Does the Pot Pill Work?

The Government Says a Pill Called Marinol Offers the Same Benefits as Medical Marijuana. Is it True?

(CBS)  "Medical marijuana," the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says, "already exists."

They don't just mean in California. A pill known as Marinol has been legal and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use with a prescription anywhere in America since 1985.

It's active ingredient? Dronabinol, better known as THC, the primary psychoactive element of the cannabis plant.

"Marinol provides standardized THC concentrations, does not contain the other 400 uncharacterized substances found in smoked marijuana, such as carcinogens or fungal spores, and is not associated with the quick high of smoked marijuana," said Neil Hirsch, a spokesman for Marinol manufacturer Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

But Marinol is not the same thing as traditional, smokable marijuana. It is a less complex substance lacking both some of the good components found in traditional marijuana (such as cannabidiol, which has been found to have anti-seizure effects) and the bad or not-yet-fully-understood components (among them potential carcinogens) that can also come with the drug.

Ken Trainer, a 60-year-old Massachusetts resident who has battled Multiple Sclerosis for 25 years, said he has long been smoking marijuana to deal with the regular tremors he gets in his arms and legs.

"If I smoke a joint, the tremors go away most times before the joint is gone," he said. "It makes my life a little easier." Marinol, by contrast, "didn't really do much of anything for me," he said.

56-year-old Des Moines resident Jeff Elton, who was diagnosed with gastroparesis six years ago, had a similar experience when he was prescribed Marinol to deal with his chronic nausea and vomiting.

"I felt no relief, I didn't feel ill, I felt nothing," he said. "It might as well be M&M's."

Elton said he switched to marijuana, which he smokes through a vaporizer - a device that heats the active ingredients into a vapor instead of burning them. He said it allows him to keep down his food and regain some of the weight he lost while on Marinol.

"[One] problem with Marinol is that it's orally administered," Dr. Mitch Earleywine, an associate professor of Clinical Psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, said in an email. "Therefore, it takes longer to work than cannabis inhaled from a vaporizer. (Usually 90 minutes at best rather than 15 seconds - a meaningful amount of time to the nauseated.)"

"It's harder to control dosage, too, so folks end up discombobulated or without symptom relief," he added. "In addition, folks who are vomiting can't hold down the pills." Earleywine also said that a dose Marinol costs three to five times as much as a comparable dose of medical marijuana.

Defenders note that Marinol is not meant to be a cure-all: It has been approved specifically for treating nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy and for treating anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS.

"When the whole push for the smoked product came along, it was often for those two indications," said Dr. Herbert Kleber, a professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and the former deputy drug czar under President George H.W. Bush. "And in general, I've not seen any need for the smoked form of marijuana for those two indications. Marinol had already been shown to be quite effective for those two things."

"Are there actions in the whole plant that you don't get from just the Marinol? I would be surprised if there wasn't," he continued. "The problem is that most of the data about the potential medical actions of the smoked form are anecdotal."

Research into the effects of medical marijuana is ongoing: The University of California, San Diego, for example, boasts a Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research engaged in "focused controlled clinical trials on the efficacy of cannabis in patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, cancer, seizures or muscle spasms associated with a chronic debilitating condition, or any other serious condition providing sufficient theoretical justification." (The director of the UCSD program, Dr. Igor Grant, was out of the country and could not be reached for this story.)

The Los Angeles Times, which offers a nice overview of the current research, writes that "a growing body of research supports [medical marijuana's] medical usage, but some of it is cautionary." Marijuana has been found to be effective in counteracting severe pain, nausea and loss of appetite, though questions remain about the drawbacks, among them possible respiratory damage and increased cancer risk.

Dr. Kleber, who said he has prescribed Marinol to a patient and found it to be effective, points to what he characterizes as a significant advantage of the pill over traditional marijuana: "People don't abuse it."

"Marijuana addiction is becoming common and as a result I'm seeing an increasing number of people who have trouble stopping marijuana," he said. "Contrary to popular beliefs that there is no marijuana withdrawal, there is marijuana withdrawal. It's very clear cut."

The calculus, then, isn't quite as simple as the Drug Enforcement Administration suggests: Marinol and medical marijuana may share an active ingredient, but they offer somewhat different benefits and different drawbacks. Proponents of medicinal marijuana say it's disingenuous to hold up Marinol as a direct alternative to the more traditional form of the plant.

"I just don't understand how they won't let me smoke a joint, but they're more than happy to write me out prescriptions for anything that I want," Trainer said.

[cbsmakesmoney]

marinol is 100 times more effective then anything else on the market and safer then anything else on the fda market for a lot of hard to treat "pains" even if it is not as good as the natural source of thc or as much fun to use if you really need it it is much appreciated and solves alot of pain problems. For me overnight after using marinol i no longer get debilitating migraines, daily vomiting, gagging, on food nausea, anxiety,attention problems, and a cramp in my funny bone that lasted 8 months. yes no joke all these problems that were constant every day for 2 or more years went away and have not returned. when people complain about the neurocognative side effects of the medicine i know they are truely minimal when compaired to the life shattering "pains" this medicine gets rid of. in all fairness it seems wrong that medicine this effective would be sold and not distributed for free. For me i would pay anything for it it is keeping me alive, they could charge anything they want for it and they would get it from me, i am a slave to this company and the only alternative at this present time would involve risking going to jail and i am not willing to do that.

[sugar_maple]

This is the reason why we still have marijuana illegal. Big Phrama wanting to control the market of treatments. They can't and never will be able to control the people's medicine - cannabis. Legalize, regulate, and finally control marijuana!

[sugar_maple]

What is so wrong with smoking or using cannabis that is it so illegal? I seriously don't and will never understand the stance on marijuana we, America, have. It is a PLANT that will grow up naturally. We don't band the growth of poppies or coca bush. Ignorant Americans.

[Tony_42]

What about Liberty? We have the right to use cannabis it is just ignored. Stand up for your rights, claim your freedom and liberty.

[anticristvs]

wow... a pill that costs a ton of $$$$
pays the Empty Sales Suit bonuses.....

for something nature gave us for free.

"NBC, CBS, ABC, & FOX happy to profit from marijuana, as long as nobody talks about legalizing it" from NORML

[DdC222]

Hey bro, thanks

Maybe these prohibitionists "writers" should practice some "reading"
Those who will not read have nothing over those who can not read.
Be well,
DdC

California Cops Are Trained 'Marijuana Is Not A Medicine'
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/california-cops-are-trained-marijuana-not-medicine
A recent court case in San Diego has revealed some California police officers are basing their sworn court testimony in medical marijuana cases on badly outdated, legally inaccurate information.

http://tinyurl.com/Journey4JusticePedal4Pot

Prison Industrial Complex Attacks Prop. 5
http://drugwarrant.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4146#4146

Getting Rich Off Prohibition

Take California?s Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, which would require the diversion of certain non-violent offenders to drug treatment and increase funding for state-sponsored rehabilitation programs. The measure seeks to expand upon the alternative sentencing programs initially enacted by Proposition 36, which is estimated to have saved taxpayers some $1.7 billion dollars and reduced the number of people incarcerated for simple drug possession by one-third. So who would oppose this proposal?

If you guessed: the folks who make their living arresting non-violent drug offenders, you?d be right! According to the ?No on 5? website, the California State Sheriff?s Association, the California Narcotics Officers Association, the California Peace Officers Association, the Police Chiefs of California, and the California District Attorneys Association all oppose Prop. 5.

Renegade Cops & Ganja Props
http://drugwarrant.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4203#4203

Sketches of the Drug Czars
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/node/1909

UK: Column: Why It's Time to End the War on Drugs
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n764/a05.html?102

Benefits To Legalizing Pot You Haven't Heard About
http://cannabisnews.com/news/24/thread24953.shtml

Ganja's Impact On Brain Function "Non Existent"
http://drugwarrant.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4425#4425
Brain Releases Marijuana-Like Substance In Response To Pain 10/11/01
Cannabis Exposure Not Toxic To The Developing Brain
Cannabis Prevents Brain Damage 03/08/00
Cannabis Blocks Irreversible Brain Damage 03/18/00
Proven : Cannabis is Safe Medicine by Ian Williams Goddard
The Hype: Brain Damage and Dead Monkeys

Teddy Kennedy and The Ultimate Tragedy of Liberalism.
His Brain Tumor Is of the Type That Cannabis Might Cure.
Suppressed Research May Claim Another Drug War Victim.

[dragon8me]

I just thought of something. Cannabis is a schedule 1 narcotic, right? That means the gov say?s it has no medical value. Well in that case they?ve blown their case by making marinol legal. If it?s same as ganja then it can?t be a scedule 1 and cannabis must be reduced to sch 2. This is what it?s all about folks, at least with the government. So if it?s not THC that?s keeping it sch 1, what, fibers? Constitutional lawyers should look into this angle.

