Wales Approves Cannabis-Based Medicine for MS Patients

Sativex, an oral spray for people with multiple sclerosis, has been approved by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG). According to the authorities, the chemical extracts of Savitex, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol are derived from the cannabis plant.

Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by MEDINDIA

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length

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Cannabis use by individuals with multiple sclerosis: effects on specific immune parameters

Cannabinoids affect immune responses in ways that may be beneficial for autoimmune diseases. We sought to determine whether chronic Cannabis use differentially modulates a select number of immune parameters in healthy controls and individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS cases).

Hospital sales of medical marijuana fraught with questions

Ramesh Patel, senior director of pharmacy services, has worked at Swedish Covenant Hospital for 36 years and would oversee the hospital's medical marijuana pharmacy. "We are already a secure pharmacy," he says, "so we feel that for a marijuana clinic this would be the perfect location." | Peter Holderness/Sun-Times Media

How Cuomo flip-flopped on a marijuana timeline

Governor Andrew Cuomo's recent request to expedite a new medical marijuana program is a direct reversal of the position he took as the state's marijuana law was being crafted.

Cannabis compound inhibits tumor growth

New research indicates the possibility of yet another medical boon from cannabis

Marijuana pills may ease some symptoms of multiple sclerosis

According to new guidelines by American Academy of Neurology there is little evidence that most complementary or alternative medicine therapies (CAM) treat the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Minnesota gears up to enter medical marijuana business

Middle school teacher Sarah Wellington is about to play a key role in guiding Minnesota policy on medical marijuana.

England-Wales divide looms over cannabis drug

Sativex, a cannabis-derived drug for treating muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis, could be available in Wales but blocked in England.

10 Health Benefits of Marijuana

Video: Medical marijuana grower says new program punishes patients

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Marijuana advertiser finds a friend in The New York Times

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Medicinal cannabis: delaying the inevitable?

Opponents of medicinal cannabis argue that there are already several cannabinoid medicines which are legally registered for multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and AIDS-related weight loss patients who need them. This is simply not true.

VIDEO: Jane West: Wife, mother and 'potrepreneur'

Meet Jane West, a married, 37-year-old mother of two living in an affluent Denver suburb. By day she drops her oldest son off at kindergarten; by night she attends the cannabis-friendly events she organizes.

In West's own words, she's "one part Martha Stewart and one part Walter White."

VIDEO: Why I changed my mind on weed! -By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

(CNN)...I am here to apologize. Over the last year, I have been working on a new documentary called "Weed." The title "Weed" may sound cavalier, but the content is not. I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients. I spoke candidly to them, asking tough questions. What I found was stunning.
Long before I began this project, I had steadily

Sativex spray is waiting for final FDA approval

THIS POT GROWING FACILITY PRODUCES 20 TONS OF POT EACH YEAR USED IN SATIVEX SPRAY WHICH IS USED TO TREAT MS SPASTICITY

This secret marijuana-growing facility that produces 200 tons of raw material and about 20 tons of actual pot each year. (The facility is reportedly guarded around the clock, and each plant is genetically fingerprinted to enable tracking, should anything be stolen.) From these plants, the key components of GW’s cannaboid products are carefully extracted and standardized. ”It’s not just street cannabis put into a bottle,” CEO Justin Gover told the Guardian in 2011. “To get regulatory approval, we had to meet very strict standards. We had to know every vial of Sativex is identical.”

10 Ways Pot Can Make You Healthier

Regulations enable cannabis medication

The outgoing Minister of State for Primary Care Alex White signed regulations to enable authorized cannabis-based medicinal products to be legally prescribed by medical practitioners and used by patients. The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) received a market authorization request from a manufacturer under the EU Mutual Recognition Procedure for a medicinal product containing cannabis extract.

Medicinal marijuana drug means end to buying drugs on the street

The signing off of the introduction of a medicinal marijuana product, Savitex, in Ireland has been welcomed by Tom Curran, partner of the late Marie Fleming.

Law allowing for legal cannabis-based medicine to be signed next week!

New laws allowing cannabis-based medicines to be prescribed in Ireland for the first time could be in place by tomorrow. The Junior Health Minister Alex White says the laws will be signed early next week if not before then.

The Republic of Ireland is legalizing the medical prescription of cannabis for people with MS

The Irish Mirror reports that Pat O’Mahony, CEO of Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) confirmed July 7 that the Department of Health is drafting legislation to allow medicinal cannabis to be made available for patients.

VIDEO: NY becomes 23rd state to allow medical marijuana

Some patients of Dr. Keith Edwards and staff at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Northeastern New York in Latham are happy that medical marijuana is now legal in New York State.

Whoopi Goldberg says vape pen "changed my life. No, I'm not exaggerating" by relieving headaches

In her new column for The Denver Post’s Cannabist website, the Oscar-winning entertainer writes that her “vape pen” relieves the devastating glaucoma headaches she suffers without overwhelming her with a marijuana high.

MSer takes her medication in candy form!

Beckie Nikkel does not consider herself a "sufferer" of multiple sclerosis because she has learned to deal with the disease by taking control of the medicine she takes.

Cannabis Classroom: Cannabis-Based Medicine for MSers

Marijuana lessens painful spasms of multiple sclerosis, studies find

Doctors allowed to prescribe medical cannabis for MSers to use

Medical marijuana fuels debate for MSers in Florida

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New York Becomes 23rd State to Legalize Medical Marijuana--Just Not the Kind You Can Smoke: Village Voice

Click here to read

Cannabis Classroom: Cannabis-Based Medicine for MSers

Click here to read

A man with multiple sclerosis who was sentenced to prison for growing 17 marijuana plants at his central New Jersey home is now a free man

Click here to read

Marijuana edibles for MSers smothered by red tape

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Here's Why New York Needs To Legalize Medical Marijuana Now

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Medical Marijuana: Reviewing the efficacy and safety of medical marijuana

Click here to read

"Doc prescribes pot over Skype as chill settles over medical community"

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"More Evidence Pot Treats Auto-Immune Diseases" like Multiple Sclerosis

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How will marijuana grower decide which children will get scarce cannabis oil?

The non-profit Realm of Caring Foundation in Colorado markets an oil, Alepsia, that it says will qualify under Utah’s upcoming cannabis law.

VIDEO: SATIVEX JUST APPROVED IN 22ND COUNTRY! Sativex Cannabinoid spray is for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis

If you think medical marijuana cards are crazy, prepare to go nuts:

GW Pharmaceuticals' cannabis-derived drug Sativex has been recommended for approval in France.

Is Medical Marijuana an Effective Option for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis?

Medical marijuana has come of age and doctors will need to be more accepting of the idea that patients with multiple sclerosis may soon be requesting a prescription
Click here to read more

Medical Marijuana for Neurologic Diseases

We found that certain forms of marijuana -- pills and oral spray, primarily -- were useful in treating some systems of multiple sclerosis, especially spasticity, pain, central pain and painful spasms, and overactive bladder. Medical marijuana was not found to help tremor in multiple sclerosis, nor did it reduce other bladder symptoms. There wasn't enough information to comment on whether smoked marijuana was useful. There were only 2 studies, and no conclusions could be reached from them.
Click here to read

'This is my medicine': MSer urges NY to pass Compassionate Care Act, legalize medical marijuana

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Can a doctor who prescribes medical marijuana be held liable if a patient is involved in an automobile accident? A Canadian physician recently posed that question!

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If New York State legalizes medical marijuana this spring, it will be the 22nd state MSers can have access to Medical Marijuana

Click here to read

Multiple Sclerosis and Spray Marijuana, an Important Update

Anyone who has multiple sclerosis and who has thought about using marijuana for symptom relief, especially for spasticity, should consider the results of three new reports on the oromucosal spray marijuana (Sativex®).

