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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US: Marijuana-like drug eludes scientists
Jacob Goldstein Miami Herald
Friday 30 Jul 2004 As Ricky Williams fights social anxiety disorder with marijuana, scientists are working to take advantage of the plant's anti-anxiety properties while avoiding the drug's side effects. Ricky Williams' claim that marijuana helps stave off social anxiety may have scientific merit, but developing a drug that could produce similar results will take years, medical experts said Thursday. In lab animals, higher levels of cannabinoids -- the compounds found in marijuana, and which occur naturally in the brain -- sometimes decrease anxiety. Scientists are trying to develop a drug that would replicate this effect in humans. But even under the rosiest circumstances, it will take nearly a decade to bring the drug to market. In the meantime, scientists recommend against smoking marijuana to relax. ''One of the reasons humans use marijuana is because it reduces anxiety,'' said Cecilia Hillard, a professor of pharmacology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "On the other hand, the reason most often cited for stopping using marijuana is that it causes anxiety.'' Daniele Piomelli, the scientist who is developing the cannabinoid-based drug, is more blunt. ''Cannabis is not a very good medicine,'' he said. PROMISING TESTS A compound Piomelli developed at the University of California at Irvine slows the breakdown of the canabinoids that occur naturally in the brain. Tests in mice and rats suggest this may reduce anxiety without causing the memory loss, appetite increase and decrease in cognitive function associated with smoking marijuana. Human trials of the compound are slated to begin within two years, Piomelli said. But drugs that work in mice often fail in people, and several experts said they were not aware of any studies that used marijuana to treat anxiety in humans. Scientists following federal recommendations have studied marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis, advanced HIV and cancer-related pain. The government has approved a marijuana-like drug to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea. It's more difficult for psychiatrists to study marijuana. ''It's kind of hard to do that research, because of the illegal nature of the drug,'' said Dianne Chambless, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist who studies social-anxiety disorder. THERAPY Chambless said therapy for social-anxiety disorder often helps patients relax by understanding that the whole world is not judging their every move -- which might not be the case for a star running back like Williams. ''For most people with social anxiety everybody really isn't watching you or judging you, but for people in his position, people really are,'' she said. ``It's a very tough position to be in.''
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