Study: Vaporization a Safe and Effective Cannabinoid Delivery System

Via NORML

Leiden, the Netherlands: Vaporization is a “safe and effective”
cannabinoid delivery system for patients desiring the rapid onset of
action associated with inhalation, but who are seeking to avoid the
respiratory risks of smoking, according to clinical trial data to be
published in the Journal of Pharamceutical Sciences.
Researchers at Leiden University’s Institute of Biology (the
Netherlands) found that use of the Volcano vaporizing device delivered
set doses of THC to subjects in a reproducible manner while
suppressing the intake of respiratory toxins.
“Our results show that with the Volcano, a safe and effective
cannabinoid delivery system seems to be available to patients,”
investigators concluded. “The final pulmonal uptake of THC is
comparable to the smoking of cannabis, while avoiding the respiratory
disadvantages of smoking.”
Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke,
including greater concentrations of certain aromatic hydrocarbons such
as benzopyrene, prompting concerns that chronic marijuana inhalation
may be a risk factor for tobacco-use related cancers. Previous
research by California NORML and others have demonstrated that
cannabis vaporization suppresses many potentially harmful respiratory
toxins by heating cannabis to a temperature where active cannabinoid
vapors form (typically around 180-190 degrees Celsius), but below the
point of combustion where noxious smoke and associated toxins (i.e.,
carcinogenic hydrocarbons) are produced (near 230 degrees Celsius).
A 2004 protocol by California NORML and MAPS (Multidisciplinary
Association for Psychedelic Studies) to investigate the types of
emissions produced by cannabis vaporization was recently rejected
after an 18-month regulatory delay by NIDA (US National Institute on
Drug Abuse), which stated that the study would “not add to the
scientific knowledge base in a significant way.”
“The US Institute of Medicine and others have repeatedly called for
the creation of a non-smoked, rapid-onset cannabis delivery system to
administer reproducible doses of active cannabinoids to patients,”
said NORML Advisory Board member Dr. Mitch Earleywine, author of
Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence. “These
data confirm that vaporization can deliver all the essential
components of medical marijuana safely and effectively while
suppressing the intake of carcinogenic smoke. Now the Drug Czar’s
office and the Food and Drug Administration can rest assured that
patients may receive the therapeutic relief they need without
suffering from the unwanted health risks associated with smoking.”

Gee, I don’t think the Drug Czar and the FDA are going to be that happy about it.
The government refuses to allow vaporization studies, claims that “smoked” marijuana can never be a medicine and now we’ve had to go to another country to get a study done that shows the truth. If this were an accountable government, people would be fired for this.
Lawsuits should be filed for intentionally blocking research that could save lives (except, of course, that the government automatically immunizes itself from such lawsuits).
Write your representatives. Demand some action.
Oh, and for those interested, after a recent increase in the stock prices for GW Pharmaceuticals, it closed today down 2.7% in Online Trading. Probably just a coincidence.
And here’s where you can get the Volcano.