Medical Marijuana Research

The term "marijuana" is a word with indistinct origins. Some believe it is derived from the Mexican words for "Mary Jane"; others hold that "marijuana" comes from. the Portuguese word marigu-ano which means "intoxicant" (Geller and Boas, 1969: 14). This section outlines the many and varied uses of marihuana through history, and deals with its use in medicine and its use as an intoxicant. The experience of the 1960's might lead one to surmise that marihuana use spreads explosively. The chronicle of its 3,000 year history, however, shows that this "explosion" has been characteristic only of the contemporary scene.

The plant has been grown for fiber and as a source of medicine for several thousand years, but until 500 A.D. its use as a mind-altering
After 1937, with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act and subsequent federal and state legislation, it became virtually impossible for physicians to obtain or prescribe marihuana preparations for their patients. Thus, the medical profession was denied access to a versatile pharmaceutical tool with a history of therapeutic utility going back thousands of years".

In a 1970 article, "Pot Facing Stringent Scientific Examination ," reference is made to Dr. Par who states that there are three areas in which "chemical and animal experiments are under way:" (1) Analgesia-mood elevation plus analgesic power may make useful drug. (2) Blood pressure reduction-hypertension may be helped by new drugs which lower the blood pressure by what seems to be action on the central nervous system. (3) Psychotherapeutic-new compounds are antidepressants and antianxiety drugs (Culliton: 1970).

Mikuriya cites it studies concerning cannabis funded by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1961. The studies were "either specialized animal experiments, part of an observational sociologic study of a number of drugs, or explorations of chemical detection methods" (Mikuriya, 1969: 38). Feinglass has pointed to four general categories into which the clinical studies of marihuana could be divided (1968: 206-208). They
Grinspoon suggests:

Very little research attention has been given to the possibility that marihuana might protect some people from psychosis. Among users of the drug, the proportion of people with neuroses or personality disorders is usually higher than in the general population; one might therefore expect the incidence of psychoses also to be higher in this group. The fact that it is not suggests that for some mentally disturbed people, the escape provided by the drug may serve to prevent a psychotic breakdown. (1969: 24).

Mikuriya lists many possible therapeutic uses of THC and similar products in his paper "Marihuana in Medicine: Past, Present and Future." He includes:

Analgesic-hypnotic, appetite stimulant, antiepileptic, antispasmodic, prophylactic and treatment of the neuralgias, including migraine and tic douloureaux, antidepressant-tranquillizer, anti-asthmatic, oxytocic, anti-tussive, topical anesthetic, withdrawal agent for opiate and alcohol addiction, child birth analgesic, and antibiotic (1968: