Marijuana Policy Project

Vaporization methods heat marijuana and release cannabinoids, the therapeutically active components of marijuana, in the form of vapor -- without combustion and associated noxious byproducts.

This commentary, published alongside Diana Sylvestre's landmark study of marijuana use by hepatitis C patients, was written by a separate team of Canadian researchers.

This review of published studies comparing cannabinoid drugs (but not of whole marijuana, unfortunately) finds them to be generally safe and more effective for treatment of chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting than standard drugs against which they were compared.

This review of marijuana's potential for such neurological conditions as pain and spasticity notes: "Cannabinoids inhibit pain in virtually every experimental pain paradigm." It also explains how cannabinoids protect nerve cells from damage and describes the drawbacks of administering cannabinoid medicines orally.

This patient survey, conducted by researchers at the University of New South Wales, found that the most common conditions for which marijuana was used included chronic pain, arthritis, depression, nausea, and weight loss, with 86% reporting "great relief."

This position paper from the American College of Physicians, the U.S.'s second largest physician group and largest medical specialty society, calls upon the federal government to reschedule marijuana under federal law so as to permit medical use.

This study was the first clinical trial of whole marijuana permitted by the U.S. government after a decades-long drought. Designed as a safety study, this trial found no discernible harm to HIV-infected patients from either smoked marijuana or oral THC.

Sativex is an oral spray made from natural marijuana by a UK pharmaceutical company, GW Pharmaceuticals. This clinical trial found Sativex to reduce pain and sleep disturbance better than a placebo among participants with a broad spectrum of neuropathic pain disorders.

Barbara Costa reviews important science and research findings on medical marijuana in this article, covering medical uses, biological pathways, and side effects. Marijuana's anti-inflammatory potential, immune system effects, protection against neurodegenerative diseases, cancer fighting potential, pain relief, anti-nausea, and appetite stimulation are described.

This review, written by several leading researchers, notes the strong evidence supporting medical use of marijuana, discusses marijuana's chemistry and pharmacology, and discusses how to calculate proper dosing in light of published research.

This report, prepared by the public policy research arm of the U.S. Congress, provides a comprehensive overview of medical marijuana policy developments since 1937.

In this commentary for Medscape General Medicine, Dr. Greg Carter of the University of Washington and MPP's Bruce Mirken analyze the Food and Drug Administration's April 2006 statement criticizing medical marijuana laws and asserting that "no sound scientific studies" support medical use of marijuana.

In this observational study, HIV patients suffering moderate to severe nausea from their anti-HIV drugs and who used marijuana were 3.3 times more likely to stay on treatment than those who didn't use marijuana.

Medical marijuana's use in the management of ALS, also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease."

In this animal trial, when low doses of morphine and THC were given simultaneously, tolerance did not develop and the low doses remained effective.

This article examines the cannabis plant, its genetics, preparations, and over 10,000-year history as a medicinal plant. The article follows historical accounts and evidence from ancient Egypt and elsewhere to modern scientific investigations of therapeutic application of marijuana and cannabinoids.

This review by two leading British researchers reviews current knowledge of how cannabinoids, marijuana's unique active components, may benefit multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. They note that human trials consistently show improvement in pain and other symptoms.

From the late 1970s through the 1980s, a number of U.S. states conducted studies of marijuana (sometimes in comparison with oral THC) for treatment of nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy.

This clinical trial found that both smoked marijuana and the THC pill are effective at increasing caloric intake and weight among HIV-positive patients, with no effect on cognitive performance.

Gorman and Huber provide evidence against the fear that laws permitting medical use of marijuana will lead to increased recreational use by the general public. The study looked at reported marijuana use among several metropolitan populations of "high risk" individuals in California, Oregon, and Colorado. In each of these states, marijuana use did not increase after the passage of medical marijuana laws.