Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Dec. 3

Medical marijuana program to provide needed research

The selection of Rochester as one of Minnesotas eight medical marijuana distribution sites - and the only one south of the Twin Cities - means our region will be at the forefront of research into its medicinal uses.

Minnesotas new Office of Medical Cannabis will gather data from each of the estimated 5,000 people expected to sign up for the patient registry. The research manager will be Dr. Thomas Arneson, a Fairmont native who earned his M.D. from Mayo Medical School after receiving a masters degree in public health from the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

The state will document the different chemical compounds used by patients, as well as dosages and side effects to build a database of what works best for different conditions and keep track of complications with other medication. While not as rigorous as clinical trials, the database is expected to generate a trove of useful information that could be the impetus for future research by taking a closer look at specific compounds and conditions.

The paradox is that although cannabis has been used as a therapeutic agent in many cultures dating back 5,000 years, there has been little research on its medical efficacy. Thats largely because marijuana is classified by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I substance, which defines it as one of the most dangerous drugs with no currently accepted medical use. Marijuana was placed in the most restrictive category while then-President Richard Nixon commissioned a report to give a final recommendation.??The Schafer Commission, as it was called, concluded marijuana should not be in Schedule I, but Nixon ignored the commissions recommendations, and marijuana has since remained on the most-restricted category.

Even before marijuana was placed on Schedule I, laws were passed without objective information. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 effectively banned its use and sales.? That law passed only a year after the release of Reefer Madness, a propaganda documentary now regarded as one of the worst films ever made.

Passed by the Legislature earlier this year, Minnesotas medical marijuana law doesnt allow smoking or home growing. Two suppliers approved by the state Department of Health - Minnesota Medical Solutions and Leafline Labs - will provide the substance in extract form by July 1, 2015. Minnesota Medical Solutions will grow cannabis in the Minneapolis suburb of Otsego and distribute it in Rochester, Maple Grove, Minneapolis and Moorhead. LeafLine Labs will process cannabis in Cottage Grove and distribute it in Eagan, Hibbing, St. Cloud and St. Paul.

Fortunately, Minnesota legislators listened to the testimony of families whose children have seizure disorders where cannabis is the only effective treatment. The law, one of the most restrictive of the 24 states allowing medical marijuana, limits the number of conditions that can be treated with the drug, such as certain types of cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Tourettes syndrome, Crohns disease and severe pain cause by a terminal illness.

For anyone fearing an easy gateway to the black market, medical marijuana will be sold in liquid or vapor extracts, nonsmokable forms not conducive for street sales.

The rest is here:

Excerpts from recent Minnesota editorials