New study supports medical marijuana

The DEA is getting it from all sides this week.

AIDS patients suffering from debilitating nerve pain got as much or more relief by smoking marijuana as they would typically get from prescription drugs -- and with fewer side effects -- according to a study conducted under rigorously controlled conditions with government-grown pot.

It was only a five day study with a small sample group of 50 AIDS patients but doctors and medmar advocates said the findings published in the journal Neurology, offer strong evidence that the DEA's classification of cannabis as having "no currently accepted medical use" is outdated. I hope Congress is paying attention.

I loved the control methods.

Then, for five days, patients lit up at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. using a calibrated puff method that calls for inhaling for five seconds, holding one's breath for 10, then waiting 45 seconds before the next.

The cigarettes were kept frozen and locked in a safe, then thawed and humidified one day before use. Cigarette butts and other debris were collected, weighed and returned to the safe to ensure no diversion for recreational purposes.

It's useful to note that the study used the schwag that the University of Mississippi provides. If that stuff worked, think about what real pot could do for the suffering of the terminally ill.