Excerpts from the American Public Health Association (APHA) amicus brief in Conant v. McCaffrey

Marijuana is effective in treating nausea, anorexia and wasting

Nausea, anorexia, and wasting are common symptoms of many cancers and AIDS.(36) These symptoms are also the common adverse side effects of chemotherapy and other aggressive therapies used to treat those diseases and associated pain.(37) While other antiemetics are available, not all patients respond to these therapies.(38) Marijuana can provide critical relief for persons suffering from acute or chronic nausea and vomiting who do not respond to conventional therapies.(39) As the Institute of Medicine explains, “[t]he critical issue is not whether marijuana or cannabinoid drugs might be superior to the new drugs, but whether some group of patients might obtain added or better relief from marijuana or cannabinoid drugs.”  IOM Report at 153.

The IOM unequivocally concludes that there is indeed a group of patients to whom marijuana offers relief and that even the potentially harmful effects of smoking marijuana may be outweighed by the benefit provided. It is possible that the harmful effects of smoking marijuana for a limited period of time might be outweighed by the antiemetic benefits of marijuana, at least for patients for whom standard antiemetic therapy is ineffective and who suffer from debilitating emesis. Such patients should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis  and treated under close medical supervision. Id. at 154.

Similarly, marijuana affords essential relief to patients suffering from anorexia and wasting syndromes for whom no other medications have worked.40 (See complete APHA amicus brief for footnotes.)

Books and Articles

Randall, Robert C. Marijuana & AIDS: Pot Politics & PWAs in America. 1992. 196 p.

Hollister, M.D., Leo E. "Marijuana and Immunity." Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 1992. 24:159-163.

James, John S. "Medical Marijuana: AIDS-Related Information in the New Federal Report." AIDS Treatment News. 1999. 319.

News

Morton, Rachel. "Study finds pot safe for AIDS patients: Government funding for research a first." San Francisco Chronicle, 14 July, 2000.