The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has approved a San Mateo County study to assess the benefits of marijuana on HIV/AIDS patients suffering from neurological disorders. San Mateo County becomes the first municipality in the country to be allowed to distribute marijuana to patients.
“What we could end up with is scientific proof that this is a medicine that should be prescribed by doctors,” said Mike Nevin, San Mateo County supervisor. “It’s in the spirit of Proposition 215.”
Sixty AIDS patients will be given government-grown marijuana during the 12-week study, which may begin as early as January. The research will be led by Dr. Dennis Israelski, chief of infectious diseases and AIDS medicine at San Mateo County Hospitals and Clinics.
San Mateo County has pledged $500,000 of county money for the study and if this first one is successful, local officials suggest further marijuana trials involving cancer and glaucoma patients will follow.
“We hope this is just a beginning,” said Margaret Taylor, director of San Mateo County Health Services.
For more information, please contact Scott Colvin, NORML Publications Director at (202) 483-5500.
