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Marinol is not identical to medical marijuana. It’s a synthetic form of THC, the most psychoactive of 60 or so cannabinoids found in whole cannabis. For example, the cannabinoid CBD, or cannabidiol, is known for its beneficial effects in treating multiple sclerosis, and it is also a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Currently, the only way for United States MS patients to access CBD is by medicating with whole cannabis. CBD is not present in Marinol, but it is present along with THC in Sativex, a cannabis spray developed in Britain and available in Canada and the European Union to treat multiple sclerosis.
Health care professionals who want to learn about the latest developments in the science of medical cannabis and earn continuing education units should mark their calendars for April 4-5, 2008, and plan to attend the fifth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, Calif.
The conference is presented by the group Patients Out of Time, whose Web site proclaims, “This cutting-edge conference will bring replicated science-based research to clinicians, patients, legislators, the press and the public.”
Geoffrey Guy, founder of GW Pharmaceuticals, which developed Sativex, is a past attendee and presenter, along with many of the leading experts in this field. Video of presentations from prior conferences is available online via the group’s Web site at www.medicalcannabis.com.
While time may have run out for this session’s medical marijuana bill, it will be back next session. For some Minnesota patients, that will be too late. In the meantime, those attempting to influence public opinion, like Gierhan, a pharmacist, ought to make every effort to get all the facts before making it easier for cowardly legislators to stand in the way of their fellow citizens’ quality of life while facing serious illness.
Storck is the co-founder of Is My Medicine Legal YET? He is also a member of Patients Out of Time.
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