01MAR2012
by Vivian I Curl in
Marijuana and Glaucoma
Dear PUBLIC SERVANT:
The Republicans are at it again with yet another assault against the people of Michigan with the launch of “Senate Bill 977, which removes Glaucoma as a qualifying medical condition by the State of Michigan for the Medical Marijuana Program.” We the people take this as a direct assault aimed against the aging Michigan population. The people are tired of the expensive pharmaceutical toxins that provide minimal relief for this condition glaucoma. We the people write this letter because we are mad that you are actually considering this attempt with Senate Bill 977. We the people see this Bill as an attack against the aging senior community.
Public Servant you should be aware that “Over 2.2 million Americans, and over 60 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. Experts estimate that half of them don’t know they have it. Combined with our aging population, we can see an epidemic of blindness looming if we don’t raise awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations to preserve vision”Gluacoma.Org
We are writing this letter to educate you the PUBLIC SERVANT. We believe you must need this educational information as it is only obvious that you are not considering the peer reviewed validated research. This research confirms that marijuana is the best alternative herbal treatment for the condition of glaucoma.
We the people are uniting to state our disapproval of Senate Bill 977:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billintroduced/Senate/pdf/2012-SIB-0977.pdf
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billintroduced/Senate/pdf/2012-SIB-0977.pdf
The condition “Glaucoma is an eye condition that develops when too much fluid pressure builds up inside of the eye. The condition tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life” WebMD. This condition starts with “the increased pressure, called intraocular pressure, can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain. If damage to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause loss of vision. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.” WebMD
Six validated research articles that confirm marijuana is a critical component for relieving the symptoms of pressure in the eyes for Glaucoma patients:
- Elsevier, SciVerse, Science Direct provides a survey of ophthalmology and presents “Marijuana can cause a profound lowering of IOP, but the high nonresponse rate, short half-life, and significant toxicity are strong indicators that it is not an appropriate therapeutic agent. Ginkgo biloba and some other Chinese herbal remedies do not affect IOP, but may improve blood flow to the optic nerve and, as such, may have a beneficial effect on glaucoma” Science Direct
- The Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry states “The smoking of marijuana has decreased IOP in glaucoma patients. Cannabinoid drugs, therefore, are thought to have significant potential for pharmaceutical development. However, as the mechanism surrounding their effect on IOP initially was thought to involve the CNS, issues of psychoactivity hindered progress. The discovery of ocular cannabinoid receptors implied an explanation for the induction of hypotension by topical cannabinoid applications, and has stimulated a new phase of ophthalmic cannabinoid research” PubMed.
- The British Journal of Ophthalmology presents that “cannabinoid will most likely prove to be useful as an anti cancer drug21 and for the management of pain,22,23 and of various kinds of motor dysfunction that include the muscle spasticity, spasm, or tremor associated with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury,24 the tics and psychiatric signs and symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome, and the dyskinesia that is produced by l-dopa in patients with Parkinson’s disease.25–27 As now discussed, one other important potential clinical application for cannabinoids, is the management of glaucoma” PubMed.
- The Department of Ophthalmology says the only issue with marijuana is the toxicological profile “Development of drugs based on the cannabinoid molecule or its agonists for use as topical or oral antiglaucoma medications seems to be worthy of further pursuit. Among the latter chemicals, some have no known adverse psychoactive side effects. Smoking of marijuana plant material for the reduction of elevated IOP in glaucoma is ill-advised, given its toxicological profile” PubMed
- J Clinic Pharmacol, 1981, Aug-Sep, 21 (8-9 Suppl): 467S-471S “Systemic delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), administered either by smoking marihuana or as synthetic THC in soft gelatin capsules, lowers ocular tension in various glaucoma’s, but at the expense of significant decreases in systolic blood pressure” PubMed
- Chem Biol Drug Des, 2010 Jun, 75 (6):632-40 says “Cannabinoid compounds have widely been employed because of its medicinal and psychotropic properties. These compounds are isolated from Cannabis sativa (or marijuana) and are used in several medical treatments, such as glaucoma, nausea associated to chemotherapy, pain and many other situations” PubMed
Please research and you will find that these are validated reasons why we should continue to allow Glaucoma patients the opportunity to medicate and relieve the pressure without the use of harmful synthetics. Wake up and realize that pharmaceutical sludge is the reason that people are unhealthy today. We must stand against the pharmaceutical and governmental assault on medical marijuana.
Thank you for your consideration:
Vivian I Curl, Marketing Specialist, Nutritional Health Research Writer, Poet, and Communication Major. Vivian@Qventerprises.com
You the citizen can take action also by copy and pasting your name into the above spot and sending this letter to: www.legislature.mi.gov
