Posted November 5, 2007

Analysis by Richard Cowan

Over the 10 years that I have been publishing MarijuanaNews.com I have written a number of articles about the “vaporization” of cannabis, but I do not think that these occasional postings have done justice to its importance, hence the creation of a new Vaporizer Index page to make the articles easier to find and use.

Vaporizers are particularly important to patients or anyone else who may have difficulty smoking. Although the risks in smoking cannabis have been greatly over-stated by many “medical authorities” – most notably the The Editors of the British Medical Journal, but vaporizers may be even more important politically than they are medically.

First, it is important to understand that while cannabis does not have to be “smoked”, inhalation is one of the fastest ways of delivering any medicine. That speed means that the patient gets almost immediate relief and, consequently, it is also much easier to control dosage. This is a major problem with Marinol, the synthetic THC pill.

See More Arresting Developments. Record Marijuana Arrests Go Unreported. “No Medicine Is Smoked” – So DEA Busts Edibles Maker.

When a patient is nauseous, inhalation is far superior to taking a pill, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who does not work for the Drug Czar’s office – or the Makers of Marinol

However, MarijuanaNews is not here to give medical advice, except to tell doctors that they should do some research on the medical consequences of being arrested, since that is their explicit recommendation for marijuana users, medical or otherwise. (“Our AMA recommends that marijuana be retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act…”)

See Prophylactic State Violence: The Arrogance and Ignorance of Psychiatric Quackery. Bad Science, Worse Ethics — Analysis by Richard Cowan

Once again, let me be very clear that I am not opposed to modern medicine. It saved my life when I was 18. (Acute appendicitis.) It has saved the lives of many of my friends with AIDS, cancer, serious injuries, etc.

However, I have nothing but contempt for the politicized quackery of the medical establishments in the US and Canada.

See

Health Canada’s “Office of Cannabis Medical Access’ Stakeholder Advisory Committee” Includes “Physicians for A Smoke Free Canada” - Not The Compassion Societies. But It Will Let Them Talk… For An Hour

Recently, this contempt was greatly aggravated by my discovery on the American Medical Association’s website of the their still current position on medical marijuana.

I already knew that the “AMA recommends that marijuana be retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act…”; however, I was astonished to find that these preening pseudo-scientists say, “Our AMA believes that the NIH should use its resources and influence to support the development of a smoke-free inhaled delivery system for marijuana or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to reduce the health hazards associated with the combustion and inhalation of marijuana…”

Are we really supposed to take these people seriously for anything other than being a threat to the public health and safety?

Of course, this willful blindness was at its most blatant in the 1999 Institute of Medicine Report: Marijuana And Medicine: Assessing The Science Base, which ignored vaporization, even though they were repeatedly told of its importance by Dr. Lester Grinspoon, who was on the review committee.

Indeed, in 1998, a year before the IOM report, I posted my first article about vaporization , which said that “if they would just visit a friend of mine in Amsterdam called Eagle Bill, they could learn about the vaporizer. It just isn’t that complicated. Whole cannabis can be heated to the point that the active ingredients vaporize and can be inhaled without burning any of the vegetable matter. A clean smoke for patients and a clear high for recreational smokers. But of course, that is drug paraphernalia to the narks, and the vaporizer is too low tech for the doctors.”

When I wrote a tribute to Bill on his death two years ago, I said, “Bill’s life will long be recognized as a rebuke to medical establishment for its failure to recognize the vaporization of cannabis.”

In any case, the IOM report’s bland statement that “the future of cannabinoid drugs lies not in smoked marijuana” became the anthem of the prohibitionist war against medical cannabis.

Never mind, that the IOM report also said, “Until a non-smoked, rapid-onset cannabinoid drug delivery system becomes available, we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting.”

Never mind that the IOM report also said that “except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range of effects tolerated for other medications…”

From then on, as can be seen from the titles of some of the articles posted below, cannabis became “smoked marijuana” and “no medicine is smoked” became the mantra of the prohibitionist.

In the meantime, “no-smoking” regulations aimed at tobacco have also created a demand for vaporizers for recreational users, and there are actually “vaporizer lounges” in Vancouver, BC, and Oakland and elsewhere. Got Vape?

And that is why vaporizers have become politically important enough to merit their own Index page.

Got freedom?

Vaporizer Articles:

Eagle Bill, The Loss of A Good Man and Vaporizer Pioneer. Bill’s Life Will Long Be Recognized As A Rebuke to Medical Establishment For Its Failure to Recognize the Vaporization of Cannabis. Posted  2005-07-06 16:20:00  by Richard Cowan

Program Notes for the MarijuanaNews World Report June 20, 2005 Boje Freed On Bail. Baghdad on the Border Occupied. Use Highest in College Towns. Internet Addictive; Vaporization? Don’t Tell GW. Posted  2005-06-26 16:20:00  by Richard Cowan

“No Medicine Is Smoked.” Okay, But Why Isn’t Cannabis Sold Over-the-Counter? New MAPS/NORML Vaporizer Study Undermines Key Part Of Prohibitionist Party Line On “Smoked-Marijuana.”

Posted  2003-05-08 18:30:12  by Richard Cowan

Australian Study of Medical Cannabis Recommends Limited Exemptions for Patients. Misrepresents House Of Lords Report and MAPS/NORML Vaporization Studies.

Posted  2001-07-03 21:53:43  by Richard Cowan

NORML -MAPS Study Shows Vaporizers Reduce Toxins in Marijuana Smoke. Posted  2001-01-09 18:10:29  by Richard Cowan

From 1998, Are Aerosols the Future of the Spliff? New Scientist Special Report    Short and Not Very Good Look at Medical Cannabis

Share This Post

You Should Also Check Out These Posts:

Most Active Posts: