Source: International Association for Cannabis as a Medicine

29 March 2009

Germany: Facilitation in the application process for the medical
use of cannabis

On 19 March Sabine Baetzing, Drug Commissioner of the federal
government, Dr Harald Terpe, speaker on drug politics of the
Green Party in the Bundestag, and members of staff of the
Federal Institute for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products of the
Health Ministry discussed several aspects of the current
application process for obtaining approval for exemption for the
medical use of cannabis. There was agreement that the currently
used term “medical expert opinion,” that patients have to provide
as a prerequisite for an exemption could be misunderstood.
Rather, it requires a statement (“epicrisis”) of the treating
physician, by which the necessity of a treatment with cannabis is
substantiated. This statement may not cover more than one
typewritten page.

The Federal Institute for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products
assured to dispel unsubstantiated fears of physicians and patients
concerning the prerequisites for the grant of an approval by
explicit clarification of the necessary application documents. They
also intended to inform physicians more effectively. Since most
physicians fail to support patients in their application process due
to the associated work load, this clarification could be interpreted
as a facilitation, which could pave the way to a treatment with
cannabis to more patients.

(Source: Personal communication, office of Dr Harald Terpe of
20 March 2009)

USA: Change of the federal policy may stimulate further states to
legalize the medical use of cannabis

Currently 13 states of the USA have legalized the medical use of
cannabis. Some further states are moving into this direction in
response to the Obama administration’s decision to end
prosecutions of sick people or caregivers who use or dispense the
drug in states with such laws. Attorney General Eric Holder said
that his agents will seek criminal charges only when both state
and federal laws are violated. An editorial of the New York
Times states: “The Obama Justice Department has an enormous
backlog of legal matters to work through, from enforcing long-
ignored civil-rights laws to prosecuting white-collar criminals in
the banking industry and on Wall Street. Mr. Holder deserves
credit for recognizing that going after medical marijuana
dispensers is not only bad policy, it is a distraction from work that
really matters.”

A bill that would legalize the medicinal use of cannabis if
approved by a doctor passed the state House of Representatives
of New Hampshire on 25 March. Last month the state Senate of
New Jersey approved a similar bill. Other bills on the medical use
of cannabis have got support by committees of state parliaments
in Illinois and Minnesota. Meanwhile, New Mexico has approved
its first license for a business to produce medical cannabis
according to its state law.

More at:

[New York Times

 >http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/opinion/26thu4.html]

[UPI.COM

 >http://www.upi.com/news/issueoftheday/2009/03/20/New_prioritie s_drive_Holder_Obama_to_permit_medical_marijuana_use/UPI- 54261237563338/]

(Sources: USA Today of 25 March 2009, New York Times of 26
March 2009, The Philadelphia Inquirer of 24 March 2009, UPI of
20 March 2009)

Germany: House search at the ACM office

On 17 March the local police performed a house search at the
office of the German Association for Cannabis as Medicine
(ACM) and the private offices of the chairman of the ACM, Dr
Franjo Grotenhermen, and seized files of the ACM and IACM. In
addition, a copy of the computer’s hard disk was taken. The house
search was carried out based on a warrant from the lower court
of Hamburg of 3 March 2009 on an application by the Office of
the Public Prosecutor of Hamburg due to the suspicion of a
violation of the narcotics law. The inquiry authorities hope to find
suggestions of criminal activities concerning the Cannabis
Pharmacy.

The website of the Cannabis Pharmacy
went online in 2005 to help severely ill people, who benefit from
the medical use of cannabis, to get free access to cannabis
products. According to the principles of the Cannabis Pharmacy a
treatment with cannabis products “had to be truly indicated and
urgently necessary” and at the same time, a treatment with
dronabinol (THC) was not possible, for example because the
health insurance denied payment for the treatment. Anonymous
donors of cannabis were brought into contact with patients by an
e-mail address. Among the members of the solidarity committee
designated were Dr Franjo Grotenhermen, Dr Lorenz Boellinger,
Professor of Law at the University of Bremen, and Dr Sebastian
Scheerer, Professor of Criminology at the University of Hamburg.

(Source: Personal communication by Franjo Grotenhermen)

News in brief

Science: Effect of legal status

According to research by the Eunice Shriver National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, USA, on
cannabis and alcohol use in the United States, Canada and the
Netherlands the legal status of cannabis has no relevant influence
on use. Researchers concluded that “the finding that cannabis use
rates did not differ across countries is not consistent with the
contention that prohibition-oriented policies deter use or that liberal
cannabis policies are associated with elevated adolescent use.”
(Source: Simons-Morton B, et al. Int J Drug Policy. 2009 Mar 19.
[Electronic publication ahead of print])

Science: CBD and arteries

According to research at the University of Nottingham, UK, the
natural cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) activates the receptor
PPARgamma, a receptor within the interior of cells (i.e. a nuclear
receptor). CBD was shown to cause vasorelaxation of the
isolated rat aorta by activating this receptor, which is also
activated by other cannabinoids including THC. (Source:
O’Sullivan SE, et al. Eur J Pharmacol. 2009 Mar 10. [Electronic
publication ahead of print])

Science: Memory

Basic research shows that CB1 receptors in a brain region called
hippocampus mediate the memory impairing effects of THC.
(Source: Wise LE, et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Mar
25. [Electronic publication ahead of print])

ONE YEAR AGO:

 USA: Acquittal of a medical cannabis user in Texas

 Canada: Medical doctors increased the dosage of cannabis for
medical purposes in recent years

TWO YEARS AGO:

 Science: THC relaxes the colon and may be useful in irritable
bowel syndrome

 USA: Medical cannabis bill defeated in New Hampshire House
of Representatives

(More at the IACM-Bulletin archives)

International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM)

 Am Mildenweg 6

 D-59602 Ruethen

 Germany

 Phone: +49 (0)2952-9708571

 Fax: +49 (0)2952-902651

 Email: info@cannabis-med.org

 Website http://www.cannabis-med.org

The articles of the IACM-Bulletin can be printed, translated and
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original work is properly cited. The source of the IACM-Bulletin
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