Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 14 Apr 2015 04:20:21 PST
Study: Vaporized Cannabis Mitigates Treatment-Resistant Diabetic Neuropathy
San Diego, CA: Vaporized cannabis mitigates pain intensity in diabetic subjects in a dose-dependent manner, according to clinical trial data published online ahead of print in The Journal of Pain.
Investigators at the University of California, San Diego assessed the efficacy of inhaled cannabis versus placebo in 16 patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
Authors reported: "This small, short-term, placebo-controlled trial of inhaled cannabis demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in diabetic peripheral neuropathy pain in patients with treatment-refractory pain. ... Overall, our finding of an analgesic effect of cannabis is consistent with other trials of cannabis in diverse neuropathic pain syndromes."
A series of clinical trials conducted by investigators affiliated with the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego previously reported that the inhalation of whole-plant cannabis is efficacious in the treatment of various types of treatment-resistant neuropathic pain, including HIV-associated neuropathy and spinal cord injury. According to the findings of a 2014 clinical trial published in the Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, "At least 10 randomized controlled trials, lasting for more than 1000 patients, have demonstrated efficacy of different types of cannabinoids for diverse forms of neuropathic pain."
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Efficacy of inhaled cannabis on painful diabetic neuropathy," appears online in The Journal of Pain.
Poll: Majority Of Voters In Swing States Back Legalization
Hamden, CT: The majority of voters in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania support permitting adults to possess marijuana legally, and super-majorities in all three states endorse allowing doctors to recommend cannabis therapy, according to survey data published April 6 by Quinnipiac University.
Fifty-five percent of Florida voters say they support allowing adults "to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use." (Forty-two percent oppose the idea.) In Ohio, voters back legalization by a margin of 52 percent to 44 percent. In Pennsylvania, 51 percent of voters favor legalizing marijuana versus 45 percent who oppose doing so.
Voters' sentiment in favor of legalizing the plant's availability for therapeutic purposes is even stronger. Pollsters reported that voters in all three states back medical marijuana legalization by margins of five to one: 84 percent to 14 percent in Florida, 84 percent to 15 percent in Ohio, and 88 percent to 10 percent in Pennsylvania.
Legislation seeking to regulate the plant's use and retail sale is pending in both Florida and Pennsylvania, though to date, lawmakers have yet to hold hearings on either bill. Legislation to permit regulatory access to medical cannabis is also pending in both states.
In Ohio, a ballot initiative that seeks to legalize the limited, commercial production and retail sale of the plant is anticipated to appear on the 2105 ballot. In Florida, proponents of an unsuccessful 2014 ballot drive are expected to file a constitutional amendment in 2016 to legalize the therapeutic use of the plant.
Feds Seek To Increase Marijuana Production Quotas
Washington, DC: For the second year in a row, federal officials are seeking to increase the supply of marijuana the government makes available for research purposes.
On Wednesday, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced in the Federal Register that it is seeking to increase its marijuana production quota for the year 2015 by nearly three-fold.
Federal regulations permit a farm at the University of Mississippi to cultivate set quantities of cannabis for use in federally approved clinical trials. Regulators at the DEA, the US Food and Drug Administration, PHS (Public Health Service), and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse must approve any clinical protocol seeking to study the plant's effects in human subjects.
The agency says that the increased production is necessary because "research and product development involving cannabidiol is increasing beyond that previously anticipated." The agency further acknowledged receiving increased requests from NIDA "to provide for ongoing and anticipated research efforts involving marijuana."
Colorado: Marijuana Charges Down More Than 90 Percent Since 2010
Thursday, 09 April 2015
Colorado: Marijuana Charges Down More Than 90 Percent Since 2010
Denver, CO: The total number of charges filed in Colorado courts for marijuana possession, distribution, and cultivation fell from 38,878 in 2010 to 2,036 in 2014, a reduction of some 95 percent, according to data obtained by the Court Services Division of the Colorado Judicial Branch and published by the Drug Policy Alliance.
In November 2012, Colorado voters decided in favor of a ballot measure legalizing the adult possession and cultivation of limited quantities of cannabis.
Since 2012, marijuana possession charges are down nearly 80 percent. Marijuana cultivation charges are down 94 percent during this same time period; marijuana distribution charges fell by 98 percent.
"The change in the composition of arrests demonstrates the extent to which legal distribution has replaced illicit distribution," the report finds.
Licensed retail sales of cannabis began in the state on January 1, 2014.
Full text of the report, "Marijuana Arrests in Colorado After the Passage of Amendment 64," is available @ https://www.drugpolicy.org
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