Aids Service Organization

Patients that have a valid medical marijuana ID may grow their own marijuana to utilize for their debilitating condition. Sixteen states have legalized medical marijuana – each one has varying allowable amounts.

Cannabis has the same growth needs, whether it’s grown outdoors or indoors. Basically, the plants need air, water, nutrients, light, heat, and some sort of growing medium. If it’s grown indoors, the light needs spectrum and intensity and the air needs to be rich and warm in carbon dioxide.

Usually marijuana is grown annually and has multiple growth stages. They are distinct and termed germination, seedling growth, vegetative growth, pre flowering, and flowering.

Germination involves activation of hormones in the outer durable coating of the seed. The embryo inside the seed expands and the seed’s coating splits. This allows rootlets to grown downward and a sprout with seed leaves pushes upwards looking for light. This process takes 3-7 days.

During seedling growth, the single root grows downward and creates branches. These tiny branches pull in water and nutrients. The roots anchor the plant in the growing medium. Lots of light is needed during seedling growth, about 18 hours per day.

The vegetative growth phase continues with a requisite 14-24 hours of light daily. The roots mature and develop a water transport system, and they also store food. The parts of the roots that actually absorb the water and nutrients are the single-celled root hairs, and they are very delicate and easily damaged by air, light, and careless hands if moved or exposed.

The stem also elongates, producing new buds with the lateral buds turning into branches or leaves. The central bud carries growth upwards. The stem carries the water and nutrients from the delicate root hairs to the buds, leaves, and flowers. The stem should not be bound too tightly with strings or tie downs.

The plant stem also gives support, and if the plant is exposed outside to elements like rain and wind the stem is stiffened by increasing cellulose. Indoor plants are not exposed to the elements, so the stiffening does not happen and it may be necessary to provide a supporting stake.

The leaves undergo photosynthesis as they expand, which is how plants make food.

After week four of vegetative growth, pre-flowering happens. The pre-flowers grow between the fourth and sixth node from the bottom of the plant and end up either male or female. Unfortunately male plants have much less cannabinoid, so growers often destroy them.

Flowering is triggered in most commercial cannabis varieties by 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness every 24 hours. Flowers form during the last growth stage and if the females flowers are not pollenated, they develop without seeds – called “sinsemilla”. If pollenated by a male, female flower buds develop seeds.

If the plant doesn’t get pollenated for a few weeks, THC production peaks in the female unfertilized sinsemilla. With fertilizing, the female matures its seeds, which then either fall off or get collected for subsequent planting.

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A gateway theory exists with marijuana which previously was called the stepping stone theory. This theorizes that marijuana is not a very dangerous drug by itself, but that using it will be a gateway to more dangerous drugs. This theory has been postulated over the years with marijuana leading to Heroin, Cocaine, or LSD. Is there any truth to marijuana actually being a gateway drug?

The theory, in reality, doesn’t stand up. In fact, cocaine users are in fact likely to have smoked marijuana, which is far more used than cocaine. Medical marijuana, in reality, does not lead people to use heroin, cocaine, or LSD.

A great analogy is motorcycle riding versus bicycle riding. Compared to motorcycle riding (in this example this is cocaine use), many more people have ridden a bicycle (in this case smoking marijuana). The amount of people who ride a motorcycle (use cocaine) that have also ridden a bicycle previously (smoked marijuana) is very high. Bicycle riding does not cause motorcycle riding, however, and increases in bicycle riding will not lead to a higher incidence of motorcycle riding. The analogy spreads to an increase in medical marijuana usage will not lead to an increase in the use of cocaine or other harder drugs.

All the analogy describes is a typical sequence in which events occur, not a causation. Just as riding a bicycle does not lead to motorcycle usage, medical marijuana usage does not lead to cocaine – it’s simply a typical sequence based on a high prevalence activity (smoking marijuana) versus a low prevalence activity (heroin, cocaine, or lsd use).

There have also been some studies in animals looking at an association between THC and the increase of dopamine availability. Researchers have said marijuana is “priming” the brain for heroin and cocaine use. However, no studies have ever shown that “priming” animals with THC injections increases their desire to self-administer cocaine or heroin. The theory has no basis in reality.

Studies from the National Institute on Drug Abuse have shown that of the 72 million Americans who have used marijuana (probably more like 100 million since the studies were done), only 17% used cocaine more than one hundred times. This means that for every 100 marijuana users, only one currently uses cocaine.

Marijuana is by far the most commonly used illegal drug in the US today. People who have used less popular illicit drugs, like heroin, cocaine, or LSD, are likely to have also utilized marijuana. The vast majority of marijuana users never use any other illegal drug and marijuana is typically an end drug, not a gateway drug.

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Medical marijuana turned into an excellent treatment for painful gastrointestional disorders involving cramping and bowel inflammation. These diseases include Crohn’s disease, Colitis, Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome. Patients with these diseases can suffer from chronic pain, inflammation, diarrhea, weight loss, and cramping. Medical marijuana may work very well to reduce symptoms.

Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune bowel disorder that inolves chronic inflammation. It causes severe, intense pain and has an unknown cause. The disease is destructive to one’s intestines. Over half a million people in the US are afflicted with Crohn’s. In most states approved for medical marijuana, Crohn’s is an acceptable qualification.

Traditional medications utilized for the disease include immunosuppressive ones such as Imuran, methotrexate, 6 MP, steroids, Mesalamine, and Remicade. These medications may cause the same symptoms as the disease including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Steroids have some side effects that may include adrenal dysfunction, bone thinning, ulcers, and glucose intolerance.

Various studies have shown promising results for medicinal marijuana alleviating the symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s.

A study from 2005 in O’Shaughnessy’s displayed cannabis worked well to reduce Crohn’s symptoms. The study was small and done at the Society of Cannabis Clinicians in about a dozen patients. They described improvement for appetite, fatigue, vomiting, nausea, and depression. There were less exacerbations and less stools daily. Also people reduced the amount of medications for immunosuppression.

A research study in 2001 called Cannabinoids and the Gastrointestinal Tract found that the cannabinoids in marijuana are a potentially excellent option for treating numerous GI disorders – including inflammatory bowel diseases, gastro-esophageal reflux conditions, secretory diarrhea, functional bowel diseases, gastric ulcers, and colon cancer. There are receptors both in the GI system brain and the GI system named CB1 receptors. In animals the study showed that agonists for these receptors delayed gastric emptying and inhibited gastric acid secretion. CB1 receptors are mostly located in the brain.

A 2006 study published in the Journal of Endocrinology Investigation demonstrates that activation of the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors exert biological functions on the gastrointestinal tract.

There are CB2 receptors in numerous cells outside of the brain, including in the GI tract lining. Marijuana contains cannabinoids which activate the CB2 receptor – this is thought to decrease inflammation in the GI tract along with reducing pain and swelling. There is another compound in cannabis named beta-caryophyllene which turns on the CB-2 receptors as well.

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Initially, consider the pertinent numbers. Well over two million individuals in this country have MS, and over fifteen million persons have a spinal cord injury. A lot of these patients suffer from aching, stiff, spasming, and cramping muscles. These symptoms may cause limited movement, insomnia, as well as pain. Medical marijuana works well for these symptoms.

Traditional medications for these symptoms often work, but can cause weakness or sedation. Patients using medical marijuana for decreasing spasticity and pain have achieved significant relief.

It is not known exactly how medical marijuana calms spasticity. It has not been tested on a large scale, but all of the smaller scale evaluations have shown really good results.

MS involves an immune system that is malfunctioning, resulting in an inflamed nervous system. Nerve fibers are like insulation around a power cord, and unfortunately MS has a destructive effect on that insulation. Without it, nerves don’t conduct impulses properly. Symptoms then include vertigo, blindness, incontinence, muscle spasticity, fatigue, and depression.

Muscle spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis is really common, ninety percent of people have muscle spasms in addition to cramps, aches, and painful involuntary muscle contractions. These symptoms usually get worse over time and can leave one partially paralyzed.

Conventional medications for muscle spasms with MS include baclofen and tizanadine (Zanaflex). They are sedatives, so they often cause drowsiness along with dry mouth and muscle weakness. In a patient with MS, muscle weakness is already a problem. Exacerbating it is not optimal.

It should be noted that no large scale study exists looking at THC and marijuana for spams. Several smaller studies have excellent outcomes for reducing muscle spasms and pain. Success was not unanimous, however, and there were some unpleasant side effects.

It can be difficult to separate a good result from THC due to placebo versus real muscle spasm decrease. Without a large research study to separate out placebo, which can be higher than 30% with medications, it may be difficult to say definitively. These larger studies are under way in Britain, where medical marijuana is often utilized for MS.

What is it about marijuana that assists individuals with multiple sclerosis? And if it assists with MS does it also work with muscle spasms in individuals with spinal cord injury? Case reports from MS patients report very good results for spasms and pain. Is it due to the broad effects that THC gives, like anti-anxiety, along with reducing spasms? Anxiety may worsen spasms, and THC does relieve that. Also, THC does not weaken muscles. If a person has multiple sclerosis that is a problem anyway, so making it worse is not optimal.

Taking in THC orally may be best since the duration is longer than smoking and without lung problems. Patients with spinal cord injury have persistent muscle spasm symptoms daily so oral intake could be better than for MS, where the symptoms come and go. For those patients, smoking or vaporizing may be best.

