Marijuana as Hepatitis C Treatment Posted: 01-28-08 11:12am
September 18, 2006
Benefits of Medical Marijuana During HCV
Treatment
An unlikely ally has been uncovered for
Hepatitis C treatment. Interferon and
ribavirin treatment is known to inflict
severe side effects resulting in low
retention rates. While the link is not yet
concrete, medical marijuana appears to
reduce those side effects, improving a
person's chance of completing treatment.
Study: Pot helps cure hepatitis C
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tri-Valley Herald Newspaper
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
Medical marijuana users are more likely to
finish hepatitis C treatment and so are
more likely to be cured, according to a
newly published study conducted in San
Francisco and Oakland.
Other studies have shown marijuana
relieves symptoms, but medical marijuana
advocates said this could be the first to
show improved cure rates for a
life-threatening illness.
The study is by researchers at the
University of California, San Francisco,
and the Oakland-based Organization to
Achieve Solutions in Substance Abuse
(OASIS). It was published in the European
Journal of Gastroenterology and
Hepatology. It found marijuana users being
treated for HCV three times more likely to
have a "sustained virological response,"
meaning the virus can't be detected six
months after treatment ends.
HCV treatment with ribavirin and
interferon causes severe side effects, so
many patients quit the long regimen too
early.
Of 71 HCV patients studied, 21 finished
with a sustained
virological response: 12 of the 22
cannabis users and nine of the 49
nonusers.
"(M)odest cannabis use may offer
symptomatic and virological benefit to
some patients... by helping them maintain
adherence to the challenging medication
regimen," the study concluded.
Rob Kampia, executive director of the
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington,
D.C., issued a news release touting this
as "a landmark study, showing that medical
marijuana can literally save lives. Every
day that our government continues
punishing the sick for using this medicine
is literally a crime against humanity."
