July 17, 2010

Medical marijuana users in New Mexico Jonesing for bigger supply

July 17, 6:37 PM Albuquerque Science Examiner Aaron Cowan

Supplies of “medical marijuana” are reported running low for the approximately 2000 patients who are currently approved to receive it as a treatment, according to at least one supplier in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as of July 17, 2010. In addition, it is estimated that about 200 new patients are approved to receive the drug every month. Patients can also apply for permits to grow it themselves, but apparently, the majority of patients rely upon suppliers instead. Fortunately, six new suppliers have been licensed in the state, but suppliers are limited in the number of plants they can have, and one supplier says that he has five times the patients that he is able to supply.

New Mexico has some fairly limited guidelines for medical marijuana use, first enacted in 2007, for use under a physicians direction. A patient must have cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, spinal cord damage, HIV/AIDS, or be in hospice to qualify. Conditions still pending approval by the Department of Health are Hepatitis C, post-traumatic stress disorder, and nerve pain. Suppliers can grow up to 95 plants at one time.

In terms of the scientific research, that’s where things get tricky. According to this article in Scientific American, the current federal restrictions which are still in place on marijuana research are hampering efforts to study it. However, there are some fairly serious organizations such as the MAPS organization, which has been working for over a decade to study the effectiveness of marijuana as a medicinal compound. Conditions like cancer, glaucoma, and HIV/AIDS do seem responsive to this type of treatment, acting as an anti-emetic, in the case of AIDS or chemotherapy treatments, for example, according to some in the medical community. Of course, there is far from universal agreement that the science supports the use of medical marijuana, so readers may wish to check out the pros and cons for oneself at this link.

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