US NJ: Medical Marijuana Seen To Have Dramatic Effect On Symptom

[CLICKHEREx]

4 May 2014
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)

Website: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Jan Hefler

MEDICAL MARIJUANA SEEN TO HAVE DRAMATIC EFFECT ON SYMPTOM RELIEF

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Before buying cannabis at South Jersey's only medical-marijuana dispensary, patients must circle one of six animated faces that stare out from a clipboard.

The row of smiling, wincing, frowning, and sobbing cartoon faces is being used to rank the degree of pain that patients experience due to cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and several other conditions the state deems treatable by cannabis.

When the patients return to the Compassionate Care Foundation dispensary in Egg Harbor Township for a refill, they again are handed the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale so that the effect of the marijuana can be assessed.

The results so far are "absolutely dramatic," said Suzanne Miller, a researcher with a Ph.D. who sits on the dispensary's board of trustees. Miller is also a professor and the director of behavioral medicine at Fox Chase Cancer Center/Temple Health in Philadelphia. About 80 percent of the 145 CCF patients who completed the rankings at least twice over the last two months have charted significant improvement, she said.

Still being collected and analyzed, the data show that on average, most patients are reporting their pain levels decreased by 30 to 50 percent, Miller said. "You usually see smaller results, about 10 percent, or 20 percent," she said.

An author of four books and a contributor to more than 100 academic articles, Miller will be the lead researcher on a report she plans to submit to medical journals for publication possibly this fall. The dispensary has 600 registered patients and expects to have more data by that time.

On a gloomy, wet morning last week, several patients walked into the dispensary to purchase cannabis, which is packaged in plastic bottles and sold at $428 an ounce. Two patients who agreed to be interviewed afterward said the marijuana they bought had changed their lives. Three other patients who were reached by phone said it markedly eased their pain.

'Zero' pain

"I was addicted to Vicodin," said Gary Carnevale Sr., a multiple sclerosis patient from Bayville, Ocean County, shortly after he picked up an ounce of "Red Cherry Berry" marijuana from an employee behind a glass window at the dispensary. Carnevale, 57, a former licensed practical nurse, said increasing amounts of prescribed Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, and other narcotics did not relieve the throbbing pain shooting up his back and legs, and he then had to be hospitalized for two weeks early last year.

Carnevale was among the first patients to come to CCF, which opened six months ago inside a cavernous warehouse just outside Atlantic City. Marijuana plants are also grown at that location under special purple, red, blue, and yellow lights.

"I took three or four hits. I laid in bed, and I could not believe the pain slipping away," Carnevale said, recalling the first day he smoked it using a vaporizer. "My pain was like ten. . . . But when I smoke marijuana, I swear it's zero," he said. While he previously spent most of his days in bed, he said he now is able to function and even took a recent vacation with his family, including his two grandchildren.

Jacqueline Angotti, a nurse-practitioner from Robbinsville, began sobbing when asked the effect the marijuana had on her 9-year-old son, Miles, who had suffered multiple, daily seizures since he was 2. "He's been seizure-free; he's had none for the past 31 days and has had no side effects," she said. "And he's better cognitively."

In the past, Miles was forced to wear a mask to protect his face and teeth from frequent falls caused by the violent seizures, she said. And, for the same reason, he had to eat meals from a tray while sitting on the floor. Angotti turned the marijuana buds into a tincture, which she gives to Miles in tiny doses three times a day, and he no longer needs his mask, she said. "He eats dinner at the table now," she added.

Bill Thomas, the dispensary CEO, said the frequent hugs that grateful patients bestow on staff and the tears he has witnessed in the waiting room convince him of marijuana's medical worth. "To us, this is medicine. To everyone else, it's something else. It's pot. . . . But this is not Colorado," he said. His staff wear white medical jackets, and only patients who have a doctor's approval may buy the drug.

Those afflicted with seizures, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and glaucoma are reporting the greatest benefit, Thomas said. One patient who had Crohn's disease experienced a "total reversal" and was able to return to work, he said.

Because there is a dearth of scientific studies, anecdotal evidence is practically the only proof available at this time, Thomas said. Marijuana's status as a federally prohibited Schedule I drug, ranking it more dangerous than opium, has blocked studies on its medicinal value, he said.

Though the federal government still considers marijuana illegal, the Obama administration recently announced it will not enforce the ban in states that have legalized it for medical and for recreational use except in egregious trafficking cases and when it is being marketed to minors.

New Jersey is one of 22 states that have legalized medical marijuana, and many others are weighing it. Its strictly regulated program calls for doctors to write "recommendations" - not prescriptions - authorizing patients to obtain cannabis. But they are not required to provide dosing information, leaving patients to use marijuana on a trial-and-error basis.

Thomas said he looks forward to having an analysis of the patient surveys completed and having a more detailed questionnaire for patients developed so that CCF can determine what doses and strains are most helpful for its patients. "This is the drug that needs to be studied," he said.

Adjusting doses

One in five patients initially told staff that they did not get relief by taking the cannabis they had purchased, Thomas said. But when the strain and dose were modified, he said, half of those patients reported their pain had lessened. Marijuana contains 60 chemicals, he said, and the various strains have different ratios of the ingredients. CCF currently sells six strains and is planning an expansion next month.

Back in the dispensary waiting room, a 60-year-old Brigantine woman who suffers from multiple sclerosis was busy gathering up her one-quarter ounce of marijuana and her umbrella as she prepared to head home. "I had pain every day in my feet and occasionally in my face," she said, declining to be named. "It's debilitating, and when it's in my face it's like lightning."

After baking marijuana brownies with the cannabis, she said, her pain improved 80 percent. "It's a valid medicine," she said. "And it is time it's seen that way."

[Serene Kiwi]

My Daughter began having seizures at the age of 2 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with MAE or Doose Syndrome.

No one knows why but my suspicion is vaccine damage after receiving the MMR only a week before the onset of seizures.

She is now 19 and still having daily seizures, sometimes 20-30 per day.

I can't even begin to explain what affect this had had on her life and also all of her family members around her.

We have seen numerous professors and experts in the field, she also had a tumour removed from her brain about 4 years ago and is suffering so much it is hard to watch.

My daughter has managed to attend special education but has not passed any grades due to her condition and the constant seizures.

One of our greatest concerns is her having a seizure while catching a train or crossing the road as she just drops like a sack of potatoes for a few seconds and loses full body control.

I'm at the stage now where myself and my ex-wife are prepared to look at the treatment offered with the cannabis tincture as it appears to be one last hope for life that is worth living.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Serene Kiwi

[Halcyon Daze]

Just for your information purposes...

In places where it is legal, such a 'tincture' could hypothetically be made by simply soaking some dry cannabis buds in alcohol (eg high quality vodka), straining the liquid, and then used like cough syrup. In a tincture the alcohol is the solvent, which could be a bit rough on the throat though.

Another common way to medicate with cannabis (where legal) is to soak the buds in warmed (runny) butter, strain it, and then use the green butter to make some non-baked brownies or whatever. In this case the butter is the solvent and would conceivably be easier to swallow than a tincture.

Believe it or not, smoking or vaporizing is said to be more effective than swallowing, but that's about the limit of my knowledge on the subject. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The biggest problem surrounding medical cannabis (where legal) is obtaining it safely. Patients do not want to put themselves at risk by "scoring drugs" from dodgy people. It's quite a dilemma for them and they need to be very careful.

I hope this was helpful for your information purposes, and I am not suggesting you do anything illegal!

Good luck to your daughter and family.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Halcyon Daze

[CLICKHEREx]

Check out http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en-AU&source=hp&q=cannabis+tincture+nimbin&gbv=2&oq=cannabis+tincture&gs_l=heirloom-hp.1.2.0l10.3281.13377.0.42705.19.15.0.4.4.0.1384.4338.4-2j1j2j1.6.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-hp..9.10.4601.Pml8rz6Ntl8

such as:

1. Links - Mullaways Medical Cannabis Pty. Ltd.
   www.mullawaysmedicalcannabis.com.au/links.html

   ‎

   • Cached
   • Similar

   as 95% THCA Non-Psychotropic 5% THC Psychotropic Tincture Certificate of
   Analysis Analysis 1 ... Hemp Embassy - Nimbin NSW Australia. Nimbin
   MardiGrass.
2. Medical cannabis dispensary | Nimbin - Sydney Morning Herald
   www.smh.com.au/.../oneman-cannabis-van-raises-queries-of-legality-20100125-mukq.html

   ‎

   • Similar

   26 Jan 2010 ... Tony Bower supplies his medical cannabis tincture (left) from the back of his van
   to ... is operating from the back of a van in a car park at Nimbin.

   Lecithin is known to reduce the frequency of seizures in some epileptics, and is very safe, and not expensive, so worth trying.

   "Lecithin (phosphatidyl choline). A phospholipid found mostly in high-fat foods. It is said to have the ability to improve memory and brain processes. Lecithin is necessary for normal brain development. Capsules are available, but many people prefer the soft lecithin granules. These are a nice addition to fruit juice smoothies, adding a thicker texture. Lecithin is oil-based, and it gets rancid easily. It should be refrigerated (from health food stores)".

   Google: "mercola.com; seizures; vitamin D" and view the post about vitamin D at http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/answer?qid=20110922214201AAVo5vI If supplementing, (the non preferred method, according to http://vitaminDcouncil.org ) use only vitamin D3. Also very safe, and half of Australians in Southern states have levels that are depleted, or deficient.

   Cannabis banana pancakes may be made by drying in a double boiler (put water in a pot and boil, with another, larger pot on top containing shredded cannabis) until crisp. Crush to powder, sieve, and add required amount, saturated with olive or coconut oil, to a mixture of equal parts of mashed banana and self raising flour, and fry lightly on both sides.

   Dan Murphy's liquor stores have Polmos overproof vodka at about 95% alcohol for around $80 / 500 mls if you want to make your own tincture. Google the recipe, or try http://ozstoners.com/

   https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_905095/pure-polish-spirit-95-500ml.jsp;jsessionid=356949791549F8005983C8DDE79BFECE.ncdlmorasp1306?bmUID=knt4oBe

[Serene Kiwi]

Incredible information, thank you very much for your help.

With sincere gratitude,

SK