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Gilman asserts that the debate should not be about the medical value of marijuana, but how the drug should be delivered. The Genetic Science Learning Center outlines several delivery methods of medical marijuana. First of all is smoking. The benefits of this method include that it delivers all of the plant's active compounds, and that it is easy to regulate the dose. Disadvantages of this method are that there is no standardization of ingredients and that the toxins from the burning marijuana may cause emphysema and lung cancer. Gilman adds that in addition to the risk of lung disease, the potency of the drug is difficult to measure because THC levels vary between plants. According to the Genetic Science Learning Center, marijuana is also available in a synthetic pill form of THC called Marinol. While this method delivers some of the benefits of marijuana, it is difficult to control the dose. Additionally, as Marinol only contains one of marijuana's active compounds, users report fewer of the positive effects of the drug and more of the negative side effects. Gilman adds that patients prefer smoking to the pill because the smoke is more rapidly absorbed. With smoking the patient feels the effects in about five minutes; whereas, the pill may take an hour and a half to take effect. The Genetic Science Learning Center explains that a third method of delivery is through a vaporizer. This method delivers all of marijuana's active compounds in an easy to control dose. However the amount of active ingredients is difficult to standardize. According to Gilman, THC drugs would be more effective if delivered through a fast-acting oral spray similar to an asthma inhaler. The final method described by the Genetic Science Learning Center is Sativex, which is delivered as a spray and is an extract from cloned marijuana plants. Sativex contains all of marijuana's active compounds, is easy to standardize, and is easy to regulate the dose.
Many medical organizations and professional groups support the use of medical marijuana. According to Mills (3) the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Association of Family Physicians, New England Journal of Medicine, and the American Psychiatric Association have all publicly endorsed the use of medical marijuana with physician supervision. The National Institutes of Health supports scientific research on the medical uses of cannabis. Mills (3) adds that the American Nurses Association supports the rights of patients to safely use medical marijuana under medical supervision. Additionally, they support research on the effectiveness of medical marijuana, are for the protection of doctors who prescribe and patients who use medical marijuana, and provide education on the therapeutic uses of medical marijuana to nurses (Mills, 3). Mills (3) quotes Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, "Cannabis will one day be seen as a wonder drug, as was penicillin in the 1940s. Herbal marijuana has a wide range of therapeutic applications and would be quite inexpensive if it were legal."
Works Cited
Bowling, Allen C. "Marijuana and MS -- An Unfinished Story." Momentum (19403410) 3.4 (2010): 33-35. CINAHL with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
Cohen, Peter, J. "Medical Marijuana 2010: It's Time to Fix the Regulatory Vacuum." Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 38.3 (2010): 654-666. CINAHL with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
Dresser, Rebecca. "Irrational basis: the legal status of medical marijuana." Hastings Center Report 39.6 (2009): 7-8. CINAHL with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
Fogarty, A, et al. "Marijuana as therapy for people living with HIV / AIDS: social and health aspects." AIDS Care 19.2 (2007): 295-301. CINAHL with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
Genetic Science Learning Center. "Cannabis in the Clinic? The Medical Marijuana Debate." Learn.Genetics 19 September 2011