Doctors want better marijuana for study

By: Jean Whitney - The San Mateo County Times (CA) - 01/24/03

SAN MATEO -- Nearly two years after its launch here, doctors conducting a > groundbreaking medical marijuana study want better quality weed from the federal government.

The study leaders also want to allow more sick people to participate, but are stymied by stringent eligibility requirements.

"The study continues but it is going slowly for a variety of factors," said Dr. Dennis Israelski, director of medical research in San Mateo County and chief of staff at San Mateo Medical Center.

The County has waited at least six months for a response from federal agencies, officials said.

The 3-year County study seeks to discover whether marijuana "cigarettes" can be safely dispensed to HIV-AIDS and cancer patients to treat symptoms and side effects of disease treatment.

However, some believe the apparently low-grade marijuana used in the program -- grown at the University of Mississippi by the federal government -- has discouraged participants who can treat themselves with the drug through other channels.

And stringent physical requirements on often terminally ill patients have also slowed membership in the study.

The first HIV-AIDS participant, Phillip Alden, who dropped out of the study when he came down with bronchitis, said he would re-join if the marijuana were of better quality.

"I certainly hope they get better quality pot," Alden said. "If they wanted me o re-enter the study, I would. I would love to see the study succeed."

Alden also said he objected to the cigarette papers that the marijuana was rolled in, believing they contained toxins.

San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin, a former San Francisco police inspector, had waged a campaign since 1997 to bring about the County's medical marijuana study. It was launched in April 2001 at the County's medical center.

"This is not a cannabis club we're talking about. It's a very tight, closed, secure program," Nevin said.

When the County got initial state and federal approvals in 2001 -- including approvals from federal law enforcement agencies under the Clinton administration -- it was considered groundbreaking.

County officials hoped the study would not only provide relief to patients, but would begin to bridge the gap between Proposition 215, the successful 1996 state ballot measure that allowed medical marijuana, and existing laws that criminalize the drug.

"They need to supply us with something more meaningful for our trials," Nevin said. "We're losing patients."

Nevin frequently refers to personal testimony of the late Joni Commons -- the County's deputy director of health services - - as his inspiration for the medical marijuana study. Commons struggled with breast cancer and said she found relief from treatment only through the use of marijuana, according to those who knew her.

Israelski -- medical director of the study -- also sees a need for a non-smokable form of marijuana for pain relief from chronic disease.

"The County is well-positioned to lead in this effort because of the enlightened leadership here and the environment of dynamic change at San Mateo Medical Center," Israelski said.