Date: Sat, 24 Jun 1995 22:20:53 -0400 Message-Id: <199506250218.WAA04769@mojo.calyx.com> From: "Bill D'Amico" To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: DWI intelligence Drug Watch International put out at least two position papers in Atlanta. I have the pamphlet "Medical Marijuana Truth and Lies" and a press release "Position Statenent on 'Harm Reduction'". There are about 260 lines to follow. Did you notice the atrocious pun in the organization's acronym? You may score some points with it. DWI "Medical Marijuana Truth and Lies" "The illegal or harmful use of psychoactive drugs is a major threat to all world communities and to future generations. Drug Watch International is a volunteer drug prevention network of experts from a wide range of professions whose mission is to help assyre a healthier and safer world through drug prevention. February 1995 (End of page one) Truth and Lies Lie: Marijuana is an effective medication for neasea associated with cancer chemotherapy. Truth: Oncologists overwhelmingly reject the idea of prescribing smoked marijuana. Crude marijuana contains over 400 different chemicals. THC, the main active ingredient in crude marijuana, is available as the prescription drug Marinol, for the treatment of nausea associated with chemotherapy; however safer and more effective anti-emetic medication are available and preferred by oncologists. [Ed: Marijuana is effective in combating nausea from transcribing. What is the point about the 400 chemicals in crude marijuana, there's 800 chemicals in crude brocolli. Where is the information on ocnologists preffered medications coming from?] Lie: Marijuana is a beneficial treatment for glaucoma. Truth: There is no scientific evidence that marijuana prevents the progression of visual loss in glaucoma. While marijuana, as well as alcohol and a host of other substances, and lower intraocular eye pressure, the medication must be carefully tailored to the individual to prevent further eye damage. Besides numerous adverse side effects of smoking marijuana, the dose cannot be controlled. [Elvy Mussika (sp?) is receiving US government marijuana that she credits with saving what remains of her sight. This is anecdotal evidence, not a controlled study of smoked marijuana's efficacy against glaucoma. This evidence is echoed by numerous people that are not so fortunate as to receive medical marijuana legally. Why does DWI think people should be thrown in jail for not wanting to go blind?] Lie: Crude marijuana is effective in treating the wasting sysndrome associated with AIDS. Truth: Smoking mairjuana compromises the imune system and puts AIDS patients at significant risk for infections and respiratory problems. Current scientific studies show that Marinol (oral THC),which is effective in icreasing appetite but is ineffective in increasing weight gain. [The effectiveness of crude marijuana in treating AIDS wasting syndrome is not being studied because of political posturing. This is an outrage, politics should not stand in the way of scientific research. Once again their is massive anecdotal evidence in favor of the "lie" in DWI's view] Lie: The government is withholding important medicine from suffering patients by not allowing the prescribing of marijuana. Truth: Crude marijuana does not meet the scientific requirements for efficacy, quality, purity and safety necessary to be considered medicine. It is neither compassionate nor medically responsible to prescribe harmful impure substances to ill people. [Nausea? Blech! Francis Young, a judge for the DEA stated marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. Purity is something that could be regulated, just like it is with brocolli...How do you make the link between not meeting a set of requirements to being harmful and impure. The government is not witholding medicine from people. They are locking up people for trying to stay alive and painfree.] Lie: Smoking marijuana reduces the spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. Truth: In a recent double-blind scientific study, the latest high-tech electronic equipment was used to determine if smoked marijuana had any benefit in treating spasicity in patieints with MS. The study found that all patients receiving marijuana rather than palacebo perceived their spascity to be lessoned, when in actuality, it was made worse. [No citation for this "study with high tech equipment". Perhaps these results are true - does that justify putting Jimmy Montgomery in prison for what he perceives helps his problem?] Lie: Many doctors want crude marijuana available so they can prescribe it to their patients. Truth: Most doctors want the best medicine possible for their patients. Although synthetic marijuana (THC) in a pure and standardized form is available by prescription, it is often the last choice of doctors, because better medicines as available. The American Medical Association, the Federal Drug Administration, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Glaucoma Society, the American Academey of Ophthalmology, and the American Cancer Society have all rejected the use of smoked marijuana as medicine. Marijuana is not recognized as a medicine in generally accepted pharmacopeia, medical references or textbooks. [Marijuana is not prescribed by many doctors because it is illegal to do so. Nonetheless doctors have