Antécédents de consommation de cannabis médical

C'est un oiseau... c'est un avion... c'est... Captain Cannabis ! OK, Captain Cannabis n'est pas un vrai super-héros. Cependant, les défenseurs du cannabis médical dans le Colorado, le dernier État américain à dépénaliser la possession de petites quantités de marijuana, ont plaisanté sur la création d'un, basé sur une caricature du candidat chef de la police de Denver, Robert White. White a eu un test faussement positif pour la marijuana il y a plus de 25 ans et dit qu'il n'a jamais consommé de drogue, donc il n'est pas vraiment le meilleur choix pour un champion du cannabis médical.

Ces mêmes défenseurs du cannabis médical - le Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of America - ont également été la cible d'une blague sur "Saturday Night Live" au début de 2011. L'ancre de "Weekend Update" Seth Meyers a établi des comparaisons entre les efforts de l'organisation pour obtenir des médecins ruraux envisager de prescrire du cannabis médical et "un gars vendant de l'herbe dans une remorque" [source: Huffington Post ]. Ces deux reportages reflètent l'attitude de nombreuses personnes envers le cannabis médical et les problèmes juridiques qui l'entourent – ​​que tout cela n'est qu'une grosse blague.

Il peut sembler que la consommation de cannabis à des fins médicales a commencé avec la Prop 215 de la Californie, ou le Compassionate Use Act, en 1996. C'est à ce moment-là que la loi californienne a autorisé pour la première fois l'utilisation légale de la marijuana, comme le recommandent les médecins. Cependant, c'est loin d'être la première fois que le cannabis est utilisé à des fins thérapeutiques. Alors, quelle est la différence entre les produits qu'un médecin recommande légalement à un patient pour l'aider avec une condition médicale et l'herbe achetée illégalement à des fins d'intoxication ? Une partie de cela est le nom.

Le cannabis médical comprend non seulement des parties de la plante, mais également des versions synthétisées des composés chimiques actifs présents dans le cannabis, connus sous le nom de cannabinoïdes. En ce qui concerne les questions juridiques, la différence entre le cannabis médical et la marijuana est de savoir s'il a été recommandé par un médecin pour un problème médical documenté. Si vous parlez de la plante, cependant, au fond, il n'y a pas de différence entre les substances réelles. Le cannabis est le nom scientifique; la marijuana vient de l'espagnol mexicain.

De nombreuses études scientifiques au fil des décennies et dans le monde entier ont documenté la valeur thérapeutique de l'utilisation du cannabis pour traiter une foule de maladies et d'affections. Cependant, de nombreuses personnes ont réfuté ces études, affirmant qu'elles ne sont pas concluantes, qu'il y a un effet placebo au travail ou que c'est juste une excuse pour se défoncer. Les critiques citent également les effets secondaires potentiellement négatifs de l'utilisation du cannabis comme médicament.

Malgré sa controverse actuelle, le cannabis est utilisé à des fins médicales depuis très longtemps. Remontons en arrière - comme dans des milliers d'années - pour examiner le rôle que le cannabis a joué dans les civilisations anciennes.

1. Temps anciens, temps forts ?
2. De la médecine brevetée à la recherche uniquement
3. Le cannabis médical aujourd'hui
4. Critique du cannabis et légalité

Bien qu'il soit facile d'imaginer que la consommation de cannabis médical a fait ses débuts à une époque plus récente - les années 60 psychédéliques, n'importe qui ? -- en réalité, les gens utilisent le cannabis pour aider à guérir ce qui les afflige depuis presque aussi longtemps que l'herbe est utilisée, point final. Les premiers enregistrements remontent à environ 2700 av. J.-C., lorsque les médecins chinois recommandaient un thé à base de feuilles de cannabis pour traiter des conditions telles que la goutte et le paludisme (le cannabis était déjà utilisé dès 4000 av. et huile de cuisine). Vers l'an 200 après JC, le médecin chinois Hua Tao a écrit sur son utilisation dans le cadre de ce qui était probablement le premier anesthésique.

