Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CANNABIS
Authors: Carol Bott, R.N. and Dave Bishop

Sources:

Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 26th Edition, W.B. Saunders
Company

Hemp for Health, Chris Conrad, Healing Arts Press

Marijuana Grower's Guide, Mel Frank, Red Eye Press

Marijuana Myths: Ten Most Common Concerns About Cannabis, Patients out of
Time

O'Shaughnessy's, The Journal of Cannabis in Clinical Practice

The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, 11th Edition, AH HA Publishing

Time Magazine, "The Year in Medicine," November 27, 2005

Q: What is cannabis?

A: Marijuana...hemp...Mary Jane...reefer...pot...weed...ganja, Pacololo...All of these and many more are colloquial names for cannabis sativa.Cannabis is an annual herb that has been used throughout human history as sacrament and for medicine, oil, food and fiber. In fact, the term sativa means cultivated or useful, as opposed to wild. The oldest confirmed use of cannabis was in China in 3750 B.C. Over time, many different strains of cannabis have been developed to meet its wide variety of uses. Medicinal or therapeutic applications are multiple and include asthma, glaucoma, Crohn's Disease, tumors, cancer chemotherapy, migraine, chronic pain, epilepsy, arthritis, insomnia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, AIDS and
Alzheimer's Disease. Recently, research has focused on the newly-discovered endocannabinoid system, which includes cannabinoid receptor sites within our own bodies and brains.

Q: Why is cannabis illegal?

A: Cannabis has been illegal in this country since December, 1937. Prior to this, it was one of the primary medicines in the American pharmacopoeia and was widely prescribed to all ages for a variety of medical conditions. It
was also offered in candy and was available in hashish smoking parlors, open in every major American city by 1883. Cannabis was widely cultivated by American farmers for fiber, food and oil, as is still being done in other countries today. It was a major base upon which American industry rested. Unfortunately, cannabis was so versatile and valuable that it threatened to
reduce the profits of large timber companies, such as Randolph Hearst's holdings, as well as the newly-developing petroleum-based industries. In the mid 1930's, at the same time as modern equipment was appearing to deal with harvesting and processing cannabis hemp, DuPont patented processes to manufacture plastics from oil and coal and paper from wood pulp. Mr. Hearst, DuPont and their allies stood to lose a lot of money if cannabis continued to be grown and used instead of the products they were selling. Subsequently, Hearst and others had Harry J. Anslinger appointed head of the newly-created Federal Bureau of Narcotics, now the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). A pogrom of lies about "marijuana" that appealed to
racism and fear succeeded in outlawing cannabis, partly because those who would have protested did not realize that the "dreaded killer drug marijuana" was actually just cannabis. Despite horrified and impassioned last-minute protests by the American Medical Association and The National Oil Seed Institute, among others, cannabis became illegal in the United
States of America in 1937. Since its prohibition, the cotton, alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical and law-enforcement industries have joined older anti-cannabis factions. Widespread lies and suppression of information and research by the federal government, as well as frequently biased and punitive legal and judicial systems, serve to keep our jails full, our officials fat and happy, corporate profits unchallenged and cannabis federally illegal to this day.

Q: What are Proposition 215 and SB 420?

A: In 1996, voters in California passed Proposition 215, dubbed the compassionate Use Act of 1996. This initiative allows patients with a physician's recommendation to legally use medical cannabis in the State of California, although this use remains a federal offense. Proposition 215 also allows for cultivation and caregiver functions. California Senate Bill 420 (SB 420 / HS 11362.7) was passed in 2003 by the California legislature in an attempt to facilitate and clarify implementation of Proposition 215. SB 420 makes provisions for a voluntary ID card program, establishes threshold limits on allowable quantities of live cannabis plants and processed cannabis, provides for collective and cooperative grows and extends the power of cannabis recommendations to California osteopaths.

Q: What disease do I need to qualify for a medical cannabis reccomendation?

A: A reccomendation for medical cannabis in California is provided by a physician or osteopath and is good for one year at a time.( for information on medical cannabis guidelines or rules in your area, please visit www.norml.org ) Hopefully, you won't develope a disease or physical condition that will require medical intervention, but if you do, there is no specific diagnosis or title that will guarantee a reccomendation. Normally during your appointment with a cannabis medicine specialist, the physician
reviews your medical records, including what other more conventional therapies you've already tried, conducts his or her own physical and or psychiatric examination, then gives you a reccomendation for medical cannabis IF he or she agrees that this is an appropriate therapy in your case. At that time, the Doctor can also help you determine the dose you need and advise on other delivery methods for for cannabis,i.e., ingesting it or appling it topically. Reccomendations can also be provided by your family
or personal physician; some medical cannabis patients have reccomendations from both their own doctor and a cannabis specialist.

Q: Will the legalization of cannabis encourage teenagers to use it?

A: The simple answer to this is, "No." In an article on page 8 of the Autumn 2005 O'Shaughnessy's, Katherine O'Keefe and Mitch Earleywine reported, "Nine years after the passage of the nation's first state medical marijuana law...a considerable body of data shows that no state with a medical marijuana law has experienced an increase in youth marijuana use since their law's enactment. All have reported overall decreases of more than the national average decrease - exceeding 50% in some age groups - strongly suggesting that enactment of state medical marijuana laws does not increase teen marijuana use." In addition, Holland has experienced a considerably reduced cannabis usage among adolescents since decriminalizing cannabis.

Q: Is cannabis a gateway drug?

A: Tom O'Connell, M.D. (O'Shaughnessy's, Autumn 2005, pg. 8), reported on an ongoing study he is conducting using applicants for medical cannabis recommendations under Proposition 215. Dr. O'Connell concluded that results so far cast "...great doubt on the validity of any 'gateway' role for cannabis. It supports the opposite interpretation: teens who begin
self-medicating with cannabis at an early age may be protected against problematic use of other agents - not only against tobacco and alcohol, but against heroin and other illegal drugs." In their March 1999 report the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found no evidence that cannabis use was a risk factor for progression to use of other substances. They called the gateway
theory a "social theory" and added, "Instead, it is the legal status of marijuana that makes it a gateway drug. " (And remember, prior to prohibition in 1937, cannabis was widely prescribed by American physicians to all ages without harm.)

Q: Is cannabis addictive?

A: According to Dorland's Medical Dictionary, for a substance to be considered addictive, it must (1) create an overwhelming compulsion to continue using it and to do anything necessary to obtain it, (2) create a tendency to increase the dose, (3) create psychological and usually physical dependence and (4) have a detrimental effect on the individual user and
society. Cannabis doesn't fit this profile, although many commonly-prescribed pharmaceutical drugs do, as do alcohol and tobacco. Cannabis has been used by the human race as sacrament, medicine, food and fiber without harm throughout the ages. There is no recorded death from cannabis overdose or toxicity. The March 1999 IOM report found no significant addictive potential for cannabis. Fred Gardner, in his report on the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) in the Autumn 2005 issue of O'Shaughnessy's, page 10, stated, "Ethan Russo of GW Pharmaceuticals showed that abrupt cessation of a medicinal cannabis extract was not associated with a withdrawal syndrome." Our own bodies contain an endocannabinoid system, with receptors tailored to receive cannabinoid molecules. The development of tolerance and subsequent dosage increases does not occur with cannabis as it does with prescription opiates, narcotics and major tranquilizers, as well as with the use of alcohol, tobacco and street drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. There are no physical withdrawal symptoms, nor are there withdrawal-induced psychoses. William Eidlman, M.D., and R. Lee Hamilton, ED.D., Ph.D., UCLA researchers, stated, "What the world needs now is intelligent legalization of cannabis hemp, especially for medical intervention," (The Emperor, et al, pg. 249). Except when it is being used by a corrupt regime as a political battering ram against individual and State freedoms, cannabis has been nothing but beneficial to us, to our planet and to the other life on this planet.

Q: Is cannabis stronger and therefore more dangerous today?

A: Potency is primarily a factor of heredity. Cannabis has not suddenly become inherently stronger, but growers are becoming increasingly skilled at maximizing its genetic potential. Cannabis contains over 60 active compounds. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. The percentage of THC in cannabis determines its potency and can vary from as low as 0.001% in plants bred for fiber to as much as 12% in extremely potent, high-quality medicinal cannabis. THC content also varies by the part of the plant used and by each individual plant. Unseeded, mature female buds are the most medicinal. The psychotropic and medicinal effects of THC are moderated by the other 6O-some cannabinoids present; study of this synergistic interaction is in its infancy. Finally, remember that cannabis has a very wide safety margin. There is no record of cannabis overdose. In fact, one source has stated that one would have to smoke 1500 pounds in 15 minutes to cause a lethal overdose...a physically impossible feat (Marijuana Myths, et al, pg. 2).

Q: Is cannabis dangerous because it stays in your system for thirty days after use?

A: This misrepresentation is just another of our government's many attempts to use scare tactics in their campaign against cannabis. According to Thomas Ungerbieder, M.D., Donald Tashkin, M.D., and Tod Mikuriya, M.D. (The Emperor, et al, pg. 111), the active ingredients in cannabis are used up in a few hours, after the first or second pass through the liver. The inert
metabolites that are left after this then attach themselves to fatty deposits for elimination over time. This is a perfectly normal and natural process. It is these harmless and inert metabolites that urine drug testing is detecting.

Q: How can the dose of cannabis be controlled when the natural cannabis plant is used?

A: Remember that cannabis is nontoxic, with no record of death by overdose. Dosage varies by individual, condition being treated and by the medicine itself, as well as by route of administration. When medicating by smoking or vaporizing, the effect manifests within minutes and lasts for two to four hours. It is extremely easy and simple to titrate to the required effect, i.e., relief of nausea, pain, anxiety, etc. Ingesting cannabis causes the compounds to be released more slowly through the process of digestion. The effect can take up to two hours to onset and can last four to eight hours or longer. It's better to begin by consuming a small amount, then gradually increasing the dosage over time until the desired therapeutic effect is obtained. According to Chris Conrad in his book, "Hemp for Health," you would have to eat a minimum of one to two pounds of top-quality cannabis in about two hours to even possibly be in any danger. He stated, "In short, a potentially lethal dose of THC is several thousand times more than its effective medical dose," (pg. 191). That's much safer than common pharmaceutical drugs and definitely safer than alcohol and tobacco!

Q: Why does anyone need to use the actual cannabis plant when Marinol is available by prescription?

A: Marinol (Dronabinol) is nothing but synthetic THC. A large part of cannabis' medicinal value stems from the synergistic interactions of all of its active components (in other words, from the whole herb). Treatment with Marinol has had very mixed results. Many patients are unable to tolerate it or to establish a consistently therapeutic dose. Without the mitigating and balancing effects of such compounds as Cannabidiol (CBD), which has multiple medical uses of its own, THC (not to mention synthetic THC) tends to cause increased problems and side effects, such as dysphoria and tachycardia. In his report on the ICRS conference (O'Shaughnessy's et al, pg. 10), Mr. Gardner stated, "Several studies supported the notion that cannabis is more than simply THC. This should be no surprise, given the number of people who consume medical cannabis yet cannot tolerate Marinol..." The simple fact is, a synthetically-produced single compound can never be as efficacious as the whole plant, which industry and our government are doing everything they can to avoid using.

Q: Doesn't cannabis contain hundreds of compounds?

A: It's true that the cannabis plant contains about 400 compounds; however, many of these same compounds are also found in other herbs and vegetables. For example, tomatoes contain about 360 compounds. In cannabis, approximately 60 unique compounds called cannabinoids are primarily responsible for its medicinal qualities. Cannabinoids and our body's endocannabinoid system are still under study, but antimicrobial and antiinflammatory properties have already been demonstrated. (For example, an old and effective folk remedy for arthritis or joint pain uses the cannabis root, which contains no THC at all.) It is cannabis' inherent complexity that has made it so useful and valuable throughout the history of the human race. And don't forget that tobacco cigarettes contain over 700 chemicals, of which almost all are non-beneficial (Hemp for Health, pg. 146), but our government finds tobacco use eminently acceptable and profitable!

Q: Does cannabis use cause brain damage?

A: No claim that cannabis causes brain damage has ever been successfully proven. In fact, indications are that cannabis decreases the brain inflammation and subsequent cognitive losses associated with Alzheimer's Disease. Marilyn Bowman conducted psychological testing on chronic cannabis users in Jamaica in 1972 and reported, "no impairment of physiological,
sensory and perceptual-motor performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting ability and cognitive style and tests of memory," (The Emperor, et al, pg. 114). As Chris Conrad asked, "... why do the alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical drug industries, all of which produce products that cause physical brain damage, contribute so much tax-deductible money to produce
ads that trick people into thinking cannabis does?" (Hemp for Health, pg.143).

Q: Doesn't smoking cannabis do even more damage to the lungs than smoking tobacco?

