Shook the Spot

THE WAR ON SCIENCE

ROXBURY, Connecticut — Props to the hustlers out in Oroville, California, who transformed the town's giant hillside "O" into a far less lame "420" in honor of yesterday's holiday. But shame on the fascists down at the Food and Drug Administration, who tempered yesterday's buzz by declaring that medical marijuana "has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment." (Additional shame on the media covering the FDA's announcement for failing to mention the peculiar timing.) And the shamest of shame on the Drug Enforcement Agency for raiding an alleged medical marijuana store in Sacramento on Wednesday. The feds seized 22 pounds of herb from a store called Awakenings: Books, Stones and More. (Props on the name.) California Senate Bill . . . wait for it . . . 420 protects the right of Awakenings and other proprietors of tonic tea to deal that shit in peace. State rights, yo. This aggression will not stand . . .

Look, weed should be legal. But while the nation slowly comes to its senses on that issue, it's important we not lose ground on the medicinal front. No matter what the FDA and Rep. Mark Souder say, there's clear scientific evidence that supports the use of marijuana in treating a host of serious illnesses. A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, a division of the National Academy of Sciences, offered the most conclusive findings to date on the issue. "In contrast with the many disagreements bearing on social issues," the report noted, "the study team found substantial consensus among experts in the relevant disciplines on the scientific evidence about potential medical uses of marijuana." That consensus, in a nutshell . . . weed is good for you.

One interesting finding in the report was the effect of cannibinoids, as ganja is known in the lab, on the human immune system. Shook, who happens to have an autoimmune disorder, read that section with particular interest . . . although it took some effort and a little weed to comprehend the scientific jargon. Bottom line is that while researchers still aren't sure how it happens, cannibinoids have been shown to suppress immune cell functions. (That may sound bad, but it's actually a very good thing. With Crohn's Disease and the like, the immune system attacks itself, and the best treatment is, paradoxically, to tune it down.) But here's the best part for those of us with Crohn's . . . "In addition, several studies have shown directly that cannabinoids can be antiinflammatory." Uhuh.

Now, Shook is just a recreational user, and in any event, very healthy at the moment. But some anecdotal evidence from periods when Shook hasn't been so well suggests that the Institute of Medicine study is on target. Of course, it's impossible for me to tell whether THC has helped fight inflammation. (Several other prescription drugs could have been doing the trick.) But Shook is certain of at least two effects of marijuana that have been enormously helpful while dealing with Crohn's . . . and, seriously, Shook is not bullshitting here. For one, weed is a pain killer (or, as the report put it, "Cannabinoids likely have a natural role in pain modulation.) When it's difficult to function and eat because of inflammation, weed can alleviate the problem pretty fucking quick. (Doctors say, breathe deeply. That kind of works, too, but not really.) And second, marijuana causes the munchies (or, as the report put it, "appetite stimulation.") That's pretty self-explanatory, but it's really unbelievably important. Sophomore year, Shook just wouldn't be up for dinner in LowDiHa, but after a few late-night hits in N11 or M41, a Felipe's run was suddenly in the cards. Nowadays, Shook just calls that getting high, but back then it could also fairly be called medicine.

Of course, the best results for medical marijuana usage have been associated with more serious ailments like AIDS and cancer. And that's really where it's best used. But it's important to recognize that the positive effects of weed are far-reaching, from the treatment of depression to the care of terminal illnesses. And efforts to discount the solid scientific evidence that supports medical marijuana, like the FDA's statement yesterday, are purely political and Puritan potshots.

ADDENDUM . . . Times science writer Gardiner Harris speaks truth to power in a video analysis of the FDA's policy announcement . . . "The policy document, basically, is wrong." And he includes a nice stab at the War on Drugs . . . "There's not very much evidence that suggests that marijuana is this gateway drug that DEA thinks it is."