The federal government steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the therapeutic utility of the cannabis plant, stating as recently as this past July that it possesses:

“a high potential for abuse; … no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; … [and] lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision. … [T]here are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving (marijuana’s) efficacy; the drug is not accepted by qualified experts. … At this time, the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy.”

Yet, almost daily, scientific journals from around the globe expose the absurdity of the administration’s longstanding ‘flat Earth’ position regarding the medical use of cannabis.

Below is a just published abstract from yet another scientific study establishing the safety and efficacy of cannabis. Your government will state categorically that studies like these don’t exist. Your government is lying to you.

Treatment of Crohn’s disease with cannabis: an observational study

via PubMed

Isr Med Assoc J. 2011 Aug;13(8):455-8.

BACKGROUND: The marijuana plant cannabis is known to have therapeutic effects, including improvement of inflammatory processes. However, no report of patients using cannabis for Crohn’s disease (CD) was ever published.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the effects of cannabis use in patients suffering from CD.

METHODS: In this retrospective observational study we examined disease activity, use of medication, need for surgery, and hospitalization before and after cannabis use in 30 patients (26 males) with CD. Disease activity was assessed by the Harvey Bradshaw index for Crohn’s disease.

RESULTS: Of the 30 patients 21 improved significantly after treatment with cannabis. The average Harvey Bradshaw index improved from 14 +/- 6.7 to 7 +/- 4.7 (P < 0.001). The need for other medication was significantly reduced. Fifteen of the patients had 19 surgeries during an average period of 9 years before cannabis use, but only 2 required surgery during an average period of 3 years of cannabis use.

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of cannabis use in Crohn’s disease in humans. The results indicate that cannabis may have a positive effect on disease activity, as reflected by reduction in disease activity index and in the need for other drugs and surgery. Prospective placebo-controlled studies are warranted to fully evaluate the efficacy and side effects of cannabis in CD.

NORML will have a detailed summary of this study in next week’s NORML News. (Sign up to receive NORML News updates here.)

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