There are plenty of conflicting studies on the benefits/ dangers of marijuana
use by the chronically ill. Recent studies show that marijuana can be
beneficial for those with AIDS The results of a study released at the
XIII International AIDS Conference reports that smoking marijuana helps
people with AIDS gain weight, without causing adverse virologic effects
(July 2000). But HIV is not HCV. Nor is HCV Cancer, nor are the aches
and pains of HCV commensurate with the pain of someone who is dying of a
debilitating illness.
Other studies (May 2000) speak of the synthetic marijuana derivative CT-3 as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic therapy intended as a safer alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the most commonly prescribed analgesic and anti-inflammatory therapy for long-term treatment of arthritis.
One recent studies state that marijuana use increases tumor growth, and another links it to emphysema.
A report from the New South Wales Users and AIDS Association “Hepatitis C and Drug Use” states that marijuana presents no problems for the liver; another report warns that marijuana may interact adversely with antidepressants.
It has been shown that marijuana interferes with the effectiveness of interferon alfa-2a in the treatment of genital warts due to drug-induced impairment of cellular immunity. (“Genital Warts do not respond to systemic recombinant interferon alfa-2a treatment during cannabis consumption,” Gross G; Roussaki A; Ikenberg H; Drees N., Dermatologica, 1991, 183(3):203-7 ) Whether this is also true for marijuana use during interferon alpha-2b treatment for hepatitis is unknown.
