OUR READERS RESPOND

POT FACTS

To the editor: Don Giteronke's June 21 letter to the editor questions why
patients desire medical marijuana when synthetic THC (Marinol) is already
legally available.

The active ingredient in Marinol, delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC), is
only one the compounds isolated in marijuana known to have medical benefit
to patients.

It is likely that many patients favor inhaled marijuana to Marinol because
marijuana includes other therapeutically active cannabinoids whereas Marinol
contains only one. Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabichromine (CBC) are two
additional naturally occurring compounds in marijuana that demonstrate
medical value in scientific trials.

Animal studies, case studies, and human clinical trials show CBD to be a
potent anticonvulsant for patients suffering from epilepsy.

CBD also appears to reduce certain involuntary abnormal movements in
patients suffering from movement disorders.

According to marijuana and neurological disease expert Dr. Paul Consroe of
the University of Arizona, the compound appears to have distinctive
therapeutic value for several neurological disorders.

This would help explain why many patients who suffer from movement
disorders, spasticity or epilepsy find relief from whole smoked marijuana
but not from Marinol. Also, there is evidence that CBD may reduce or block
some of the psychoactive effects of THC.

Often times, patients complain that Marinol's highly variable and enhanced
psychoactivity discourages them from using the drug.

Thus, CBD (and perhaps other marijuana constituents) can produce beneficial
therapeutic effects and at the same time reduce some of the unwanted side
effects of natural and synthetic THC.

CBC is a nonpsychoactive compound found in cannabis that appears to have
medical value as an anti-inflammatory.

In Holland, scientists now breed strains of cannabis high in non-traditional
cannabinoids like CBD and CBC so that science may better observe the
specific therapeutic effects of these individual compounds.

By federally prohibiting the consumption of whole smoked marijuana, and
approving the prescription use of oral THC, the government is unnecessarily
forcing patients to use a synthetic drug that lacks much of the therapeutic
effectiveness the cannabis plant may provide.

PAUL ARMENTANO Director of Publications The NORML Foundation Washington, D.C.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett