Peoria, Illinois - 68 percent of registered Illinois voters favor legalizing marijuana for medical use by seriously and terminally ill patients, according to a recent survey funded by a group that promotes the drug's legalization.

The survey, conducted last month by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc. but paid for by the Washington, D.C.,- based Marijuana Policy Project, polled 625 registered voters across the state. Findings, however, were released Monday by the advocacy group on the heels of an Illinois Senate committee approving a bill legalizing medical marijuana.

When asked how strongly they support "allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use and grow medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it," 42 percent of respondents statewide said they strongly supported it, 26 percent somewhat supported it, 12 percent somewhat opposed it and 15 percent strongly opposed. 5 percent of respondents had no opinion.

In a similar survey of the Peoria area - which interviewed 400 voters in Peoria, Knox, Stark, Marshall, Woodford, Tazewell, Mason and Fulton counties - 31 percent of interviewed voters said they strongly supported it, 28 percent somewhat supported it, 13 percent somewhat opposed it, 21 percent strongly opposed it and 7 percent had no opinion.

"I think the poll results aren't surprising at all," said Dan Bernath, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. "This is becoming less and less a political issue but more and more a public health issue."

The group cites a 1999 report by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine as evidence the drug is rarely addictive and doesn't necessarily lead to harder narcotics. Advocates claim the plant can be used to treat pain, sleep, nausea, appetite and tremors without serious physical or psychological harm.

Some officials, however, aren't buying the results, saying the framing of the poll's questions skewed answers.

"When you couch it in terms of should sick people use marijuana when they are sick and dying, of course people would say yes," said Laimutis Nargelenas, deputy director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. "I think it's pretty poor that they have to hide behind sick people."

The Illinois State Police also opposes the proposal and believes its wording would create a loophole to allow motorists to drive under the influence of marijuana.

Nargelenas said law enforcement has no philosophical objection to medicinal marijuana but sees the current bill as nothing more than the precursor to fully legalizing the drug for all - ill or not. The measure also sends a mixed message to children on how to deal with drug use, he added.

Currently, 12 states and six cities have laws legalizing marijuana use for medical reasons, but buying, selling or possessing the plant is still a federal crime.

According to Illinois' proposed legislation, sponsored by state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, patients with chronic or debilitating disease could receive prescriptions for medical marijuana as well as "no more than 8 plants and 2 and 1/2 ounces of usable marijuana."

Source: PPJStar.com - Journal Star, Peoria, IL 61643

Copyright: 2008 Peoria Journal Star

Former CIA Director Jim Woolsey is scheduled to address a meeting today at the Canadian Consulate in Denver. But he won't speak about terrorism. Woolsey, who has served under former President Clinton and has been an adviser to President Bush, will hold court via telephone on another of his favorite topics: industrial hemp.

Commercial farming of hemp is banned in the United States for its apparent similarities to marijuana - a charge repudiated by hemp supporters. Developed regions such as Europe and Canada allow farmers to grow hemp for industrial purposes such as ropes or fabrics. The Canadian consulate in Denver supports the move to lift the ban.

Woolsey says hemp, if allowed in the U.S., could become a low-water-consuming and easy- to-grow feedstock for biofuels. Also, because of its biological properties, hemp could inhibit the growth of illegal marijuana through cross-pollination.

"Historically, the Drug Enforcement Administration has interpreted hemp to be in the marijuana band so as to include a ban on it," Woolsey said Monday during a phone interview with the Rocky. "In fact, what that is doing is undermining the single most effective way to cause trouble for marijuana."

"Hemp is so valuable, the last time I looked, it was many times more than the price of wheat and has industrial uses so substantial," added Woolsey, a self-described conservative Democrat who also serves on the board of the North American Industrial Hemp Council. "If you harvested hemp, you could use part of the plant for industrial purposes and the rest of the plant for cellulosic feed- stock for some type of biofuels."

Today's meeting is expected to draw about three dozen supporters of industrial hemp, including farmers and representatives from Colorado legislators. Most farmers' lobbies, including those in Colorado, support lifting the ban on industrial hemp. They hope to pass a resolution in the current legislative session, said Mike Bowman, chairman of the Colorado Industrial Hemp Initiative.

A pending bill in Congress, if approved, would give rights to states to regulate industrial hemp.

Source: The Rocky Mountain News

Copyright: 2008, Rocky Mountain News

Cannabis-derived medicines may one day be used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease which affects 417,000 people in the UK. Professor Raphael Mechoulam of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, will present new findings to a group of international experts at a Cannabinoids Medicines Symposium to be held at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) in London on Monday, 10 March. The research, still at an early stage, indicates that memory loss, the main symptom of Alzheimer's, can be slowed down significantly in mice by some of the chemicals present in cannabis. The next step will be to initiate human trials to see if the same effect can be achieved on the human brain.

The research is promising for the millions of suffers of the disease and their carers. Alzheimer's disease is the commonest form of dementia, which affects an estimated 24.3 million people worldwide.

It is ten years since the RPSGB launched its protocols to demonstrate the therapeutic effectiveness of cannabis. These protocols led to the Government funded UK trials that looked at the medicinal benefits of cannabis for patients with multiple sclerosis and in the treatment of severe pain. Cannabis-derived medicines have subsequently entered the market and are currently available to patients in Canada.

Professor Tony Moffat, who is chairing the Symposium on Monday said: "We have come a long way in 10 years and there is still a lot of research ground to cover. There is currently considerable interest in the medical benefits of cannabis and related compounds for a range of conditions including arthritis, multiple sclerosis and neurological pain. Although recent press coverage has focused on the abuses associated with the plant, cannabis-derived medications may offer novel opportunities in drug discovery."

About Professor Mechoulam's research

The research was conducted by Professor Raphael Mechoulam of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and a team led by Dr Maria de Ceballos, Cajal Institute, Madrid. In the studies, mice were injected directly into the brain with a molecule found in the human brain of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which is known to be responsible for memory loss.

These animals were then treated over a week with cannabidiol. The animals were then assessed as to their learning ability measured by the time needed for them to find a hidden platform in a maze. Mice injected with cannabidiol found the platform within 25-30 seconds, compared to 45-55 seconds of those in a control group who had not been treated with cannabidiol.

UK statistics on Alzheimer's disease

• Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia
• The disease affects around 417,000 people in the UK

Worldwide Statistics on dementia

• Approximately 24.3 million people suffer with dementia
• 4.6 million new cases of dementia are reported every year which equates to one new case every 7 seconds
• The number of people affected with dementia will double every 20 years to 81.1 million by 2040

About Alzheimer's

People in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease may experience lapses of memory and have problems finding the right words. As the disease progresses they may:

• Become confused, and frequently forget the names of people, places, appointments and recent events
• Experience mood swings. They may feel sad or angry. They may feel scared and frustrated by their increasing memory loss
• Become more withdrawn due either to a loss of confidence or to communication Problems

About the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB)

The RPSGB is the professional and regulatory body for pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales. It also regulates pharmacy technicians on a voluntary basis, which is expected to become statutory under anticipated legislation. The primary objectives of the Society are to lead, regulate, develop and represent the profession of pharmacy.

Source: Medical News Today

Copyright: 2008, Medical News Today