Hemp for Health
Page 4
The scientific community eagerly explored the possibilities, and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) held an important summit in November of 1975. Many of America’s leading cannabis researchers attended the Asilomar Conference. Seminars and compiled reports indicated that cannabis and its extracts and analogs would probably return as one of the world’s major medicines within a decade. The next year, Dr. Sidney Cohen and Richard Stillman published a hopeful prognosis for protocols and therapies using cannabis in numerous medical applications, entitled The Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana.
Unfortunately, hard-liners were back in firm control of research. Within a few years, permits and grants regarding marijuana were systematically perverted and politicized, and a clear pattern of bias has long since become familiar. By the late 1970s propaganda had once again replaced science in the mechanisms of government claims, and the scheduling issue that would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana was tied up in the courts.
Amid all the political maneuvering, some serious research has continued to be done, which has laid the groundwork for marijuana to gain informal acceptance within the medical profession. Continuing research verified the herb’s value in treating migraine headache.24 Dosage and consumption patterns were studied and evaluated, which demonstrated its relative safety for human consumption.25 Studies were done on the effects that cannabis has on the eyes that verified its benefit in reducing intra-ocular pressure and thereby relieving the buildup of ocular fluids that characterize glaucoma.26 Hollister demonstrated the value of cannabis as an appetite stimulant in 1971, and it has since been applied in the treatment of wasting syndrome associated with AIDS, anorexia, and cancer.27 In 1980 Sallan documented its utility in controlling nausea and vomiting, which led to its use in offsetting the debilitating effects of chemotherapy undergone for cancer or AIDS.28 Clinical studies combined with abundant anecdotal evidence and the direct observation of physicians led a substantial part of the medical community to reevaluate the therapeutic use of cannabis. In 1988 Vinciguerra corroborated the medical value of smoking marijuana.29 In 1991 a Harvard University team found that 44 percent of the cancer specialists who responded to a survey had privately recommended to some of their patients that they smoke cannabis to relieve chemotherapy side effects. Forty-eight percent also said they would like to prescribe it in some cases, if it was legal, while 54 percent agreed that cannabis should be legal for doctors to prescribe.30
Research into the nonpsychoactive constituents of cannabis resin also made significant advances. Researchers used cannabidiol, or CBD, to produce antibiotics, and identified dose levels that measurably and significantly improved patient control in movement disorders, and reduced symptoms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington’s Disease.31 The chemical relationships and interactions between the psychoactive and nonpsychoactive compounds in cannabis resin were even studied, with the surprising discovery that CBD enhances medical benefits but blocks the psychoactive effects of THC.32 This characteristic was later applied in working with psychological illness.33
Meanwhile THC has been produced in a synthetic form by Eli Lilly and marketed under the generic name Dronabinol and the trade name Marinol. It has been prescribed for many of the same conditions that cannabis is used to treat, with varying results. A variety of other delivery systems have also been developed. An inordinate amount of attention has been directed at detecting inert cannabinoids in the hair, urine, and feces of users.
Recently, research has been directed at identifying the location and function of the physical mechanisms that bring about the cannabis resin’s neurological effects.34 It began with the identification of special receptor sites for cannabinoids within the human brain. Their locations were dutifully enumerated and charted. A subsequent study identified a simple protein binder, dubbed anandamide, that attaches the compound to the surface tissue of the brain. The implications of these discoveries are yet to be fully felt. We are just now coming to terms with how this information might be applied for the benefit of those who suffer from disease and chronic conditions, as will be discussed in the coming pages.
And so, humanity and cannabis once again stand together at a dawn of new potential. Where will the new day lead us? Chances are that we will get a pretty good idea by studying where we have traveled in the past. Cannabis is hardly a cure-all, but it is a terrific medicine and a valuable tool for the healing arts and sciences.
Chapter 3
Sympathetic Health-Care Systems
Because there are a number of health-care systems that can accomodate cannabis use, it makes sense to take stock of the options before finalizing a therapeutic regimen. Conventional medicine as it is practiced today is known as allopathy. This term describes licensed, “orthodox” medicine, as practiced by a graduate of a medical school granting an M.D. degree. In this approach to treatment, health is considered to be the absence of disease. Hence, disease is an invader to be combated by taking a medication from the physician’s arsenal and using it to annihilate the problem.
Important landmarks in the history of allopathy include 1666, when British physician Thomas Sydenham popularized the use of the cinchona plant, containing quinine, to cure malaria. In 1796 Edward Jenner observed similarities between the relatively benign disease cowpox and the deadly smallpox. This observation advanced health care to the realm of inoculations and laid the groundwork for modern immunology. Scientific advances branched out exponentially during the following two centuries. Robert Koch developed bacteriological techniques that proved the importance of controlling micro-organisms in the water supply. A keener understanding of the importance of sterile medical conditions, in surgery and elsewhere, quickened the pace of change. In 1805 morphine was developed, followed by cannabis drugs in 1842 and aspirin in 1899. Louis Pasteur produced a germ theory that included the use, in 1880, of true vaccines, and “pasteurizing” milk to kill bacteria and retard spoilage. In 1928 Alexander Fleming recognized the antibacterial power of penicillin, which clinched allopathy as the dominant medical paradigm.
