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Smoking Marijuana Causes ‘Complete remission’ of Crohn’s Disease, No Side Effects, New Study Shows

Smoking Marijuana Causes ‘Complete remission’ of Crohn’s Disease, No Side Effects, New Study Shows

http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetrut...disease-with-no-side-effects-new-study-shows/

Smoking Marijuana Causes ‘Complete remission’ of Crohn’s Disease, No Side Effects, New Study Shows
Posted on May 14, 2013 at 9:38 am by David Downs in featured, Health
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Crohn's Disease sufferer
Marijuana – scientific name “cannabis” – performed like a champ in the first-ever placebo-controlled trial of the drug to treat Crohn’s Disease, also known as inflammatory bowel disease.

The disease of the digestive tract afflicts 400,000 – 600,000 people in North America alone causing abdominal pain, diarrhea (which can be bloody), severe vomiting, weight loss, as well as secondary skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, tiredness, and lack of concentration.

Smoking pot caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s disease compared to placebo in half the patients who lit up for eight weeks, according to clinical trial data to be published the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers at Israel’s Meir Medical Center took 21 people with intractable, severe Crohn’s disease and gave 11 of them two joints a day for eight weeks. “The standardized cannabis cigarettes” contained 23 percent THC and 0.5 percent CBD (cannabidiol). (Such marijuana is available on dispensary shelves in San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities that have regulated access to the drug.) The other ten subjects smoked placebo cigarettes containing no active cannabinoids.

Investigators reported that smoking weed caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s Disease in five of the 11 subjects. Another five of the eleven test subjects saw their Crohn’s Disease symptoms cut in half. Furthermore, “subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.”

The study is the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the consumption of cannabis for the treatment of Crohn’s, notes NORML. All of the patients had intractable forms of the disease and did not respond to conventional treatments. Still, the United States government claims that marijuana is as dangerous as heroin and has no medical use. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is waging a war on safe access to medical cannabis in the Bay Area.
 
I agree. A years worth to keep crohn's at bay =$4,000 a year or Humira at $20,000+ per year? That may be why it's illegal. Also because hemp is also illegal because it's an excellent fuel and paper source.
 

KWalker

Moderator
This "scientific study" is missing so much information it's completely useless.

Note: I'm not against marijuana at all if it helps crohns (although smoking it can have other negative health impacts), but like anything, I want to see solid evidence that something either does, or doesn't work.

Also, in the study it lists, and I quote "Complete remission (a CDAI score <150) was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group (45%)"

Again, there's an enormous amount of info missing, and taking something from a marijuana promoting website and viewing it as truth is like believing everything you see on ccfa/ccfc. Of course they're going to be bias!
 
I don't deny the efficacy of cannabis although the abstract leaves much to be desired. I think core scientists will rip the study apart.
 
I have no doubt that lots of people(, Big Pharma etc...) will rip the study apart. Naturally. They DO NOT want people to have access to marijuana. Think about it, if everyone with crohns, or any debilitating disease decided or had access to marijuana and realized they got better being on it, they would not be running to buy these other pharmaceuticals that cost thousands of dollars and have so many side effects they could actually kill a person!!!! NO WAY, Big Pharma does not want that!

I know my sons best friend ( he is 21), was diagnosed with Crohns disease back when he was 16 going on 17 years old. He was put on prednisone for about 4 months. This helped him a lot. He has No insurance and his family had none at the time either. Well When I saw him I aksked him how he was coping and if he was on anything to keep the crohns at bay. He said No, he said he could never afford all the drugs( I live in the US and these meds are ridiculously expensive, more than a mortgage payment would be!)Well my sons friend confided in me that he smokes weed. He said it has kept him well for all this time. He swears by it. I mean it is NO surprise or big discovery that marijuana has many useful medicinal properties. True, it probably is not great for the lungs long term or with heavy usage, but you can also ingest marijuana and it can have the same health benefit! But yet, you can bet your ass you wont see them legalizing it. I mean seriously, it all about money. The governments, Big pharma, they do NOT care about the people. Could care less! They are all about making money. It is sad, but it is true. They are afraid to legalize it because they know many people will want to try it, I mean there are way less side effects. I knew a woman who suffered severe digestive issues and her doctor prescribed to her a Pharmaceutical drug called marinol. It is derived from cannabis. But it also has a ton of medical chemicals in it too. Well this lady went into complete kidney failure from this drug, it almost killed her. She said nothing was working for the severe nausea though. Well she got desperate and started smoking cannabis and within hours she was able to eat and not vomit her food. It gave her her life back without almost killing her like the pharmaceutical drug did.

