Marijuana does, in fact, have the potential to alleviate a sprinkling of medical qualms, according to a series of studies completed on UC campuses over the last 10 years and recently presented to the California State Legislature.
Former state Sen. John Vasconcellos initiated the near-completed project, which was funded by an $8.7 million allocation and entailed the establishment of the UC Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research in San Diego. The center’s assigned research was aimed at determining the medical benefits, if any, of marijuana, according to Dr. J. Hampton Atkinson, co-director of the effort and current professor-in-residence at UC San Diego.
To date, UC-affiliated investigators have completed 15 studies on various ailments’ reactions to cannabis. Five have been published in scientific literature, Atkinson said.
The published studies report that vaporizers are effective for marijuana use and that the herb can reduce neuropathic pain, a discomfort resulting from damaged nerve fibers. Though neuropathic pain can be attributed to an array of causes from diabetes to amputations, the completed studies extensively tested and confirmed the drug’s positive effects on only HIV pain. Completed experiments also found that cannabis can decrease discomfort associated with muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis patients.
Though other studies were designed to test the herb’s effects on problems like insomnia and cancer, these were discontinued because of roadblocks such as the inability to find an adequate subject pool, Atkinson said.
The effort’s funds are running low, so the study of marijuana’s effects on these ills by the current UC initiative is unlikely, according to Atkinson.
“There’s plenty more research to do, but the realistic assessment is that we’re done,” Atkinson said. “We accomplished the basic (problem) we were asked to assess … and presented our findings to the legislature. I don’t think the state of California should be footing the bill for additional research since we’ve made a good start.”
The project’s culmination comes on the heels of an ordinance passed last month by the Los Angeles city council calling for the shutdown of hundreds of the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries.
Though the legislation is not yet in full effect, city attorney Carmen Trutanich filed suit against three dispensaries and sent letters claiming repeated law violations to 18 more on Thursday.
As far as the UC report’s influence on lawmaking, Trutanich said he believes medical professionals alone hold the right to determine for which illnesses cannabis should be administered.
“Our office isn’t involved in the debate over medical efficacy,” Trutanich said. “We’re involved in the interpretation of California law (regarding the drug).”
Susan Leahy, manager of the Farmacy dispensary on Gayley Avenue, said she thinks the UC’s findings will be difficult for lawmakers to ignore, and studies like these boost marijuana’s reputation “drastically.” Her store is the only dispensary allowed to remain operating in Westwood under the ordinance.
“Part of what we do at the Farmacy is try to educate people,” Leahy said. “We’ve known about the results (of medical marijuana use), but the government has kept them repressed.”
Leahy also said she advocates using the herb for ailments besides the few it has proven to aid through the UC studies, claiming UCLA doctors have referred patients to the Farmacy for issues other than those outlined in the report.
“The studies only touched on a little iota of what marijuana can do,” Leahy said.
However, Atkinson said he cannot fully advocate the prescribing of marijuana for problems not included in the UC reports, partly because dispensary products are often varying blends of many plants and substances while the contents of lab samples are far more controlled.
Though not a proponent of administering marijuana for understudied illnesses, Atkinson also said he believes the studies’ findings to be accurate; cannabis truly can help relieve certain types of pain.
“We only feel comfortable recommending something that has a science base, and (the studies) are a reasonable science base,” Atkinson said. “All the studies are consistent; it’s good data.”