Medical Marijuana For ADHD

By Katherine Ellison

At the Peace in Medicine Healing Center in Sebastopol, the wares on display include dried marijuana - featuring brands like Kryptonite, Voodoo Daddy and Train Wreck - and medicinal cookies arrayed below a sign saying, "Keep Out of Reach of Your Mother."
Several Bay Area doctors who recommend medical marijuana for their patients said in recent interviews that their client base had expanded to include teenagers with psychiatric conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
"It's not everybody's medicine, but for some, it can make a profound difference," said Valerie Corral, a founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a patients' collective in Santa Cruz that has two dozen minors as registered clients.
Because California does not require doctors to report cases involving medical marijuana, no reliable data exist for how many minors have been authorized to receive it. But Dr. Jean Talleyrand, who founded MediCann, a network in Oakland of 20 clinics who authorize patients to use the drug, said his staff members had treated as many as 50 patients ages 14 to 18 who had A.D.H.D. Bay Area doctors have been at the forefront of the fierce debate about medical marijuana, winning tolerance for people with grave illnesses like terminal cancer and AIDS. Yet as these doctors use their discretion more liberally, such support - even here - may be harder to muster, especially when it comes to using marijuana to treat adolescents with A.D.H.D.
"How many ways can one say 'one of the worst ideas of all time?' " asked Stephen Hinshaw, the chairman of the psychology department at the University of California, Berkeley. He cited studies showing that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, disrupts attention, memory and concentration - functions already compromised in people with the attention-deficit disorder.
Advocates are just as adamant, though they are in a distinct minority. "It's safer than aspirin," Dr. Talleyrand said. He and other marijuana advocates maintain that it is also safer than methylphenidate (Ritalin), the stimulant prescription drug most often used to treat A.D.H.D. That drug has documented potential side effects including insomnia, depression, facial tics and stunted growth.
In 1996, voters approved a ballot proposition making California the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Twelve other states have followed suit - allowing cannabis for several specified, serious conditions including cancer and AIDS - but only California adds the grab-bag phrase "for any other illness for which marijuana provides relief."
This has left those doctors willing to "recommend" cannabis - in the Alice-in-Wonderland world of medical marijuana, they cannot legally prescribe it - with leeway that some use to a daring degree. "You can get it for a backache," said Keith Stroup, the founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Nonetheless, expanding its use among young people is controversial even among doctors who authorize medical marijuana.
Gene Schoenfeld, a doctor in Sausalito, said, "I wouldn't do it for anyone under 21, unless they have a life-threatening problem such as cancer or AIDS."
Dr. Schoenfeld added, "It's detrimental to adolescents who chronically use it, and if it's being used medically, that implies chronic use."
Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said she was particularly worried about the risk of dependency - a risk she said was already high among adolescents and people with attention-deficit disorder.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, however, patients and doctors have been reporting that marijuana helps alleviate some of the symptoms, particularly the anxiety and anger that so often accompany A.D.H.D. The disorder has been diagnosed in more than 4.5 million children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers have linked the use of marijuana by adolescents to increased risk of psychosis and schizophrenia for people genetically predisposed to those illnesses. However, one 2008 report in the journal Schizophrenia Research suggested that the incidence of mental health problems among adolescents with the disorder who used marijuana was lower than that of nonusers.
Marijuana is "a godsend" for some people with A.D.H.D., said Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist who has written several books on the disorder. However, Dr. Hallowell said he discourages his patients from using it, both because it is - mostly - illegal, and because his observations show that "it can lead to a syndrome in which all the person wants to do all day is get stoned, and they do nothing else."
Until the age of 18, patients requesting medical marijuana must be accompanied to the doctor's appointment and to the dispensaries by a parent or authorized caregiver. Some doctors interviewed said they suspected that in at least some cases, parents were accompanying their children primarily with the hope that medical authorization would allow the adolescents to avoid buying drugs on the street.
A recent University of Michigan study found that more than 40 percent of high school students had tried marijuana.
"I don't have a problem with that, as long as we can have our medical conversation," Dr. Talleyrand said, adding that patients must have medical records to be seen by his doctors.
The Medical Board of California began investigating Dr. Talleyrand in the spring, said a board spokeswoman, Candis Cohen, after a KGO-TV report detailed questionable practices at MediCann clinics, which, the report said, had grossed at least $10 million in five years.
Dr. Talleyrand and his staff members are not alone in being willing to recommend marijuana for minors. In Berkeley, Dr. Frank Lucido said he was questioned by the medical board but ultimately not disciplined after he authorized marijuana for a 16-year-old boy with A.D.H.D. who had tried Ritalin unsuccessfully and was racking up a record of minor arrests.
Within a year of the new treatment, he said, the boy was getting better grades and was even elected president of his special-education class. "He was telling his mother: 'My brain works. I can think,' " Dr. Lucido said.
"With any medication, you weigh the benefits against the risks," he added.
Even so, MediCann patients who receive the authorization must sign a form listing possible downsides of marijuana use, including "mental slowness," memory problems, nervousness, confusion, "increased talkativeness," rapid heartbeat, difficulty in completing complex tasks and hunger. "Some patients can become dependent on marijuana," the form also warns.
The White House's recent signals of more federal tolerance for state medical marijuana laws - which pointedly excluded sales to minors - reignited the debate over medical marijuana.
Some advocates, like Dr. Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard University, suggest that medical marijuana's stigma has less to do with questions of clinical efficacy and more to do with its association, in popular culture, with illicit pleasure and addiction.
Others, like Alberto Torrico of Fremont, the majority leader of the California Assembly, argue for more oversight in general. "The marijuana is a lot more powerful these days than when we were growing up, and too much is being dispensed for nonmedical reasons," he said in an interview last week, bluntly adding, "Any children being given medical marijuana is unacceptable."
As advocates of increased acceptance try to win support, they may find their serious arguments compromised by the dispensaries' playful atmosphere.
OrganiCann, a dispensary in Santa Rosa, has a Web site advertisement listing the "medible of the week" - butterscotch rock candy - invitingly photographed in a gift box with a ribbon. OrganiCann also offers a 10 percent discount, every Friday, for customers with a valid student ID.

Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter and author, most recently, of "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention," to be published by Hyperion this fall. http://www.katherineellison.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katherine_Ellison

Medical Properties Of Medical Marijuana

The chemical components of Medical Marijuana, referred to as cannabinoids, play a major role in the realm of medicine known as CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Medical Marijuana, also know as Medical Cannabis, has been employed for a wide array of medicinal uses for many centuries for its pharmacological effects on the CNS (Central Nervous System) and the immune system. Its anticancer properties and its ability to help the body cope with the side-effects of cancer as well as the treatment process through the activation of specific receptors throughout the body were discovered quite recently.
The non-psychtropic and modifying cannabinoid that has a number of different medical properties called Cannabidiol comprises 75% of the total cannabinoids content in a few rare strains of cannabis. This modifying cannabinoid called Cannabinol has low psychoactive properties. It is known to reduce the psychoactive effects of THC by degenerating it. Its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, and antioxidant properties are well-known.
The cannabinoid, Cannabigerol that is found in Cannabis, particularly its medical marijuana and hemp varieties is the precursor form of other cannabinoids like THC and CBD. It is a bone stimulant with antibacterial and anti-proliferative properties.
Tetrahydrocannabivarin is found in cannabis along with THC. This psychoactive cannabinoid has numerous medical benefits in THC, which include decreased appetite and as the dosage gets larger, it is known to oppose the medicinal properties of THC. There are a number of THCV-based pharmaceuticals that are currently undergoing human trials to address the problems of obesity and Type II diabetes.
Akin to Tetrahydrocannabivarin is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid, Cannabichromene that is usually found in cannabis and it also known to have a few medical properties. It is renowned for its anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, antimicrobial, analgesic properties, also stimulates the growth of bones and constricts blood vessels.
One of the principal psychoactive cannabinoid compounds found in marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC that occurs naturally as THC-A, its acidic form and is not absorbed readily by the body in its naturally occurring state. When heated, THC-A undergoes decarboxylation to a readily absorbable from that has a number of different medical benefits.
Both Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol have anxiolytic, antispasmodic, anti-proliferative anticancer, anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective, antiemetic, and neuropathic analgesic properties. In addition, Cannabidiol is also a bone-stimulant and immunosuppressant with antibacterial, antipsychotic, antiepileptic, anti-ischemic, anti diabetic, anti psoriatic, and vasorelaxation properties while the antioxidant Tetrahydrocannabinol stimulates appetite, reduces the intraocular eye pressure, promotes the growth of new nerve tissue, also protects nerves from damage.



Colorado is one of the states that has legalized Medical Marijuana for use as a medicine. For more information visit the website of Kind Love Medical Marijuana Dispensary located in Denver, CO. You can submit your questions about Medical Marijuana to an MMJ expert at the Kind Love Dispensary http://www.mmjdenver.net.