I hope they legalize it medically here in Illinios. That would be great for people who suffer and cannot handle these dangerous meds out there due to Chemical sensitivities. Hey, I myself maybe tried smoking a joint a couple times when I was younger and I did not like it, I mean it did not do anything for me, I did not get high. I am not one who endorses taking illegal drugs. But marijuana has been around for a long time and was used for it's medicinal purposes way back in the day. It is no more dangerous than taking a pharmaceutical drug, in fact I would say it is Much less dangerous!
 
This "scientific study" is missing so much information it's completely useless.

Note: I'm not against marijuana at all if it helps crohns (although smoking it can have other negative health impacts), but like anything, I want to see solid evidence that something either does, or doesn't work.

Also, in the study it lists, and I quote "Complete remission (a CDAI score <150) was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group (45%)"

Again, there's an enormous amount of info missing, and taking something from a marijuana promoting website and viewing it as truth is like believing everything you see on ccfa/ccfc. Of course they're going to be bias!
SF Gate is a marijuana promoting website?

PS K Walker you have been retorting my posts with anti-cannabis sentiment for the last year. Touché.
 
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I know it is legal in wa state but they tax the hell out of it(25%) Just in the town I live in I have seen (I don't go to them) but just driving by I have gone by at least 7 medical dispensaries for weed. I have a relative that has health issues and that is how he copes with his disease as well and seems to keep his symptoms at bay with it. If it works by all means...but the drs and pharmaceuticals will never say it works because they will lose way to much $. My remicade every 7 weeks is over $16,000. If I had to pay that I would be either smoking weed or dead from this horrible disease
 
These results are interesting, but the small number N=11 vs 10 leaves a lot to be desired. I would be interested in seeing a new study in which cannabis is used as an ancillary drug to a larger number of patients of varied disease states.

Still, despite my misgivings, the consistency (10 of 11 showing improval, vs 4 of the placebo group) at least gives some credence to the study.
 

David

Co-Founder
Location
Naples, Florida
I'd love to see some marijuana studies done with something other than joints as the delivery mechanism. I bet the results would be even better.
 
I'd love to see some marijuana studies done with something other than joints as the delivery mechanism. I bet the results would be even better.
I would like them to do a study like this as well maybe in vapor form and see what the outcome of that is. I vape nicotine in one now and even that seems to help.
 
Get off the nicotine using The Easy Way To Stop Smoking. No withdrawals or cravings . I've been nicotine free 15 days.

I'd like to see studies with edible cannabis as well as sativex.
 
How do you have a placebo group when you administer the cannabis via smoking? Would the placebo group not realize they weren't high?
 

Jim (POPS)

Jim (Pops)
Location
Antioch, Ca
I agree with KWalker, this study has so many holes in it. The study is usless. (This is coming from a guy that lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has smoked "POT" since the "Summer of LOVE" in San Francisco back in 1967.)

I wish it worked. I would have been "CURED" years ago with all the POT I've smoked.

(I know there is no cure for crohns)

Jim (POPS)
 
I agree with KWalker, this study has so many holes in it. The study is usless. (This is coming from a guy that lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has smoked "POT" since the "Summer of LOVE" in San Francisco back in 1967.)

I wish it worked. I would have been "CURED" years ago with all the POT I've smoked.

(I know there is no cure for crohns)

Jim (POPS)[/QUOTE

Just because it doesn't work for you does not mean it doesn't help millions of others as well as Crohn's colitis sufferers. I've been symptom free for some time. If you don't believe in health then it won't happen.
 
What about the negative effects of smoking full stop. The marijuana might help your Crohn's but the paper is smoked in isnt helping your lungs?
 

David

Co-Founder
Location
Naples, Florida
What about the negative effects of smoking full stop. The marijuana might help your Crohn's but the paper is smoked in isnt helping your lungs?
That's part of the reason that everyone here recommends different delivery mechanisms for the medication. Vaporizing and edibles are two of the more popular forms.

With that said, I'd take the VERY slight damage a joint does to my lungs over the catastrophic damage active Crohn's disease can do any day.
 
Go straight to the grower....bypass the middleman. There are several good strains out there . Your looking for a strain thats higher in cbd`s than thc. or at least close to same.
 
One good thing abiout marijuana too is it helps you sleep so deep. Worked like a charm when I was going thru menopause. It just knocked me out! Better than what I take now!
 