Marijuana lessens painful spasms of multiple sclerosis, studies find

Click here to read

STUDY: MSers who smoke cannabis are more cognitively impaired than nonusers

"Cannabis further compromises cerebral compensatory mechanisms, already faulty in MS. These imaging data boost the construct validity of the neuropsychological findings and act as a cautionary note to cannabis users and prescribers"

MSers kids taken to foster care because she smoked cannabis for her Multiple Sclerosis

Click here to read

Pot Eases Pain of Multiple Sclerosis, the Journal Neurology Concedes

JCNBC's Jim Cramer's: The Go-To Medical Marijuana Stock

"The main objective of this pharmacological research is to identify potential new therapeutic uses for phytocannabinoids, some of which can already be prescribed by doctors to reduce the spasticity and pain of multiple sclerosis"

"My research group is currently focusing on the greatly understudied pharmacology of some of the many unique and fascinating compounds called phytocannabinoids that are produced by cannabis. We are investigating the pharmacology both of synthetic cannabinoids and of endocannabinoids – these are chemicals produced naturally by our own tissues to reduce the severity or unwanted effects of MS"

‘The main objective of this pharmacological research is to identify potential new therapeutic uses for phytocannabinoids, some of which can already be prescribed by doctors to reduce cancer pain or the spasticity and pain of multiple sclerosis.
Click here to read more

A Drop at a Time: How Cannabis Oil is Changing Lives of Cancer Patients in the UK

Medical Marijuana: What the Research Shows

The detection of THC, CBD and CBN in the oral fluid of Sativex patients using two on-site screening tests and LC-MS/MS Inbox x

Launch Into Medical Marijuana, Nations Watch Cautiously

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Marijuana for MS. Now What?

April Barbosa, Columnist & Poet, MSnewsChannel.com

I've written 8 more Columns
for you! Click on my photo on
the far left side of this front
page to read them all.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA GAVE ME MY LIFE BACK!

When I was 19 I smoked marijuana for the first time. I remember cruising with my primo and some homies and they said they were going to get high. I was scared I had never tried it and didn’t know what it would do to me, but I didn’t want them to know this so I asked if I could try. When it was my turn to hit the joint I inhaled but not into my lungs just into my cheeks. One of my homeboys laughed at me and showed me the proper way to inhale. I started coughing and thought I was going to suffocate. But lo and behold I survived. We sat there in the car smoking it out. When the joint was gone I sat there waiting for something to happen. I was more talkative while everyone else was quiet.
Weed made me talkative and not only that, it relaxed my body. I had never felt better. The pain that I was already used to slowly went away. That day was one of the best days of my life I had no pain. I became a pot head. My family disapproved so I kept it hidden. For years I smoked the only thing I didn’t like was it sometimes gave me a headache.

Marijuana Pills Can Ease Some Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms

Click to read

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PILLS, ORAL SPRAY AND ORAL CANNABIS MAY REDUCE SYMPTOMS OF SPASTICITY, PAIN AND FREQUENT URINATION IN MSers

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PILLS, ORAL SPRAY AND ORAL CANNABIS MAY REDUCE SYMPTOMS OF SPASTICITY, PAIN AND FREQUENT URINATION IN MSers

This is according to new alternative treatment guidelines released by the American Academy of Neurology. The guidelines on complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, treatments for MS were published Monday in the journal Neurology and are among the first from a national medical organization to suggest that doctors might offer cannabis treatment to patients.

The guideline states the CAM therapies oral cannabis, or medical marijuana pills, and oral medical marijuana spray may ease patients' reported symptoms of spasticity, pain related to spasticity and frequent urination in multiple sclerosis (MS).

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DOES THIS NEW STUDY MEAN ANYTHING FOR MS PATIENTS?: "Medical Marijuana: Studies Find No Benefit for RA: Rheumatologists should not currently be recommending the use of medical marijuana to their patients for relief of chronic pain, researchers stated

Rheumatologists should not currently be recommending the use of medical marijuana to their patients for relief of chronic pain, researchers stated. Among the reasons for this advice are acute and chronic risks, a lack of evidence for efficacy, and the absence of data on appropriate dosing, according toMary-Ann Fitzcharles, MD, of McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues.