[MatterofLiberty]

Yes by having Marinol whose active ingriedient is THC be a Schedual III drug *** must be considered that either: A)Government must admit that THC can not be the active chemical in Cannabis that gets you "high". or B)That if THC is the only mind altering chemical in Cannibus then it must have equal risk of abuse as marinol which currently is considered to have low risk of abuse and available for refillable prescription. In other words does anyone else see how Marinol is basically Hashish that is marketed to be eaten???

[JamesB621]

If anyone is interested in the pretzel logic that made MJ illegal I would suggest going to history.com and look up a program entitled "Illegal Drugs, And How They Got That Way, Marijuana." That will explain in minute detail the process by which marijuana was criminalized. And yes, it was purely political.

[i2iknight]

I hope Brian Montopoli, the author of this story, reads the comments here for his education so that he does not repeat the same mistakes he made in finding sources for the story.
Which is 1) that Dr. Kleber is an idiot, and 2) marijuana, the plant, is far superior to marinol, and 3) that vaporization provides the benefits of the MANY cannabinoids without the unwanted carcinogens.
Actually, one of the leading authorities on the subject, Dr. Melemede, tell us that the cannabinoids work in concert the THC, like a virtual symphony of coinciding reactions.

[martinshane]

LEAGALIZE CANNIBUS?

You might as well legalize Russian Roulette. My first encounter with Medi Cann seemed innocent enough. I have an arthritic spine, and unfortunately, conventional medications either have little or no affect, except for adverse side affects. I also have glaucoma.
Cannabis does have some amazing healing qualities, without any adverse side affects. I do not take things lightly,which induced me to do extensive research on cannabis. One of the most informative books that I have yet to study on the subject is the Cannabible by Jason King . I also did extensive research on the inter net.
In order to 'legally' purchase cannabis, I had to join Medi Cann. I was referred to a medical doctor., and yes, she was the real Mac coy. The first visit to one of their so called 'clinics' was a huge disappointment. The waiting room was in itself a complete turn off. To be nice, let us say that it was a bit untidy. Seated next to me was a young fellow whose jeans were half way down his derrière. He was filling out a form.
After presenting my credentials, I was allowed into the 'inner' sanctum. It was a shabby room with glass counters that contained a large assortment of cannabis products. The young fellow behind the counter could not have been more than nineteen, if that. He was obviously 'stoned'. He continuously stuck his hand down the front of his jeans and scratched himself. Then he proceeded to handle the merchandise bare handed
I left the 'establishment' throughly disgusted. The second 'clinic' was little better. It was obviously a hangout for pot heads and junkies. When I was allowed to enter the back room, IE, 'clinic', there was a young male clerk behind the counter. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was barely coherent. No I don't want to smoke the stuff, and I don't want candy, cookies or brownies. I just want to purchase the herb so I can use it in capsule form. He scratched his head, and said: you don't want to smoke it? Finally he quoted some prices, which were outrageous, and I left.
The last 'clinic' that I visited was a pleasant surprise. It was clean and professional. (I did not have to say Joe sent me) It actually looked like a clinic. The only draw back being was that the clerk was stoned out of his mind. Again no gloves or implements were used when handling the merchandise. I left without making a purchase. In all of the establishments, it was a strictly cash and carry transaction.
If legalizing cannabis means allowing legitimate medical establishments to administer it, I am all for it. This would also make the product more affordable. Otherwise no way Jose!

[AttentionDeficit]

martinshane: comparing cannabis to russian roulette? a bit over the top, no? cannabis can't kill you, russian roulette can. in terms of going to these "clinics", if it were legal, you could grow your own. then, the only bloodshot eyes you would be concerned about would be your own

[martinshane]

LEAGALIZE CANNIBUS?

