WASHINGTON -- A report released Friday called on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to facilitate research into the medicinal benefits of marijuana, but the agency says it ``has always'' been willing to consider such projects.
``We will put the applications through our normal scientific review and are prepared to fund applications that meet the accepted standards of scientific design and . . . are competitive with other applications,'' Harold Varmus, director of the NIH, said in a statement.
The NIH funds much of the nation's medical research, but only rarely has provided grants for studying the therapeutic uses of marijuana.
At the White House, spokesman Mike McCurry said the administration opposes using marijuana to treat sick people, but acknowledges there are scientific issues that need to be addressed.
The eight-member committee of private doctors and nurses recommended marijuana be studied for its effect on improving the appetite of patients with severe weight loss; controlling nausea and vomiting for cancer patients; regulating some neurological disorders, such as epilepsy; abating pain; and treating glaucoma, a serious, progressive eye disorder.
For treatment of some conditions ``marijuana looks promising enough to recommend that there be new controlled studies,'' committee chairman William Beaver of Georgetown University School of Medicine says in the report.
But the experts said the drug should be tested only on a benefit- risk calculation, just as other medical therapies are.
Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project, a group favoring more medical use of the drug, said the report should prompt legislation that would permit medical use of the drug now.
``If we wait . . . thousands of patients will be arrested and sent to prison in the meantime,'' Thomas said.
The committee, selected and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, met for two days in February to review studies on medical uses of marijuana and to hear testimony from patients and other doctors. Their report is a ``compilation of the opinions'' of the committee.
Among the report's conclusions:
-- Because smoked marijuana contains a variety of combustion compounds, it can damage the lungs and possibly the immune system. The committee recommended the development of an inhalation device that delivers pure THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- to the lungs.
-- There is some evidence -- but no scientifically valid studies -- that marijuana is useful in treating some forms of epilepsy and spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis.
-- Some studies have shown that smoked marijuana is effective for some patients in relieving nausea caused by cancer
chemotherapy.
-- There is evidence that marijuana may improve the appetite and help patients gain weight. This could be lifesaving for AIDS patients who develop wasting, a severe weight-loss condition.
-- Smoked marijuana is effective in lowering pressure inside the eyeballs of some patients with glaucoma. But the committee said the drug also drops blood pressure, and this could compromise blood flow to the optic nerve and damage vision.
(© Copyright 1997 SaltLakeTribune- 8/9/97)
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