Message #162 (171 is last):
Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2001 17:32:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: lvnorml@yahoo.com (Las Vegas NORML)
Subject: Puff The Magic Dragon Get's His Day In The Media
To: lvnorml@yahoo.com


 Puff The Magic Dragon Get's His Day In The Media
By Dr. Dean Edell 
July 06, 2001

Weve got to consider this story not just because the 
research itself is interesting, but also because the way 
the media is reporting it is even more interesting. 
The media coverage is interesting in terms of the spin. 

This has to do with a review that was conducted 
in England over the use of cannabinoids in medicine 
- these are chemicals derived from marijuana. Researchers looked 
at just the active ingredient in marijuana and its effect 
on health. This was simply a review; they 
didn't do any original research. 

But listen to this headline from Reuters: Scientists Stub
-Out Cannabis As A Woder Drug. And 
Ive seen that exact same headline in seven different places
. First of all, a pathetic comment on the 
state of news in America. A lot of you 
may know this already, but when you pick up 
a newspaper, watch television or listen to the radio 
in any part of the United States of America, 
and you hear a story, that story is often 
simply coming from one source that spreads across the country 
via wire services 

Heres another headline from BBC News: Cannabis Not Medical 
Panacea. I do not remember anyone saying it 
was a medical panacea. But then I read the 
actual article and I can't imagine a more 
glowing and positive report on the benefits of marijuana. 

For instance, the first sentence in the Reuters version 
states, Cannabis is no better than codeine at controlling 
pain. Now codeine happens to be one of 
the most powerful opiate narcotic pain controllers we have, 
and in this story the author is trying to condemn 
cannabis, marijuana, as being no better than codeine
. Isnt that ridiculous? Thats like saying a Chevrolet 
is no better than a Ferrari at going around the 
corners at acceleration. 

Here is the meat of the study: Cannabis has 
some medical benefits but may not be the panacea that 
advocates claim. Researchers looked at three different trials of 
cannabinoids to see how they work. They found that 
cannabinoids were better than conventional drugs in treating sickness caused 
by chemotherapy, but no more effective than codeine for 
controlling pain relief. 

According to the BBC story, Dr. Fiona Campbell 
of the Nottingham Pain Management Institute, and part of 
the research team, said she believes "key areas 
for future research may be chronic pain such as that 
caused by multiple sclerosis spasms for which there are currently 
no effective treatments. 

It goes onthese findings 
lead researchers to suggest that cannabis could be useful as 
mood-enhancing drugs for controlling sickness caused by chemotherapy
. The side effects are euphoria (give me that 
side effect anytime) and drowsiness. I dont know 
if there have been any trials on this, but 
a lot of little old ladies out there take a 
little puff before they go to bed. Because its 
non-addicting, there doesnt seem to be cumulative 
effects, and it seems to be effective in some 
people for sleep. 

As always, there is a mix of things in 
a raw herb, and we dont really know exactly 
what the active ingredients are. I look forward to 
the day when science can extract out active ingredients and 
make them in predetermined doses. That would make this 
a lot easier to use 

It would be fun to see how newspapers report 
this as extremely positive vindication for those of you fighting 
for the use of marijuana and its extracts in medicine
. An yet, we still get headlines like this
: Scientists Stub-out Cannabis as Wonder Drug
. No one said it was a wonder drug
. Its just amazing. When we go on a 
witchhunt and we want to spin the news, boy
, its an easy thing to do. 

Source: Reuters News, July 6, 2001 


BBC News, July 6, 2001 




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