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April 29th, 2014
10:00 AM ET
Treating brain diseases with marijuanaMultiple sclerosis sufferers may benefit from taking medical marijuana, according to a new study in the journal Neurology. MS patients who used marijuana either as a pill or as an oral spray found relief from a number of symptoms, according to the study. The findings were released Monday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). "Medical marijuana can be considered to relieve particular symptoms of MS, including spasticity, pain related to spasms, or central pain from MS lesions," says Dr. Barbara Koppel, main author of the research analysis. Koppel, a neurologist at New York Medical College in New York, says medical marijuana did not help MS patients who had tremors, nor did it relieve abnormal involuntary movements in late-stage Parkinson's disease. Researchers also didn't find enough evidence to recommend the treatment for other conditions they looked at, including epilepsy, she says. Researchers looked at whether use of medical marijuana was safe and effective for other neurological diseases like motor symptoms in Huntington's disease, tics in Tourette's syndrome and cervical dystonia or abnormal neck movements. They decided there was not enough information to make a determination. "Expected side effects such as fatigue, dizziness and nausea were found in the studies but rarely led to (people) dropping out of the study," says Koppel. MS is an autoimmune disease affecting the brain and spinal cord. It's caused when the protective covering around the nerve cells is damaged by inflammation. There is no single test for MS, nor is there a cure. There are several medications that can help slow down and control symptoms. The disease is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 and more women are diagnosed than men. Researchers looked at 34 different studies involving approximately 2,000 patients - the bulk of them in England and Germany. European regulators approved the cannabis spray Sativex for the treatment of MS spasticity in 2010, and it's now available in 25 countries worldwide. The drug is not available in the United States. Less than 1% of trial participants taking cannabis pills or spray had serious side effects like hallucinations and seizures. In two of the studies analyzed, patients actually smoked marijuana, but there was not enough information available to determine if that was effective. According to Koppel, medical marijuana can worsen cognitive function and memory. Her concern is that MS patients may already experience some of these issues as a result of the disease. People with some of these diseases "already have higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation than the general public," Koppel says. "If you have a brain disease like MS, for example, you may already have some depression or cognitive impairment, so we were careful to see if cannabis made this worse." While the studies did not find a direct link to depression, Koppel says it still suggests this is something patients and physicians should be aware of. Dr. Timothy Coetzee, chief advocacy, services and research officer at the National MS Society, says his organization supports the rights of MS patients to work with their doctors to get access to medical marijuana in states where medical use has been legalized. “The society supports the need for more research to better understand the benefits and potential risks of marijuana and its derivatives as a treatment for MS," Coetzee says. "We intend to work towards removing barriers impeding such research into the use of marijuana for medical purposes. As with any MS therapy, along with its potential benefits come potential side effects that also need to be evaluated.” Koppel says more research is needed with more formulations of cannabis, not only in the diseases already looked at, but also in other neurologic conditions.
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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the greatest plant in the universe is almost free, LET FREEDOM RING! 13
"any doctor against marijuana is a doctor of death" – cali secret 420
from 0 states to half the country, from low 20% approval to almost 70%, cali runs this planet by 2 decades, time to tie marijuana to the 2014, 2016 elections, out with the old, in with the new
20 years behind us southern states, sad and scary....nobody denies freedoms like the south, nobody…the top ten incarcerators on the planet are southern states...even if marijuana reforms did pass the republiCANTS in charge would deny you all your freedoms, centuries of practice...no matter though, we never planned on getting your backwards brethren from day one, half the country already but not one southern state, lol...not 1….the new generations are taking over in the south and they are nothing like their freedom denying parents, let’s ride…
Deaths by Alcohol and Tobacco: Millions
Deaths by Prescription Drugs: Quadrupled in last decade
Deaths by Guns: Millions
Deaths by the food we are fed: Millions
Deaths by Marijuana: 0, ever...they are killing my American family while denying freedom
love and freedom forever
AMERICA'S WAR ON DRUGS IS A WAR ON AMERICANS! 33
Oh, the drama. Knock off the spam.
They are saying that if you stretch it a bit, that guy who ate a huge weed cookie and then jumped off the balcony was killed by weed. Sounds more like a suicidal death wish to me, but whatever. They want so much to be able to say it killed someone that I think we should let them have that one.
No, moron, it's spam when someone like you posts the same drivel on multiple threads because you're too stupid to actually address the topic of the story.