We know from current case studies that medical marijuana assists with muscle spams. Larger research studies will help us learn more and how marijuana fits into patient management.

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The vaporizer machine’s objective is to heat up cannabis so that the active ingredients are released. The desire is not to burn the marijuana. Typically one just wants to heat up the marijuana for medicinal purposes until the chemicals actively vaporize and boil.

Inside a vaporizer are heating elements along with a fan. The vaporizer will heat up to a set temperature. Cannabinoids typically vaporize between 285 degrees F and 392 degrees F. If heated over that, the medical marijuana simply burns and unnecessary smoke is created.

There is a device called a grinder which can be used to break up the medicinal marijuana. This gives it more surface area. It is then placed on top of the vaporizer into a basket. Then a vaporizer bag is placed over the basket and the fan is then turned on.

The fan pushes the air across the heating element and into the vaporizer bag. Once it is completely filled up, it looks almost like a balloon. The bag is removed from the vaporizer and a mouthpiece is placed on the bag.

Why do people use a vaporizer? The main reason is there’s no smoke. When medical marijuana is smoked, it burns at temperatures up to 2012 degrees F which creates numerous potential carcinogens. The combustion may actually destroy up to 50% of the active ingredients along with releasing tar and carbon monoxide.

With vaporizing the temperatures are much lower so a mist is created and, hence, less carcinogens. Vaporizers minimize potential carcinogens, and also minimizes the potential incidence of respiratory disease, bronchitis, and respiratory infection.

Another benefit is the fact that with a vaporizer there is minimal smell. For numerous concerns, including often social perception, having no smell may be a big bonus.

A 2004 study in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics wrote about the combustible smoke having over 100 chemicals in addition to THC along with the respiratory hazardous substances generated from smoke, not from the cannabinoids.

Another benefit with a vaporizer is that it extracts the medicinal marijuana active chemicals. Along with this, the mist goes into the bloodstream purer and faster than any other method.

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Lots of people state that the marijuana of today is substantially more potent than it was 40 years ago. How much more potent? Estimates that are speculated are five to one hundred times. If that is true, the next question would be “Does that really matter?”

Over the last 3 decades in the 20th century, the Potency Monitoring Project at U. Mississippi has calculated the THC percentages from law enforcement agency samples. Looking at over 2 decades of their results, THC percentages have fluctuated between 2 percent and 3.5 percent – no significant downward or upward trend was noted.

There is no significant psychoactivity to marijuana when the potency is less than 1/2 percent potency. Most patients in fact cannot tell real marijuana from placebo when the concentration is less than one percent.

Despite the average potency of THC not being significantly increased as hypothesized, there area couple things to consider. One is that higher potency marijuana is more readily available. This is due to smaller scale growers having access to selected seeds and state of the art small scall growing equipment – but it doesn’t affect the overall national potency average.

The 2nd point is regarding the fact that 16 states including DC in the US have legalized medical marijuana. Some of these states have marijuana dispensaries, others have collectives, and pretty much all have a caregiver program so the product can be grown for debilitated patients. Medical marijuana may have potency averages that are a lot higher than the national averages, sometimes up to triple depending on the genetic strain.

Marijuana has never been associated as the cause for a fatal overdose, so is higher potency relevant clinically? As far as we know, the lungs are the only organs associated with deleterious effects. Higher potency may mean individuals smoke less and have less harm. Also as potency rises, the persons subjective “high” sensation is increased but not in proportion to strength.

No true data exists proving that the marijuana of today is either more stronger or dangerous than that from thirty or forty years ago.

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With AIDS patients, medical marijuana is popular, and it can help with the symptoms including reducing nausea, easing pain, and increasing appetite.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, is a disease that goes after the immune system. It can cause depression, nausea, vomiting lots of weight loss, nerve damage, and infections.

Recent combination medical treatment has advanced nicely to where AIDS people live longer and the disease is more of a chronic disorder than a rapidly fatal one. This is part of the wonders of modern medicine, but the real advancement will be when it’s eradicated! These treatments have 2 effects: One is that patients get hope, the 2nd is they make patients sick. Does the fatigue, vomiting, nausea, appetite loss, and that turns into a way of life that simply has to be tolerated?

Antiviral medications are effective at controlling HIV progression. Nausea and vomiting are produced which are similar to cancer chemotherapy patients.

Loss of lean body mass may result in AIDS patients from cachexia as a result of nausea and appetite loss. The FDA n 1986 approved Marinol, called dronabinol, for weight loss from AIDS. For people suffering from HIV, losing as little as five percent of their lean body mass may be life risking.

AIDS wasting syndrome is defined by the CDC as involuntary loss of over ten percent of body weight, along with fever or diarrhea persisting for over 30 days. Having cachexia, which as mentioned is loss of lean body mass, does not just represent loss of muscle. Patients can lose liver tissue along with tissue from other heavily used and needed organs.

