Posted on 08/21/2002 11:54:00 AM PDT by aculeus
Scientists have developed a cannabis-based medicine which relieves chronic pain without any of the "high" normally associated with the drug.
They believe the discovery could pave the way for cannabis-based medication to become available by prescription within two years.
Much of the controversy surrounding the medicinal use of cannabis has centred on fears that it would be used solely for its mood-altering effects.
However, scientists at the University of Massachusetts in the United States say their discovery should help authorities to overcome these fears.
Dr Sumner Burstein and colleagues say early trials of the medication in animals and healthy patients have been promising.
The medication, called ajulemic acid or CT3, has been manufactured in laboratories.
It maximises the medicinal effects of tertrahydrocannabinol - the key ingredient of cannabis - without any of the mind-altering effects.
'More effective'
In animal tests, this compound was found to be between 10 to 50 times more effective at reducing pain than tetrahydrocannabinol.
Those tests showed that ajulemic acid was very effective at preventing the joint damage associated with arthritis and relieving the muscle stiffness associated with multiple sclerosis.
The compound was tested last year in 15 healthy volunteers in France. That study reported no side effects or mood changes in those participants.
A further trial on 21 patients with chronic severe pain is currently underway in Germany.
Dr Bernstein said the results of each study had been promising.
"The indications so far are that it is safe and effective," he said.
Dr Bernstein added that the compound could replace a wide variety of current medicines used to fight pain.
"We believe that [the compound] will replace aspirin and similar drugs in most applications primarily because of a lack of toxic side effects."
Dr Bernstein acknowledged that some patients may wish to experience the mood-altering effects of cannabis by taking this compound.
But speaking at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, he added: "The medical community wants efficacy without this effect."
A spokeswoman for the UK's Medicinal Cannabis Research Foundation said: "We believe it would be premature to comment on the merits of ajulemic acid before more rigorous testing in patients has been carried out, but look forward to seeing the results after further study."
If you're drunk, perhaps.
Russians overcame their supression,
Either you're saying that that means Stalin wasn't so bad, or you're pointing out that many Russians were as drunk as American drug warriors, I'm not sure which.
whereas the public at large in the USA approves of enforcement against those using illegal drugs and only the few Libertarian folks feel supressed.
So if the public is so overwhelmingly in favor of drug fascism, why not let the States decide for themselves? With 99% of the people <snicker> approving of the status quo, you should have no problem.
So much for your 99% BS. You and your ilk are going down!! bwahahahahahaha
tick tock, tick tock, tick tock
So much for your 99% BS. You and your ilk are going down!! bwahahahahahaha
tick tock, tick tock, tick tock
By the way, who died and left you in charge of what is and is not evil? There is not a single word about smoking pot being evil in the bible. Even one of the most dangerous drugs, alcohol, is not depicted as such, although the Lord warns of its abuse. He does not ban the use though.
The anti-gun nuts think guns are evil. Should we then make firearms illegal? If the fact that a group of people think something is evil is the criteria you use to make something illegal, then, by following your so-called logic, it's only fair to make firearms illegal, right?
There is no specified right to possess nor smoke pot, and no specified right to referenda.
Really? How about the power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by the States, are reserved to the States, or to the People.
I've yet to see an amendment giving the power to the government to enforce any drug law. I've yet to see an amendment giving the government the power to decide what a citizen can or cannot put into his/her body. The Constitution restricts the power of the government, not the freedom of the individual.
If you have a polysci degree and worked for a congresscritter, it's no durned wonder the US is in the shape it's in.
Even a broken down old grunt like me knows that much.
My doctor at the time I first got it was also a good friend, and something of a joker. I asked her if there was anything I shouldn't take with the Fiorinal, any interactions I should watch out for, and she told me something like "it would be a bad idea to take a big handful of them and wash it down with a fifth of Jack, but other than that, don't worry about it." ;)
Anyway, I'd never heard of Phrenilin, so I looked it up, and it is very similar to Fiorinal - Phrenilin is 50 mg of butalbital and 325 mg of acetaminophen, and Fiorinal is 50 mg of butalbital, 325 mg of aspirin, and 40 mg of caffeine. There's also a version of Fiorinal that has all the same stuff as the other, but also has 30 mg of codeine.
It's nice, because it stops it when I catch it early, and it doesn't knock me on my ass the way the codeine always did. It's also supposed to be fairly safe - my wife gets migraines, but very rarely, and she got a bad string back a few years ago when she was pregnant with our daughter, and the doctor felt that the Fiorinal was safe enough for her to use occasionally during the second trimester. And the girl came out with all fingers and toes and organs intact, so he must have been right.
On the other hand, she's three now, and a holy terror - maybe I should sue anyway ;)
OUCH...again...temper, temper...but this does prove that we DO agree on something after all...getting buzzed ain't part of the plan, it is relief we are looking for...
Bite yourself. You haven't walked a mile in my shoes either. You weren't there when I was in the hospital 2 hours from death either, nor were you there when I was bent over with my wife helping me deal with a certain part of my anatomy, nor were you...
Aw, screw it. Go bite yourself.
Bye.
BUMMER!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.