Pot is not a "medicine"

"Jumby" wrote in message
...
Can Marijuana Make You Well?
By George Nava True II

At one time, it was hip to smoke pot. Before marijuana became an illegal
drug, it was popular among European writers and intellectuals. Those who
used this drug include the likes of French writer Victor Hugo, German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, American actor Errol Flynn, and former US
President John F. Kennedy.
Today, marijuana is making a comeback - not as a recreational drug but as
a
medicine. Many glaucoma and AIDS patients are turning to this cheap weed
upon the recommendation of some doctors. Cancer patients are likewise told
that marijuana can lessen the side effects of chemotherapy.

Ancient Remedy
All this is not new. The ancient Egyptians recommended marijuana for sore
eyes while various cultures used it to treat coughs, headaches, and
menstrual cramps. Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was convinced the plant could
cure beriberi, malaria, rheumatism, and constipation.
In ancient India, marijuana was the standard treatment for fever and
dysentery while African women smoked it to relieve the pain of childbirth.
Other conditions believed to be cured by marijuana were anxiety, asthma,
depression, epilepsy, and loss of appetite. Small wonder it has become the
most popular illegal drug in the United States and the second most
commonly
abused drug in the Philippines.

Fact or Folklore?
However, health authorities, particularly the American Medical
Association,
insist that the old uses of marijuana are part of medical folklore not
fact.
Can the same be said about marijuana's role in glaucoma and cancer?
That notion was proposed by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Lester Grinspoon and
James Bakalar in their book Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine. The two
claim
marijuana could ease nausea and vomiting associated with cancer
chemotherapy, improve the appetite of AIDS patients, and help those with
glaucoma. While editors of The New England Journal of Medicine and The
Annals of Medicine dismissed Grinspoon's book for containing mostly
anectodal evidence, it became a ray of hope to many desperate patients.

No Reason to Work
Scientists say there is no compelling reason to prescribe marijuana for
any
condition. While marijuana can lower eye pressure due to glaucoma, it also
lowers blood pressure. This, in turn, lowers the blood supply to the optic
nerve and may cancel the beneficial effects of lowering eye pressure.
Because of this, it is not recommended by the US National Eye Institute.
"Today, there's not enough scientific evidence that marijuana could be
safe
and effective for anybody to do a controlled trial on marijuana and
glaucoma," according to Dr. Richard Brubaker, an ophthalmologist at the
Mayo
Clinic in Minnesota. "The preliminary evidence is just not strong enough."

Pot and Cancer
Smoked marijuana appears to be effective against nausea and vomiting due
to
chemotherapy. This is due to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the
plant's
main ingredients. But doctors are wary about giving the drug freely since
marijuana contains over 400 carcinogens or cancer-causing substances and
has
been implicated in cancers of the lungs, mouth, lips, and tongue. Besides,
advances in chemotherapy have paved the way for the development of
effective
anti-nausea medications without marijuana's side effects and high
potential
for abuse.
"Marijuana is not a pure substance but is an unstable, varying complex
mixture of over 400 chemicals, many of which are harmful substances which
have not been well-studied either alone or in combination with each other.
New harmful chemical components of marijuana are still being discovered.
When smoked, marijuana produces over 2,000 chemicals, including hydrogen
cyanide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, acetone, phenol, cresol,
naphtalene, and well-known carcinogens such as benz(a)pyrene,
benz(a)anthracene, benzene and nitrosamine. Many of these cancer-causing
substances are present in higher concentrations in marijuana smoke than in
tobacco smoke," revealed Dr. Janet D. Lapey of the Concerned Citizens for
Drug Prevention, Inc.

Risks of Smoking Pot
Aside from addiction, marijuana can wreak havoc on your immune system,
cause
respiratory diseases, and mental disorders such as depression,
hallucinations, and panic attacks. Pregnant women who smoke marijuana have
an increased risk of delivering babies with low birth weight and leukemia.
With these in mind, don't expect to get a prescription for marijuana from
your doctor in the near future. Until the medical benefits of marijuana
are
proven, smoking pot is defintely out.
"Although marijuana continues to be available for research, over 12,000
scientific studies on marijuana have been published, and the drug has
never
been shown to be safe or effective for the treatment of any condition. In
June 1991, the US Public Health Service ordered a study of this issue by
scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The report, issued in
March
1992, concluded that scientific studies have never shown marijuana to be
safe or effective as medicine and that there are better, safer drugs
available for all conditions considered," Lapey concluded.

Bush smokes Pot

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ijuana&spell=1



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Maintens, RN wrote:
"Jumby" wrote in message
...

