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The420Guy
Guest
Newshawk: Larry Seguin
Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jul 2000
Source: Ogdensburg Journal/Advance News (NY)
Copyright: 2000 St. Lawrence County Newspapers Corp.
Address: P.O. Box 409, Ogdensburg, New York 13669
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws
MARIJUANA USE
To The Editor:
More proof that the Federal Government is giving the American people misinformation on the
medical ( and recreational ) use of marijuana!!!
Smokable Marijuana Is a Safe and Effective Medicine for People With AIDS
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- Smoking marijuana helps people with AIDS gain weight,
without causing adverse virologic effects, according to the results of a study released
Thursday at the XIII International AIDS Conference.
Dr. Donald Abrams, a world-renowned AIDS researcher at the University of California at
San Francisco, has finally completed his study after *six years* of navigating federal
obstacles.
The study was originally designed as an "efficacy" study to focus on marijuana's medical
benefits to people wasting away from AIDS. "Because the National Institute on Drug Abuse
has a stranglehold on the legal supply of marijuana for research purposes", the federal agency
was able to force Dr. Abrams to change his research proposal into a "safety" study, focusing
instead on the potential *negative* health effects of marijuana in people with AIDS.
"The federal government manipulated the study design to increase the likelihood that the
results would reveal that marijuana harms the immune system and doesn't boost the appetite,"
said Chuck Thomas, director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana
Policy Project. "But the government's plan backfired -- smoking marijuana did not cause any
immunological problems, while it increased caloric intake and weight gain."
THE RESULTS REVEALED GREATER WEIGHT GAIN AMONG THE
MARIJUANA-SMOKING PATIENTS THAN THE PLACEBO-USING CONTROL
GROUP.
"If the federal government would finally allow researchers to focus on marijuana's medical
*benefits*, we could get natural marijuana approved by the FDA within a couple of years,"
said Thomas. "That's what the Clinton administration fears, and that's why they continue to
make it more difficult for researchers to study medical ( and recreational ) marijuana than it is
for pharmaceutical companies to study their synthetic compounds."
For more details on the federal government's excessive restrictions on medical marijuana
research and the growing coalition of medical groups, members of Congress, researchers, and
celebrities who are calling for change, go to Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws
Larry Seguin Lisbon, New York
MAP posted-by: Don Beck
Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jul 2000
Source: Ogdensburg Journal/Advance News (NY)
Copyright: 2000 St. Lawrence County Newspapers Corp.
Address: P.O. Box 409, Ogdensburg, New York 13669
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws
MARIJUANA USE
To The Editor:
More proof that the Federal Government is giving the American people misinformation on the
medical ( and recreational ) use of marijuana!!!
Smokable Marijuana Is a Safe and Effective Medicine for People With AIDS
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- Smoking marijuana helps people with AIDS gain weight,
without causing adverse virologic effects, according to the results of a study released
Thursday at the XIII International AIDS Conference.
Dr. Donald Abrams, a world-renowned AIDS researcher at the University of California at
San Francisco, has finally completed his study after *six years* of navigating federal
obstacles.
The study was originally designed as an "efficacy" study to focus on marijuana's medical
benefits to people wasting away from AIDS. "Because the National Institute on Drug Abuse
has a stranglehold on the legal supply of marijuana for research purposes", the federal agency
was able to force Dr. Abrams to change his research proposal into a "safety" study, focusing
instead on the potential *negative* health effects of marijuana in people with AIDS.
"The federal government manipulated the study design to increase the likelihood that the
results would reveal that marijuana harms the immune system and doesn't boost the appetite,"
said Chuck Thomas, director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana
Policy Project. "But the government's plan backfired -- smoking marijuana did not cause any
immunological problems, while it increased caloric intake and weight gain."
THE RESULTS REVEALED GREATER WEIGHT GAIN AMONG THE
MARIJUANA-SMOKING PATIENTS THAN THE PLACEBO-USING CONTROL
GROUP.
"If the federal government would finally allow researchers to focus on marijuana's medical
*benefits*, we could get natural marijuana approved by the FDA within a couple of years,"
said Thomas. "That's what the Clinton administration fears, and that's why they continue to
make it more difficult for researchers to study medical ( and recreational ) marijuana than it is
for pharmaceutical companies to study their synthetic compounds."
For more details on the federal government's excessive restrictions on medical marijuana
research and the growing coalition of medical groups, members of Congress, researchers, and
celebrities who are calling for change, go to Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws
Larry Seguin Lisbon, New York
MAP posted-by: Don Beck
