IACM-Bulletin of 30 March 2008

 

* USA: Acquittal of a medical cannabis user in Texas
* Canada: Medical doctors increased the dosage of cannabis for
medical purposes in recent years

1.

USA: Acquittal of a medical cannabis user in Texas

A man charged with illegal cannabis possession needed to use
the drug to treat symptoms of his HIV infection, a jury of a
Texas court has found. Jurors deliberated less than 15 minutes
on 25 March before reaching a not guilty verdict for Tim
Stevens, 53. His attorney used the defence that cannabis use
was a necessity to treat nausea and vomiting of his client. It is
believed that this is the first successful use of the necessity
defence in a Texas cannabis case. Texas does not belong to the
twelve states of the USA that have legalized the medical use of
cannabis.

Stevens, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, suffers from
nausea and cyclical vomiting syndrome, a condition so severe
that it has required hospitalization in the past. He was arrested in
October sitting on a front porch of a house smoking cannabis.
Among the witnesses for the defence was Dr. Steve Jenison,
medical director of the Infectious Diseases Bureau for New
Mexico's health department. He testified that Stevens needed to
use the cannabis to ease his symptoms.

The whole article is available at:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_8718541

(Source: Associated Press of 27 March 2008)

2.

Canada: Medical doctors increased the dosage of cannabis for
medical purposes in recent years

Canadian doctors have been increasing daily dosages of
cannabis for patients using cannabis for medical purposes in
recent years, Health Canada reports. The increase in prescribed
dosages is noted in a recent report on the views of physicians
regarding the use of cannabis. The study found physicians were
unclear about the health ministry's maximum dosage
recommendation. For most doctors, the report said, overdose
or dosage beyond an "optimal" limit was not a concern or even a
consideration.

The study found unanimous agreement and even "enthusiastic
support" among doctors for the health ministry to begin
supplying dried cannabis to pharmacists trained to dispense it to
patients. However, they suggested that the quality be improved
and the price be reduced while insuring that medical insurance
programs cover the cost. The reporting of the trend follows the
health ministry's campaign last summer to keep doses below five
grams.

The whole article is available at:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=327d4
6d2-9cc8-4fe2-a333-10a11f85169f

(Source: Ottawa Citizen of 18 March 2008)

3.

News in brief

***The Netherlands: Smoking ban
The upcoming smoking ban in Dutch bars and restaurants does
not apply to cigarettes made solely of cannabis. Health Minister
Ab Klink wrote this in a letter to the Parliament. (Source: NIS-
News Bulletin of 27 March 2008)

***Science: Effect of prohibition
In a review for the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry
research is presented that the legal status of cannabis has only
low effects of the amount of cannabis use. The author states that
"almost all previous reviews on this issue reach the same
conclusion: decriminalization of cannabis does not lead to a
substantial increase in cannabis consumption rates." (Source: van
den Brink W. Curr Opin Psychiatry 2008;21(2):122-6.)

***Science: Migraine
Italian researchers found out that the activity of proteins
responsible for the degradation and uptake of the
endocannabinoid anandamide into cells were decreased in the
platelets of patients suffering from migraine and medication
overuse headache. They concluded, that these changes "may
reflect an adaptative behaviour induced by chronic headache
and/or drug overuse." (Source: Cupini LM, et al. Neurobiol Dis.
2008 Feb 1 [Electronic publication ahead of print])

***Science: Epilepsy
There is increasing evidence that the perturbation of the
endocannabinoid system leads to development of epileptic
seizures, thus indicating that endocannabinoids play a  protective
role in suppressing pathologic neuronal excitability. New
research shows that the CB1 receptor was downregulated to
one third in the hippocampus of patients suffering from epilepsy
compared to healthy subjects. (Source: Ludányi A, et al, J
Neurosci 2008;28(12):2976-90.)

***Science: Mode of action
It was shown that several natural cannabinoids of the cannabis
plant, including cannabidiol (CBD) and dronabinol (THC), do
not only interact with cannabinoid receptors, but also with
several subtypes of so-called transient receptor potential
channels (TRP), the vanilloid type 1 TRP (TRPV1), the ankyrin-
type 1 TRP (TRPA1) and the melastatin-type 8 TRP (TRPM8).
The interaction with these ion channels may explain some of the
effects of cannabinoids. (Source: De Petrocellis L, et al. J
Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2008 Mar 19 [Electronic publication
ahead of print])

***Science: Withdrawal
US researchers conducted telephone survey to compare
withdrawal severity in 67 daily cannabis users and 54 daily
tobacco cigarette smokers who made quit attempts during the
prior 30 days. Severity of withdrawal symptoms were similar in
both groups, except craving for the drug and sweating, which
were slightly higher for tobacco. (Source: Budney AJ, et al. J
Subst Abuse Treat. 2008 Mar 12 [Electronic publication ahead
of print])

***Science: Driving
A French group analysed 10,000 accident reports involving over
17,000 drivers. The relative risk to be responsible for the
accident was 1.7 for the whole population, 2.3 for cannabis
alone (THC > 1 ng/mL), 9.4 for alcohol alone (blood alcohol
concentration > 0.5 per cent), and 14.1 for the alcohol-cannabis
combination. Researchers concluded: "Alcohol remains the
major risk at any age. Young drivers consuming alcohol and
cannabis represent a priority target for prevention." (Source:
Biecheler MB, et al. Traffic Inj Prev 2008;9(1):11-21.)

4.

ONE YEAR AGO:
- Science: THC relaxes the colon and may be useful in irritable
bowel syndrome
- USA: Medical cannabis bill defeated in New Hampshire
House of Representatives

TWO YEARS AGO:
- Science: Cannabis and THC reduce incontinence in multiple
sclerosis in large clinical trial
- USA: Raids at manufacturers of cannabis products in California

(More at the IACM-Bulletin archives: http://www.cannabis-
med.org/)

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