Medicinal Uses of Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Geoffrey Guy, MD - In recent years, cannabis research has moved beyond its use as an illegal recreational drug to consider its potential as a therapeutic substance, particularly in serious chronic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis. Although there is a considerable body of primary literature relating to the medicinal use of cannabis, much of the published work concerns anecdotal reports. This title describes all the contemporary research findings relating to the medicinal use of cannabis and cannabinoids, and reports on the pharmacology, formulation, safety and efficacy of cannabis as a therapeutic agent. This should be a useful reference for pharmacists, doctors, pharmacologists and all other healthcare professionals with an interest in pain control. - Description by Amazon

Muscle Spasms, Pain and Marijuana Therapy: Testimony from Federal and State Court Proceedings on Marijuana' Medical Use, R. C. Randall - "In the United States, the issue of the legalization of marijuana is emotionally loaded for many people. Some get upset even at the recommendation that marijuana be legalized for medicinal use. Different factions could argue the question ad infinitum. But as a physician who practiced at one time in a country where authorities tolerantly looked the other way when marijuana was used medicinally, I must take the side of those favoring legalization for treatment of chronic pain, muscle spasms and some other conditions. ... I believe that education is one way to overcome the societal forces that continue to deprive those whose pain and suffering would yield to marijuana. For this reason, I'm grateful to R.C. Randall and Galen Press." -- The Journal of Myofascial Therapy, October 1994.

Marijuana and AIDS: Pot, Politics and PWAs in America, R. C. Randall

"If you have AIDS treatment side effects (or other medical problems) that you think might be alleviated by marijuana, this book is certainly the place to start." -- Torso, June 96

Personal accounts of marijuana's medical utility in the treatment of AIDS and HIV related symptoms (nausea/vomiting, muscle ache, wasting). - Amazon Description

Marijuana RX: The Patient's Fight for Medical Pot, R. C. Randall - Randall and his companion, O'Leary, cofounders of Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics (ACT) and coauthors of Marijuana, Medicine and the Law (1988), began their battle to make medicinal marijuana available in the 1970s after Randall, who has glaucoma, discovered that he actually saw better after smoking pot than he normally did. Told by his physician that he would be blind by the age of 30, he and O'Leary began growing the plant at home; in 1975, their apartment was raided and both were arrested. Narrated in Randall's voice, this memoir chronicles his personal battle to obtain the drug legally, which was granted in 1976 when he became the first U.S. citizen to have marijuana prescribed for a medical condition. Radicalized by this experience, Randall and O'Leary have devoted their lives to assisting others diagnosed with serious illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. Research studies, described here, document the usefulness of marijuana in easing many symptoms, including the severe nausea resulting from chemotherapy. Although the authors don't set out the numerous court battles and political skirmishes with the greatest clarity, they provide examples of human tragedies that have occurred because people were unable to obtain marijuana. They blame uncaring government bureaucracy and the unthinking embrace of a "just say no" philosophy by both Republican and Democratic politicians for the fact that marijuana is not easily available for medicinal use. The authors scored a minor coup in getting Lyn Nofziger, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, to write a foreword. Author tour. - Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc

Women and Cannabis - Medicine, Science and Sociology - Russo, Dreher, Mathre - What specific therapeutic benefits can marijuana provide for women? This first-of-its-kind book examines the therapeutic role of medical marijuana in women's medicine and its implications for fertility and maternal/child health. It includes treatises on many gender-specific conditions in obstetrics and gynecology as well as female-predominant medical conditions that are popularly treated with cannabis, such as multiple sclerosis. Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science, and Sociology presents a broad, multidisciplinary view of this controversial issue with technical chapters exploring the role of cannabis and endogenous Cannabinoids in fertility and neonatal feeding and sociologically and anthropologically oriented chapters examining the role of cannabis in treating morning sickness and cocaine addiction, the latter based on a study of Jamaican women. It also assesses the effects of cannabis use in pregnancy in relation to the neuropsychological assessment of children whose mothers used marijuana while pregnant. Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science, and Sociology provides you with informed discussions of: the historical uses of cannabis in obstetrics and gynecology the way that the body's endogenous cannabinoid system functions as a trigger for suckling in newborns the effect of clinical cannabis on hyperemesis gravidarum, a debilitating ailment characterized by severe nausea and vomiting, malnutrition, and weight loss during pregnancy the consequences of marijuana use during pregnancyufor women and their unborn children the potential of cannabis to aid in harm reductionufrom a nursing perspective medical hashish production using the Pollinator and Ice-O-Lator devicesuand the benefits of using cannabis in this form using cannabis as part of a combined treatment for Tourette Syndrome and more! - Amazon Description

Cancer Treatment and Marijuana Therapy - Marijuana's Use in the Reduction of Nausea and Vomiting and for Appetite Stimulation in Cancer Patients , edited by Robert Randall -

Robert Randall's lawsuit against the U.S. government created the "Compassionate Access I.N.D." and brought medical cannabis modern America. Testimony and affidavits of patients and doctors from hearings before the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Personalized accounts of medical marijuana use provide an excellent source of information on this controversial topic.

