Texas: Medical Marijuana

Submitted by restore on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 16:32

By Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute Staff

There is a truth that must be heard! Ray Benson and Willie Nelson were at station KLRU recording the first episode of Austin City Limits’ 35th season. They were playing songs off of the album Willie and the Wheel. Docubloggers was lucky enough to ask Willie and Ray a few questions for an upcoming docublog about medical marijuana, and they were kind enough to do a shout out for the show. Look for their interview in the new season of Docubloggers that premiered this April! You can catch up on Docubloggers stories at their site and on their YouTube channel.

Since 2007, the Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) has sponsored four double-blind, placebo-controlled, FDA-approved clinical trials which demonstrate that smoking cannabis (marijuana), even in low doses, effectively alleviates the neuropathy pain associated with HIV/AIDS. So there is no mistake, let me repeat that: smoking marijuana, even in low doses, effectively controls the neuropathy pain associated with HIV/AIDS. The results of these clinical trials have been reviewed and published by reputable medical journals.

* In February 2007, Neurology published the results of a Phase I clinical trial which concluded smoked cannabis was well tolerated and effectively relieved chronic neuropathic pain from HIV-associated sensory neuropathy. The findings are comparable to oral drugs used for chronic neuropathic pain.
* In November 2007, Anesthesiology published results of a clinical trial conducted by researchers at UCSD Center for Pain Medicine which concluded that normal volunteers subjected to chemically induced pain which mimics neuropathy also responded to medium doses of smoked cannabis.
* In June 2008, the Journal of Pain, published the results of a clinical trial conducted by researchers at UC Davis which also concluded that even low doses of smoked cannabis can be effective in managing hard-to-treat neuropathic pain. In fact, investigators found that low- and high-dose cannabis produced similar levels of pain relief, reducing the intensity of the severe nerve pain. The researchers specifically noted that cannabis not only fights pain itself but also interacts with opiate-based painkillers to increase their effectiveness, particularly in neuropathic pain. They also note that using isolated synthetic cannabinoids such as THC (dronabinol) did not provide the same degree of efficacy as a whole-plant preparation of cannabis.
* In August 2008, Neuropsychopharmacology, published the results of a Phase II clinical trial conducted by researchers at UCSD School of Medicine which concluded, once again, that smoked cannabis was generally well tolerated and effective when added to concomitant analgesic therapy in patients with HIV-related neuropathy pain not adequately controlled by other pain-relievers.


Source: http://willienelsonpri.com/peace/3129/texas-medical-marijuana.html