Cannabis

So what is the big deal???

Does cannabis have medicinal properties?

• Yes, without question.

• Select cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant have clear medicinal properties.– Clear benefit for wasting disease– Clear benefit for some forms of unique

neuropathic pain. – No longer efficacious for glaucoma, etc.

Is it medicine?

• No, it is not.– It does not come in a standard dose– It does not come in a safe delivery system– It has not been found to be efficacious in

addressing illness as opposed to safer medications.

Is there a medicine available?

• FDA clinical trials on Sativex.

• Marinol and derivatives are available.

• Other nations are ahead on this issue. We have let politics control science.

Sativex will make “medical” marijuana irrelevant

Basic brain stuff

What all the crud means

From the old centers of the brain into the newest regions, with impact throughout

This is actually how it works

Cannabinoid receptors

• Are throughout the brain and body• Are more prevalent in certain areas of the brain,

including the parts that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

• Learning and memory are impacted for days or weeks after acute effects wear off.

• Daily use often leads to suboptimal intellectual functioning.

Is marijuana addictive?

• Yes, without question• Addiction is defined as a state in which an

organism engages in compulsive behavior that is reinforcing (rewarding or pleasurable) and the organism (user) has a loss of control in limiting intake.

• Dependence is manifested as a physical distrubance when the drug is removed (withdrawal)

Treatment

• Fairly good treatment outcomes, but high relapse rate. Standard array of treatment tools work well, CBT + MET+ vouchers

• Brain changes are detected in long term users. – Over-activation of the stress response system– Dopamine changes (depression) (motivation

and reward system altered)

Withdrawal syndrome• Irritability• Sleeplessness (very long term sleep

disturbances)• Poor appetite• Anxiety• Drug craving. • TX: 2008, 16% of all treatment admissions

were for MJ, 73% male, white (51.5%) and young (36.1% between 15 and 19)

Health impacts

• Marijuana is implicated in many mental health conditions.– Increase in anxiety– Increase in depression– Increase in suicide– Increase/exacerbation of schizophrenia– Increase in psychosis

• Unclear if it causes, or exacerbates these problems, except schizophrenia and related disorders.

Health impacts

• Heart rate increase-4.8 fold increase in heart attack first hour post smoking

• Lungs: not good obviously

• Testicular cancer: emerging research implicates marijuana in testicular cancers.

Who is using this stuff?We are…and our kids are.

18 years old: 4x per week 16 years old, daily abuse

38 years old 12 years of daily use

28 years old weekend use

In all cases there is

decreased activity in the

prefrontal cortex and the temporal lobes

(attention, memory,

motivation)

N

No THC in brain With THC in brain-less activity

No THC in brainWith THC in brain

57 year old physician who used for 30 years, and could not stop without anger, and anxiety

Remember: attention, memory, motivation

Source: Daniel Amen Clinics

How is cannabis used?

As always, sex sells, and clever decorations make something mundane into something special

• Good old smoking

• Vaporized

@$600.00 for the base model to $800.00 for the digital with solid state valve

• There are many models and makes. This is considered the best.

• Research has documented that this is the “safest” method of ingestion for smoking

Edibles

E-cigarettes

• 41.7% THC

Other methods of ingestion: include tinctures, oils, etc.

• Tinctures, made with 90% alcohol and marijuana, crosses transdermally, or orally.

• Rapid high-won the award at the Cannabis Cup.

• Matched with peppermint, sage, or cinnamon as well.

Endless video available on YouTube.

You will note that they do not discuss the medical effects,

but the quality of the high

In Los Angeles a couple of years ago…

• There were more marijuana stores than Starbucks.

• Marijuana vending machines

• In Chico, last year there was 1 storefront. This spring there were 8 storefronts.

• Delivery services are available locally.

• Smell a skunk? Bet it isn’t one!

Text of Prop 215

• To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes

• (color and underline added)

Do you REALLY think this is about medicine for California?

Do you REALLY think there are this many sick people, mostly

under 30?

This many sick

people?

Juiced Marijuana Offered to Medical Users as Alternative to Smoking

June 15, 2010 News Summary

A California physician is offering his medical-marijuana patients a liquefied version of the drug that he says won't produce much of a buzz but does contain chemicals helpful in treating a variety of illnesses, the Washington Post reported June 1.

Willets, Calif., physician William Courtney, M.D., said that marijuana with high levels of cannabidiol (CBD) seems to have the most medical potential; ironically, CBD levels seem to be lowest in marijuana strains of the plant that are highest in THC -- the main psychoactive substance in marijuana."What has happened is, almost all strains available in America through the black market are THC concentrates," said Ethan Russo, senior medical adviser to GW Pharmaceuticals, which is developing the marijuana-based pain medication Sativex. "The CBD in almost all cases has been bred out. The reason is cannabis in this country has been cultivated for its intoxicating effect."Medical-marijuana advocates want to see more research into CBD. "The bridge to legalization is medical marijuana," said Addison DeMoura, one of the owners of the Steep Hill Medical Collective in Oakland. "I believe the bridge from medical marijuana to real science will be CBDs." 

This is about ABUSENot use.

It is about EXCESS.It is about destruction of our land, water and way of life.

I say, “enough”.Support the Board.