Proven Facts on the Benefits of Marijuana For Arthritis Patients

Proven Facts on the Benefits of Marijuana for Arthritis Patients
Any number of marijuana users, whether medicinal or recreational, will tell you that "Mary J" is great for relaxation. In fact, you would probably receive a list of problems the drug has helped relieve or alleviate all together.
As an arthritis patient looking for alternatives to synthesized medicines, unable to use traditional medications or physically unreceptive to traditional medication, you may be skeptical. You may be disbelieving. You may, in fact, consider marijuana users to be a little lacking in the intelligence quotient, merely trying to make their drug use acceptable.
However, as the title of this article indicates, there is scientifically proven evidence that medicinal marijuana can, indeed, provide relief from arthritic pain.
What is Medicinal Marijuana?
First, it must be noted that there are two major differences between medicinal marijuana and commercial or "street" marijuana.
1. Commercial marijuana can come from any number of cannabis strains. Different strains have varying pain relieving, anti-inflammatory, etc. potencies. The potency of commercial marijuana can't be guaranteed. Medicinal marijuana strains, on the other hand, are chosen for specifically for their potency and effects.
2. Some commercial marijuana has been fertilized with unsafe fertilizers. These fertilizers may contain metal derivatives and other toxic substances or by-products. Medicinal marijuana is fertilized carefully, with the health of the patient in mind, with nontoxic fertilizers.
It is not recommended that one buy commercial marijuana (or marihuana) to replace a prescription for medicinal marijuana.
Proven Benefits of Marijuana for Arthritis Patients
Although the legal aspects in many countries, funding and other issues inhibit the number of studies on the therapeutic aspects of marijuana, there is still a surprising amounts of information available. The facts so far are clear:
- Marijuana has shown to be an anti-inflammatory

- The potential for cannabis use to help inflammation and muscle spasms have been proven for several illnesses

- Marijuana has been used as a pain treatment for hundreds of years, if not thousands (some records date back to B.C.)

- Studies suggest that marijuana may not only help inflammation, but may lower the actual growth of the disease itself
Dr. Tom Mikuriya, a member of Mensa and several well-known organizations studying medicinal marijuana, wrote in 2002:
"Clinical interviews of over 6500 members at cannabis buyers clubs and patients in my office practice lead to this generalization: Many illnesses or conditions present with both inflammation and muscle spasm. Cannabis is both an antispasmodic and anti inflammatory."
Well known and respected as an authority on the therapeutic uses of marijuana, Dr Mikuriya also states "Chronic inflammatory conditions like arthritis and lumbosacral disease responds well to cannabis compared with other analgesics."
In 2005, Rheumatology Advance Access online published a study by Dr. Blake et al of the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath. Noted as "the first controlled trial of a CBM [cannabis based medicine] in the symptomatic treatment of RA in humans", the study was based on several facts:
- Marijuana has historically been used as a pain treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, although its therapeutic potential has never been evaluated in a clinical study.
- THC and CBD, the two main components of marijuana, have been recognized as "key therapeutic constituents that act synergistically together and with other plant constituents."
- THC has shown pain relieving abilities for both nociceptive and neropathic pain.
- CBD has shown the ability to block the progression of rheumatoid arthritis, while both THC and CBD have anti-inflammatory effects.
"In comparison with placebo, the CBM produced statistically significant improvements in pain on movement, pain at rest, quality of sleep, DAS28 and the SF-MPQ pain at present component. There was no effect on morning stiffness but baseline scores were low. The large majority of adverse effects were mild or moderate, and there were no adverse effect-related withdrawals or serious adverse effects in the active treatment group."
Due to the surprising responses, the researchers ended the study with a call for more studies. "We believe this to be the first controlled study of a CBM in rheumatoid arthritis, and the results are encouraging. The beneficial effects occurred in the context of a dosing regime restricted to evening dosing in order to minimize any possible intoxication-type reactions. However, 24-h dosing with this CBM (Sativex) using a self-titration regime in the context of multiple sclerosis resulted in only minimal intoxication scores [9]. Larger, more prolonged studies of CBM in rheumatoid arthritis are indicated."
In 2006, the Center of Drug Discovery in Boston, Massachusetts published a study entitled The Cannabinergic System as a Target for Anti-inflammatory Therapies. With habitual cannabis use proven to affect the immune system, endocannabinoid research has helped to understand the effects through cell-based or in vivo animal testing.
According to the study, these tests "suggest that regulation of the endocannabinoid circuitry can impact almost every major function associated with the immune system.... the results suggest therapeutic opportunities for a variety of inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, allergic asthma, and autoimmune diabetes through modulation of the endocannabinoid system."
Although many a naysayer mentions the potentials for overdose, it must be noted that there has never been one documented case of someone overdosing on marijuana, whether through recreational or medicinal use. As well, many are concerned about cancer-causing agents through inhaling the smoke, but a comprehensive study in 2006 could show no proof of marijuana causing lung cancer.
Finally, remember that medical marijuana should not be smoked. Using it in baking or with a vaporizer will offer the therapeutic benefits needed to alleviate arthritis symptoms.



About The Author: Health Canada grants access to marijuana for medical use to those who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses and those with chronic conditions. Medicinal-Marijuana.ca helps connect qualified patients with designated growers across Canada, providing information, support and resources to all Canadians who would like to access the medical marijuana program of Canada. Visit online today.