The Straight Dope: Time to recognize real benefits of medical marijuana

The recent proposal for a medical marijuana outlet in Scotts Valley raises many questions, most of which I leave to those who know best about law enforcement, zoning, liability and other legal considerations. But underlying all of this is the question of the application of marijuana (Cannabis sativa) to the treatment of medical problems.
The timing is propitious in this case, as the Center for Medical Cannabis Research at the University of California — established in 2000 as a result of Senate Bill 847, the Medical Marijuana Research Act — submitted its most recent report to the governor and the Legislature earlier this month.
The center has conducted 15 randomized clinical studies, and its conclusions in five of those studies are quite clear: Smoked cannabis has clear and positive benefits in the treatment of pain secondary to injury (e.g., spinal cord injury), disease (e.g., HIV disease) or injury to the nervous system due to infections, stroke or other causes, as well as to the treatment of muscle spasticity resulting from multiple sclerosis.
In those controlled studies, patients who previously did not receive sufficient relief from pain by taking prescription analgesic medication did obtain pain relief from cannabis. To assure validity, the control groups in the studies received cannabis cigarettes with the active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, removed. So, while they looked and smelled like marijuana cigarettes, they were in fact placebos.
Studies of people with cancers were discontinued because of procedural problems, but it has been reported elsewhere that relief from the nausea associated with chemotherapy is commonly attained by the use of cannabis.
There are side-effects from the use of smoked cannabis, of course, and in the center’s studies, those included respiratory problems, dizziness, sedation and changes in cognition. But those can be measured against the side effects of opioid pain medication (e.g., Vicodin or OxyContin), which can include some of those from smoked cannabis, as well as others.
The use of vaporizers to ingest cannabis is one solution to avoid some side effects of smoking, most notably respiratory problems. The CMCR has undertaken studies comparing the effects of vaporized to smoked cannabis and found that, while the levels of THC were initially higher in those using vaporized cannabis, over a several-hour period levels were similar to that from smoked cannabis. Importantly, carbon monoxide levels were much lower in those who used vaporized cannabis.
Unfortunately, all of the scientific research one can muster is often not sufficient to counter the social and moral arguments leveled against the use of “medical marijuana.” We can trace this back to the modern stigmatization of marijuana following the end of alcohol’s prohibition in 1933.
A huge federal bureaucracy was left with little to do at that point, and its leader, Harry Anslinger, set about to demonize and criminalize marijuana, leading to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The use of marijuana was associated with “undesirables” and deviants, such as musicians, artists, “Negroes” and common criminals.
Notwithstanding the widespread use of marijuana today — about 18 million Americans report having used marijuana at least once in the past month — American society is far from accepting of this drug.
But whether Scotts Valley is ready for medical marijuana remains to be seen.
• William Brigham, M.S.W., M.A., of Scotts Valley is administrator of the National Football League Program for Substances of Abuse and father of five daughters. Contact him at

wc****@gm***.com











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