You might as well legalize Russian Roulette. My first encounter with Medi Cann seemed innocent enough. I have an arthritic spine, and unfortunately, conventional medications either have little or no affect, except for adverse side affects. I also have glaucoma.
Cannabis does have some amazing healing qualities, without any adverse side affects. I do not take things lightly,which induced me to do extensive research on cannabis. One of the most informative books that I have yet to study on the subject is the Cannabible by Jason King . I also did extensive research on the inter net.
In order to 'legally' purchase cannabis, I had to join Medi Cann. I was referred to a medical doctor., and yes, she was the real Mac coy. The first visit to one of their so called 'clinics' was a huge disappointment. The waiting room was in itself a complete turn off. To be nice, let us say that it was a bit untidy. Seated next to me was a young fellow whose jeans were half way down his derrière. He was filling out a form.
After presenting my credentials, I was allowed into the 'inner' sanctum. It was a shabby room with glass counters that contained a large assortment of cannabis products. The young fellow behind the counter could not have been more than nineteen, if that. He was obviously 'stoned'. He continuously stuck his hand down the front of his jeans and scratched himself. Then he proceeded to handle the merchandise bare handed
I left the 'establishment' throughly disgusted. The second 'clinic' was little better. It was obviously a hangout for pot heads and junkies. When I was allowed to enter the back room, IE, 'clinic', there was a young male clerk behind the counter. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was barely coherent. No I don't want to smoke the stuff, and I don't want candy, cookies or brownies. I just want to purchase the herb so I can use it in capsule form. He scratched his head, and said: you don't want to smoke it? Finally he quoted some prices, which were outrageous, and I left.
The last 'clinic' that I visited was a pleasant surprise. It was clean and professional. (I did not have to say Joe sent me) It actually looked like a clinic. The only draw back being was that the clerk was stoned out of his mind. Again no gloves or implements were used when handling the merchandise. I left without making a purchase. In all of the establishments, it was a strictly cash and carry transaction.
If legalizing cannabis means allowing legitimate medical establishments to administer it, I am all for it. This would also make the product more affordable. Otherwise no way Jose!

[DdC222]

Mairdinol is Synthetic Sabotage

<I><B>"But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization. I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance. Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm."</B>
~ Donald Tashkin,
National Institute on Drug Abuse</I>

<BR><B>At the 10th International Conference on Drug Policy, 1996, USA John P Morgan MD, Professor of Pharmacology, City University of New York Medical School,</B> said of Marinol, the synthetic THC marketed in the States, "In a recent study, the scientists gave patients 20 mg of Marinol by mouth to see if it increased their appetite. Not only could they not detect much appetite-increasing effect, but they learned the interesting fact that, in one-third of people who take Marinol by mouth, you have no blood levels at all. The drug is so poorly bio-available it's surprising that it got onto the market. There may well be some reason to believe that there are individuals in our government who are interested in getting Marinol on the market to diminish the pressure for marijuana smokers." <BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.marinol.com/aboutmarinol/index.html">Other important facts about MARINOL</A><BR>
<BR>
The active ingredient in MARINOL is dronabinol<BR>
<BR>
Dronabinol is a synthetic version of a naturally occurring compound known as delta-9-THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol)<BR>
<BR>
Delta-9-THC stimulates appetite and reduces nausea and vomiting by binding to special receptors found in your nervous system<BR>
<BR>
Delta-9-THC is also one of many components in marijuana. In fact, delta-9-THC is the main ingredient responsible for most of marijuana?s effects<BR>
<BR>
<B>MARINOL is not marijuana.</B><BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/culture/media/5/5312.jpg">5312 10/28/07 death4.jpg barthwell 301x350</A><BR>
<BR>
"A crude plant is definitely not a medicine. A surgeon doesn't come to a patient recovering from surgery and give them a pipe of opium - you give them a derivative."<BR>
Andrea Barthwell - Former Deputy Drug Czar (Bush II)<BR>
Present employee of ... yup, GW's Sativex!!!<BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.yahooka.com/forum/politics-current-affairs/103337-nazi-con-flicts-interest-bush-barthwell-drugs.html?highlight=DdC+barthwell">Con Flicts of Interest Bush Barthwell & Drugs</A><BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.sativexinfo.org/">Sativex: Now Available in Canada!</A><BR>
Sativex is a natural marijuana extract that was developed by GW
Pharmaceuticals. It is a liquid spray made from a specially breed marijuana plant. Sativex® is similar to the tinctures that were sold in the US before 1937 and similar to products made by patients and their caregivers in states with medical marijuana laws.<BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6635">Marinol vs. Natural Cannabis</A><BR>
<BR>
<B>Marinol Lacks Several of the Therapeutic Compounds Available in Natural Cannabis<BR>
<BR>
Marinol is More Psychoactive Than Natural Cannabis</B><BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/HT_Marinol_0794.html">Marinol: The Little Synthetic That Couldn't</A><BR>
Wasting syndrome, or anorexia-cachexia, afflicts 70 to 90 percent of AIDS patients, robbing them of their appetite. The resulting malnutrition can be more deadly than the virus itself. But there is only one drug that is commonly prescribed for the treatment of wasting syndrome: Marinol, the synthetic form of THC, the most psychoactive component of marijuana.<BR>
<BR>
When Skipper tried a friend's Marinol, it passed through him without any effect. "But marijuana is wonderful," says Skipper. "It relaxes me, it takes away my pain. It makes me hungry and thirsty, so I eat and drink more, and that builds up my immune system."<BR>
<BR>
Marinol has unpleasant side effects - as can be expected from a pill that is 99 percent THC. An April 1986 product insert from Roxane warned that Marinol elicits "disturbing psychiatric symptoms,"<BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://drugwarrant.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=147&highlight=politics+pot">Politics of Pot</A><BR>
<BR>