What point are attempting, yet failing, to make with your bloviating?
I didn't see you post anything pertaining to the topic at hand. You just call everything Spam. Dolt.
And I see you've posted under three other screen names, dumbbell.
Deaths by marijuana=O?? THOSE ARE NOT THE FACTS
Wow, you obviously are too stoned to read. European study just came out and had multiple unexplained heart attack deaths in pot smokers. Many kids have overdosed in Colorado (some have died) on the THC cookies and stuff.
We have all been trying to get our medicine legalized, forever. I have, since 1969 at Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco. I am part Iroquois. half German (my Mother Mary, killed at Abbey, in Ulm), and Father's name came here in 1642, to populate City of Orange, in New York.
Doctors swear to Hippocrates. Whom chose suicide the night prior to being executed, in Athens.His, & their Medicines have always killed more than 9 of 10 patients. They swear to follow the ways of a murderer, whom got caught.
Native American ways heal the patient. Doctors are legalized dealers of poison pills.
Marijuana has been healing patients over 10,000 years; as written on The Great Wall, in China, that long ago.
I learned to heal myself. And refuse to see any other medical expert in death/ not health.
Hey look above EyeSore!! Even you can get laid. Or maybe not.
NO, RE-READ those studies you moron. There was NO direct link to those deaths and cannabis! AT ALL! Those dead people had traces of ALL kinds of drugs in their systems and doctors concluded that they could NOT say that cannabis caused it by itself. There has been ZERO cases in Colorado as well moron. A college aged, believed to be suicidal, teenager ate a cannabis infused food item, amongst other things, and later on, jumped out a window.... Once again, later reports indicate that there was NO DIRECT LINK between the death and consuming cannabis.
kids have overdosed in Colorado
----
LOL. Not possible to ingest a toxic amount of MJ. No one has "overdosed" on pot in Colorado.
i totally agree
This study is good. That study is bad. Please do the science. Tell us everything you can about marijuana just like we do with tobacco and alcohol. One of the many ignorant things in the Controlled Substance Act is the provision that no science can be done on a Schedule I. They are suppose to be protecting us from these substances but they can't learn anything about them. That is ignorant but that is how Nixon carried on Anslinger's prohibition.
Please do the science but don't act like we found this under a rock yesterday. This plant has been around for 10,000 years we have only had a problem the last 85 years and that problem is the law.
Doesn't matter, because the Tea Party is against it. They'll throw every favorable report away. Nixon had a study done which said they found no evidence of impairment at all in smokers and called it a placebo. Nixon threw it away because he needed it to be a dangerous narcotic, which is how the next study described it. This will last until the next GOP victory, and then it will go back to being smuggled by the GOP, same as today.
I used to think marijuana was the worst thing in the world when I was a kid. But after doing research on it and people telling me about it from experience, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing anymore. I’m not surprised that people are finding peace and relaxation in doing this “drug”. It shouldn’t even be called a drug when it is only just a plant. I’ve never used marijuana, but I don’t believe that it should be viewed in such a negative light. I remember watching a program on television called “Marijuana Wars” or something similar to that. A family had a daughter who suffered from epilepsy and used marijuana tablets in order to soothe her seizures. After they got in trouble with the government, the family decided to pack up and move to a state where the plant was legal. I hated the fact that it was so regulated! There were barely any side effects and it seemed to work for her when nothing else did. Overall, marijuana just receives a bad reputation by some of the people that use it. I’m surprised doctors don’t administer the drug more, considering all the good it does for people.
Do MORE research then. You obviously haven't if your clueless as to why cannabis is illegal. It's all BS. Cannabis is illegal because it would hurt big corporation revenue streams. It's healthy and can make people healthy that are sick... and you can grow it in your yard... for FREE... If you could grow your own medicine to cure your cancer, why would you pay the big pharma company hundreds of thousands of dollars for their "treatment"?? Wake up people and STOP believing what ever it is you were told about cannabis 30+ years ago.... It was mostly all lies. Cannabis is NOT harmful nor does it turn you into a person that you see on TV being portrayed as a "pothead"... that's called a character.... MADE UP... NOT real..... yes, there are some that fit the typical stoner TV mold, but that's NOT the typical situation nowadays. The US Government can no longer hide behind its lies about cannabis.... I'm just a little upset that there are still some that are so set on judging cannabis without any true knowledge or experience with it.... It's like they are racist or something.... treating cannabis like a black guy in the early 1900's.... thats what these people are doing to cannabis now.