Steadily improving technology and controlled studies came into play, but the prohibition of cannabis hurt the quantity and quality of research, and the attitudes of the medical and social communities as well. Unfortunately, the conventional orthodoxy has become more and more response driven and chemical oriented. The result is a massive dispensing of pharmaceutical pills, tablets, capsules, suppositories, and liquid medicines to be taken orally or injected intravenously. This practice is important and has enormously improved the health and well-being of millions of human beings, but at a terrible price. In recent decades, medical practice has fallen into the self-serving hands of multibillion dollar companies that profit from manufacturing and licensing these drugs, and of government agencies who both make up and administer the rules and regulations through which that profit is derived. The licensing process, originally designed to protect the public, has become so inept and corrupt that it stalls the release of certain drugs, especially natural remedies, while making available more costly and dangerous surgical procedures and pharmaceutical drugs. The physician is therefore left in the severely limited role of offering only the approved, expensive drugs and procedures. The patient passively consumes these in whatever amount and form the doctor indicates, and pays whatever price drug companies dictate.
HERBAL MEDICINE
Today’s herbalists are leading a return to natural healing. They use the leaves, flowers, stems, berries, and roots of plants to prevent, relieve, and treat illness. Herbs tend to stimulate the immune system, rather than attack invading organisms. For example, echinacea, a common treatment for infection, does not work by killing germs directly, but by stimulating white corpuscle production within the blood stream. The body’s natural defense system takes over from there. As a result, adverse reactions to herbs, if any, tend to be mild and can usually be eliminated simply by discontinuing use of the herbal medication and waiting for it to pass from the patient’s system.1
> From an orthodox standpoint, this approach is considered experimental but, in fact, it is probably our most traditional field of medicine. Witch doctors and shamans used herbs extensively in their practice. Primitive societies, including the few who have survived into modern times, maintain a close understanding of the subtleties and healing powers of the plant kingdom. Herbology was profoundly important in ancient China, including various uses of cannabis. Hieroglyphic instructions for herbal techniques were carved into temple stone in ancient Egypt, and cannabis incense smoke was “eaten” in the temples of Thebes to dispel demons.2 Ashurbanipal prepared a record on clay tablets in 650 B.C. Babylon that chronicled the use of cannabis resin going back to even earlier times.3 During the Middle Ages, the family herb garden was a backyard pharmacy, with instructions handed down by oral tradition from one generation to the next. When the British physician Nicholas Culpeper chose to step away from academics and become a community doctor, he prepared two books: A Physical Directory, in 1649, followed shortly thereafter by The English Physician. He organized his information for use by the lay person as well as the doctor. Much of the approach to medicine and the healing arts was then based on the idea that patients had to take some of the responsibility for being their own physicians.
The first U.S. Pharmacopoeia, published in 1820, relied heavily on herbology. Soon thereafter, the “snake oil” medicine shows led to such flagrant quackery that people became sick or even died after swallowing the potions. Often there was little more than ethyl alcohol in the medicine bottle. Although authentic traditional medicines remained quite effective, the federal government jumped in to regulate the industry, with unintended consequences. Large commercial drug companies soon gained a foothold and took control of both the private markets and the regulating bureaucracies. Drugs came to be patented and marketed by trade name. By the time the U.S. Pharmacopoeia was designated the official legal standard in 1906, many valuable remedies which had been common knowledge among our forebears were already being labeled unscientific, discarded as folklore, and banned from the doctor’s bag.
Herbology, the historic mainstream of general medical practice, has since become marginalized and the healing arts privatized. Profits replaced patients as the dominant interest of the industry. Pharmacists have meticulously dissected and analyzed our medicinal plants. Certain “active” compounds have been isolated, extracted or synthesized, and authorized for a very narrowly focused chemical reaction. Botanical research has hit a point where many of our most effective prescription drugs are either derived from herbs or are chemical analogs—synthetic compounds modeled after organic compounds. Morphine, codeine, and a treatment for diarrhea, called paregoric, all come from the opium poppy. Atropine is a belladonna extract. Pseudo-ephedrine is a pharmaceutical version of ephedrine, a decongestant derived from the plant ephedra. Dronabinol is a synthetic copy of the THC found in natural cannabis. The traditional Pharmacopoeia has now been set aside and replaced with the Physician’s Desk Reference. This contains an extensive inventory of approved chemically manufactured drugs, listing particular chemical compounds, recommended and lethal dosages, and specific actions of each drug—along with an extensive list of warnings, contraindications, and possible side effects. Individual molecules have been identified and patented. Still, not everyone is convinced that the single compound approach is the best system for medicine.
Modern herbalists recognize that the healing power of a plant lies in the interactions of all its various components. That includes the drug compounds, but also assorted minerals, vitamins, volatile oils, essential oils, glycosides, alkaloids, bioflavonoids, and other substances, both known and unknown. In addition to the registered “active” ingredients, herbs include buffers, detoxifiers, and synergistic compounds that can greatly enhance the safety and medical efficacy of the active compounds. It is this very complexity, which makes herbs so powerful, that also makes them difficult to standardize and regulate. This characteristic is then used as an excuse to suppress the use of medical herbs, with the marijuana laws being the most glaring example.
The value of medicinal herbs remains undeniable. Their therapeutic use is administered in numerous forms. These include raw natural herb, bolus, capsules, extract, lozenges, ointments, poultice, suppositories, syrups, tablets, teas or infusions, and tinctures. In the case of cannabis, the herb can also be smoked or prepared in food. Raw cannabis is often difficult to take in solid form, and should first be soaked in oil to release the cannabinoids. Tinctures are alcohol-based, concentrated extracts of active compounds taken from the herb, and sometimes have a very strong and unpleasant taste. Alcohol also acts to preserve the compounds and helps the body to assimilate them. If patients wish to reduce their alcohol intake, they can mix the appropriate dose with a few ounces of very hot water and wait a few minutes for the alcohol to evaporate before consuming the remedy. Extracts are similar to tinctures, but in a more concentrated form. They are sometimes made using water rather than alcohol to leach out the medicinal compounds and hold them in suspension. If the technical process concerns you, check the label on commercial products for details.
Unless they are concentrated, raw herbs tend to be significantly less potent than tinctures or extracts. Cannabis, in particular, should be heated to potentiate the effect of its synergistic compounds and help the body to assimilate them. This is another good reason to smoke, vaporize, or bake with it. Dried herbs can be ground up into powder and consumed in a gelatin capsule or a compressed tablet. They can be steeped in scalding hot water. The resulting infusion is sipped to allow the patient to savor the flavor, ingest the beneficial compounds, and increase overall fluid intake. This helps flush the system of toxins. Herbal extracts and essential oils can also be suspended in an inert base, such as corn syrup. This thick liquid can be taken in measured doses as a syrup, or solidified into a lozenge that is dissolved in the mouth and released over a period of time. Ointments, poultices, rubs, and salves are external applications that combine herbs and their extracts with a variety of oils, creams and other topical preparations. They are used to protect and heal broken skin, to fight infections, to soothe rashes, skin irritations, and aching muscles, and to reduce inflammations. Soaking in a hot herbal bath is a soothing, relaxing, and therapeutic experience.
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES
A whirlwind of controversy swirls around the use of homeopathic treatments. Nonetheless, many people have found relief in its practice, so it deserves mention here. Homeopathy was developed by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) of Leipzig. It focuses on treating the specific symptoms of a medical condition rather than directly attacking the causes. Because symptoms can vary, the same disease may require a completely different treatment for one patient than it does for another, based on their individual symptoms and responses to various homeopathic preparations. This requires the physician to evaluate and attend to the specific needs of each patient in their unique situation. A homeopath may recommend changes of diet and lifestyle as part of the treatment. They prescribe certain drugs and make adjustments as they monitor the patient’s progress. Following a homeopathic regimen requires patience to solve the problem, and sometimes six months or longer of treatment. While more time-consuming than some therapies, homeopathic remedies may offer an amazingly effective and gentle alternative to allopathic procedures.
Dr. Hahnemann made his initial discovery while in a healthy state. He determined to learn how the cinchona bark worked to relieve malaria—not merely to deduce the active organic compound, quinine, but to uncover the process behind the cure. He consumed some of the bark, and promptly developed symptoms of acute malaria. The doctor summed up his discovery as the law of similars: “like cures like.” Through further experimentation, he came to the paradoxical conclusion that ingesting a minute, homeopathic dose of certain medicinal extracts can actually cause the reverse effect of taking a strong allopathic dose. He deduced that such remedies must stimulate the body’s inherent “vital force”
and increase the patient’s ability to resist disease, somewhat like an inoculation.4 This approach to healing reached its greatest popularity in the United States in the late nineteenth century, when 15 percent of the doctors here were homeopaths, and cannabis tinctures were common medicines.
Today homeopaths understand this process as a complex interrelationship of biological factors, such as the immune and regenerative systems, functioning within the setting of the patient’s mind and body. As with any health-care system, the patient’s confidence in both the doctor and the therapeutic regimen will ultimately affect the outcome of the treatment. Homeopathy respects the individuality of each patient and requires close observation of both the subject’s obvious and subtle reactions. Homeopathic researchers often use self-administered doses of their remedies to experience and keep track of their own subjective and physiological reactions to the compounds before prescribing them to others.
Homeopaths report that the effectiveness of their medicines actually increases with successive dilutions of the medicinal substance. As long as the medicine is violently shaken between each dilution, the remedy becomes more potent. This unusual approach to potency is a controversial aspect of homeopathy. There is no scientific explanation for it, yet the effect has been documented around the world. The reliance on trace doses has led many conventional allopathic doctors to regard homeopathy as little more than a placebo effect presenting itself as a cure. However, it does bring relief to some.5 Patient responses have been predictable enough for remedies to be prepared according to standards set by the U.S. Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. Furthermore, a number of controlled studies have shown the efficacy of homeopathic medicine in treating various diseases.6 A major review of the existing research on homeopathy, prepared by medical school professors at the request of the Dutch government, was published in the British Medical Journal.