Conventional medications for wasting are Megace and Marinol. Patients on Megace are often able to take in 30% more food. Marinol increases appetite and maintains weight with side effects of psychological distress and dry mouth.

Mostly for these reasons, AIDS patients by and large report better results with smoking marijuana. When smoking, individuals may inhale enough just to help with the symptoms. The effect is significant, and appetite stimulation is quick.

Marijuana intake definitely has its place for the treatment of weight loss and wasting from AIDS. This place may be in conjunction with testosterone or growth hormone to restore lean tissue and prevent its deterioration.

Along with assisting AIDS patients to be able to intake more food, marijuana can have a beneficial effect on pain. In the course of the disease, patients may suffer from neuropathic types of pain, which is a burning sensation of the skin usually starting in the hands and/or feet. Marijuana has been shown to work well for neuropathic pain.

Along with this, AIDS patients report substantial mood improvement. Giving a psychological lift to AIDS patients, which represents a devastating disease, a psychological lift in addition to the other symptom improvements gives marijuana a definite advantage when compared with solo medications.

Marijuana has a definite place in treating AIDS patients. By helping with pain, anxiety, nausea, and appetite it helps with multiple AIDS side effects. And either the smoking or vaporizing has been shown in small studies to give quicker onset and easier dosing than oral meds.

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There are those who believe that the Netherlands’ marijuana policy, which permits those over the age of 18 to sell, purchase, and use marijuana openly, has effectively increased marijuana usage rates. Those individuals therefore state that the policy is a significant failure.

Here is a policy explanation and why this statement is not accurate. The Dutch Parliament decriminalized the retail sale and cannabis possession in 1976. This was accomplished after the recommendation of two national commissions. Marijuana was not completely legalized, it simply allowed coffee shops to sell it without resulting prosecution.

The rules aren’t that complicated. No advertising is allowed, the minimum purchase age is 18, and there is a 5 gram limit on personal transactions. No other illicit drugs may be sold on the premises. The Netherlands has over 1000 coffee shops where individuals may purchase marijuana and hashish.

What compelled the Netherlands to permit marijuana’s sale in coffee shops? One reason was to reduce the likelihood of having pot users exposed to harder drugs like cocaine or heroin if it stayed illegal. Another reason was to take away the youth rebellion stigma with marijuana being an illegal drug.

There are no scare tactic drug programs in the Netherlands. The education provided to the younger population includes drug information and cautionary warnings about drug dangers.

Evaluating the marijuana use statistics between the US and the Netherlands overall, 31% of Americans have tried marijuana and 28% of the Dutch. Looking at older teens, 38% of Americans have tried marijuana versus 29% of the Dutch. It’s very interesting to see that once teens reach legal age in the Netherlands they are 9% less likely to use marijuana than in the US.

Less Dutch adolescents use other illegal drugs than Americans. During the mid 1990′s, Dutch teens were 5 times less likely than American teens to try cocaine. The Dutch appear to have successfully separated marijuana from harder drugs.

There is broad support for the Dutch policy. Dutch citizens widely approve of the policy which desires to normalize rather than dramatize marijuana’s use. Rather than a dramatic failure, the policy has been a dramatic success.

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There was some initial research decades ago showing a potential link between marijuana usage and immune system suppression.

There are those who consider marijuana to put smokers at increased risk of infection, and can potentially harm the ability of AIDS patients to fight off infection considering those individuals already have a decreased baseline immune system.

Back in the 1970′s, a researcher named Nahas looked at the T-Cells of both marijuana users and non-users. T-cells are the ones that fight infections. The initial study showed diminished immune responses in the T cells of marijuana users, leading Nahas to argue marijuana was therefore dangerous because it weakened the immune system.

After this, multiple research scientists were not able to duplicate the findings of Nahas, and interestingly Nahas himself could not duplicate his initial findings. That body of research showed no difference between the immune system competency of smokers versus nonsmokers.

There have been animal studies where THC has been administered in exceptionally high doses with resulting immune impairment, however, those results have never been duplicated in humans.

In the mid 1980′s when the FDA was approving Marinol, which is a synthetic THC, the FDA found no evidence that THC decreased immune function. They evaluated a significant body of research regarding the effects of oral THC on the human body.

Whether or not smoking marijuana harms one’s lungs is a legitimate question. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains hazardous toxins too.

There is another concern with AIDS patients smoking marijuana, with care needed to make sure the product is not contaminated with aspergillus fungus. This may occur, and unfortunately in AIDS patients may result in a life threatening infection.

Heavy marijuana smokers do have a higher risk of respiratory disease such as bronchitis. This is different than immune system modulation, however, and no studies so far have shown a decreased immune system as a result of marijuana intake.

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