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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 24, 2004, at 7:35:25
Okay, my above post about Prialt is entirely insignificant. I could care less about the stuff, lol. I had no idea until five minutes ago that an honest-to-goodness whole plant cannabis drug is about to hit the market sometime this year (in the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, and Canada anyway... it had better come to the States as well, or I swear on my mother's life, I'm out of here!! lol).
Sativex(r) (just the name gives me goosebumps :-) contains all active constituents present in Cannabis sativa, with Tetranabinex™ (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and Nabidiolex™ (cannabidiol) at the forefront. This is of course in drastic opposition to the simple delta-9-THC formulation of dronabinol (Marinol). Sativex(r) is a sublingual spray and is soon expected to be approved for the treatment of chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and many different types of neuropathic pain. Of course, it will also make a wonderful antinauseant/appetite stimulant, though I'm not sure if they're seeking approval for those purposes. I haven't been keeping up with the news lately, but I also just read that the U.K. is decriminalizing marijuana... is this coincidence or cause and effect?
A company representative has stated that the dose of cannabinoids is plenty sufficient to provide analgesia, but will not render the patient "overly intoxicated". Of course, with physicians' discretion in prescribing amounts/dose frequency, this little hurdle can be overcome quite easily. :-)
Thank you, Bayer Healthcare AG and GW Pharmaceuticals -- woo-hoo!! lol
Posted by NikkiT2 on January 24, 2004, at 9:26:12
In reply to Finally--REAL cannabis-based med well on the way!!, posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 24, 2004, at 7:35:25
The UK isn't decriminalising pot at all.. total mis conception.
What it IS doing is down grading it from a Class B drug (speed, ecstacy etc), and making it a class C drug (steroids, valium etc). In theory this will mean that less people are convicted to posession. But I'm not sure whether or not this is going to have on any real effect for the UK's pot smokers.
Posession will still be illegal, and smoking it will still be illegal. Some police forces ahve said they won't arrest "personal amounts", but others have said they will still arrest for posession.
So, to me, it seems nothing has changed, except if I do get caught with it, I might get off lighter than before.
Nikki
Posted by SLS on January 24, 2004, at 10:25:02
In reply to Re: Finally--REAL cannabis-based med well on the way!! » Ame Sans Vie, posted by NikkiT2 on January 24, 2004, at 9:26:12
From Reuter's via Medscape:
British Medical Association Attacks Cannabis ReclassificationBy Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) Jan 21 - The British Medical Association (BMA) attacked the government's decision to downgrade the legal status of cannabis, saying on Wednesday that regular use of the drug can kill.
Cannabis will be reclassified as a low risk, category C drug next week, making discreet possession of small amounts of it or smoking it in private a non-arrestable offense.
The downgrade, while maintaining the drug as illegal, will put cannabis in the same category as anabolic steroids and growth hormones.
The BMA said the reclassification would mislead the public into thinking the drug was safe.
"Cannabis is a drug that can kill," Dr. Peter Maguire, deputy chairman of the BMA's board of science told Reuters. "People are making the conclusion that it is safe where in fact it is actually more dangerous than tobacco.
"People tend to start smoking joints in their youthful years... and they don't appreciate the damage it can cause to their chest, their heart and all the other organs in later life."
A cannabis joint without tobacco contains a third more tar than a normal cigarette, Maguire said, while the blood of someone who smoked a cannabis joint contained five times more carbon monoxide than that of a person who smoked a normal cigarette.
Mental health charity Rethink has also called for more health warnings to be issued over the link between developing schizophrenia and cannabis use.
Britain has an estimated five million cannabis users and government figures suggest that its use has grown sharply in the last 20 years.
On Tuesday, a coroner recorded that a British man had died as a direct result of smoking the drug. Lee Maisey, 36, smoked up to six cannabis joints a day and is thought to be the first Briton to die as a direct result.
Home Secretary David Blunkett introduced the reclassification, saying the government's priority was tackling the most serious Class A drugs, which wrecked people's lives.
The government will launch a campaign on Thursday aiming to highlight the damage caused by cannabis and the fact that it remains illegal.
British media, senior police chiefs and the United Nations have criticised the reclassification, saying it will lead to widespread confusion.
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 24, 2004, at 11:22:56
In reply to Re: Finally--REAL cannabis-based med well on the way!! » Ame Sans Vie, posted by NikkiT2 on January 24, 2004, at 9:26:12
Right--that's what I meant by "decriminalization". I know it still remains illegal, but as in Holland, I expect that police will (for the most part) look the other way and go after true criminals.
Posted by NikkiT2 on January 24, 2004, at 13:31:50
In reply to Re: Finally--REAL cannabis-based med well on the way!! » NikkiT2, posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 24, 2004, at 11:22:56
No, its not like in Netherlands at all. Its not decriminalised.. not even nearly. Its just a lower grade drug.
Police are saying they will still arrest, though if you're only carrying a small amount you generally already just get it confiscated.
We're not going to be getting cafe's for smoking in an dbuying in from.. and people will still be getting prosicuted for it.
Its all been over done by the media it seems. And yes, I am in the UK
Nikki
Posted by gabbix2 on January 24, 2004, at 14:42:17
In reply to Re: Finally--REAL cannabis-based med well on the way!! » Ame Sans Vie, posted by NikkiT2 on January 24, 2004, at 13:31:50
To decriminalize something means to reduce the penalty for it, not always to abolish the penalty altogether.
Posted by Dr. Bob on January 24, 2004, at 15:39:45
In reply to Re: Finally--REAL cannabis-based med well on the way!! » Ame Sans Vie, posted by NikkiT2 on January 24, 2004, at 9:26:12
> The UK isn't decriminalising pot at all.. total mis conception...
I'd like to redirect follow-ups regarding decriminalising pot to Psycho-Babble Substance Use. Here's a link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20031208/msgs/305082.html
Thanks,
Bob
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