A: Science has completely debunked this myth! The recent research findings of Donald Tashkin, M.D., were featured on the front page of the Autumn 2005 issue of O'Shaughnessy's Journal. It stated, "Marijuana smoking - 'even heavy longterm use -' does not cause cancer of the lung, upper airways, or esophagus..." Interestingly, Dr. Tashkin' s earlier research, which actually
demonstrated a causal effect, was used by the DEA in their propaganda ads to link cannabis use to lung cancer in the public's mind. However, only a tiny minority of other research actually supported Dr. Tashkin's conclusions. The large, professional study he subsequently conducted to determine the truth demonstrated that cannabis does not cause the lung damage and cancer he had anticipated. In fact, some data from his study actually indicated a possible protection against lung cancer from the use of cannabis! And what about tobacco? The American Lung Association has reported that approximately 430,000 American people die from tobacco-related causes per year! One in seven deaths in the U.S. are caused by smoking cigarettes. And our
government has known the reason for the damage since Vilma Hunt, a researcher at Harvard, discovered a radioactive element in tobacco in 1964! Dr. Edward Martell, a radiochemist working for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, stated, "There is enough polonium-210 in cigarettes to cause at least 95% of the lung cancer reported in smokers..." (The Emperor,
et al, proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Biophysics and Biological Science, March 1983). Interestingly, this problem has been exacerbated by tobacco farmers' decades-long use of phosphate fertilizers rich in uranium. Hemp, on the other hand, requires no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides to grow and there is no radioactivity in cannabis tars.

Q: Does cannabis use destroy or damage the immune system?

A: There is no valid scientific or medical evidence to support the fear that cannabis damages the immune system. On the contrary, a review of the history of cannabis medicine demonstrates the opposite. For example, cannabis is used quite successfully to treat Crohn' s Disease. Although the cause of this inflammatory bowel disease is not yet known, Jeff Hergenrather, M.D., stated on page 3 of the 2005 Autumn O'Shaughnessy's, "What can be said about [Crohn's Disease] is that the immune system in the GI tract is overreactive, misguided and destructive to the intestine. Components in cannabis are
thought to exert some of their beneficial effects by interacting with cannabinoid receptors in the intestine. Cannabis-using Crohn's
patients...are also able to reduce the amount of immunosuppressive medications..." Physicians who practice cannabis medicine consistently describe it as safe and non-toxic. A list of chronic conditions treated by cannabis, compiled by Tod Mikuriya, M.D., and printed on page 2 of the 2005 Autumn O'Shaughnessy's, includes "Autoimmune Disease 279.4." The March 1999
report of the IOM states that extensive research has failed to demonstrate immunocological damage to humans from cannabis use. Finally, Time Magazine included cannabis in its 2005 report, "The Year in Medicine," citing its efficacy in decreasing the pain and inflammation of Rheumatoid Arthritis. They noted that the same properties reduced inflammation in the brain and may offer some protection against the heartbreaking depredations of Alzheimer's Disease.

Q: Will cannabis use during pregnancy cause fetal damage?

A: Melanie Dreher, Ph.D., R.N., conducted studies in Jamaica, and Dr. Peter Fried in Canada, that showed "minimal fetal effects" with cannabis use during pregnancy. Continued observation of those infants over time has not disclosed significant developmental problems. However, although studies have not documented conclusive problems, any substance should be used with great caution during pregnancy and there is no way we are recommending its use at that time. That is an individual decision.

Q: Does cannabis use cause enlarged breasts...decreased sperm counts...obesity...psychosis...tumors...etc...etc...etc?

A: No, No and NO! Cannabis is one of the most harmless yet beneficial medicines in existence. Jack Herer stated (The Emperor, etal, pg. 108), "...the 1894 British Raj commission study of hashish smokers in India reported cannabis use was harmless and even helpful. Numerous studies since have all agreed..." Propaganda fear tactics are not reality! "Cannabis is
hardly a cure-all, but it is a terrific medicine and a valuable tool for the healing arts and sciences," (Chris Conrad, et al, pg. 30). Medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp prohibition are not about protecting people... they are about protecting profits!

Q? How do I get a reccomendation?

A: In California, you need simply ask your doctor if he thinks this therapy will be helpful in treating your condition. Many family practicioneers are reluctant, and that has spawned the `medical cannabis' classification for doctors. There are many doctors throughout California,that will make these recomendations, and they can easily be found through the Norml website, or www.letfreedomgrow.com. These specialist will need to see some medical history that dictates the need for medicine and or treatment. With your records and your input the two of you (doctor and patient) will decide whether or not cannabis will be of help and what you dosage should be.

Q Are all states the same , with regard to medical cannabis regulations?

A: NO. In fact there are currently only twelve states that offer protection from prosecution to qualified patients, and none of these states are the same asCalifornia...