You'll always have some people telling you 'canabis is bad' and others raving about it maybe too much These attitudes have nothing to do with Crohns disease or cannabis and everything to do with ideological positions and a desire to preach at others. Unfortunately, due to a bad press for decades cannabis is still illegal in many places and carries a trully unhelpful social stigma that categorises its use as somehow dirty or degenerate. But it looks as though it can probably does help many people with Crohns disease. To my mind the fact that it works for many Crohns sufferers 'on the ground' and is actually affordable for poorer people who otherwise might not receive any effective treatment can only be described as a good thing
 
I have alot of first hand experience with it, and it really helps me. I don`t have GI problems, my wife does. I have arthritis. Cannibis is an anti inflammatory, and Arthritis is autoimmune disease. It works for me.
 
Legalities aside, I think cannabis can help relieve symptoms, in a similar way to messlamine, but I just don't believe it puts anyone into full remission. If it improves your quality of life then it may very well outweigh the cost and risk.
 
That is really interesting Healinghand. I am very lucky to receive Remicade for my Crohns disease. It helps quite a bit. It is the only man-made drug that does help control my symptoms. But what interests me about what you have said is that Cannabis helps with arthritis! Because the other group of users of Remicade, typically, are arthritis sufferers. Remicade is very expensive but it does often help people with Crohns and Arthritis. It works by interrupting the auto-immune reaction that gives rise to inflamation and pain. Perhaps Cannabis is doing something similar, as well as having pain-reducing properties and aiding restful sleep? It would be interesting to learn if it blocks the process leading to inflamation (like Remicade) or if it actually normalises the immune system. If the latter, perhaps it may even be a preferable treatment?


Vis the original article, I have to question the use of 24 percent THC cannabis with low CBD during the experiment. Admittedly it is all hearsay. but my impression is that many people wanting to use cannabis for medical purposes do not want to be heavily stoned. A lower level of THC and a slightly higher level of CBD content might be a better bet, say 6% THC and 6% CBD? At least this is my impression.
 
You are correct. I do not enjoy the loss of my faculties, and I have been a non-smoker for a couple of years. I prefer edibles. It takes about 30-40 minutes to get going, but it`s more stable. Best is right before bedtime. I sleep well and wake up feeling good. It lasts me for several days. I used to take 12-14 Ibuprofen per day, and now I don`t take any. My surgeon actually is the one who got me to try it. Like a lot of people I did it when I was younger, but grew out of it. I`m glad I have gone back to it, and I try to help others when I can. My wife suffers undiagnosed Ulcerative Colitis. She has an appointment in July for a colonoscopy, and endoscopy. She also has vertigo issues. I`m trying to find a strain that will help her without the "high".
 
For someone not familiar with medical research publication practices, what are the problems with this study? What information is missing?
 
fyi, there was a recent study published that supported oral thc (dronabinol) being better than smoked marijuana for pain relief. the oral pill is also much less controversial from a legal perspective.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23609132
Marinol is bullshit. I've tried Marinol, smoked cannabis, and edibles made with cannabis. Marinol is a waste of money as it has ZERO CBD. Also, the whole plant has other cannabinoids we havent studied that could have synergistic and cofactors effects.
 
In *enlightened* Europe marijuana is still much more demonized than in America (despite all the reports of liberal Europe with Amsterdam being *pot*central...).

I can't even risk to buy it illegally around here, because if you are caught it's a criminal offense that can get you disbarred (I am a lawyer).

Strange world we live in, they have no problem handing out immunosuppressives, steroids, antibiotics etc., but weed is considered at the core of all evil.
 

Spooky1

Well-known member
Location
South Northants
I am afraid of the stigma, and of course, getting caught by the law. Is it really addictive? Some people say it is, including relatives.

I would so prefer to try this in pill form, but would love to try it anyway just to see if I could do something for this hideous disease. Something's gotta help! 38 years, no remission. I have the worlds worst lifestyle.

Is your typical weed from the street, or joe blogs for instance, altered by addatives. Surely its only sold by drug dealers? What type of people are they? Do I want to get involved and will I give myself an addiction?

So many questions is why I have never tried it. Can anyone shed some light on it, please? and how long would I take it for to tell if it worked?

feeling a little hopeful, mind it is illegal here.
 

kiny

Well-known member
I don't understand why some doctors are against the use of marijuana for CD. The only thing that anti-inflammatory drugs do for crohn's disease is stop the destructive inflammation. There's opioid receptors in the intestine and brain, if marijuana lowers inflammation through those opioid receptors it needs to be researched. If you refuse to do that as a doctor then go practice another profession that doesn't deal with the human body, because opioid receptors are part of it.
 
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My questions is were the participants in this study able to hold down a job or go to school while smoking two joints a day??? or were they just listening to Bob Marlely all day?? LOL

No doubt Cannabis will help!!! I can surely admit to that! But give me a break 2 joints per day???

Yes the CBD's are the focus of some major medical research..yes major at universities with real MD's and PHD's. Im sure some of you have read the are working on strains that really won't get you as "high" but have therapeutic effects.
 
Spooky1. I understand where your coming from. Alot of people don`t like to smoke it. There are other ways. It can be vaporized. There is a process where its rendered into an oil and cooked with (my favorite) I think ingestion is the best. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get going, and its very stable. For GI problems, I think that would be the best. My wife has all the symtoms of ulcerative colitis. She is having a colonoscopy, and endoscopy in July to confirm. It`s amazing to me that I give her a pack of Prednisone, and she is completely normal for about 8-10 days. She also has some sinus/vertigo issues that we are also working thru. She wont smoke Cannibis because it makes her vertigo worse. I`m working on a strain that has low thc, and high cbd. I think that will be the ticket. It works very well for me. I had a serious injury to my wrist and lost about 70% of the range of motion. I have alot of pain. It`s about the only thing that relieves the pain than doesn`t have unwanted side effect.
 
I myself only tried weed a couple times in my youth. It did not even really get me high actually. I never did it again after that. I do not like to smoke so that was another reason I did not do it again. Well now I am having severe pain to the point of wanting to just die. I have all kinds of intestinal issues, but the most painful thing I am dealing with is a disease called Interstitial Cystitis of the bladder. It is the most painful thing I have ever endured, and I have been through some pretty painful crap. Well I have exhausted most all the treatments for this bladder disease. I honestly think my IC bladder is caused by bacteria since antibiotics are the only thing that helps. But doctors do not know anything or what causes IC so it is a mystery( rolling my eyes!). Aside from having my bladder removed I just do not know what to do anymore. My son who is going to be 22 is trying to convince me to smoke Marajuana. His best friend has Crohns disease and it helps him immensely, I mean he is not on any meds for his crohns for the last 4 and half years. I gotta say I am feeling a bit desperate to try it. It is not legal here in Illinois yet which is why I am hesitant, but my pain levels are pushing me to maybe try it. My dad says I should. He said all the prescription meds they have are potentially way more toxic than smoking a joint! My dad see's me suffer every day to the point to where I am in tears because of the pain. My dad does NOT promote taking drugs, especially illegal, but he has said I need to try it. He said it is known proof that it has and always has had medicinal purposes. So I may end up giving it a try. One thing I don't get is WHY does it smell like a skunk????










Spooky1. I understand where your coming from. Alot of people don`t like to smoke it. There are other ways. It can be vaporized. There is a process where its rendered into an oil and cooked with (my favorite) I think ingestion is the best. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get going, and its very stable. For GI problems, I think that would be the best. My wife has all the symtoms of ulcerative colitis. She is having a colonoscopy, and endoscopy in July to confirm. It`s amazing to me that I give her a pack of Prednisone, and she is completely normal for about 8-10 days. She also has some sinus/vertigo issues that we are also working thru. She wont smoke Cannibis because it makes her vertigo worse. I`m working on a strain that has low thc, and high cbd. I think that will be the ticket. It works very well for me. I had a serious injury to my wrist and lost about 70% of the range of motion. I have alot of pain. It`s about the only thing that relieves the pain than doesn`t have unwanted side effect.
 
The best stuff smells skunky and like fuel or lemon. Maybe it's the terpenes? Dude, seriously it has helped me and others immensely.maybe you know someone who can grow a plant for you it's June and. It too late to plant.
 
It`s a feature :)

I`m sorry you have so much pain.I would be glad to help you if I can. I spend alot of time writing emails in hopes of getting this legalized. when I speak to most people, I remind them, THIS IS A PLANT. Soooooo you have waged a war on a plant for the last 70 years? And you think I have a problem?
 
My questions is were the participants in this study able to hold down a job or go to school while smoking two joints a day??? or were they just listening to Bob Marlely all day?? LOL
I am not a regular marijuana consumer, but in the past I had no problem concentrating or working after smoking weed.

I doubt people who get accustomed to smoking one in the morning and one in the evening will have a problem at work. Just as an example of how the human body works: there have been surgeons in WW2 and WW1 who only operated under slight alcohol influence. The reason was simple, it calmed them down. They weren't drunk, but had enough so their hands weren't jittery.
 
I don`t have any problems with concentration. I however am not going to drive a car, or anything else that requires a large amount....No chain saws, etc.
 
Read the full essay I posted above written by mr x aka Carl Sagan. It hold alleviate any fears of impairment. He basically sys you can snap out of the high if you have to do something. I agree with him.
 
It`s a feature :)

I`m sorry you have so much pain.I would be glad to help you if I can. I spend alot of time writing emails in hopes of getting this legalized. when I speak to most people, I remind them, THIS IS A PLANT. Soooooo you have waged a war on a plant for the last 70 years? And you think I have a problem?
Yet they tote us all these drugs that can cause cancer and blood problems, liver failure, etc.... All in the name of MONEY!!!!!!!!:ymad:
 
I try not to participate if I can find another way......If they were actually out to help, it would be different. But why would you cure a disease when you can bilk billions from helpless, hurting people.
 
I hope so......:thumright:
The way things are going I beginning to have no doubt that we will get this stuff legalized. We cannot and should not stand to live in blind and willful ignorance by our representatives who cower to special interests.

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

-Thomas Jefferson
 
I am a firm believer in running studies to verify the claim. The first comment that really strikes me wrong is the statement in the heading of no side effects? There are always side effects....they can be positive, neutral or negative. Smoking itself does result in side effects. Why would we want to smoke any product when we have so many studies on tobacco that show the harm smoking does. Marijuana when smoked also has many of thsee similar problems with smoking and carcinogens. The impact of it I definitely dont know but there are definitely side effects from the use of marijuana.

Studies that I read on use of marijuana have noted items such as memory loss and long term cognitive loss. I do think more work needs to be done to be able to weigh the risks as well as the benefits of marijuana.

I understand individuals notes of what makes them feel better or how they responded to it but that isnt a study that isolates what made them feel better or worse. A strong scientific study that is replicated with many participants is what is needed. This is one small study that needs to be duplicated. Additionally as others have noted the means of taking the substance needs to be changed to a less harmful method of delivery.

What I think on the topic really doesnt matter It is whether there is an approach to analyze the data that can show the cause and effect of using marijuana on crohns disease and weigh that against the side effects. This is a very very small study. It may be leading to further positive studies but the headline itself is sensational and from my perspective makes the claim unbelievable. My experience from 50 plus years of living and many many years of the disease is if it sounds to good to be true it generally is. I wait to be proven wrong here but I really dont expect the headline to be proven as it literally reads.
 
It can be vaporized (similar to an e-cig) or reduced to an oil and cooked with. My fovorite is hard candy, because there`s no taste.
 
I am a firm believer in running studies to verify the claim. The first comment that really strikes me wrong is the statement in the heading of no side effects? There are always side effects....they can be positive, neutral or negative. Smoking itself does result in side effects. Why would we want to smoke any product when we have so many studies on tobacco that show the harm smoking does. Marijuana when smoked also has many of thsee similar problems with smoking and carcinogens. The impact of it I definitely dont know but there are definitely side effects from the use of marijuana.

Studies that I read on use of marijuana have noted items such as memory loss and long term cognitive loss. I do think more work needs to be done to be able to weigh the risks as well as the benefits of marijuana.

I understand individuals notes of what makes them feel better or how they responded to it but that isnt a study that isolates what made them feel better or worse. A strong scientific study that is replicated with many participants is what is needed. This is one small study that needs to be duplicated. Additionally as others have noted the means of taking the substance needs to be changed to a less harmful method of delivery.

What I think on the topic really doesnt matter It is whether there is an approach to analyze the data that can show the cause and effect of using marijuana on crohns disease and weigh that against the side effects. This is a very very small study. It may be leading to further positive studies but the headline itself is sensational and from my perspective makes the claim unbelievable. My experience from 50 plus years of living and many many years of the disease is if it sounds to good to be true it generally is. I wait to be proven wrong here but I really dont expect the headline to be proven as it literally reads.
I agree with you about the semantics of the headline, but if you wait for the US Govt/Corporation(s) to endorse one of nature's longest used and best plant medicine then we will both be long gone from this Earth. I've been around for 38 years and have been a regular cannabis user for 20 years. I work 60+ hour weeks sometime, finished a degree in that time, got married, kicked nicotine and opiate addiction and kicked Crohn's in the ass.

There aren't any studies on cannabis because the US Govt has banned studies on marijuana!!! They also have a patent on THC and CBD. GMO were studied by Monsanto for 90 days on 30 rats and deemed
To be safe. Marijuana has been used for 2,000 plus years as a medicinal herb. F the FDA!!!

PS I agree the title is misleading to an extent but a semantical error does not negate the other info. Sure there are wide effects. Increased appetite, pain relief, decreased inflammation, increased well being, sleep.
 
The Us Govt already knows the benefit, as they filed a patent on it.
There just more interested in NOT helping you.:hallo3:

Look it up for yourself........

The United States Of America As Represented By The Department Of Health And Human Services
United States Patent 6630507

Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting of H, CH3, and COCH3
 
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