. A snippet from research on safe injection sites.......
"Do safe injection sites contribute to lowering drug use and fighting addiction? Right now the only thing the research to date has proven conclusively is drug addicts need more help to get off drugs,"
I would be more than happy to see my tax dollars spent on actively helping these people. I'm less impressed with the current project. It reminds me of the same contradiction that it's not illegal to own child porn, but it's illegal to produce it. How can you legally own something that's illegal to produce????
Spending the money on rehabilitation centers would be far more helpful in the long run.
hehehehehe duuuude the peace pipe rulezzzzzz
they are trying to but space and funding is not being provided. Vancouver is also arguing the neighboring cities should share in the municipal costs of this, cause not all the junkies in vancouver come from vancouver.. they come from elsewhere and come to vancouver for drugs are easier and cheaper to obtain. Surrey is a place that needs this as well.
Its cheaper to run this facility and supply the drugs (encouraging treatment, this pillar is still being worked on), then it is to pay for the HIV and AIDS medications and treatments from sharing needles. They prevent two cases a year of either, and the last two years when its the most expensive when the people are terminally ill pays for the costs of the needle exchange for a year.
But the big thing that taxpayers and insurance paying people should realize.. is that most of the thefts and crime come from cars, copper and such being done by drug addicts looking for their 10 dollar fixes. Give them the drugs, and they dont steal. Less crime and cars being broken into. Less insurance claims. You also cut out the middlemen, the drug dealers. they have no business if no one buys. Thats another criminal element gone.
I would encourage everyone to think about it.. it might cost us for the rehab, drugs, and such.. but think of the lower insurance costs and less crimes agains personal property with the reduction in crimes and violence from drug dealers. Less OD's and the medical costs from that. Less people using the ambulances from OD's and violence from drugs, as well as less people taking up hospital beds in care facilities.
It makes sense.
how I see it:
If there isn't a safe injection site:
junkie+dirty needle+multiple users+unprotected sex = more HIV then it spreads like the flu
Safe Injection site:
Junkie+clean needle= less HIV infections
Then if 1/100 junkies decide that shooting up isn't worth it and goes to rehab. Thats 1 junkie ditching the habit, one person off the street.
The program works.
Sportsdude wrote:
how I see it:
If there isn't a safe injection site:
junkie+dirty needle+multiple users+unprotected sex = more HIV then it spreads like the flu
Safe Injection site:
Junkie+clean needle= less HIV infections
Then if 1/100 junkies decide that shooting up isn't worth it and goes to rehab. Thats 1 junkie ditching the habit, one person off the street.
The program works.
thats the basic idea. you also cut out the drug dealers drying up their business, and reduce junkies stealing to buy their drugs.
yup of course Harper doesn't think the program is worthy.
Plus if the person OD's then they have much better chance of surviving with nurses on guard. So it saves lives as well.
But the big thing that taxpayers and insurance paying people should realize.. is that most of the thefts and crime come from cars, copper and such being done by drug addicts looking for their 10 dollar fixes. Give them the drugs, and they dont steal. Less crime and cars being broken into. Less insurance claims. You also cut out the middlemen, the drug dealers. they have no business if no one buys. Thats another criminal element gone.
As far as Harper saying the program isn't 'worthy'......an effective program is absolutely worthy.......however, I think that the present program has proved to be ineffective.
I hear what you're saying Russ, but the fact is, theft and crime in those areas has NOT decreased.
To suggest that giving a drug addict 'free' drugs as the way to curb drug related crimes is no different than offering a clinic to give thieves free money or alcoholics a bar where they can drink with no cost or pedophiles a 'safe' place to access children. I'm not denying that there needs to be something. I just don't believe that this is the answer.
It feels like it's no different than when you were a child with a scraped knee...... a kiss and a bandaid always made it feel better, but it really did nothing to remove the booboo or prevent a scar.
P.C. wrote:
As far as Harper saying the program isn't 'worthy'......an effective program is absolutely worthy.......however, I think that the present program has proved to be ineffective.
I hear what you're saying Russ, but the fact is, theft and crime in those areas has NOT decreased.
To suggest that giving a drug addict 'free' drugs as the way to curb drug related crimes is no different than offering a clinic to give thieves free money or alcoholics a bar where they can drink with no cost or pedophiles a 'safe' place to access children. I'm not denying that there needs to be something. I just don't believe that this is the answer.
It feels like it's no different than when you were a child with a scraped knee...... a kiss and a bandaid always made it feel better, but it really did nothing to remove the booboo or prevent a scar.[/DIV]
Hmm, I think we will agree to disagree on this LOL.
I think it is working.. just not on the enforced scale it needs to be. Not all the addicts use it cause the cops harrass them outside the place, which is not beneficial to encouraging them to use the place. Its a way to keep an eye on the addicts and encourage them to use the other resources as well.
I agree in this unsupported form its not working, but expand it.. and not hinder it like the contradictory RCMP are doing and give it a chance. The reports on the clinic show its starting to work and shows results. the RCMP and harper release a 180 turn about report, ignoring the results.
But again, this is just my opinion. But I do believe the government will bungle it all up like they normally do, not doing enough fast enough. Ignore the victims and give criminals endless rights.
I don't think there can ever be a right or wrong way to go about this problem. I still stand by my stance that we should invest in a safe injection site because like Russ said, we can keep an eye on the addict and slowly control their intake. Give them a safe room so they can get high without endangering themselves or other people. Then over the course of time, lessen their dependency by adding less and less drug and eventually weaning them off. I believe this is the best possible course of action.
My two cents.
I do believe the government will bungle it all up like they normally do, not doing enough fast enough. Ignore the victims and give criminals endless rights.
I don't think we disagree with what we'd both like to see. I think we only disagree with the method to get there. It's the same mamby pamby approach 'we' use for so many things. Young offenders who commit heinous crimes, but are protected by the 'Young Offenders Act' because they are 'innocent children'. A 5 year old knows when he's inflicted pain on another, and yet we think a 15 year old doesn't know that he might cause death if he shoots someone. I think we need to wake up.
I think this program just makes them FEEL like they are doing something. If they paid attention to their own research, they couldn't deny that it's not working.
what they need to do is open more safe injection sites in places like Victori/Calgary/Winnipeg etc. so more druggies don't end up in Vancouver.
Then over the course of time, lessen their dependency by adding less and less drug and eventually weaning them off. I believe this is the best possible course of action.
I hear what you're saying Lise, but that's NOT what the safe injection sites are doing. There IS NO structured program to wean people off of anything. There IS NO structured program to lessen their dependency. If that were the case, I would agree with you 100%.
They are offering a 'controlled' environment to do what they would normally do in the alley. It's merely a place to give them a clean needle in a clean surroundings and a place to dispose of the dirty needle with a medical technician standing by to ward off the event of an overdose. They need MORE.
Basically what P.C. I think is saying is that the system is there except they haven't gone to step B (reduce injections and step C rehab.
Basically what P.C. I think is saying is that the system is there except they haven't gone to step B (reduce injections and step C rehab.
That IS what I'm saying, but in reverse. Step C, should be Step A.....Rehab. Step B remains the same. Then Step C is a safe place to continue in the 'weaning' process.
I listened to a program once that had actual drug addicts at various stages of their recovery. There were an astounding amount of them, (some who had been clean for over 5 years), that were drawn to 'safety factor' safe injection sites offered, to taking up their habits again without the dangerous risks. That was a frightnening concept to me.
Article with interesting perspective on the situation.
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P.C. wrote:
Then over the course of time, lessen their dependency by adding less and less drug and eventually weaning them off. I believe this is the best possible course of action.
I hear what you're saying Lise, but that's NOT what the safe injection sites are doing. There IS NO structured program to wean people off of anything. There IS NO structured program to lessen their dependency. If that were the case, I would agree with you 100%.
They are offering a 'controlled' environment to do what they would normally do in the alley. It's merely a place to give them a clean needle in a clean surroundings and a place to dispose of the dirty needle with a medical technician standing by to ward off the event of an overdose. They need MORE.
OK, PC. I always thought they would wean them off eventually. My bad. I should be doing more research before shooting my mouth off. I always had the understanding that they were doing this.
How does Insite work?[/p] Clients who enter Insite are assessed and led through a waiting area to a 12-seat injection room where they can inject their own drugs under the supervision of trained medical staff. They have access to clean injection equipment including spoons, tourniquets and water, aimed at reducing the spread of infectious diseases.[/p] After injecting, they move to a post-injection room where, if appropriate, staff can connect clients with other on-site services. These include primary care for the treatment of wounds, abscesses and other infections; addiction counseling and peer support; and referral to treatment services such as withdrawal management, opiate replacement therapy and other services.[/p] Along with the on-site coordinator, two registered nurses are present at all times with an addiction counsellor and physician support available on-call. Program assistants from our partner, the PHS Community Services Society, help greet and register people, as well as provide peer contact to encourage safe injection practices and orient drug users to use the site.[/p]