Pot May Ease Nerve Pain, Study Shows

(WebMD)  New research on "medical marijuana" shows that smoking pot may ease nerve pain at the expense of certain mental skills.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis report that news in the June edition of The Journal of Pain.

They studied 38 adults with nerve pain (neuropathic pain) who had smoked pot in the past but abstained from smoking marijuana for 30 days before the study.

Participants visited the researchers' lab three times, where they smoked a marijuana cigarette made for research purposes, under the National Institute of Drug Abuse's supervision.

During the sessions, which were held at least three days apart, participants either smoked a pot cigarette containing a high dose of THC (marijuana's active ingredient), a lower dose of THC, or no THC.

Participants got specific instructions about when to light up, inhale, and exhale. They were supervised as they smoked and for two hours after that, and then taken home.

Before and after smoking their assigned cigarette, participants rated their pain. Their pain ratings dropped more after smoking the THC cigarettes than the placebo cigarette lacking THC. The higher dose and lower THC doses had comparable effects, which began to wear off an hour or two after they stopped smoking.

But participants had no change in their pain sensitivity to light touch or heat after smoking any of the cigarettes, the study shows.

Participants also took tests of mental skills including memory and coordination before and after each smoking session. Their scores, many of which were low to begin with, showed the steepest decline after smoking the high-dose THC cigarette, followed by the low-dose THC cigarette.

Researcher Barth Wilsey, MD, and colleagues aren't recommending medical marijuana for everyone with nerve pain.

They urge "caution in the prescribing of medical marijuana for neuropathic pain," especially in light of the mental impact, and also in young patients, as pot use in adolescence "increases the risk of later schizophrenia -like psychoses, especially in genetically susceptible individuals."


By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved

[jsknow]

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT MARIJUANA IS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE MEDICINE. In 1988, after reviewing all evidence brought forth in a lawsuit against the government''s prohibition of medical marijuana, the DEA''s own administrative law judge (Judge Francis Young) wrote:
"The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the Drug Enforcement Administration to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence."
... Judge Francis Young of the Drug Enforcement Administration went on to say: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. In strict medical terms, marijuana is safer than many foods we commonly consume." Judge Young recommended that the DEA allow marijuana to be prescribed as medicine, but the DEA has refused.

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[rushman71]

BCBBKAKE: So, about a nickel amount or a tiny bit less. I''ll try it. Thanks.

Maybe this will help prevent me from dying of lung cancer, so sayeth marcpcbs!!! HAHAHAHA

[rushman71]

marcpcbs: LMAO!!! Your post cracks me up (no pot intended.) "Private & University Studies"? That is my point, vague info without proof!!! FACTS!!! Show me the facts!!! Oh, and, I didn''t know that I am a MD!!! LOL

[bcbbkake]

I have always liked to say the only way marijuana could kill a person is if a bale of it fell out of a plane and landed on their head.

All joking aside, Marinol is available and does get prescribed. It costs over $800 for one month''s supply, and good luck getting any insurance to pay for it. I also hear that it doesn''t work as well as the *real thing*.

To Rushman71: Only a few little buds of the good stuff is all it takes for about a 14-hour body buzz, which is much superior to smoking, takes all the pain away. I found it a little like gagging down spiders, but the effect on my joint pain was amazing (no pun intended).

[marcpcbs]

Posted by rushman71
PS If pot kills, or if it leads to cancer-causing deaths, don''''t you think we would already know about it?
____________________
We do know about it, your just another pot head lost in denial.
_________________________
Posted by rushman71
marcpcbs: Where did you get the info, WebMD? Everybody knows that the info they provide is nothing more than to scare you from doing pot, a little bit more than your average BS. Now back to what I said, all I ask for is one person. The info you provided does not count as proof, but more like a possibility.
___________________
My info comes from Private & University Studies not WebMD however I would respect info from Webmd allot more than the info I get from "rushman71MD".

[rushman71]

PS If pot kills, or if it leads to cancer-causing deaths, don''t you think we would already know about it?

[rushman71]

marcpcbs: Where did you get the info, WebMD? Everybody knows that the info they provide is nothing more than to scare you from doing pot, a little bit more than your average BS. Now back to what I said, all I ask for is one person. The info you provided does not count as proof, but more like a possibility.

[marcpcbs]

rushman71 wrote
If pot is lethal, name ONE person who died from smoking it. Just one.
___________________
Marijuana causes a persons blood sugar to drop seriously. (Hence the "munchies") This has caused many people with blood sugar problems to go into shock and some of them have died.

There have also been cases of people dying from lung cancer and emphysema who have only smoked pot. No cigarettes.

[rushman71]

marcpcbs: If pot is lethal, name ONE person who died from smoking it. Just one. That is all I am asking for. Until then, roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale......

[marcpcbs]

rushman71
Look up the "FULL" contents of marijuana smoke.