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The use of crude marijuana for herbal medicinal applications is now being widely discussed in both the medical and lay literature. Ballot initiatives in California and Arizona have recently made crude marijuana accessible to patients under certain circumstances. As medicinal applications of pure forms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and crude marijuana are being considered, the most promising uses of any form of THC are to counteract the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy and to stimulate appetite. We evaluated the relevant research published between 1975 and 1996 on the medical applications, physical complications, and legal precedents for the use of pure THC or crude marijuana. Our review focused on the medical use of THC derivatives for nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma, stimulation of appetite, and spinal cord spasticity. Despite the toxicity of THC delivered in any form, evidence supports the selective use of pure THC preparations to treat nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy and to stimulate appetite. The evidence does not support the reclassification of crude marijuana as a prescribable medicine.
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
August 1984,
Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
January 1989,
Psychopharmacology,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
December 2002,
Psychopharmacology,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
January 1988,
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E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
January 1984,
Psychopharmacology,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
June 2002,
Psychopharmacology,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
April 1992,
The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
December 1973,
Life sciences,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
April 1979,
Life sciences,
E A Voth, and
R H Schwartz
January 1987,
Journal of analytical toxicology,
