Medical Marijuana

WEST JORDAN — A Utah mother whose 11-year-old son has severe epilepsy is helping to launch a legislative initiative to legalize a liquid form of medical marijuana in the Beehive state, which may put a new face on the issue.

 

The face will be of children who could potentially be helped by a strain of the drug, not of unkempt potheads who roll their own weed.

 

Jennifer May, of Pleasant Grove, believes a hybrid form of cannabis offers hope to patients, such as her son, who suffer from Dravet syndrome, which can trigger hundreds of seizures a day for its victims and limit the life expectancy to 18 years or fewer. Her family currently spends more than $75,000 a year on medication in an effort to provide some relief and hope for their child in dealing with his epilepsy.

 

Annette Maughan, president of the Epilepsy Association of Utah, said there are at least 30 families in the Beehive state that would be affected dramatically by access to the drug. There are more than 100,000 Utahns overall who have epilepsy, she said.

 

Currently, a form of medical marijuana is legal in 18 states. Under Utah law, possession of one ounce of marijuana can carry a sentence of up to a year in jail.

 

Read more: http://www.standard.net/

(CNN) -- The New Jersey General Assembly passed a medical marijuana bill Monday that will "ease access" and expand patient options, including allowing qualified children to consume edible forms of marijuana.

 

The bill, which has undergone numerous amendments, has passed in the Senate and needs Gov. Chris Christie's signature to become law.

 

Christie vetoed the original bill in August and said he would sign legislation that included a rule that edible marijuana would be dispensed only to minors and that a psychiatrist and a physician both would have to approve before a minor could join the program.

 

The final version of the bill -- which was approved in a 70-1-4 vote -- includes both of Christie's demands, according to a news release from the New Jersey Assembly Democrats.

 

Christie said last month he was worried about going "down the slippery slope of broadening a program and making it easier to get marijuana that wouldn't necessarily go to other people."

 

The bill was originally proposed after Brian and Meghan Wilson of Union City began a campaign to get what could be life-saving treatment for their 2-year old daughter, Vivian. She suffers from Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy for which anti-seizure medicine is ineffective, according to the news release.

 

"For Vivian and many children like her, marijuana may be the only treatment that can provide life-changing relief," Assemblywoman Linda Stender, who sponsored the bill, said in the news release. "As a state, we should not stand in the way of that, and today's vote is definitely a step forward."

 

Read more: http://www.cnn.com

A new study published by the journal Neurobiology of Aging has found that marijuana might actually help treat Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Based on a series of experiments with mice, researchers believe that they have evidence which shows that Alzheimer’s disease is worsened by a deficiency in the body’s cannabinoid receptors, indicating that the disease could be treated with cannabis.

 

According to the study’s abstract:

 

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by amyloid-β deposition in amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, inflammation, neuronal loss, and cognitive deficits. Cannabinoids display neuromodulatory and neuroprotective effects and affect memory acquisition. Here, we studied the impact of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) deficiency on the development of AD pathology by breeding amyloid precursor protein (APP) Swedish mutant mice (APP23), an AD animal model, with CB1-deficient mice. In addition to the lower body weight of APP23/CB1−/− mice, most of these mice died at an age before typical AD-associated changes become apparent.

 

The surviving mice showed a reduced amount of APP and its fragments suggesting a regulatory influence of CB1 on APP processing, which was confirmed by modulating CB1 expression in vitro. Reduced APP levels were accompanied by a reduced plaque load and less inflammation in APP23/CB1−/− mice. Nevertheless, compared to APP23 mice with an intact CB1, APP23/CB1−/− mice showed impaired learning and memory deficits. These data argue against a direct correlation of amyloid plaque load with cognitive abilities in this AD mouse model lacking CB1

 

Read more: http://www.opposingviews.com

For more than 30 years, Alaska's libertarian streak made it the only state in which it was legal, under some circumstances, to smoke marijuana just for the fun of it.

 

Then along came voters in Colorado and Washington state. Last year, both states passed initiatives legalizing pot and setting up rules for production, sales and taxation.

 

Now backers of a similar initiative here say they are close to giving Alaskans the same opportunity to just say yes. They're nearly halfway to reaching their goal of getting 45,000 signatures by Dec. 1, about 15,000 more than the number needed to put the measure on the 2014 primary election ballot, according to Timothy Hinterberger, the measure's main sponsor.

 

The initiative would add a new seven-page chapter to Alaska's statute books, making it legal for adults at the age at which they may buy beer to also possess up to an ounce of pot anywhere, except where a property owner banned it. It would set up a state regulatory body to oversee cannabis farms, dealers and advertising, and ensure that products don't end up with juveniles or on the black market. The initiative would impose a $50-an-ounce excise tax that would be collected between the greenhouse and the store or factory.

 

Employers would still be able to ban smoking or possession at work and prevent employees from being high on the job. Driving under the influence would still be illegal, and local governments could outlaw pot growing and sales -- but not possession -- by local option. Police officers would have to stop their current practice of seizing small amounts of marijuana when they encounter it. The measure would authorize retail pot shops but not dope dens, parlors or bars.

 

Read more: http://www.adn.com

MARTINSBURG - Even though she's far from home, there's no mistaking the determination in Tara White's voice.

 

She talks via cellphone about how the use of medical marijuana could help her chronically ill, nearly 3-year-old son Brandon, who suffers from a rare type of epilepsy, why it means so much to his quality of life, and how much she's willing to do to help him feel better.

 

Local residents, the mother-son duo have been in Denver, Colo., for a month and have just achieved their medical marijuana goal, White said, adding that the final doctor's recommendation was given Wednesday.

 

Since being approved, the youngster - who will celebrate his third birthday Sept. 18 - received a brownish liquid that will hopefully meet his medical needs. It still contains the compound in marijuana - cannabiodiol (CBD) - that has positive medical effects, but lower levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH) which is associated with the being "stoned," she said, adding that there's also some evidence that CBD can help counter the effects of TCH.

 

Although excited, White was also nervous about getting her son started on the medicine. She said the dosage will gradually increase as doctors evaluate his reaction - and, hopefully, progress.

 

Read more: http://www.journal-news.net/

A new study published by the journal Neurobiology of Aging has found promising evidence to suggest that Alzheimer’s disease is significantly worsened by a deficiency in the body’s cannabinoid receptors, indicating that the disease could be treated with cannabis, which naturally activates these receptors.

 

For the study, researchers implanted mice with Alzheimer’s disease, and examined a control group compared to a group which was deficient in cannabinoid receptors. Researchers found that the mice which were deficient in a particular cannabinoid receptor “showed impaired learning and memory deficits” compared to the control group.

 

According to the study’s abstract, “The surviving mice showed a reduced amount of APP and its fragments suggesting a regulatory influence of CB1 on APP processing, which was confirmed by modulating CB1 expression in vitro”.

 

Researchers conclude that these “findings indicate that CB1 deficiency can worsen AD-related cognitive deficits and support a potential role of CB1 as a pharmacologic target.”

 

These findings help to confirm a study published recently in the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, which found that cannabis can slow, and potentially even cure Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.com