Handbook of Cannabis Therapeutics - From Bench to Bedside - Doctors Ethan Russo and Franjo Grotenhermen have selected articles from the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics that was published by the Haworth Press, Inc. as the official journal of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM) from 2001 to 2004.  This is an updated compilation of key articles on cannabis that highlight its long history of use throughout the world, the current understanding of the pharmacology of cannabis, the exciting findings related to our endocannabinoid system, and how this relates to the wide range therapeutic indications for cannabis/cannabinoid-based medications.  This book should be required reading for all healthcare professionals in clinical practice who believe in evidence-based practice rather than politically based practice.  Patients expect and deserve the best practice. Description by M.L. Mathre

The Marijuana Conviction - Richard Bonnie and Charles Whitebread II - This is a reprint of the historic book, The Marihuana Conviction: A History of Marihuana Prohibition in the United States, that was originally published by the University Press of Virginia in 1974.  It is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how the reefer madness came about that led to the attack on marijuana (or marihuana) and ultimately resulted in the removal of cannabis from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.  The authors, both law professors, review the history surrounding the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.  They provide  excerpts from sworn testimony on behalf of the AMA in opposition to the tax act because they knew cannabis was a safe and effective medicine.  This book is highly recommended reading for legislators and healthcare professionals as well as those interested in the history of the prohibition.  Description by M.L. Mathre

Medical Cannabis Facilities - Amanda Reiman, PhD - Since California voters approved medical cannabis for use in 1996, most discussions surrounding it have involved either its biomedical or legal status. Left out of the discussion has been how medical cannabis patients developed a health service system of medical cannabis administration and what a best practice model of medical cannabis distribution might look like. This study surveyed 130 medical cannabis patients at 7 medical cannabis facilities in San Francisco and Berkeley, CA using an adapted version of Andersen's model of health service utilization. Results show that medical cannabis patients have created a system of dispensing medical cannabis that also includes services such as counseling, entertainment and support groups; all important components of coping with chronic illness. Levels of satisfaction with facility care were fairly high, did not differ across study site and were significantly higher than nationally reported satisfaction with health care. This book is intended for those involved in social service creation, management and delivery, as this approach has implications for the creation and maintenance of a continuum of care among bottom-up social and health services agencies. (Amazon description)

Marijuana Botany , by Robert C. Clark - Robert Clarkes splendid effort will be widely appreciated. His Marijuana Botany will be constantly consulted by a wide variety of researchers in the years to come. (Richard Evans Schultes-Director, Harvard Botanical Museum)

This work is a compact guide for interested scientists and breeders. -- Carlton E. Turner, Ph.D.-Director, National Institute of Mental Health Marijuana Research Project

Cannabis has been cultivated for 10,000 years. In recent times, marijuana has undergone more genetic experimentation and cross-breeding than during the previous 10,000 years. This remarkable hybrid development was accomplished by thousand of individuals new to any kind of farming. Marijuana Botany offers accurate information about all aspects of cultivation. It explains how quality is affected by climate and environment; identification and desirability of female plants; consideration for cultivating sinsemilla; THC production and peak potency; producing desirable plants year after year. (Amazon description)

Demons, Discrimination and Dollars: A Brief History of the Origins of American Drug Policy , by David Bearman, MD

From the Author: This monograph is an effort to explain why, as a people, as a government, we in the United States did not follow the road of the Shamans, or for that matter of pre 1875 Americans, or conclude, as Andrew Weil and Norman Taylor have, that altered states are important to mental health. I apologize up front for not having all the anthropological tools necessary for a detailed examination of the topic. This book is a good synopsis and starting point. I leave it to the scholars to flesh out my observations. My ideas come from reading, conversation, experience and rumination.
I examine why we have chosen the route that has repeatedly proven unsuccessful, that has stood in the way of expanding our understanding of the human mind and that not only has not worked, but has been counterproductive. Even discussion of an alternative which downplays a criminal justice approach of substance abuse in favor of treatment and prevention, cannot be tolerated in present-day America. The acceptance of even drug use, as opposed to drug abuse, of demonized drugs has been condemned by politicians of both major parties. There has been some support from Green Libertarians, the occasional Libertarian leaning Republican and an occasional or minority Democrat for a medical and/or non-governmental approach.
Why have we overlooked the obvious solution? Raising a child who feels loved in a loving, nurturing, safe home environment. Numerous studies bear this out. Dr. Ira Chesnoff's work in Chicago with mother's with a history of cocaine abuse during pregnancy and their children did well when the family was provided a comprehensive program of drug abuse treatment, Head start, parenting skills, counseling and good nutrition. Chesnoff notes that these kids of former cocaine-abusing mothers who had experienced this intervention had an IQ that was higher than children of non-cocaine using moms. Until we spend more money on promoting family values, teaching acceptable parenting techniques, create an economy that allows parents and children quality time, address anger management, have early intervention to prevent family violence and recognizing the role of genetics and dysfunctional families contribution to ADHD, we will continue on what has become a more and more destructive, ineffectual and racist path. - David Bearman, MD