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issue-4-2 12/14/05 2:55 PM Page 1 issue-4-2 12/14/05 2:55 PM Page 2 issue-4-2 12/14/05 2:55 PM Page 3 issue-4-2 12/14/05 2:55 PM Page 4 Volume 4 Issue 2, January / February 2006 journal journal Cannabis Health Inside Truth motivated and submission driven, Cannabis Health prints your voices, opinions and Cannabis Health the facts, bringing the truth to light. Published 6 times a year, with a circulation of 40,000 throughout North America, we are 100% supported by our advertisers and subscribers.Article submissions are always welcome.Fully downloadable PDF versions of all issues are available at www.cannabishealth.com www.cannabishealth.com Ask an Expert Subscribe Today .................................................................................................5 MasterCard / Visa Accepted Editorials Call: 1 866 808 5566 New Farm Location .................................................................................................6 5695 Cooper Rd., Grand Forks, BC Canada Mailing Address: Box 1481 Marijuana and music Grand Forks BC Canada V0H 1H0 .................................................................................................7 Phone: 250 442 5166 Fax: 250 442 5167 Moving forward Toll Free: 1 866 808 5566 ...............................................................................................12 Email: [email protected] Towards a saner national drug policy ...............................................................................................15 Staff Keeping the door open: Dialogue on drug use EXECUTIVE EDITOR, BARB ST. JEAN [email protected] ...............................................................................................18 SENIOR EDITOR, LORRAINE LANGIS A look at New Zealand & cannabis law reform [email protected] PRODUCTION BRIAN McANDREW/BEYOND GRAPHIX ...............................................................................................21 [email protected] ADVERTISING MANAGER PAIGE GARNETT Cannabis health and context [email protected] DISTRIBUTION & SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER ...............................................................................................24 TERESA THOMSON [email protected] Harm reduction - the cannabis paradox ON-LINE STORE ...............................................................................................26 [email protected] WEBMASTER [email protected] What does it mean to feel better WEB SITE: Powered by Weblab ...............................................................................................27 GENERAL INQUIRIES [email protected] Naked defiance in rural BC Cannabis Health Journal is published six times a year. All contents copyright 2005 by Cannabis ...............................................................................................30 Health Journal. Cannabis Health Journal assumes no responsibility for any claims or representations Cannabis Health Contest contained in this magazine or in any submission or advertisement, nor do they encourage the illegal use ...............................................................................................31 of any of the products advertised within. No portion of this journal may be reproduced without the writ- Community Talking Stick ten consent of the publisher. ...............................................................................................33 OOPS! It has been brought to our attention there were some Silver Award “issue 7” errors on the advertisers listing page in our last issue. We 2003 Grand Forks apologize to any who may have been inadvertently omitted Chamber of Commerce or had a misspelling in their listing. Out of the Box Award 4 Cannabis Health journal issue-4-2 12/14/05 2:56 PM Page 5 DR. LESTER GRINSPOON, MD Question: other patients about this “new” psychopharmacological approach to I had been taking a drug called Zoloft for the past some clinical depressions. year. However, it made me sleepy all the time. For the Question: past three months I have been smoking a little Does cannabis have any effect on IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome) cannabis and realized it works for me. How can I tell I heard it may help? Thank you my psych. that I want to switch to marijuana? Do I even have the Answer: right to ask? Please advise. Thanks. The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastroin- Answer: testinal disorder in clinical practice. The predominant symptoms are Cannabis first appeared in the Western medical literature as a intermittent constipation and/or watery diarrhea. The patients who suggested treatment for depression in the middle of the 19th century. report that marijuana is helpful in the symptomatic treatment of this Over the next hundred years medical papers supported and disputed disorder, I suspect, are those who suffer from the less frequent inter- the utility of marijuana in the treatment of depression. Today, mittent crampy lower abdominal pain. In any event, its usefulness in among the minority of depressed patients who do not respond to any IBS is not as compelling as it is for the much rarer recurrent inflam- of the standard antidepressants or who find the side effects unbear- matory disease of the digestive track, Crohn’s disease, the symptoms able, some have discovered that cannabis is more useful than any legal of which include cramps, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, rectal bleed- drug, including Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) like ing, and loss of appetite and weight. Many people who suffer from Zoloft. It is important that you share this experience with your this bowel inflammatory disorder use marijuana with results which psychiatrist; you may find that he, like me, has already learned from are frequently dramatic. HILARY BLACK Question: Marijuana Information Resource Centre (MMIRC) website has a few I have a severe case of fibromyalgia. My doctor studies listed in the Pain section under the Therapeutic Uses. I (gp) will not sign the appropriate paper work to suggest you print and/or refer your physician to this section, and its’ allow me to buy marijuana for medicinal purposes. references. The same goes for the doctor at the pain clinic I go to If the physicians you are seeing have concerns about safety of every 3 weeks for nerve block injections. (42 injec- smoked cannabis, I recommend you present the emerging data that tions between my neck and lower back)Could you please inform me appears to suggest that smoked cannabis may be relatively safe in on what my options are, without disturbing my doctors who do not respect to cancer risk. One recent study that addresses this issue is believe marijuana is helping me deal with this horribly painful also available on the MMIRC website. disease? Steve. Answer: Many physicians are concerned about liability. The Canadian It is so unfortunate that you are having trouble finding a doctor Medical Protective Agency (CMPA), the organization that insures that is willing to authorize you to legally access cannabis in order to Canadian doctors, has developed a Release Form for Medical manage your symptoms. Many patients are experiencing this chal- Practitioners. This form is intended for the patient to take full lenge. It is essential to provide your doctors with the current clinical responsibility for any risks associated with the use of medical mari- data on the safety and efficacy of the medical use of marijuana. There juana. This form is accessible at the MMIRC website; you may want appears to be some compelling data on the effectiveness of cannabis to print and take it to your physician as well. Good Luck. and cannabinoids for the management of chronic pain. The Medical www.medicalmarijuanainformation.com THE EXPERTS DR. Lester Alan Young, DR. Mark A. Hilary Black DR. David W. Grinspoon, Barrister and Ware, BA, Ms. Black is a Pate, PhD, MD Solicitor, MBBS, MRCP, medicinal MSc. Professor of MSc, Dr. Grinspoon cannabis advocate Dr. Pate is a Law is a professor Dr. Ware is a & educator, having r esearcher emeritus of Professor pain specialist presented this specializing in psychiatry at Harvard Medical Young teaches law at Osgoode working at the Montreal General issue to a wide range of audiences. Cannabis and the cannabinoids, School and is one of the world’s Hall Law School and criminology Hospital. He is assistant professor She is also the founder and a past his academic background encom- leading authorities on the uses of at the University of Toronto. In of Anesthesia and of Family director of Canada’s first and passing both plant biology and marijuana for medicinal purpos- his twenty years of practicing Medicine at McGill University, largest organization of medicinal pharmaceutical chemistry. He es. Among many other criminal law, he has been and is involved in epidemiological cannabis advocacy, The British pursues particular interests in the achievements, he has authored 10 involved with some of Canada’s research and clinical trials of Columbia Compassion Club chemical ecology of Cannabis, books and more than 170 journal most signifcant and high-profle cannabis and cannabinoid Society. ophthalmic endocannabinoids articles and book chapters. medical marijuana cases. medications for chronic pain. and hempseed foods. Disclaimer: A notice of compliance has not been issued under the Food and Drug Regulations concerning the safety, effectiveness and risks of marijuana as a drug. Advice from these experts should not be construed as offering professional medical advice