Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2006.6.22

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6650

Weekly News in Audio

June 22, 2006

Michigan Supreme Court Upholds 'Zero Tolerance' Per Se DUID Law

Clinical Trial: THC Reduces Pain In Fibromyalgia Patients

National MS Society To Fund Clinical Cannabis Trial

Traverse City: MI:
Michigan Supreme Court Upholds 'Zero Tolerance' Per Se DUID Law

"It is irrelevant that a person who is no longer 'under the influence' of marijuana could be prosecuted under the statute," Court Rules

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that the state's 'zero tolerance per se DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) law is constitutional, even if the statute might apply to drivers who are not under the influence of illegal substances. The majority held also that motorists could be prosecuted under the state's DUID law for having detectable levels of non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their blood - even though the presence of such metabolites are not associated with driver impairment, and are not defined under the statute as an illicit substance.

The ruling reverses a prior Appellate Court ruling that determined that the state had to demonstrate that the presence of a controlled substance in a driver's body was the proximate cause of an accident to move forward with a DUID prosecution.

Michigan's DUID law "does not require [driver] intoxication, impairment, or knowledge of that one might be intoxicated; it simply requires that the person have 'any amount' of a schedule I substance in his or her body when operating a motor vehicle," the Court opined. "It is irrelevant that an 'ordinary' marijuana smoker does not know that [cannabis metabolites] could last in his or her body for weeks. ... That the statute might apply to some persons who are not actually 'under the influence' of marijuana does not render the statute unconstitutional."

The Court further found that cannabis metabolites may be defined under the law as a Schedule I controlled substance with a "high potential for abuse," even though they have "no pharmacological effect on the body."

Michigan is one of 13 states that have enacted either per se or 'zero tolerance' per se DUID laws making it a criminal offense to operate a motor vehicle with trace levels of illicit drugs and/or drug metabolites in a driver's blood, saliva or urine.

Writing for the dissent, Judge Michael Cavanaugh opined: "Today's holding now makes criminals out of numerous Michigan citizens who, before today, were considered law-abiding, productive members of our community. Now, if a person has ever actively or passively ingested marijuana and drives ... he is [unknowingly] breaking the law, because if any amount of [cannabis metabolites] can be detected - no matter when [the marijuana] was previously ingested - he is committing a crime. The majority's interpretation, which has no rational relationship to the Legislature's genuine concerns about operating a motor vehicle while impaired, violates the United States Constitution and the Michigan Constitution."

The consolidated cases are Michigan v Derror and Michigan v Kurts.

Mannheim, Germany:
Clinical Trial: THC Reduces Pain In Fibromyalgia Patients

Oral administration of THC significantly reduces both chronic and experimentally induced pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to clinical trial data to be published in the forthcoming issue of the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion. The study is the first-ever clinical trial assessing the efficacy of cannabinoids in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Investigators at Germany's University of Heidelberg assessed the analgesic effects of oral THC in nine patients with fibromyalgia over a 3-month period. Subjects in the trial were administered daily doses of 2.5 to 15 mg of THC, but received no other pain medication during the trial. Among those participants who completed the trial, all reported a significant reduction in daily recorded pain and electronically induced pain, investigators found.

"All patients who completed the delta-9-THC therapy ... experienced pain relief of more than 50 percent," authors concluded. Investigators recommended that follow up placebo-control trials be conducted assessing the use of cannabinoids on fibromyalgia.

Previous trials have shown that both naturally occurring and endogenous cannabinoids hold analgesic qualities, particularly in the treatment of cancer pain and neuropathic pain, both of which are poorly treated by conventional opiates.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points in the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. An estimated 3 to 6 million Americans are afflicted by the disease, which is often poorly controlled by standard pain medications.

New York, NY:
National MS Society To Fund Clinical Cannabis Trial

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announced that it will provide funding to complete an ongoing clinical trial by the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research investigating the use of cannabis to treat symptoms of MS. The clinical trial is the first study in the United States in almost 20 years investigating the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, and is the first such trial funded by the MS Society.

Investigators in the study will assess the efficacy of inhaled cannabis and/or oral THC in reducing MS-associated spasticity compared to placebo. Previous preclinical and clinical data indicate that cannabinoids can alleviate MS-associated spasticity, pain, muscle stiffness, and incontinence, as well as potentially moderate the progression of the disease.

The trial is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2008.

Unlike the MS Societies of Canada and the United Kingdom, the US Society has not taken a public stance in support of the therapeutic use of cannabis for MS. According to survey data, some 15 to 40 percent of MS patients use cannabis to treat symptoms of the disease.

▲