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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,506
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 Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients
#6488662 - 01/23/07 05:03 AM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients
January 23, 2007 - the-signal.com
By Josh Premako
 While the debate over medical marijuana rages on, there remains another option for those who are suffering.
It's called Marinol, a small orange capsule offered as an alternative to marijuana.
First approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago, Marinol's main ingredient is dronabinol, which is a synthetic version of Delta-9-THC - the main component of marijuana.
In 1982, it was approved by the FDA to treat nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for treating cancer. In 1992, it was approved for treating the loss of appetite in AIDS patients.
The drug both stimulates appetite and reduces nausea and vomiting, according to a Web site for Solvay Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Marinol.
"We do use it occasionally," said Dr. Gerald Subar, director of pharmacy at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.
With what Subar called a fairly rapid absorption time of between 30 minutes to an hour, Marinol can produce a "high," which he said is defined as easy laughing, heightened awareness and elation.
He said there is a low rate of addiction with the drug, which is listed by the FDA as Class 3.
Class 1 drugs - none of which can be prescribed -include LSD, marijuana and methamphetamine, he said. Class 5, the lowest designation, includes cough syrups with codeine.
Another recently-approved drug containing a synthetic THC is also available, Subar said, and added that that particular drug is a Class 2 and specifically targets nausea and vomiting.
Prescriptions for Marinol are regularly filled at Valencia Pharmacy, said chief pharmacist Jan Balthasar, and he said that is likely the case for many pharmacies in the valley.
However, a prescription alternative to marijuana is not necessarily the end-all solution, said William Dolphin, spokesman for Americans for Safe Access.
He referenced reports where he said Marinol users found the drug to be far more psychoactive than marijuana.
Additionally, Dolphin said while it can take as much as 40 minutes for Marinol to take effect, inhaled marijuana can take effect in as little as 15 seconds - and the dose is easier to control.
"People tend to prefer the plant," he said, although he added that "(Marinol's) certainly an answer for some patients."
Even Subar conceded that "there are legitimate uses for (medical marijuana)," and said while there are abuses it is a fine line.
For the time being, Marinol may be the only legitimate option for local residents who don't want to leave the valley to visit a medical marijuana dispensary.
Earlier this month, Sgt. Phil Morris of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station's Narcotics Bureau said he was contacted by an individual planning to set up a marijuana dispensary in Castaic.
On Jan. 18, Bruce McClendon, director of planning for the county told The Signal that no applications had been filed nor approvals granted for a facility in Castaic.
Last week, Morris said that anecdotally he has heard that after learning of potential community opposition to a dispensary, the individual who contacted him has decided not to pursue opening a marijuana facility.
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 MoeRon
The Cap'n
Registered: 09/22/05
Posts: 1,136
Loc: TX
Last seen: 26 days, 16 hours
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: veggie]
#6488693 - 01/23/07 06:02 AM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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I've consistently heard that Marinol is far less favored by cancer patients due to it's lack of natural chemicals that are normally in a marijuana plant. There are about 420 active chemicals in marijuana, many of which serve the purpose of soothing nausea, soothing mood, and pain relief.
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"You can all go to hell, I'm going to Texas"
-Davy Crockett
"I'm too drunk to taste this chicken"
-The Late Great Colonel Sanders
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ExplosiveMango
HallucinogenusDigitallus
Registered: 07/12/05
Posts: 2,962
Last seen: 9 days, 22 hours
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: MoeRon]
#6488955 - 01/23/07 09:30 AM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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Why would it be in any way better to use a synthetic with unknown longterm consequences... than a plant that is known to have none and do the job better?
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Know your self.
Know your substance.
Know your source.
Stop knowing what you are and realize what you could be.
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TurricaN
Grasshopper
Registered: 03/17/05
Posts: 796
Loc: Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Last seen: 16 hours, 6 minutes
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: ExplosiveMango]
#6489069 - 01/23/07 10:22 AM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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Indeed...
"Hey look! This plant does exactly what we need! But let's invent something else anyway, ya' know, just for shits 'n' giggles!"
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learysprotoge
Stranger
Registered: 09/12/06
Posts: 493
Last seen: 17 days, 21 hours
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: TurricaN]
#6490026 - 01/23/07 04:50 PM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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just for the $
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ClammyJoe
Azurescen Head
Registered: 11/03/05
Posts: 3,195
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 18 hours, 15 minutes
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: learysprotoge]
#6490159 - 01/23/07 05:37 PM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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Marinol is nothing compared to a well grown and cured bud. Cannabis by far the most effective medicine I've ever used.
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Pigsarefood
Entrepreneur
Registered: 06/11/06
Posts: 212
Loc: Emerald City
Last seen: 26 days, 21 hours
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: ClammyJoe]
#6490843 - 01/23/07 09:26 PM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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My friend managed to get a few marinols once. We rubbed the pills on ciggarettes and smoked em. I have to say, although I was blitzed out of my fucking mind, it was slightly different than regular bud. And besides, if there is a natural alternative, why use something that was concocted in a lab?
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"All mushrooms are edible; but some only once." ~Croatian proverb
^^
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Pigsarefood
Entrepreneur
Registered: 06/11/06
Posts: 212
Loc: Emerald City
Last seen: 26 days, 21 hours
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: Pigsarefood]
#6490846 - 01/23/07 09:27 PM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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Oh, and there really expensive
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"All mushrooms are edible; but some only once." ~Croatian proverb
^^
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daytripper05
Psychonaut
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 3,919
Loc: In my garden
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: Pigsarefood]
#6490900 - 01/23/07 09:55 PM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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of course the fda will approve a synthetic molecule of thc that has been patented by a drug company....that's the LAW you know. The FDA will approve any drug without a patent.** Natural extractions or plants themselves cannot be patented.* The FDA also says a drug can effectively treat disease. So by law that pretty much leaves no room for shit grown from the earth.
*http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#whatpat
**http://www.fda.gov/cder/regulatory/applications/default.htm
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Leanin
Student of theIron Game
Registered: 04/18/06
Posts: 1,838
Last seen: 14 hours, 3 minutes
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: daytripper05]
#6491181 - 01/23/07 11:10 PM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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of course the gov't will put crazy bad chems in it
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stilltsie
Not a strangerbut my # ofposts doesntreflect it
Registered: 05/25/06
Posts: 68
Last seen: 1 year, 5 months
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Re: Medical Marijuana Alternative Exists for Patients [Re: Leanin]
#6491983 - 01/24/07 09:16 AM (1 year, 10 months ago) |
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For future reference I suggest Quote:
quoting
your links to gov sites.
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