[SkirtLifter]

why the html tags?

[palmspringsbum]

Well, I've read the article and the comments, and while I'm very impressed with the comments I don't see it mentioned anywhere that Marinol is -not- THC. It is a -synthetic analogue- of THC.

[Kyle1965]

People I know who have used Marinol tell me it either does barely anything to them or gets them way too stoned and leaves them wishing for hours that it would just wear off. I guess it's really not that much different from eating a pot brownie except the pot brownie has other cannabinoids in it like CBD that apparently have some relaxing effect to counter some of the powerful effect from THC. I've never taken Marinol, but I did eat pot brownies a few times when I was younger. It would either do nothing or next to nothing, or I'd be really high for most of the day wishing it would just wear off. It takes a good hour after eating it before you know whether you got the right dose or too little or too much. It was always too little or too much for me, never just right. I much preferred smoking it because you could smoke just a little and you would know in moments whether you had used enough to get the desired effect or if you needed to smoke a little more. You can't do that if you eat it or take it in a pill form because it takes so long to work. And it's not fun for most people to be high for hours and hours and hours on end, especially if you've gotten higher then you like to be. That can be downright unpleasant and it's surely not fun to have to suffer that for many hours. It lasts plenty long when you smoke it, way too long when you eat it.

[debinok1]

At its 33rd meeting, the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Drug Dependence recommended transferring THC to Schedule IV of the Convention, citing its medical uses and low abuse potential. This would put THC in the Convention's least stringently-controlled Schedule.

Even WHO realizes the health benefits of Marijuana.

[Buddha10]

"People don't abuse it"-Dr.Kleber are you sure about that?

[davlar2]

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that using Marinol did everything that smoking marijuana did. Why would I pay pharmaceutical prices for something I can grow essentially for free?

[CannabisAmerica]

Actually kudos to CBS for realizing this is an important issue to Americans. They are covering it in a pretty non-biased way with a major special report section http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-504243_162-156.html

Thats more than fox would do, they work for the neocons.

Seriously, if you support further prohibition even at the cost of further militarizing our society, then you are a traitor. PROHIBITION FUNDS TERROR AND ORGANIZED CRIME CARTELS!

[PatKelly79]

Let's see ... a plant you can grow in your back yard or a pill you have to buy from a big pharma company? Yeah right, this has special interest groups written all over it. They don't understand that they can't scare us into believing their version of reality anymore - the truth is every where. Marijuana should be in the same category as dark chocolate - its great for your health as long as you don't indulge too much. Anxious? Smoke a J. Depressed? Smoke a J. Down about your daily grind? Smoke a J. Sore joints? Smoke a J. Yell at your kids too much? Smoke a J. Road rage? Smoke a J. Stomachache? Smoke a J. Headache? Smoke a J. Writers block? Smoke a J. No overdose, no hangover, no addiction, no empty calories, happier people, less anger, less despair, more altruism ... no wonder big pharma wants to keep this plant that at one time naturally grew over every square inch of the United States illegal. They'd be out of business.

[debinok1]

That's the problem though, Despressed smoke a J, takes money out of big pharmas pocket and in the process out of the politicians pockets and the FDA pockets. Same with Anxiety, sore joints, stomach ache, headache and all the other things Marijuana is used for, they ALL take money out of the pockets of big pharma, politicians and the FDA. And big pharma, politicians and the FDA have the money and the power to make sure this little plant stays illegal for their own benefit, not to mention hemp production and the industries it would hurt, who also have the money and the power to make sure it never becomes a threat to their profits. That is what this all boils down to PROFITS AND POWER, those who have it control those who don't. Not exactly what our founding fathers had in mind, now is it.