CDC Chief Endorses Cannabinoids
June 1st, 2009 by Russ
Center for Disease Control heir-apparent, Thomas Frieden, voiced his support for THC in his last budget meeting as New York City Health Commissioner. When asked about treating chemotherapy patients with persistent nausea, Frieden noted that smoking weed provided relief a great deal faster than a Marinol pill, the synthetic and regulated equivalent.
Frieden implied that a spray form of Marinol might be a benefit to patients, as it’s still inferior to its natural cousin. Perhaps he had had Sativex on the brain. A new and as yet unapproved THC spray, Sativex hopes to enter into the medical marijuana debate upon FDA approval.
In the meantime, one wonders whether medical weed will be brought to bare on Swine Flu or Ebola during the tenure of the new CDC chief.
All Pills, No Thrills
October 7th, 2008 by Alex
As an au naturale kind of guy I’m not a huge fan of Marinol – the commonly prescribed, synthetic form of THC.
In Michigan, where the state is about to vote on medical marijuana legalization, one doctor is going on record as saying the pill just doesn’t work, which is why medical marijuana is so important to those seeking relief.
Dr. Elaine Chottiner, the section head of Hematology and Oncology at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, let this quote drop:
If Marinol worked, nobody would care about legalizing marijuana.
She said absorption is probably one reason the drug doesn’t work as well, since it takes longer to digest and incorporate a compound into the bloodstream than it does to smoke it. Also, Marinol contains only one of marijuana’s 66 compounds.
The main point is relief for the patients, and although the clinical trials of Marinol showed relief for certain kinds of chemotherapy, it is not applicable to all.
In less than a month, November 4th to be exact, Michigan voters are going to decide on the merits of legal, medical cannabis use. Let’s hope the opinions of people in the know help influence their votes.