Can Marijuana Make You Well?
By George Nava True II

At one time, it was hip to smoke pot. Before marijuana became an illegal
drug, it was popular among European writers and intellectuals. Those who
used this drug include the likes of French writer Victor Hugo, German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, American actor Errol Flynn, and former US
President John F. Kennedy.
Today, marijuana is making a comeback - not as a recreational drug but as

a

medicine. Many glaucoma and AIDS patients are turning to this cheap weed
upon the recommendation of some doctors. Cancer patients are likewise told
that marijuana can lessen the side effects of chemotherapy.

Ancient Remedy
All this is not new. The ancient Egyptians recommended marijuana for sore
eyes while various cultures used it to treat coughs, headaches, and
menstrual cramps. Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was convinced the plant could
cure beriberi, malaria, rheumatism, and constipation.
In ancient India, marijuana was the standard treatment for fever and
dysentery while African women smoked it to relieve the pain of childbirth.
Other conditions believed to be cured by marijuana were anxiety, asthma,
depression, epilepsy, and loss of appetite. Small wonder it has become the
most popular illegal drug in the United States and the second most

commonly

abused drug in the Philippines.

Fact or Folklore?
However, health authorities, particularly the American Medical

Association,

insist that the old uses of marijuana are part of medical folklore not

fact.

Can the same be said about marijuana's role in glaucoma and cancer?
That notion was proposed by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Lester Grinspoon and
James Bakalar in their book Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine. The two

claim

marijuana could ease nausea and vomiting associated with cancer
chemotherapy, improve the appetite of AIDS patients, and help those with
glaucoma. While editors of The New England Journal of Medicine and The
Annals of Medicine dismissed Grinspoon's book for containing mostly
anectodal evidence, it became a ray of hope to many desperate patients.

No Reason to Work
Scientists say there is no compelling reason to prescribe marijuana for

any

condition. While marijuana can lower eye pressure due to glaucoma, it also
lowers blood pressure. This, in turn, lowers the blood supply to the optic
nerve and may cancel the beneficial effects of lowering eye pressure.
Because of this, it is not recommended by the US National Eye Institute.
"Today, there's not enough scientific evidence that marijuana could be

safe

and effective for anybody to do a controlled trial on marijuana and
glaucoma," according to Dr. Richard Brubaker, an ophthalmologist at the

Mayo

Clinic in Minnesota. "The preliminary evidence is just not strong enough."

Pot and Cancer
Smoked marijuana appears to be effective against nausea and vomiting due

to

chemotherapy. This is due to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the

plant's

main ingredients. But doctors are wary about giving the drug freely since
marijuana contains over 400 carcinogens or cancer-causing substances and

has

been implicated in cancers of the lungs, mouth, lips, and tongue. Besides,
advances in chemotherapy have paved the way for the development of

effective

anti-nausea medications without marijuana's side effects and high

potential

for abuse.
"Marijuana is not a pure substance but is an unstable, varying complex
mixture of over 400 chemicals, many of which are harmful substances which
have not been well-studied either alone or in combination with each other.
New harmful chemical components of marijuana are still being discovered.
When smoked, marijuana produces over 2,000 chemicals, including hydrogen
cyanide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, acetone, phenol, cresol,
naphtalene, and well-known carcinogens such as benz(a)pyrene,
benz(a)anthracene, benzene and nitrosamine. Many of these cancer-causing
substances are present in higher concentrations in marijuana smoke than in
tobacco smoke," revealed Dr. Janet D. Lapey of the Concerned Citizens for
Drug Prevention, Inc.

Risks of Smoking Pot
Aside from addiction, marijuana can wreak havoc on your immune system,

cause

respiratory diseases, and mental disorders such as depression,
hallucinations, and panic attacks. Pregnant women who smoke marijuana have
an increased risk of delivering babies with low birth weight and leukemia.
With these in mind, don't expect to get a prescription for marijuana from
your doctor in the near future. Until the medical benefits of marijuana

are

proven, smoking pot is defintely out.
"Although marijuana continues to be available for research, over 12,000
scientific studies on marijuana have been published, and the drug has

never

been shown to be safe or effective for the treatment of any condition. In
June 1991, the US Public Health Service ordered a study of this issue by
scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The report, issued in

March

1992, concluded that scientific studies have never shown marijuana to be
safe or effective as medicine and that there are better, safer drugs
available for all conditions considered," Lapey concluded.

What tree are you living in. I smoked plenty of pot in the 70's but I
also refined mine into hash oil and then isomerized ir. For the final
touch I did a chis-trans molecular switch which doubled to potency by
about another 50%. The absolute final step was to add absorption
molecule like an acetate or some other form of manipulation to enhance
absorption into the blood stream and make the THC look more like a food.

I was going to get a liquid phase chromaticagraphic column and separate
the good molecules (thc) from the junk ones like chlorophyll and
evaluate the potencies and drawbacks of each technique.

Once a chemist at heart.
BillBaka