Very well said. Thank you!
Let's all obsess about the CEOs of health insurance companies! Because everyone cares SO VERY MUCH about them and what they get in salary!
I'm an idiot. I got canned by the company I used to work for and I'm fvcking bitter about it. Pity me.
I care. Insurance is the Problem!! Insurance wastes 25% or more of your health care dollars for NO VALUE ADDED to your health care. Insurance CAN NOT, WILL NOT, and NEVER HAS been able to control health care prices. A single payer system is the ONLY system that will allow us, as an entire nation, to negotiate better health care prices (the REAL problem).
Nobody is listening to you. Nobody has been reading your little essay. Your opinions about healthcare are irrelevant. You repeatedly post the same nonsensical rant, oblivious to the fact that doing so makes you look like exactly what you are: a doofus who's got an axe to grind and would talk about it to a wrong number.
Get a hobby. Get an education. Get laid. Get out.
Sounds like you've been reading it. And you SHOULD care. Unless you are part of the problem. You are aren't you.
"And you should care." Says who? A teenage poseur who thinks the words "old" and "sick" should be capitalized?
It is to laugh.
So you don't care what you pay for health insurance? Do you not care what you pay for gas, electricity, food, cars, health care or anything else either? You DO prove my point that Palin voters DO have pea sized brains. You must work for the medical cartels and YOU are the problem. Yes, I DO laugh at Palin voters.
My word, you really are a clown.
Eyesore – Everytime you contribute to your medical cartel's PAC you are voting against your own interests. That is if you really are a "registered Democrat" as you claim to be (but you're NOT. You're a Palin voter). So why do you contribute to the medical cartel PAC?.
You got one thing right in your post. You ARE Nobody. And if Nobody cares about my opinion, why do you have my post deleted? Here's why. The post is SPOT ON and any "registered Democrat" would know that and just let the comment be. Therefore, you ARE a shill.
Just make it legal already!
1. Every study shows marijuana DROPS IQ and it persists into adulthood for regular smokers of it even after you stop.
2. French study just showed there were multiple EARLY CARDIAC DEATHS from marijuana smokers.
The list goes on and on. If you want to be a pothead, that is ok, but don't tell people it isn't "bad for you" or "isn't as bad as alcohol".
Its a drug just like anything else, and drugs aren't good for anyone.
Please stop with your ignorant statements. Everyone is far past the "Refer Madness" propaganda now. Everyone knows that loving Jesus makes you ignorant and poor.
@ Brenda: The phony 'IQ study' and the 'Heart Attack' studies have already been debunked as junk science.
Investigators specifically searched a French database where physicians are legally bound to report any drug-related case that they view as “leading to temporary or permanent functional incapacity or disability, to inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization, to congenital anomalies, or to an immediate vital risk or death.”
They then looked for cannabis users and found a shade less than 2,000 in the past 5 years. It’s impossible to know what that number means without knowing the number of people these physicians saw or how many patients used cannabis and did not end up reported to this database.
They then found a whopping 35 of these who had cardiac complications. It is impossible to know what to make of this number without knowing the number of cannabis users in France, which the authors report is 1.2 million. If you divide 35 by 1.2 million you get roughly .00003. I’m guessing that not all these cannabis users went to the doctor and not every person who used cannabis and had cardiac complications fessed up to the doctor, so let’s say that we’re off by two orders of magnitude. Let’s give the prohibitionists the benefit of the doubt and multiply by 100. That’d put the rate of problems up to .003.
If those are the chances of having cardiac complications as a French cannabis user, my first thought is that using cannabis protects people from cardiac problems. We need a comparison group of people who don’t use cannabis to know their rate of cardiac problems, but, as the authors point out, we simply don’t have those data. The closest estimates were 57 per 10,000 people, based on another study, which is .0057, or almost twice as bad as the rate among the cannabis users.
Source: Dr. Mitch Earlywine, M.D.