Alors que les premières mentions de cannabis médical viennent de Chine, d'autres régions du monde n'étaient pas trop loin derrière. Plusieurs papyrus médicaux datant de 1000 à 1700 av. J.-C. montrent que les anciens Égyptiens utilisaient le cannabis pour traiter les problèmes de pieds et d'yeux, ainsi que les hémorroïdes. Cependant, séparer l'utilisation médicinale des utilisations magiques et religieuses peut être difficile dans la littérature ancienne, et cela est certainement vrai en Inde. Le "Atharva Veda", l'un des textes sacrés hindous datant d'environ 2000 avant JC, le cite comme une plante sacrée qui combat les "forces du mal", qui incluent celles qui causent à la fois des problèmes spirituels et de santé. Des utilisations plus pratiques décrites dans des écrits ultérieurs comme le "Sushruta Samhita" (un texte médical ayurvédique vers l'an 300) incluent le traitement de la douleur, de l'insomnie et des maux de tête,

Les Grecs de l'Antiquité ont peut-être été influencés par l'utilisation indienne de cannabis médical, ou vice versa. La première trace écrite vient d'Hérodote, qui a déclaré en 500 av. J.-C. que les Scythes, un groupe d'anciens nomades iraniens, prenaient des bains de vapeur avec de la marijuana. D'autres écrivains grecs ont mentionné l'utiliser pour se débarrasser des ténias, arrêter les saignements de nez et réduire l'inflammation et la douleur dans l'oreille. Les graines étaient même prescrites pour "assécher le sperme" des adolescents, peut-être pour réduire les émissions nocturnes.

L'utilisation du cannabis comme médicament a fait l'objet de vifs débats dans les pays islamiques au Moyen Âge, car les érudits coraniques ne savaient pas s'il appartenait à la même catégorie que l'alcool, qui était interdit. En fin de compte, ils ont établi une distinction entre l'utilisation de cannabis médical et le haschich (une forme forte de marijuana à base de résine) utilisé pour se défoncer.

Despite all of this ancient medicinal use, Westerners did not seem to catch on to the concept of medical cannabis until the 1800s, although the plant's other uses had been adopted. Next, we'll look at what most consider the very first scientific study of medical cannabis.

Much of the credit (or blame) for medical cannabis use in modern times falls on the shoulders of an Irish doctor named William O'Shaughnessy. As a physician with the British East India Company, he learned of its use while in India. In 1830, O'Shaughnessy first conducted experiments with cannabis on animals then tried it on his patients, claiming to successfully treat muscle spasms, pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Other Western doctors followed suit, setting off a flurry of studies. In the United States, the first conference on medical cannabis took place in 1863. Pharmaceutical companies got into the act, marketing patent medicines to combat many of the same conditions cited by O'Shaughnessy. Once aspirin was synthesized in the late 1800s, cannabis was used less popularly to treat pain and increasingly for recreational purposes.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was formed in 1906, putting an end to the patent medicine industry, and laws were soon passed to tightly restrict cannabis use to FDA-approved research studies only. Not to be outdone, Canada made cannabis illegal in 1923, while the United Kingdom followed suit a few years later. Negative press about cannabis abounded in the tabloid papers of the 1930s, associating its use with Mexican immigrants -- which is how it became known as marijuana instead of cannabis -- and blaming the drug for driving people to commit crimes. However, the American Medical Association was still touting the safe medical use of cannabis into the 1940s. In 1961, the United Nations Treaty 406 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was signed, which pledged to eradicate both cannabis cultivation and use across the world in 30 years.

However, medical cannabis research (and use, of course) continued regardless of the drug's shifting changes in legal status. Researchers around the world felt that O'Shaughnessy and his ancient predecessors were on to something. For example, doctors in both (what is now) the Czech Republic and in Argentina independently published studies in the early 1960s that outlined the drug's antibiotic properties. Its use in reducing intraocular pressure, the main cause of glaucoma, was studied in the United States, Eastern Europe and among Jamaican communities from the 1950s through the 1970s. Although recreational marijuana use became associated with the hippie movement in the 1960s, returning Vietnam veterans were also using it to deal with muscle spasms caused by injuries as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Since the 1980s, research into medical cannabis has focused mainly on two different types of use: to treat conditions that cause wasting and those that lead to muscle and skeletal problems, although other studies abound. Coming up, learn about just some of the ways that patients are using medical cannabis.

You may be wondering if medical cannabis is used differently from recreational marijuana -- it really depends on the person and his or her condition. Many patients do smoke it or vaporize cannabis to extract the active compounds. This way, they can take in just as much as they need to manage their symptoms. People also drink medical cannabis in tea or consume it in food like brownies or cookies. There are also oils, capsules and medications made from the natural and synthetic cannabinoids.

Medical cannabis has been suggested, and used, for treating so many different diseases and conditions that it would be impossible to recount them all here. Some people who are terminally ill, regardless of the disease, find relief from severe pain and nausea when they use medical cannabis. Researchers have long been aware of cannabis' ability to reduce pressure in the eyes, which is the cause of glaucoma . Whether it's the best treatment for that condition, however, is unknown.

The joke is that cannabis causes "the munchies," but in many people, it does stimulate appetite. Patients suffering from wasting, or cachexia, have also been shown to benefit from using medical cannabis. Cachexia may include fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite and loss of muscle mass. It affects patients with HIV/AIDS, cancer and a host of other diseases. In addition, some of the treatments for these diseases, like chemotherapy in the case of cancer, have side effects like nausea and vomiting. Using medical cannabis may also suppress those symptoms, as well as reducing pain in these patients and others with chronic or acute pain.

Some use medical cannabis to treat muscle control disorders that cause spasticity (tight muscles), tremors and muscle spasms. These include Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers suggest that this may to be due to its anti-inflammatory qualities. However, some studies have also shown that the tremors caused by MS weren't actually reduced by using cannabis, although the patients felt that they were better. This may be due to the mood-enhancing effects of the drug.

And there lies some of the controversy inherent in medical cannabis. Next, we'll look at some of the criticism of its use and the legal issues.

Cannabinoid Medications

Some drug companies have extracted the active compounds in cannabis, known as cannabinoids, and have either synthesized them or used them in their natural states to create medications. A synthesized version of the main cannabinoid in cannabis, THC, is sold in pill form as the drug Marinol in the United States and Canada, while Sativex, a mouth spray, is sold in several countries. Effects vary -- some patients complain that they take longer to manage symptoms than inhaled cannabis.

For every study and claim that medical cannabis can benefit patients with various conditions, there are others to refute it. Many of the conditions and side effects that medical cannabis is used to treat are also treatable with legal, Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs. The Glaucoma Research Foundation, for example, has stated that using medical cannabis to lower eye pressure only lasts for a few hours, and the negative side effects outweigh the benefits. Using medical cannabis to combat some of the side effects of HIV/AIDS may suppress patients' already compromised immune systems and leave them open to lung infections, according to the Institute of Medicine.

These are just a few of the specific criticisms. People who smoke cannabis (still the most common way of using it) may also run the risk of damaging their lungs. Plants may harbor dangerous microorganisms. The U.S. Department of Justice declared in 1988 that cannabis was not toxic and that there had never been a documented death from cannabis. However, the American Society of Addiction Medicine points to the high potential for abuse and states that there hasn't been enough research to qualify it as a medication.

There's also the little fact that it's still illegal ... sort of. The United Nations drug convention classifies it as a Schedule IV drug, meaning that member countries can decide whether to allow its use for medicine or research. Currently 16 U.S. states have either medical cannabis laws or decriminalization laws, which remove or reduce the legal penalties for possessing certain amounts of cannabis or cannabis plants. Most states have specific requirements that patients must meet, and they must typically register with the state.

According to U.S. federal law, cannabis possession, use and growth is illegal; however, the Obama administration has generally stated that dispensaries -- stores that sell medical cannabis by prescription in a state where it is legal -- in compliance with local laws will not be raided. Numerous medical organizations, including the American College of Physicians, propose federally reclassifying cannabis to facilitate more research.

Medical cannabis' legality in other countries varies widely. In Canada, medical cannabis is legal for patients with certain conditions -- although currently its laws are being debated. In the United Kingdom, the only legal medical cannabis is the cannabinoid-derived drug Sativex. Other Western countries range from legalizing medical use to having decriminalization laws, including Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. In some countries, there is simply a policy of non-enforcement regardless of whether the cannabis use is medical or not, especially with possession of small amounts.

While legal issues and controversy surrounding medical cannabis continue, there will always been those who claim its benefits and continue to use it ... regardless of the trends.

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