councilled patients to use marijuana if they want t save their eyesight, stay alive through chemotherapy. These large bodies of doctors would be prescribing it were it available, and were the studies to prove it's efficacy allowed to happen. Why did the government (NIDA) block the AIDS wasting study? Because there could be scientific evidence found showing it's efficacy? How does throwing people in jail help the patient, regardless of whether it is effective?] BY ANY MODERN MEDICAL STANDARD, MARIJUANA IS NO MEDICINE. [End of page 2. I'm feeling very nauseous. I'll type in the harm reduction statement in another session.] Position Statement on Marijuana for Medical Use. Leaf marijuan is not medicine. It is a harmful psychoactive drug. composed of over 400 different chemical, whcih should not be used by anyone, especially people who are ill. Background: In the last several years, the public has seen the issue of the therapeutic applications of leaf marijuana reach the level of discussions of public policy. This movement has been fueled by the forces seeking to legalize marijuan. Br having marijuana listed as medicine, they hope to "legitimize" marijuana. Ratinoale: Smoked marijuana is neither an acceptable medical treatment nor an alternative medical treatment for any illness. Marijuana use has serious health consequences. Concentration, motor coordination, memory, lungs, reproductive and immune systems are all adversely impacted by marijuana use; marijuana is addictive. Physicians who treat people for cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other diseases do not favor the use of marijuana. Not one American health organization accepts marijuana as medicine. These include the American Medical Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Glaucoma Society, American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Cancer Society. FDA/DEA have repeatedly rejected marijuana for medicinal use. Marijuana fails to meet any of the Drug Enforcement Administrations or Federal Drug Administration's eight criteria for approving drugs for medical use. Even Marinol, a synthetic form of THC (tetrahydracannibinol), available by prescription for treating nausea, has far more negative health effects than other available agents. There are numerous and more effective anti nausea agents. These include Prochlorperazine (Compazine), metaclopramide (Reglan), lorazepam, corticosteroids, thiethylperazine (Torecan), ondansetron (Zofran), promethazine (Phenagran), perphenazine (Trilafon), and chlorpromazine (Thorazine) The pro-drug lobby exlits the suffering of patients with chronic illness with false promises about marijuana as medicine. They have stated that they are pushing marijuana as medicine and are using it as a "red herring" as part of a strategy to legalize marijuana for general use. [End of page 3. This whle page is just an abomination. Marijuana does get used by some people as medicine. Whether there are more effective drugs for the various illnesses it is used for is irrelevent. Why should people be thrown in jail for attempting to treat themselve? Ethical doctors will apprise them selves of research results before prescribing medicines, why won't the government let such research be conducted? What possible good does it do to put Jimmy Montogomery in jail?] [Page 4 is a who's who in DWI land (you may want to skip the rest - theres few surprises - Voth, Bennett, Nahas, ...] DWI Board of Directors Stephanie Haynes - TX President David Noffs - IL Past President Sandra Bennety - OR Vice President Carol Wortman - PA Sec/Treas Joan Belim - IL Karin Kyles - CT John Lamp, Esq - WA Connie Moulton - MA Alex Romero - AZ Joyce Tobias - VA Jose Carranza, MD - TX Susan Dalterio, PhD - TX Yessee Ben Yehudah - IL Ex-Officio Board Susie Dugan - NE Dir US Delegates David Evans, Esq - NJ Legal Advisor John F Gilligan, PhD - IL Dir International Delegates. Ann Harsen - MI Dir Liason Board Ariene Seal PhD - PA Education Advisor Maggie Petito - DC Public Policy Advisor Eric Voth, MD, FACP, KS Institute Chairman DWI International Advisors Pat Barton - FL Chief Rubin Greenburg - SC Dick Herndobier - OR Datuk Haji Idris Ibrahim, DMSM, JSM - Malaysia Cliff Kincaid - VA Jerry Johansen - TX Bernad Lail, PhD - MI Bill Oliver - GA Torgny Peterson, Sweden Col David {erlman - IL Rep. Gerald Solomon - DC Padma Talcherkar, MD - IL International Straegy Institute Eric Voth, MD, FACP - KS Chairman Bob Peterson, Esq - MI Vice-Chairman Wm Bennett, MD, FACP - OR Co-Chair, Scientific Gabriel Nahas, MD, PhD, - NY Co-Chair Scientific Beverly Barron - TX Joan Belim - IL Peter Bensinger - IL Dan Brookoff, MD, PhD - TN Guy Cabral, PhD - VA Beverly Cox - TX Lee Dogoloff, LCSW - MD Robert DuPont, MD - MD David Evans, Esq - NJ Ron Gaetano, R.Ph - NJ John F. Gilligan, PhD - IL Mark Gold, MD - FL Charles Graham, MD - KS Franziska Haller, PhD - Switzerland Ed Jacobs, MD, FAAP - WA John Lamp, Esq - WA Janet LApey, MD - MA Ian MacDonald, MD - MD Otto Moulton - MA Adm Paul Mulloy (Ret) - RI Percival Pascua, MD - KS Jill Peralman - England Louise Perkins - Canada Edwin Petrik, MD - KS Tom Pool WA David Resley, Esq. - IL Wayne Roques - FL Richard Scwartz, MD - VA Alvera Stern, EdD - VA David Spencer, MD - MN Donald Tashkin, MD - CA Forest Tennant, MD, PhD - CA Harold Voth, MD - KS E. Joe Wiese - TX DWI PO Box 1454 Elmhurst, Illinois 60126-2127