Bi-Monthly News Letter  Vol 1 - Issue 4 - May/June 1999 - Pg 2 US Moves Toward Marijuana ResearchWASHINGTON (AP) Under new rules, NIDA, one of the National Institutes of Health, will sell government marijuana to privately funded scientists whose research proposals have been approved. The move is expected to prompt more studies to see if the drug helps people with AIDS, cancer or eye disease. Government marijuana is grown on a small plot of land by the University of Mississippi under a contract with NIDA. Previously, only scientists who had won federal grants had access to that marijuana. And only a few such federal studies have been approved. ``We all thought the time was right'' for the new guidelines, Steven W. Gust, a special assistant to the director of NIDA, said Friday. The new guidelines were created after Cabinet-level discussions among agencies involved in America's war on drugs, including the Department of Health and Human Services, NIH's parent agency, plus the Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gust said. The drug control office, headed by Barry McCaffrey, favors marijuana studies ``as long as they pass a peer review process to make sure the research is good science,'' said Charles Blanchard, the office's chief counsel. McCaffrey has opposed actions by states to permit medical uses of marijuana, claiming that would prejudge serious scientific research. Two recent expert reports recommended more research on marijuana, citing evidence of its possible benefits to some patients. The University of Mississippi grows the government-approved marijuana on 1.8 acres at a closely guarded site. A crop is harvested on alternate years. So far that has been more than enough to supply the few approved researchers, Gust said. f the new guidelines do prompt more research, the agency is prepared to grow more marijuana, opening up additional fields if necessary and planting every year instead of alternate years, Gust said. Under the new guidelines, privately funded researchers conducting ``scientifically valid investigations'' reviewed and approved by the NIH will be allowed to purchase the government marijuana. The price for Uncle Sam's pot has not been set, and the drug is not expected to be ready for researchers until December. Many cancer, AIDS and glaucoma patients already use marijuana, often bought illegally on the street. At least six states have passed measures to permit the drug's medicinal use if prescribed by a physician. Federal law, however, bans the drug. And many doctors are reluctant to approve it for their patients because of the controversy over its benefits.
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MaxiSolitaire Olddog Larry
JBRedhead Raggedyanne
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If there is something you would like to volunteer to do, (a poem for the news letter, research for news articles, or to host a new chat room for the group) please let me know via my e-mail.
Some new activities that might be of interest are our Saturday Night Singles chat, a chat specific for sufferers of FM (on Mondays), and one just for Lupus & Arthritis Patients (on Thursdays). These are the first chats geared to a particular audience that CPSG has held. We hope you enjoy them. If you have any comments about these or suggestions for additional topics for chat, please just click on the mailbox at the top of this page and send me an email. For the specifics on all of our chats, please check out the Calendar.
To get details, Click on the URL below to view the monthly calendar. From the monthly view of the calendar, you can click on the day for each entry to view more detailed information. The calendar will be updated as events are added/changed so bookmark this URL (or add to favorites) .
http://calendar.yahoo.com/public/cps_group
For updates/additions to the calendar please send emails to cps_group@yahoo.com.
Please join me in thanking UNI for maintaining the calendar. It is very useful in keeping all of us informed of CPSG activities.
What's 
inside?
Legislation MJ Research CPS Calendar New NASID 'Our Stories' Highlight ROFLOL 
the CPS Group is profiling
DonnaM, who is one of our charter members. Donna joined the CPS Group within the first four weeks of it starting up and was the first person to take on one of our day time chats. She is now moderator for a Lupus & Arthritis chat every Thursday evening from 10pm to 12am ET. If you've ever been in chat with DonnaM, you know she loves to have fun and from the looks of this picture.. she has fun off line as well. Donna works full time as a dental assistant in Denver, Colorado, where her family has lived for 6 years. She is also working towards finishing her under grad in Biology so that she can apply for dental school. Donna has 10 more classes to finish, and can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Bill and Donna met and married in Philidelphia and have been married for almost 11 years. Bill is an Assistant Manager at Burger King. Bill was diagnosed last year with Diabetes and treatment has been slow going but he has adjusted well. His favorite hobby is taking pictures and drawing. Donna says he is the family shutter bug.
Donna's daughter is known to many of is chat as DD (for darling daughter). Her real name is Cassandra, and is the light of Donna's life. She is a freshman in high school, and her favorite pass time is hanging out at the malls, surfing the web and talking on the phone with friends.
Donna was diagnosed three and half years ago with Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and raynauds and is currently in the middle of a major Lupus flare. Donna was also dignosed with FM this year. Because of her Lupus flare and the new diagnosis, the past year has been the most difficult and has resulted in Donna putting her schooling on hold.
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The tough federal stance on medical marijuana prompted some doctors in California to get a court injunction to block what they feared would be federal reprisals for prescribing marijuana to patients under that state's compassionate-use laws.
Experts found in two recent reports that marijuana for some patients is effective in relieving pain, nausea and vomiting caused by cancer and AIDS. Some glaucoma patients also smoke the drug to help relieve pressure inside the eye.
A 1997 report by a National Institutes of Health panel concluded that there is enough evidence about marijuana's benefits to merit further research.
Earlier this year, the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, also urged scientific research. The institute also favored compassionate permits for use of the drug by patients who were not helped by other medications.
Four federally financed research projects are ongoing, NIDA officials said. Three other proposals failed to get federal money last year.
Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project said his group is pleased the guidelines will encourage more research, but he said the action will not help patients in pain who need the drug now.
``We're very disappointed that they failed to approve single-patient, compassionate use, as the Institute of Medicine had recommended,'' Thomas said.
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Thank you to all our new CPS group volunteers. We have had several new chat moderators volunteer and receive training. Their help has been really needed with the group growing so rapidly. Please join me in thanking and congratulating these wonderful volunteers for their time. The new chat moderators are: