Alzheimer's: Promising New Therapy in Oregon

Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program is at the forefront of treating Alzheimer's compassionately.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - The Oregonian newspaper had a story from The New York Times about new collaboratory research for Alzheimer’s. This makes good sense because Alzheimer’s is a very cruel disease which is slow and its victims know they are falling apart over years as their brains turn to mush.

Most have found they can fake it up to a point then all the mushy bricks fall on their heads. