Marijuana has newly discovered benefits with profound possibilities

Benefits of marijuana may include help for diabetes type 2, obesity, 'good' cholesterol and more  

“According to new scientific evidence, breaking out the bong for some Mother Nature has multiple health benefits. According the American Journal of Medicine (AJA), the benefits are remarkable and some fly in the face of what should be expected from a drug that produces the ‘munchies’, a rabid appetite. The AJA reports no weight gain from marijuana users and reports marijuana may help prevent diabetes type 2 and obesity.

These benefits apply specifically to perennial pot smokers and not to former smokers.”

More: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/steps-authentic-happiness-positive-psychology/2013/jun/4/marijuana-has-newly-discovered-benefits-profound-p/

Marijuana Use May Protect Against Diabetes and Obesity

“Marijuana may help protect against diabetes, according to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine.”

marijuana

“Despite being linked to increased hunger, researchers further discovered significant correlations between marijuana use and smaller waist circumferences, which is also known to decrease a person’s risk of developing diabetes.”

More: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1958/20130516/marijuana-use-protect-against-diabetes-obesity.htm

Marijuana, blood sugar control linked, study says – ABC

“Regular marijuana use is associated with favorable indices related to diabetic control, say investigators. They found that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin and were less likely to be insulin resistant, even after excluding patients with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Their findings are reported in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine.”

File photo. (AP)
 
“Marijuana has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood and increase appetite. Outlawed in the United States in 1937, its social use continues to increase and public opinion is swinging in favor of the medicinal use of marijuana…”
 

More: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=9114798

Study: Cannabinoids Offer Likely Therapeutic Option For Patients With Post-Traumatic Stress

“Future research targeting cannabinoids and their receptors may lead to evidence-based treatments for patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to clinical trial data published in May in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Investigators at the New York University School of Medicine reported that subjects diagnosed with PTSD typically possess elevated quantities of endogenous cannabinoid receptors in regions of the brain associated with fear and anxiety. Investigators also determined that many of these subjects experience a decrease in their natural production of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitter, resulting in an imbalanced endocannibinoid regulatory system.

Researchers speculated that an increase in the body’s production of cannabinoids would likely restore subjects’ natural brain chemistry and psychological balance. They affirmed, “[Our] findings substantiate, at least in part, emerging evidence that … plant-derived cannabinoids such as marijuana may possess some benefits in individuals with PTSD by helping relieve haunting nightmares and other symptoms of PTSD.”

Authors concluded: “The data reported herein are the first of which we are aware of to demonstrate the critical role of CB1 (cannabinoid) receptors and endocannabinoids in the etiology of PTSD in humans. As such, they provide a foundation upon which to develop and validate informative biomarkers of PTSD vulnerability, as well as to guide the rational development of the next generation of evidence-based treatments for PTSD.”

More: http://norml.org/news/2013/05/30/study-cannabinoids-offer-likely-therapeutic-option-for-patients-with-post-traumatic-trauma

Medicinal Use of Marijuana — Polling Results – The New England Journal of Medicine

“Readers recently joined in a lively debate about the use of medicinal marijuana. In Clinical Decisions,1 an interactive feature in which experts discuss a controversial topic and readers vote and post comments, we presented the case of Marilyn, a 68-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer. We asked whether she should be prescribed marijuana to help alleviate her symptoms. To frame this issue, we invited experts to present opposing viewpoints about the medicinal use of marijuana. J. Michael Bostwick, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Mayo Clinic, proposed the use of marijuana “only when conservative options have failed for fully informed patients treated in ongoing therapeutic relationships.” Gary M. Reisfield, M.D., from the University of Florida, certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine, and Robert L. DuPont, M.D., a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School, provide a counterpoint, concluding that “there is little scientific basis” for physicians to endorse smoked marijuana as a medical therapy.

We were surprised by the outcome of polling and comments, with 76% of all votes in favor of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes — even though marijuana use is illegal in most countries. A total of 1446 votes were cast from 72 countries and 56 states and provinces in North America, and 118 comments were posted. However, despite the global participation, the vast majority of votes (1063) came from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Given that North America represents only a minority of the general online readership of the Journal, this skew in voting suggests that the subject of this particular Clinical Decisions stirs more passion among readers from North America than among those residing elsewhere. Analysis of voting across all regions of North America showed that 76% of voters supported medicinal marijuana. Each state and province with at least 10 participants casting votes had more than 50% support for medicinal marijuana except Utah. In Utah, only 1% of 76 voters supported medicinal marijuana. Pennsylvania represented the opposite extreme, with 96% of 107 votes in support of medicinal marijuana.

Outside North America, we received the greatest participation from countries in Latin America and Europe, and overall results were similar to those of North America, with 78% of voters supporting the use of medicinal marijuana. All countries with 10 or more voters worldwide were at or above 50% in favor. There were only 43 votes from Asia and 7 votes from Africa, suggesting that in those continents, this topic does not resonate as much as other issues.

Where does this strong support for medicinal marijuana come from? Your comments show that individual perspectives were as polarized as the experts’ opinions. Physicians in favor of medicinal marijuana often focused on our responsibility as caregivers to alleviate suffering. Many pointed out the known dangers of prescription narcotics, supported patient choice, or described personal experience with patients who benefited from the use of marijuana. Those who opposed the use of medicinal marijuana targeted the lack of evidence, the lack of provenance, inconsistency of dosage, and concern about side effects, including psychosis. Common in this debate was the question of whether marijuana even belongs within the purview of physicians or whether the substance should be legalized and patients allowed to decide for themselves whether to make use of it.

In sum, the majority of clinicians would recommend the use of medicinal marijuana in certain circumstances. Large numbers of voices from all camps called for more research to move the discussion toward a stronger basis of evidence.”

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMclde1305159

“New England Journal of Medicine Endorses Medical Marijuana; San Francisco Medical Society Releases Study; New York Times Editorial Welcomes Debate” http://ndsn.org/feb97/nejm.html

Three out of four doctors recommend marijuana in New England Journal of Medicine poll

More than three out of four doctors support medical cannabis for a hypothetical breast cancer patient, New England Journal of Medicine reports“More than three out of four doctors support medical cannabis for a hypothetical breast cancer patient, New England Journal of Medicine reports

In a poll by the well-respected New England Journal of Medicine released today, more than three out of four doctors recommended medical cannabis for a hypothetical late-stage breast cancer patient.

“We were surprised by the outcome of polling and comments, with 76% of all votes in favor of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes — even though marijuana use is illegal in most countries,” Jonathan N. Adler, M.D., and James A. Colbert, M.D. wrote for the NEJOM May 30th.

Marijuana is a federally illegal – schedule one drug – that the U.S. government claims has no medical value and is more dangerous than heroin or LSD. Yet 19 states have legalized cannabis for medical use, given its 10,000 year history as a safe herbal remedy for nausea, pain and insomnia among other conditions.”

More: http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/30/three-out-of-four-doctors-recommend-marijuana-in-new-england-journal-of-medicine-poll/

Majority Support Medical Pot in New NEJM Poll

“To recommend, or not to recommend, medicinal marijuana? That’s the question recently posed in a New England Journal of Medicine interactive online poll. To get a feel for physicians’ opinions, NEJM presented readers with a fictional clinical situation. Here’s the scenario:

“Marilyn is a 68-year-old woman with breast cancer metastatic to the lungs and the thoracic and lumbar spine. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy with doxorubicin. She reports having very low energy, minimal appetite, and substantial pain in her thoracic and lumbar spine. For relief of nausea, she has taken ondansetron and prochlorperazine, with minimal success. She has been taking 1000 mg of acetaminophen every 8 hours for the pain. Sometimes at night she takes 5 mg or 10 mg of oxycodone to help provide pain relief. During a visit with her primary care physician she asks about the possibility of using marijuana to help alleviate the nausea, pain, and fatigue. She lives in a state that allows marijuana for personal medicinal use, and she says her family could grow the plants. As her physician, what advice would you offer with regard to the use of marijuana to alleviate her current symptoms? Do you believe that the overall medicinal benefits of marijuana outweigh the risks and potential harms?”

Readers weighed in with a variety of impassioned opinions. And the results, the authors said, were  surprising: 76% of respondents said they would recommend medicinal marijuana. Here’s part of the discussion:

“Physicians in favor of medicinal marijuana often focused on our responsibility as caregivers to alleviate suffering. Many pointed out the known dangers of prescription narcotics, supported patient choice, or described personal experience with patients who benefited from the use of marijuana. Those who opposed the use of medicinal marijuana targeted the lack of evidence, the lack of provenance, inconsistency of dosage, and concern about side effects, including psychosis. Common in this debate was the question of whether marijuana even belongs within the purview of physicians or whether the substance should be legalized and patients allowed to decide for themselves whether to make use of it.”” 

More: http://ripr.org/post/majority-support-medical-pot-new-nejm-poll 

Majority of Clinicians Support Medicinal Marijuana Use

“A majority of clinicians appears to support the use of medicinal marijuana, according to research published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.”

Majority of Clinicians Support Medicinal Marijuana Use 
“(HealthDay News) – A majority of clinicians appears to support the use of medicinal marijuana, according to research published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
 

Jonathan N. Adler, MD, and James A. Colbert, MD, associate editors for the New England Journal of Medicine, describe the results of polling and comments in an interactive feature in which experts discussed the use of medicinal marijuana for a 68-year old woman with metastatic breast cancer.”

More: http://www.empr.com/majority-of-clinicians-support-medicinal-marijuana-use/article/295539/#

Most Docs OK With Medical Marijuana: Survey – MedlinePlus

“Majority would give a prescription to an advanced cancer patient in pain.Three-quarters of doctors who responded to a survey about medical marijuana said they would approve the use of the drug to help ease pain in an older woman with advanced breast cancer.

….there are two FDA-approved prescription cannabinoid pills — dronabinol (Marinol) and nabilone (Cesamet) — that don’t begin working as quickly as smoked marijuana, but provide longer symptom relief without the high of marijuana.

 They also don’t appear to have any addictive properties, he said.

What many doctors would like to see, according to the survey, is more evidence on the use of marijuana as medicine, so they could make a better-informed decision one way or the other.”

More: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_137301.html

Survey: 76 percent of doctors approve of medical marijuana use – CBS

“A majority of doctors would approve the use of medical marijuana, according to a new survey.”

“”We were surprised by the outcome of polling and comments, with 76 percent of all votes in favor of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes — even though marijuana use is illegal in most countries,” the survey’s authors wrote.

The results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 30. It included responses from 1,446 doctors from 72 different countries and 56 different states and provinces in North America. In addition, 118 doctors posted comments about their decision on the survey.

Doctors who said they would prescribe it talked a lot about the responsibility of caregivers to help minimize their patients suffering, their patients’ personal choice and the known dangers of prescription narcotics and painkillers. They also pointed out knowledge of personal cases where marijuana was able to help patients.”

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57587129/survey-76-percent-of-doctors-approve-of-medical-marijuana-use/