UPDATE: Jody Corey-Bloom, M.D., PH.D Professor of Neurosciences Director of the UC San Diego MS Center University of California, San Diego

"SMOKING MARIJUANA CUTS SPASTICITY & PAIN THAT'S RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS FOR MS PATIENTS"

Jody Corey-Bloom, M.D., PH.D
“We saw a beneficial effect of
smoked cannabis on treatment
resistant spasticity and pain
associated with multiple sclerosis
among our participants"

Spasticity scores on the modified Ashworth scale dropped by an average 2.74 points more with smoked cannabis than with a placebo, researchers at the University of California San Diego found, reports Crystal Phend at MedPage Today.

A difference or two or more points is considered clinically meaningful on the 30-point Ashworth scale which covers mobility of elbows, hips, and knees, report Jody Corey-Bloom, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at UCSD. The researchers reported their findings online in CMAJ.

Besides the positive effects on spasticity, pain scores decreased by about 50 percent as well, the researchers reported. “We saw a beneficial effect of smoked cannabis on treatment-resistant spasticity and pain associated with multiple sclerosis among our participants,” Corey-Bloom said.

The findings regarding smoked marijuana support anecdotal evidence from many MS patients who say smoking the herb relieves spasticity, the researchers noted. About 400,000 pepole in the United States have MS.


The body naturally produces cannabinoids, a group of chemicals also found in marijuana. Studies have suggested that the cannabinoid receptors on our cells help regulate muscle spasticity, reports Amy Norton of Reuters.

Massachusetts officials are nearing decisions on the licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. The Department of Public Health hopes to award as many as 35 licenses by the end of the month, choosing from among 100 groups that submitted final applications in November.

Massachusetts officials are nearing decisions on the licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. The Department of Public Health hopes to award as many as 35 licenses by the end of the month, choosing from among 100 groups that submitted final applications in November.

Efforts to legalize marijuana in New York have gained momentum since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a proposal earlier this month to make pot available on a limited basis to people who are seriously ill.

Efforts to legalize marijuana in New York have gained momentum since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a proposal earlier this month to make pot available on a limited basis to people who are seriously ill.

One pharmaceutical company could become the safest and most trusted of all cannabis dealers. Sativex is not available for use in the US market, it is available in 24 countries around the world, and GW is seeking to expand its use into the market.

One pharmaceutical company could become the safest and most trusted of all cannabis dealers.  Sativex is not available for use in the US market, it is available in 24 countries around the world, and GW is seeking to expand its use into the market.

Bill was introduced in the Legislature to legalize medical marijuana to ease the pain of cancer victims, the nausea of AIDS sufferers, the muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis patients, and the like.

Bill was introduced in the Legislature to legalize medical marijuana to ease the pain of cancer victims, the nausea of AIDS sufferers, the muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis patients, and the like.

April Barbosa, Columnist & Poet

MEDICAL MARIJUANA GAVE ME MY LIFE BACK!

I've written 8 Columns & Poems
for you. Click my photo on far left
side of this page to read them all!

I'm April Barbosa! I'm a Columnist on MSnewsChannel.com and I want to tell other MSers why medical marijuana gave me my life back! SO here's my Column for today:

When I was 19 I smoked marijuana for the first time. I remember cruising with my primo and some homies and they said they were going to get high. I was scared I had never tried it and didn’t know what it would do to me, but I didn’t want them to know this so I asked if I could try. When it was my turn to hit the joint I inhaled but not into my lungs just into my cheeks. One of my homeboys laughed at me and showed me the proper way to inhale. I started coughing and thought I was going to suffocate. But lo and behold I survived. We sat there in the car smoking it out. When the joint was gone I sat there waiting for something to happen. I was more talkative while everyone else was quiet.

Weed made me talkative and not only that, it relaxed my body. I had never felt better. The pain that I was already used to slowly went away. That day was one of the best days of my life I had no pain. I became a pot head. My family disapproved so I kept it hidden. For years I smoked the only thing I didn’t like was it sometimes gave me a headache.

When I turned 20 I became pregnant with my 3rd child and decided it was time to “grow up” and quit smoking. I had a well-paying job and my husband and I had just bought our first house. Even though life was going good I was constantly in pain. I kept going to my doctor over and over only to be told it may be psychosomatic systems caused by stress. Then I was finally diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after years of testing. The doctors started me out on so many medications I can’t even remember half of the names but I do know most of them were for opiates for pain.
I had to go on medical leave and eventually quit my job because the opiates left me out of it and not taking them left me in constant pain.

Washington state could be facing a curious economics problem: too many pot growers!

Washington state could be facing a curious economics problem: too many pot growers! 

 READ MORE

Latest on Spasticity: the untreated symptom of Multiple Sclerosis

Latest on Spasticity: the untreated symptom of Multiple Sclerosis
Sativex® is an oral spray that relieved spasticity within four weeks of starting treatment in up to 50 percent of individuals who were resistant to other oral antispasticity drugs.
READ MORE

D.C. on fast track to decriminalizing pot possession

It's a big change from a year ago, when there was no medical marijuana in the capital and elected officials weren't talking about relaxing recreational pot laws. Now, there are three tightly regulated marijuana dispensaries in the city, although there aren't many patients yet. Read More

 

April Barbosa, Columnist & Poet, MSnewsChannel.com

MY COLUMN TODAY IS ABOUT HOW I WOKE UP WITH ONE OF THE WORST PAINS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CAN BRING: TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA! AND HOW I DECIDED TO APPLY FOR A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD!


The process was difficult for me at first because I lived in a very very small town where all the doctors had agreed that they would not allow their patients to use marijuana medically. I felt so depressed. The doctor I asked to help me get certified instead offered to prescribe zanax and Oxycoton. I was disgusted by the fact that he felt it was ok to put me on addictive medications instead of this wonderful gift created by God.

I began researching ways I could get certified without including my family doctor. I found a new doctor at www.azmmjcc.com this wonderful clinic helped me by getting all my records from all the doctors I had been to. They then evaluated me themselves and determined I met the qualifications and approved my card.

It cost $150 for all the fees but it was very worth it. The first time I smoked medical marijuana I expected it to be exactly like the “black market” (lol) variety, but it wasn’t it was 20 times better! It took one hit to get me high. Just that one toke made my muscles relax and all the pain leave my body. I had bought Super Silver Haze a strain specifically for MS. It gave me energy and made me be able to think clearly. After that first high I knew I wanted to be an advocate for medical marijuana. I no longer was tired, groggy with medicine head all the time, now I was alert, energetic and pain free. That is why I say Medical marijuana gave me my life back.

Another positive thing about medical marijuana is it has a clean taste and doesn’t make me cough. The buds are bigger than regular buds and rarely have seeds. The leaves are sticky and flaky and very potent. I never get a headache with medical marijuana. The downside of medical marijuana is it is expensive what I get for $20 at a dispensary I could get for $10 on the street (Reggie aka black-market  weed) but I guess if I really think about it, it’s not bad because it is way better than the strains on the street. I love my medical marijuana. © 2013 April M. Barbosa

EXPERTS DEBATE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

EXPERTS DEBATE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Mike Graham with medications he used to take
for degenerative disc disease. Graham began using medical marijuana about five years ago, which allowed him to stop using most of the pharmaceuticals for pain relief. Research has yet to nail down if, and how, the drug works on specific diseases. Even though 20 states have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana, swayed in part by thousands of personal testimonies, current research hasn’t nailed down exactly if, and how, marijuana alleviates all the specific diseases the drug is being legalized to treat, experts say.

Cannabidiol Could Help Treat Multiple Sclerosis

Cannabidiol Could Help Treat Multiple Sclerosis

The Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology has published a study showing that marijuana contains chemical compounds that could help treat Multiple Sclerosis-like diseases by preventing inflammation in the spinal cord and brain.

For this particular study the researcher's, Drs. Ewa Kozela, Ana Juknat, Neta Rimmerman and Zvi Vogel of Tel Aviv University's, and Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson from the Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, took immune cells isolated from paralyzed mice that specifically target and harm the brain and spinal cord, and treated them with either CBD or THC.

