USA: Rigorously Controlled Study Supports Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana

www.drugpolicy.org

15 02 2007

The results of the double blind study indicate that AIDS patients suffering from a painful nerve condition in their hands or feet experienced pain relief from smoking marijuana—as much or more relief than they would typically experience from taking prescription drugs, and with fewer side effects.

The study, "Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: A randomized placebo-controlled trial," appears in the latest issue of the journal Neurology. The experiment was conducted in a specially ventilated hospital ward under rigorously controlled conditions with government-grown marijuana.

Over a five-day inpatient intervention period, more than half of the AIDS patients smoking marijuana cigarettes three times a day experienced significant reductions in pain of peripheral neuropathy, which patients liken to a stabbing or burning sensation, usually on the bottoms of their feet. Conversely, less than one-quarter of those who smoked the "placebo" marijuana cigarettes, which had the primary psychoactive ingredients removed, reported benefits as measured by subjective pain reports and standardized neurological tests.

"This is evidence, using the gold standard for clinical research, that cannabis has some medicinal benefits for a condition that can be severely debilitating," said Dr. Donald Abrams, lead author of the study.

Dr. Abrams’ study, which was funded by the state of California, was made possible in part by the efforts of DPA board member and former California senator John Vasconcellos. Vasconcellos authored several bills to facilitate medical marijuana research in California, the most recent in 2003.

The new study makes clear the importance of California’s support of medical marijuana research, despite the federal government’s continued denial that marijuana has legitimate and proven medical uses.