AIDS Patient to Get Legal Marijuana for Pain Relief

The federal government for the first time has approved the legal use of marijuana for an AIDS patient to test reduction of nausea, vomiting and pain caused by the disease and its treatment, officials said Monday.

Under the license, approved Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration, a 33-year-old Texan, identified only as Steve because of patient confidentiality rules, will receive prescription marijuana from the government’s stock, controlled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

He joins a handful of other patients with cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis who have obtained medical access to the drug in order to treat elements of their diseases or alleviate harsh effects of therapy.

“This is a significant breakthrough for persons afflicted with AIDS and for all those seeking legal, medically supervised access to prescription marijuana,” said Robert Randall, president of the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, the Washington-based group that disclosed the approval.

FDA spokesmen said they did not know of the approval, but officials at the National Institute of Drug Abuse, which must ship the marijuana to the patient’s doctor, confirmed that the FDA had approved the license.

Over the last decade, some studies have shown that marijuana can reduce the often debilitating nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy and ease the crippling spasms and pain caused by other neurological disorders.

“No one is suggesting marijuana is a cure for AIDS or that marijuana is an appropriate medicine for every AIDS patient,” said Randall, the first American to win legally prescribed marijuana, used to treat his glaucoma.

“But marijuana can significantly improve the quality of life available to those AIDS patients who are unable to eat and suffer severe weight loss,” Randall said.

Randall said his group was contacted by the Texas patient in October after he had been arrested for using marijuana to treat himself. Randall said that Steve, an Army veteran with no prior criminal record, is still waiting to stand trial in Texas where, if found guilty, he could face up to five years in jail and $10,000 in fines.