Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Los Angeles Times - Friday, February 23, 2001
Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer
The four studies approved by the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research are the first step by the state to set concrete guidelines for use of the drug by patients suffering illnesses including AIDS, multiple sclerosis, cancer and glaucoma.
Research teams at UC San Francisco and UC San Diego will look at smoked marijuana's effect on HIV-related pain. Another study will focus on what help pot can provide to ease spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis. A fourth research team will examine concerns over the drug's effect on the driving abilities of patients with AIDS or MS.
Igor Grant, a psychiatry professor at UC San Diego and the center's director, said university research unfettered by any political agenda should answer basic questions about medical marijuana while helping to "reset the national thermostat on this issue."
For years, the federal government has been largely unwilling to fund exhaustive clinical studies of pot's potential therapeutic value, preferring instead to support research into the drug's effects as an illegal narcotic.
But federal officials have increasingly called for scientific proof in the face of a ground-swell movement that resulted in legalization of medical marijuana in California and a half-dozen other states. The drug remains an illegal narcotic under federal law, and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge to medical marijuana next month.
Grant and others hope the California research effort, which won state funding last year, can spur even more ambitious medical marijuana studies backed by the federal government.
Though the four studies could begin as soon as May 1, a key hurdle remains.
The only source of research-grade marijuana in the U.S. is a federal farm at the University of Mississippi. The California researchers have yet to win approval from a fleet of agencies--including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration--that will be needed to obtain the research cannabis.
Grant and the researchers don't expect snags. Federal regulators are interested, he said, as long as marijuana researchers are "serious people looking at serious medical questions and not approaching it from some advocacy position."
010223
LT010211
Copyright © 2001 - Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Los Angeles Times, Permissions, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. http://www.latimes.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2001. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .