55
Conference Reviews
US studies medical marijuana
Through its Division of
Neuroscience and Behavioral Health, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is conducting an 18-month study to evaluate
the therapeutic value of marijuana and its chemical components, particularly
cannabinoids such as THC. The study, entitled Medical Use of Marijuana:
Assessment of the Science Base, will include an assessment of both the benefits
for and risks of marijuana and the cannabinoids to human health.
The initial information gathering
phase of the study was conducted through three public meetings at different
national locations. Each stop was made to organize a symposium where scientific
input and public commentary could be contributed on the issues surrounding this
topic. The themes and locations of the three symposia were as follows:
IOM investigators are charged by
the US government’s Office of National Drug Control Policy to evaluate the
medical value of marijuana and to do this, they will review the scientific
literature and unpublished data from people with substantive experience, solicit
public input, and consult with experts in the relevant health professions and
basic sciences. Investigators will then retire to produce a report, with
recommendations, which will undergo internal peer review by the NAS Report
Review Committee and the chair of the National Research Council before being
released in final form to sponsors and the public by December.
Specific issues to be addressed by
this study include the following.
The final session was attended by ten lecturing scientists with various perspectives and areas of expertise germane to this topic. This included IHA Secretary David Pate, who acted in his capacity as Senior Technical Officer for HortaPharm B.V, a Dutch corporation researching Cannabis and cannabinoids as therapeutic agents. (Ed. note: see page 36.) This symposium was well attended by the public, who had the previous day provided calm and reasoned, but occasionally heart-rending, testimony concerning their practical medical successes and occasional legal difficulties with Cannabis as a medicine.
Second Annual Commercial and Industrial Hemp Symposium
On the 18th and 19th of February
1998, Sotos Petrides, President of Wiseman Noble Sales and Marketing organized
the Commercial and Industrial Hemp Symposium Two, including its trade and
fashion shows. For the second year the Vancouver Trade Convention Center in the
luxurious Pan-Pacific Hotel (part of the spectacular Canada Pavilion) provided a
sophisticated setting for the event. Major sponsor-ship of the event was
provided by the Bank of Montreal and the Canadian government.
Approximately 50 firms and
associations held stands at the trade show. Hill AgraSales was there, with their
mobile decorticator on display, the Institute of Natural Fibers came all the way
from Poznan, Poland to share their hemp and linen goods; many small
manufacturers came to show their products. We particularly enjoyed the
"green bag" chairs from Danger Boy Industries that were filled with
post consumer Styrofoam and sponge foam, and covered in hemp or recycled
pop-bottle fleece.
There was the obligatory fashion show
and on Wednesday Woody Harrelson was in attendance. Cajoled up on stage, he
congratulated the organizers of the event and the sensibilities of the Canadian
government, in comparison to the States where "the DEA is trying to justify
it's existence" with the war on drugs.
As Canada is joining the rest of the
Western world (save the USA) and permitting the cultivation of industrial hemp
in the 1998 growing season, there was plenty of talk about cultivation and
permitting. Discussions both inside and outside the seminar room often focused
on yields per acre, maturation dates of different varieties, processing
equipment and countless other technical details of the mechanics of farming a
new crop.
One of the more interesting and
accessible talks was that of IHA member Jace Callaway Ph.D., Univ. of Kuopio,
Finland, breeder of FIN-314, the first early-flowering, high-latitude hemp
strain bred for its seed oil content. This variety is characterized by its short
stature, record seed yields, low THC content and high GLA/SDA content.
Vancouver's friendly atmosphere,
beautiful scenery, excellent eating and relaxing options made for plenty of
informal networking out-side the walls of the Convention Center. The Hemp
Industries Association maintained a hospitality suite in the hotel above the
convention center and many important ideas were exchanged while admiring the
view. Doubtless all the participants look forward to next year's edition.
Annie Riecken
Annier@XS4all.nl
Italian Conferences
ASSOCANAPA, a new association that
intends to coordinate and to promote the development of hemp culture in Italy,
organized a two day meeting in Carmagnola, near Turin on February, 27-28. The
title of the congress was "The re-introduction of hemp cultivation in
Italy" and the invited speakers described the main problems and
opportunities of this crop. Dr. Felice Giraudo, president of ASSOCANAPA,
presented the new association, founded only on January 6th of this year,
outlining the reasons for its establishment. The presence of numerous
politicians gave evidence of the increasing interest in hemp culture in Italy.
Dr. M. Di Candilo (Experimental Institute for Industrial Crops - Bologna)
described the main research lines for a four year hemp project, funded by the
Italian Ministry of Agriculture: production of morphological mutants;
development of fast immunological assays able to detect THC and production of
molecular markers aimed at the improvement of crop breeding.
On the first day of the symposium,
Professor G. Venturi (Department of Agronomy - University of Bologna) outlined
the reasons for the new interest in hemp in the EU and reported at least eleven
"bottle-necks" which must be resolved (unavailability of dioecious
Italian hemp seed stocks, absence of industrial processing facilities, necessity
of new agronomic techniques, etc.) in order to assure a reliable future for this
crop in Italy.
Professor Reinery (Department of Crop
Cultivation - University of Turin) showed the results of his research on hemp
maceration utilizing traditional approaches and field maceration. Dr. A. Ustik
talked about THC, illustrating the chemical and toxicological characteristics,
and the biological activity, of this cannabinoid, but he also described the
procedure that a farmer needs to follow in order to cultivate hemp. Michael
Karus (nova-Institut, Germany) was the first speaker of the afternoon and after
the presentation of his Institute, gave an interesting overview of the situation
of hemp cultivation in Europe and reported the latest political decision
concerning hemp at the EU level. Then Dr. Sonnino (ENEA - National Institute for
Energy and Environment) focused the attention of the listeners on the problem of
germplasm maintenance. The day was concluded with the talk of Dr. Mignoni (an
agronomist and expert on fibre crops) who discussed the EU regulations and the
difficulties that can arise from the application of these rules.
The second day of the conference
began with an analysis by Prof. Zucconi (Department of Energetics -University of
Ancona) of the agro-ecological benefits (in terms of diversification and biomass
quality) of introducing hemp and its role in the production of biomass for
energy.
Dr. P. G. Bianchi (Ente Nazionale
Sementi Elette) illustrated the necessary steps to be undertaken to certify an
Italian hemp cultivar. The conference was concluded with the presentation of
ASSOCANAPA activities. Tommaso Madia reported about the situation in the
Campania region, outlining the widespread interest among farmers and industry
operators that is insufficiently supported by local authorities. ASSOCANAPA
Campania is promoting a number of projects involving research centers, private
enterprises, farmers, development agencies and the Municipality of
Frattamaggiore where a Hemp Center will be set up in the next months. Bruno
Crivello of ASSOCANAPA Piemonte presented an economic analysis of hemp
cultivation, specifying costs and revenues of cultivation in the short term
perspective. Cesare Tofani and Angela Grimaldi from ASSOCANAPA Tuscany are
promoting an experiment of large scale production for supplying industries with
rope, textile and animal straw-bedding and they publish ASSOCANAPA magazine.
Finally, Daniele Re of ASSOCANAPA Marche treated the positive perspectives for
paper production in region Marche which is characterized by an ancient tradition
in this field, and presented the program of the next ASSOCANAPA meeting that was
held in Ascoli Piceno on 4th April 1998.
For additional information about
ASSOCANAPA contact:
ASSOCANAPA, via Donizetti 7/9 10022 Carmagnola (Torino) Italy
Tel.: +39 (0)11 9713688 - 9723126
Fax.: +39 (0)11 9721257
e-mail: assocanapa@cometaipsnet.it
www.cometa.ipsnet.it/assocanapa/
Dr. Andrea Carboni,
e-mail: istsci10@iperbole.bo.it or a_carboni@hotmail.com
Santa Cruz Expo
The Santa Cruz Industrial Hemp
Expo took place at the Santa Cruz (CA) Civic Auditorium, March 21-22, 1998.
Their nicely designed web site (http://www.dancing-designs.com/cruzexpo/)
provides details on such matters as booth dimensions and fees, speakers and
panels, as well as preparatory information for the anticipated 1999 Expo. This
event was organized by Paul Gaylon, Al Haindl, Bob Lamonica and Jeffrey
Stonehill and they should be well-satisfied with the outcome, as it appeared to
be a major success.
The Santa Cruz Convention Center
provided a two-edged sword for their efforts. While being somewhat quaint for
its historic idiosyncrasies, the largely unused space was consumed by its
stationary seating and forced the available Expo space -- essentially a
basketball court -- into compaction. At one point, the local fire marshal
indicated there were issues with the congestion and copious fabric. However, the
issue was resolved when Chris Boucher reportedly showed him that hemp is
naturally fire-retardant. Other than that, the local authorities appeared
unconcerned about the burning of hemp or related substances.
An uncommonly fine Spring day saw the
ticket line wrapped around the corner continuously all day, for both days and
the aisles of the exhibition were often impassably jammed. Ben and Jerry's
brought hemp ice cream, and there was hemp beer and hemp wine, hemp chocolate
from Richard Rose and hemp pizza by Sativa's Kitchen. The plethora of hemp-based
products extended from Nepalese hemp carpets, Hempstead surf boards, hemp
shampoos, nutriceuticals and geotextiles to HTI's new knitwear, an entire hemp
house and a hemp/bamboo bicycle by Craig Calfree (carbonbike@aol.com).
John Stahl was on hand to explain the
status of his Cannabis license application and the current laws that
prevent him from growing fields of hemp. However, California's Prop 215 allows
him to rent growing space to medical marijuana patients within his DEA-qualified
fenced area, so he intends that these remaining stalks will become his hand-made
paper.
Speakers and panel discussions were
relegated to an inadequate room at the confluence of hallways where the
cacophony was unceasing. Such were the limitations inherent in the building, all
of which was forgiven by the ebullient attendees. One of the hot topics
discussed was the hurdles faced by hemp foods and the need for proper labeling.
Some speakers and musical performers
were able to reach the Expo floor throng from the stage. Notable among these was
former Colorado State Senator Lloyd Casey, who called for a review of the DEA
along the lines recently applied to the IRS. Senator Casey recalled having a
bale of hemp confiscated from his legislative office by the local DEA agent
while he was advancing Colorado's hemp bill.
Jack Herer, patriarch to the Cannabis
renaissance, was on hand to share the final panel which included John Dvorak
(moderator) and Robert Nelson.
The crushing masses lined-up to buy
tickets, letting their light shine for hemp, provided enough evidence to
understand why certain entrenched institutions feel their anti-hemp policies are
being threatened.
David West
davewest@pressenter.com
NVF Symposium-Marihuana as a Medicine
On April the 24th 1998, the Dutch
Association for Phytotherapy (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Fyto-therapie, NVF)
organized a symposium attended by 90 persons in Amsterdam focusing on
"Marihuana as a medicine".
Although the Dutch authorities have a
reputation for being fairly tolerant and pragmatic with regard to Cannabis drugs
for recreational pur-poses, their attitude towards Cannabis preparations
for therapeutic applications is rather conservative. Many patients suffering
from a spectrum of diseases use these products for self-medication and often
report positive results. In 1996, the Health Council of the Netherlands,
however, concluded in its advice to the Minister of Health that there is
insufficient scientific proof to justify the therapeutic use of herbal Cannabis
as well as pure cannabinoids (1). With regard to herbal Cannabis, the
Council added that the chemical composition is too variable to take the
responsibility for its medical application. Official policy since then, has
neither allowed physicians to prescribe, nor pharmacists to supply herbal Cannabis
to patients. By the end of 1997, however, the import and application of
synthetic THC capsules (Dronabinol, Marinol®) was suddenly approved
by the Ministry, but patients so far have a strong preference for the herbal
product, as it is much cheaper and seems to be milder and more effective.
"Ample reasons for a profound
discussion with all involved parties", the NVF must have thought.
Unfortunately, some imbalance in opinions occurred, as the scheduled speaker
from the Ministry of Health, Dr. Rutgers, had suddenly more important things to
do. Her written summary, however, makes it clear that the Ministry is aware of
the fact that many patients use Cannabis for self-medication, that the
Ministry does not deny the therapeutic value of Cannabis preparations and
that the Ministry, referring to the advice of the Health Council (1), forbids
physicians to subscribe, and pharmacists to supply Cannabis. She also
emphasizes that the Ministry has a positive attitude towards clinical research
aimed at the verification of the therapeutic value of Cannabis. However,
for such research one needs some legally produced Cannabis material which
the Ministry must import from the US! In this context, it is quite bizarre that
two companies in the Netherlands have been refused a permit to produce such
medicinal Cannabis legally, while at the same time, the Netherlands is
world-famous for tolerating a widespread trade in recreational Cannabis.
The remaining speakers had at least a
neutral, and in many cases positive attitude towards the medical application of
herbal Cannabis. Prof. A. Jansen, previously an economist at the
University of Amsterdam and author of several publications on the economic
aspects of the Dutch Cannabis business, discussed the history of coffee
to illustrate his opinion that drug policies are based on religious, economic,
political and moralistic considerations in a certain period and culture rather
than on the rational evaluation of the health effects of drugs.
Dr. A. van den Berg from the
Department of Pharmacy of the University of Utrecht presented a survey of the
history, chemistry and pharmacology of Cannabis. He stated that, although
it is generally agreed that THC is the most active compound, this does not imply
that the therapeutic actions of herbal Cannabis can be attributed to the
presence of THC only. In his opinion there is no objection to the medical
application of herbal Cannabis, provided that the composition of the
preparations is sufficiently known and standardized. He also stated that the
separate therapeutic actions and the interactions of the various compounds
require additional research. Van den Berg considered the discovery of
cannabinoid receptors in the human brain and periphery, and their corresponding
endogenous ligands (anandamides) as an important step forward in the development
of new pharmaceuticals.
Dr. R. Gorter, director of the
European Institute of Oncological and Immunological Research in Berlin reported
on a multinational clinical trial that is intended to start September 1998. In
this trial, all the formal requirements (double blind, large populations of
patients, etc.) are met that the Health Council of the Netherlands found lacking
in most, if not all, of the reviewed clinical Cannabis trials so far
conducted. AIDS and cancer patients will be treated with synthetic THC, herbal Cannabis
extract and placebo, respectively. The effect on nausea, appetite and mood
will be monitored. Dr. Gorter will attempt to order the necessary plant material
for this trial from the US.
Dr. B. Zaadstra, epidemiologist from
TNO Pharma, Leiden recently investigated in a quantitative way the use of Cannabis
for self-medication among Dutch Multiple Sclerosis patients (2). She found
that 5% of a group of 7000 patients regularly use Cannabis and that 50%
of the non-users would like to use it. The majority started using Cannabis after
the MS diagnosis and most of the Cannabis is obtained from the semi-legal
'coffee-shops'. The use of Cannabis among male Dutch MS patients was
about equal to use among the population of healthy males in Amsterdam. This
comparison with inhabitants of Amsterdam, being a city with an unrepresentative
high drug consumption, was made as there are no reliable data on Cannabis use
for the Netherlands in its entirety. The use among female MS patients exceeded
by far the consumption among healthy Amsterdam females. Dr. Zaadstra also
received a lot of qualitative responses from the MS patients which she wants to
utilize for the experimental design of a future clinical trial.
Mr. de Zwaan from the Society of
Patients for Medical Marihuana (SPMM) had a contribution on the practical
experiences of patients using Cannabis. Unlike the representatives of the
official medical profession, de Zwaan explicitly did not consider the
psychoactivity of marihuana undesirable for patients. He claimed that the
improved appetite, the better mood and the tendency to better appreciate the
'here and now', instead of worrying about the past and future are beneficial
features of the typical Cannabis 'high'.
Finally, David Watson from HortaPharm,
Amsterdam gave a brief presentation on his company's activities which are aimed
at the development of various Cannabis strains with distinct chemical
profiles to be used as raw material for cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals.
Maripharm from Rotterdam, which in spite of government guidelines, persists in
supplying standardized and sterilized marihuana to more than 300 Dutch
pharmacists, was also represented.
Etienne de Meijer
References