In both instances, the laboratory mice's immune cells created fewer inflammatory molecules, principally one

Marijuana Compound Shows Promise In The Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis

A new study, led by Tel Aviv University‘s Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, reveals some of the chemical compounds found in marijuana can help treat MS-like diseases in mice. The research team, which included scientists from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, said the compounds prevent inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. Their results were published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology.

“Inflammation is part of the body’s natural immune response, but in cases like MS it gets out of hand,” says Dr. Ewa Kozela. “Our study looks at how compounds isolated from marijuana can be used to regulate inflammation to protect the nervous system and its functions.”

There is a strong tradition of marijuana research in Israel. For example, in 1964 Israeli scientists Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni discovered THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. This kick-started the global scientific study of the plant and its chemical components. So far, around 70 compounds – called cannabinoids – have been identified that are unique to cannabis and have interesting biological effects. Professor Vogel, in the 1990s, was among the first to describe THC-acting molecules, called endocannabinoids, in the human body.

The second most plentiful and potent cannabinoid in marijuana, after THC, is cannabidiol, or CBD. CBD is of particular interest to the TAU researchers because it offers medicinal benefits without the controversial mind-altering effects of THC.

Researchers find chemicals in marijuana could help treat MS

"Inflammation is part of the body's natural immune response, but in cases like MS it gets out of hand," says Kozela. "Our study looks at how compounds isolated from marijuana can be used to regulate inflammation to protect the nervous system and its functions." Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science co-authored the study.

Mind-altering findings:

Puff Puff Pass

(April Barbosa, Poet & Columnist, MS News Channel)

I hate this body! This fucked up painful body
This tomb that imprisons me
The pain, too much pain
It overwhelms the senses and I crave a pain free moment I’ll never find
Meds meds meds fuck that give me the bong I wanna get high
Wanna lose this pain in a cloud of smoke I watch flow from my lungs into the clear blue sky
Pass me the joint let me hit that shit puff puff pass foo

GW Pharmaceuticals Sativex Cannabis is Psychoactive Free

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

Even if you were to track down the location and break into the computer-controlled greenhouse, the cannabis plants you would find at GW Pharmaceuticals' top-secret farm would be unlikely to give you the high you were hoping for.

Study: Sativex effective on spasticity in people with multiple scleros

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

GW Pharmaceuticals cannabis-based drug Sativex approved

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

A ground-breaking cannabis-based drug for treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis has been approved in Britain, in a landmark decision for its creator GW Pharmaceuticals.

Cannabis-based Sativex Multiple Sclerosis treatment set for UK approval

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

Sativex, a ground-breaking cannabis-based drug for treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), could be approved in the UK by the end of June, its creator said on Thursday.

Court orders bail for man jailed over medical marijuana

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

MS Patient must remain in prison for growing pot, while appeal is pending

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

D.C. sets monthly medical pot limit

The District would allow people to have up to 2 ounces of marijuana a month — enough for about a joint a day — for certain medical uses under a bill that moved closer to passage Tuesday.
The bill would not let patients grow their own marijuana, but a committee would study whether to allow home cultivation in the city and make a recommendation by 2012. The bill was approved by two city government committees. It still needs approval of the full D.C. Council to become law and could be approved as early as May.

N.J. lawmakers urge Gov. Christie to pardon ill Somerset man convicted of growing marijuana

(Posted By: Josi Creek)

This is a follow up to a story posted earlier this month.
Two state lawmakers called on Gov. Chris Christie today to pardon a Somerset County man sentenced to five years in prison for growing marijuana to treat his multiple sclerosis and commute his sentence to probation.
Senators Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) and Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) described the prison term facing John Ray Wilson as "cruel, unusual and unnecessary" in a letter written to the governor today. Wilson, 37, of Franklin Township, was sentenced to five years in prison last week after he was found guilty of second-degree manufacturing and third-degree drug possession by a jury in December.
To read the entire story, click here.

Medical Marijuana: Efficacy, Safety, and Potential for Misuse

( Posted by- Desinie Smith )

Question
How does the long-term side effect/adverse event profile and potential for misuse of marijuana compare with those of more common pain medications (ie, opioids)?

Ailing await medicinal marijuana

( Posted by- Desinie Smith )

Donna Doak anxiously awaits the day when she can get a prescription for marijuana.
The Swedesboro nurse, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and spinal stenosis and is wheelchair-bound, said marijuana can ease her pain without the nasty side effects of her current medications.
"Now that it's been legalized, I want to pursue it," said Doak, who was among the roughly dozen people who attended a town hall meeting at the Collingswood Library sponsored by the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. "I just think it's going to really enable me to have a better quality of life."

Bout with multiple sclerosis leads Sean Becker to fight for medical pot

( Posted by Desinie Smith)

Sean Becker was a happy single father until his life turned upside down in January 2006.That's when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease that can eventually disable people. Two weeks earlier, Becker was snowboarding on the top of Kirkwood ski resort, having the time of his life.
But later that month, he lost his balance and vomited frequently, and he spent three weeks in the hospital.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Medical Marijuana Studies Critique

( Posted by Desinie Smith)

Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.com
CONFIRMED SAFE & EFFECTIVE: SURPRISE!
Salem-News.com
(MOLALLA, Ore.) - I had heard rumors about studies conducted in the past ten years that the California Legislature had spent several million dollars on, to confirm that marijuana/cannabis was really a safe, effective drug --but it smelled fishy to me.
As it has been used for at least 4,000 years by at least 400 million people who weren’t stoned “staring at the spots on the wall” but getting good relief, one would wonder if those studies were real.

Read the rest of the article here on salem-news.com.

Medical marijuana debate heats up at the Capitol-NY

(Posted by Desinie Smith)

Albany,NY

A push to allow for medical marijuana has passed a State Senate committee in hopes that the issue will come to the floor for a full Senate vote this session.

But there are serious concerns among law enforcement that the need for weed could spark new public safety problems.

Michael Kessler of Elmira broke his back in 6 places , then burned 90% of his body.

Timothy Cerrone of Amsterdam has multiple sclerosis, and needs injections to be able to see.

Read the rest of the article here on wten.com.

Medical Marijuana Benefits MS, Spinal Cord Patients: Report

[Posted by Shirley Richardson]

Marijuana helps ease muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological illnesses or spinal cord injuries, says a report released Wednesday by the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego. ...read report in EmpowHER

Medical Marijuana: Putting Together California’s Research

(Posted by Desinie Smith)

After California became the first state to allow medical use of marijuana, legislators decided in 1999 to fund research that was supposed to figure out what the drug was good for therapeutically. Now we have an answer: a report issued today says it seems to ease some types of pain, and maybe muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis.
Read the rest of the article here on blogs.wsj.com.

Cannabis Classroom: Cannabis-Based Medicine for MSers

Click here to read

Here's Why New York Needs To Legalize Medical Marijuana Now

Click here to read

Medical Marijuana: Reviewing the efficacy and safety of medical marijuana

Click here to read

"More Evidence Pot Treats Auto-Immune Diseases" like Multiple Sclerosis

Click here to read

Ms and pot channel. Head: Hemp Oil: The Science Behind The Healing | Deep Dot Web

Click here to read

Medical Marijuana for Neurologic Diseases

We found that certain forms of marijuana -- pills and oral spray, primarily -- were useful in treating some systems of multiple sclerosis, especially spasticity, pain, central pain and painful spasms, and overactive bladder. Medical marijuana was not found to help tremor in multiple sclerosis, nor did it reduce other bladder symptoms. There wasn't enough information to comment on whether smoked marijuana was useful. There were only 2 studies, and no conclusions could be reached from them.
Click here to read

Can a doctor who prescribes medical marijuana be held liable if a patient is involved in an automobile accident? A Canadian physician recently posed that question!

Click here to read

Pot Eases Pain of Multiple Sclerosis, the Journal Neurology Concedes