UCSF Study: Medical Marijuana Effective in HIV Neuropathy

Cal NORML Release Feb 12, 2007

For years, the DEA has been demanding controlled, FDA-approved
studies showing efficacy of medical marijuana. Today, the publication
of the first such study in two decades, by Dr. Donald Abrams at UCSF,
has been announced by the journal Neurology. The study shows that
marijuana is effective in reducing pain from HIV-related neuropathy,
as patients have long reported.
The study is the first of a dozen clinical studies sponsored by
California's Center for Medical Cannabis Research
http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu to reach publication. Others are in the
final stages of completion. The CMCR was founded in 2000, and it has
taken 7 years to reach this point. Much credit goes to the foresight
of Sen. John Vasconcellos for sponsoring the legislation establishing
the CMCR.
The question remains, how much longer will the federal government
keep marijuana illegal in the face of the scientific evidence?
Opponents can rightly contend that this single study was not part of
a formal FDA new drug application, and therefore can't be used for
new drug approval. A proposal by Prof. Lyle Craker of U. Mass to
establish a research garden to begin new drug development has been
blocked by DEA. In another breaking news story, DEA Administrative
Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner today ruled that Prof. Crakers'
application should be approved. Even if this happens, however, we
can expect it will take at least seven more years to approach new
drug approval.
In the meantime, how many more Americans will be wrongfully
arrested on account of the government's refusal to allow legal
medical use of marijuana?
-D. Gieringer, Cal NORML

Inhaled Cannabis Significantly Reduces HIV-Associated Neuropathy

Cannabis significantly reduces HIV-associated neuropathic pain compared to
placebo, and possesses an acceptable margin of safety for use, according to
clinical trial data published today in the journal Neurology.

Investigators at San Francisco General Hospital and the University of
California's Pain Clinical Research Center assessed the efficacy of inhaled
cannabis on HIV-associated sensory neuropathy in 50 volunteers participating
in a five-day double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Researchers reported
that smoking low-grade cannabis (3.56 percent THC) three times daily reduced
patients' pain by 34 percent.

"Thirteen of 25 patients randomized to cannabis cigarettes had >30 percent
in pain from baseline to end of treatment versus 6 of 25 patients receiving
placebo cigarettes," authors wrote. A 30 percent reduction in pain is
considered to be a clinically meaningful amount of pain relief.

Investigators added: "Smoking the first cannabis cigarette reduced chronic
pain ratings by a median of 72 percent versus a reduction of 15 percent with
placebo [zero THC] cigarettes. On day five, just prior to smoking the last
cigarette, median ratings of current chronic pain intensity were lower in
the cannabis group than in the placebo group. Smoking the last cigarette
further reduced chronic pain ratings 51 percent in the cannabis group versus
five percent in the placebo group."

They concluded: "Smoked cannabis was well tolerated and effectively relieved
chronic neuropathic pain from HIV-associated neuropathy [in a manner]
similar to oral drugs used for chronic neuropathic pain."

The lead investigator of the study, Donald Abrams of San Francisco General
Hospital, initially sought federal approval to assess the potential medical
efficacy of cannabis in HIV patients in 1994, but was repeatedly denied
access to the US government's supply of research-grade marijuana.

Previous clinical trials assessing the use of cannabinoids as analgesics
have demonstrated that they can significantly reduce the neuropathy
associated with multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, and rheumatoid
arthritis.

Neuropathic pain affects an estimated one percent of the world's population
and is typically unresponsive to both opioids and non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy
Analyst, at (202) 483-5500, or California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer
at (415) 563-5858. Full text of the study, "Cannabis in painful
HIV-associated sensory neuropathy," appears in the current issue of
Neurology.
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Dale Gieringer / California NORML (415) 563-5858 // canorml [at] igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114