Two scientific studies provide further evidence that medical marijuana laws don't increase marijuana use, and that even weak marijuana works in some ways better than high-dose Marinol, the THC pill sometimes touted as a substitute for marijuana.

In a study published online by the International Journal of Drug Policy, researchers from the Texas A&M Health/Science Center analyzed two sets of data designed to monitor emerging drug-use trends, the ADAM and the DAWN, from locations where medical cannabis laws have been put into effect. ADAM is based on urine tests of adult and juvenile arrestees, while DAWN tracks mentions of drug use in records of hospital emergency departments. Both sets of data, from before and after implementation of the medical cannabis laws, were looked at in a "time-series analysis" based on the premise that "if the law in question has an impact (either positive or negative) then the series of observations that follow its implementation will have a different slope or trend than those that occurred before."

In both sets of data (California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) the researchers found no change in the trend after medical cannabis laws went into effect. "Consistent with other studies of the liberalization of cannabis laws," they wrote, "[the results] indicate that medical cannabis laws do not increase use of the drug."

A second study, in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and also published online ahead of its appearance in print, compared the THC pill marketed as Marinol to smoked marijuana supplied by the NIDA. While both medications proved effective at stimulating appetite, reducing the need for other medications to combat gastrointestinal problems, and helping patients sleep, it took eight times the recommended dose of Marinol to roughly equal the efficacy of weak marijuana, with 3.9 percent THC, supplied by NIDA. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the average THC content of cannabis seized by law enforcement during the first quarter of 2007 was 8.5 percent.

The study's "double-dummy" design successfully prevented patients from identifying which active treatment they were receiving at any given time, overcoming a common problem with cannabis and THC studies. Although researchers characterized the efficacy of Marinol and whole marijuana in the study as "similar," only whole cannabis produced statistically significant improvements in patients' levels of hunger, desire to eat, and quality of sleep. Marijuana also produced a higher daily caloric intake than even the highest Marinol dose, although in this small and relatively brief study, that difference did not reach statistical significance.

Neither treatment produced significant negative side effects. Strikingly, when patients were given a series of tests measuring learning, memory and other cognitive functions, neither cannabis nor oral THC produced any significant changes in performance.

website:BBSNews - New Studies: Medical Marijuana Laws Don't Increase Use

Drug testing in the United States began in the late 1980s with the testing of certain federal employees and specified DOT regulated occupations. Drug testing guidelines and processes, in these areas exclusively, are established and regulated (by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA, formerly under the direction of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIDA) require that companies who use professional drivers, specified safety sensitive transportation and oil and gas related occupations, and certain federal employers, test them for the presence of certain drugs. These test classes were established decades ago, and include five specific drug groups. They do not account for current drug usage patterns. For example, the tests do not include semi-synthetic opioids, such as oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, etc., compounds that are highly abused in America:

• Cannabinoids (marijuana, hashish)
• Cocaine (cocaine, benzoylecognine, cocaethylene)
• Amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine)
• Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

While SAMHSA/NIDA guidelines only allow labs to report quantitative results for the "NIDA-5" on their official NIDA tests, many drug testing labs and on-site tests also offer a wider or "more appropriate" set of drug screens which are more reflective of current drug abuse patterns. As noted above, these tests include synthetic pain killers, benzodiazepines and barbiturates in other drug panels (a "panel" is a predetermined list of tests to run). The confirmation test can tell the difference between chemically similar drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy, and in the absence of detectable amounts of methamphetamine in the sample, the lab will either report the sample as negative or report it as positive for MDMA. What the lab reports to the client depends upon whether MDMA was included in the panel as something to be tested for.

Gamma-hydroxy-butyrate (GHB) was not routinely tested for in the early 1990s, but due to increasing use, some labs have added it as an optional test. GHB is rare in pre-employment screening, but is commonly checked for in suspected cases of drug overdose, date rape, and post-mortem toxicology tests. Ketamine (Special K) may or may not be tested for, depending upon the preferences of the entity paying for the test, though testing for it is uncommon. In general, the greater the number of drugs tested for, the higher the price of the test, so many employers stick to the NIDA 5 for financial reasons.

Other drugs, such as meperidine (Demerol), fentanyl, propoxyphene, and methadone are not commonly tested for in most pre-employment situations. These drugs are more likely to be included in tests for certain demographic groups (such as healthcare workers, drug rehab patients, etc.)

Hallucinogens other than cannabis and PCP, such as mushrooms (psilocybin), LSD, and peyote (mescaline) are rarely tested for.

from Wikipedia.org

SB 420, section 11362.79. states that patients may not ingest medicinal marijuana:

• In any place where smoking is prohibited by law.
• In or within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school, recreation center, or youth center, unless the medical use occurs within a residence.
• On a school bus.
• While in a motor vehicle that is being operated.
• While operating a boat.