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August 14, 2007

The politicization of medical marijuana was on full display at the House of  Representatives on July 25, 2007.  One hundred fifty Democrats and only 15 Republicans voted against continue federal prosecution of state-authorized medical marijuana patients. Although Mazie K. Hirono, representing Maui and the rest  of Hawaii’s Second District, voted yes to the Hinchey Bill, the measure failed 165 to 262.

The following day, a report was published in many newspapers across the nation, including The Maui News,  headlined, “Marijuana may increase psychosis risk.” The article allegedly “refuels the debate on pot’s dangers.”  The report, from the British medical journal The Lancet, came out one week after the recently-retired surgeon general testified before Congress saying that the federal government “ignores science and  marginalizes the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds.”

In the article, the last paragraph is very important: “Several authors (of the study) reported being paid to attend drug company-sponsored meetings related to marijuana, and one received consulting fees from companies that make anti-psychotic medications.” I also read that “the researchers couldn’t prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis.” The researchers could not prove their hypothesis that marijuana use itself leads to an increased chance of developing a psychotic disorder later in life. Because this hypothesis could not be proven, there is no conclusive evidence stating that marijuana use increases the risk of psychosis.

The only definitive statements in this article are that several authors have been paid by pharmaceutical companies and that the authors could not prove that marijuana use increases the risk of psychosis. Everything else is that marijuana use may lead to a 40 percent increase in the rate of psychosis..., or marijuana use could do..., or marijuana use might....

What the federal government must ultimately acknowledge is that marijuana use is not confined to simply smoking. Marijuana can be vaporized, consumed in edible forms and sublingually as a tincture, such as Sativex  prescribed in Great Britain. All of these delivery forms serve different purposes than the smoked form. The leaves of the plant, devoid of the psycho- active ingredient THC, are high in cannabidiol (CBD). Extracting CBDs via butter or cooking oil and eating standard doses works as a natural pain reliever and sleep-aid. Actually, quite contrary to the recent report funded by the British government, CBDs have been used to treat schizophrenia in Brazil, as described in a study published in 2006 by the British Association of Psycho-pharmacology. In terms of actual scientific research studying marijuana deliveries other than smoked marijuana, these are some reports published this past year:
1. Harvard University’s Division of Experimental Medicine reported “Marijuana’s active ingredient halts lung cancer growth.”
2. The Washington Post reported: “AIDS Patients in Controlled Study Study Had Significant Pain Relief”
3. The British Journal of Cancer: “THC administration decreases brain tumor growth.”

Over the years, the federal government has given various reasons why marijuana should be illegal. In 1937, we were told that it would make you lose all self-control, steal and kill. Today, marijuana has been found to be useful in treating alcoholism and drug addiction, according to the British Pharmaceutical company GW Pharmaceutical’s Cannabinoid Research Institute.   Then in the 1960s, we were told it would give you lung cancer. Last year we were told, by the DEA’s most notable anti-pot researcher Dr. Tashkin, that there is absolutely no correlation between marijuana use and cancer. This year, Harvard University researchers found marijuana to actually halt tumor growth.

Now, in 2007, we are told that marijuana might cause us to go insane. Meanwhile, Brazilian doctors have had success using the leaves of the marijuana plant to treat mental illnesses. It seems like this plant can be used in the treatment of the very same symptoms our government accuses it of causing.

Rather than acknowledging studies with definitively positive results, the DEA and FDA continue to claim that there is absolutely no medical value to marijuana.  This way, marijuana continues to be considered a Schedule I illegal drug outside of the realm of government control.   The DEA has failed to update their website with current information and research even though the Data Quality Act passed by Congress in 2002 requires them to do so.
Perhaps this article will fuel an honest debate; a debate based on truth and science,  Such an honest discussion about marijuana may lead to the repeal of prohibition and the tight system of control and regulation both medically and recreationally.

Brian Igersheim is a Maui County Deputy Voter Registrar as part of Maui County Citizens For Democracy in Action’s 2008 Voter Registration Drive.  For more information regarding how the Maui County initiative process can be used to raise awareness and create legislation concerning controversial issues, visit www.mccfdia.com or Baldwin Beach on August 19 from high noon to sundown for A Peaceful Solution Concert.  Let’s Vote Back America.

Brian Igersheim