Young teens who smoke cannabis may not be stunting their intellect, says a new study challenging a claim by New Zealand scientists.The Dunedin study found people who started smoking cannabis in their teenage years, and kept using it for years afterwards, showed an average decline in IQ of eight points.It sampled more than 1000 people, comparing their IQs from when they were 13 to 38 years old.The study also found those who started using cannabis after the age of 18 did not show the same IQ decline.But the new study, by the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway, said there were hidden factors in the Dunedin research that were not taken into account.Ole Rogeberg, the scientist behind the Norwegian study, said socioeconomic status was one of those factors.In the simulation model Rogeberg created, poverty was able to reproduce the same IQ change as cannabis exposure."This model, too, would predict reduced IQ in so far as heavy, persistent, adolescent-onset cannabis use involves a culture and norms that raise the risk of dropping out of school, getting entangled with crime, and other such behaviours," he said
I find it funny that 90% of the people lined up in medical marijuana shops have no actual medical illness other than maybe "congenital apathy" or "social laziness disorder". Most of them just want to smoke marijuana "legally" so they don't get into trouble.
Quite honestly people, I've NEVER SEEN a regular marijuana smoker who was an "over achiever" let alone and average achiever. They are basically the people who get a job and never progress as human beings, intellectually or physically. They just "hang out and smoke". Not much of a life.
You are an ignorant man then, have you NEVER heard of George Soros?!?!?!? Peter Lewis?!?!? Both are billionaires that support cannabis. Peter Lewis has recently passed on(he was like 80), but his movement still continues on. Wow, it's crazy to see how many people still choose to live like timid animals always hiding in the shadows of what is the real world. It's sad that some still cling to those far fetched false ideas about cannabis that I thought died in the last century.... I guess some of us still have some catching up to do, eh old timer?
I have MS and have in the last few months began to use marijuana, in pill form, as prescribed by my Doctor. I was very hesitant at first but decided it probably would not hurt to try. I personally have been sleeping a lot more soundly than I have in years which is in itself a big relief for MS patients. I had to decide if I wanted to worry about "stigmas" or take a chance on feeling any amount of better, and for now, I'm glad I took the chance. I don't care about the "politics" but know that there are a lot of misusers and abusers that may ruin it for those that "truly" benefit from medical marijuana. I don't get any "high" from the pill and I would not take it if I did, that's not my motivation.
marijuana is extremely destructive and those who are wise...
shun it
are you wise?
And those that are ignorant make blatant statements with no scientific basis to back up their claims..... Cannabis is already more than a billion dollar legal market in America now, where have you been? Hiding under your Jebus rock? By the way, recent studies show evidence that cannabis oils were used in holy anointing oils during the time of Jebus Christ himself.... just saying, the more you know, the more you learn.
Extremely destructive in what way? Does it make you act foolishly as alcohol does? No. Does it make you kill people as shown in the show "Reefer Madness"? No. Does it cause a physical addiction or overdose like many prescribed medications? No. Does it cause short term memory loss like "Where did I put my keys"? Oh oh, yes it does. But people do that all the time. But that is your extremely destructive. Another propaganda follower.
Across the board prohibition of a common plant is about as useful as across the board prohibition of alcohol. Good for those who make money off attempting to enforce it, worthless for everyone else. 70 years of attempts to enforce what was basically an anti-Mexican makework law has wasted a lot of money and thrown a lot of harmless people into prison. Decriminalize it, regulate it, tax it, sell it and be done with it.
Anti-Mexican makework law? What about the paper industry, alcohol industry, medical industry, and so on that ALSO had a huge part in the trashing of a natural plant. NATURAL people, meaning GOD made it, UNLIKE Tylenol, which is a chemically created drug and turns out, is BAD for your heart AND has killed more people than cannabis. Tylenol has killed more people in 1 day than cannabis has killed in 3,000+ years.... just saying, learn the true facts everyone... about CANNABIS, NOT the chemically created "pill" form either...
I know my doctor told me that I can increase my seratonin levels by taking a melatonin supplement. I have had trouble sleeping since I was a kid, but now that I am taking a melatonin/valerian combination, I am sleeping better than ever. The one I am taking is here at amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JHMTI7I
A very HUGE piece of missing info in this story is this- THESE STUDIES USED CHEMICALLY CREATED BIG PHARMA DRUGS AND NOT THE ACTUAL CANNABIS PLANT ITSELF. Shame on you CNN.
"The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug as well as the continuing controversy as to whether or not cannabis is of medical value are obstacles to medical progress in this area. Based on evidence currently available the Schedule I classification is not tenable; it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking."
Source:
Open Neurol J. 2012
Reblogged this on Kentucky Marijuana Party.
Both pro and anti need to read this. Very informative and accurate. Increase your knowledge and get the whole story. http://brucealanblock.com/why-marijuana-became-legal/
The government, and DEA wants them to continue this propaganda! The Chief of the DEA during speech said "Marijuana causes seizures. ER visits have increased in Washington, and Colorado."..... JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE SEIZURES DOES NOT MEAN IT IS CAUSED BY MARIJUANA ! Why would epileptic patients be prescribed marijuana if it were to make it worse??? Mind you the people that were in the ER for a seizure had THC in their blood. This woman is complaing teen use on marijuana has gone up opposed to cigerette use and alchol use. Thats not a bad thing. Marijuana doesnt kill you like cigerettes, and alcohol. People stop being blind! Stop being sheep to the propaganda! The govt. Does NOT WANT WHATS GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE! Fire this bozo thats in charge of the DEA! Let somone that actually cares about people run the DEA, and our country! All they care about is their salary! If people want to ruin their lives doing heroin, or crack LET THEM! God gave us a free will . Its our choice what we do with our lives, and the choices we make! As long as you sheep are blind the govt. Will continue being hypocrites busting people for drugs JUST TO PUT IT BACK ON THE STREET! This cycle will occur again and again to make profit until WE THE PEOPLE DO SOMETHING! The govt. Runs because of us! If it was not for working people everyone in the govt. Would be powerless. Let us rise and show them whos boss! We help them paying taxes and working. But they wont give what the people want. Respect is earned. The govt. Doesnt deserve ANY!
Many medications cause confusion, drowsiness, depression etc . For docs to use that as a negative for use of marijuana is sophistry.
(This is the CNNIreport video I made about why med. marijuana legalization is a benefit for all, not just patients like myself.)
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1117290,
+ this is the click for the CNNI report video made about why med. marijuana legalization is a benefit for all, not just patients like myself.
People, let's stop believing any article that refers to CANNABIS, as "Marijuana."
That is in itself, a sign of ignorance about the plant. The private prison complex, textile industry, tobacco industry,
pharmaceutical industry and law enforcement industry are losing their war on the demonization of this plant.
Until 1937, Cannabis was LEGAL, and doctors prescribed it in the form of Elixirs, etc, as if it were orange juice. After 1937, propaganda run amuck to convince people that a GOD GIVEN PLANT (or the Universe, Allah, etc, depending on your beliefs) is harmful and should be banned.
Now as more people are accepting the TRUTH about Cannabis, and realizing the agenda behind prohibition, the end is near. Reclaim your health with Cannabis, not destructive lab-made poisons!!
Has anyone looked into whether Ganoderma Lucidum could help things like this?
Our common fascination is unmistakable. Wonderful!
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I am a proud patient of pot. What's funny is, I never was. Of course I did when I was a teenager but grew out of it for various reason, I'm 43 now. I've had MS since 95 and used almost every drug made for MS patients...yes drugs that could NEVER be PROVEN to work. I tried pot again about 2 years ago and my quality of live has improved 10fold. I am not cured, I still have MS but the symptoms have become very tolerable. I hope one day I no longer need to smoke pot, I admit I would miss the side effects lol! Any person who thinks pot should remain a schedule 1 drug need to review the data and seriously consider the benefits to peoples lives. I think it's funny that people who want to bash pot because it makes you high and the "side effects" should really listen to a drug commercial "side effects may include......"
Treat pot like alcohol, don't drive high, don't go to work high, don't hang out with your kids high etc....
Researchers looked at whether use of medical marijuana was safe and effective for other neurological diseases like motor symptoms in Huntington's disease, tics in Tourette's syndrome and cervical dystonia or abnormal neck movements. They decided there was not enough information to make a determination.
"Expected side effects such as fatigue, dizziness and nausea were found in the studies but rarely led to (people) dropping out of the study," says Koppel.
I am seeing a lot of this now–weed helping, lol. I doubt it is really helpful, but I will wait for more proof. To me, marijuana will just temporarily stop the MS symptoms, then when not high it will come back again...actually it may work. High all the time?
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I am seeing a lot of this now–weed helping, lol. I doubt it is really helpful, but I will wait for more proof. To me, marijuana will just temporarily stop the MS symptoms, then when not high it will come back again...actually it may work. High all the time?
If you can, visit this and read my story.
gofundme.com/cambria
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There's no doubt that medical marijuana works. the problem is the recreational purposes of it needs to be stopped .
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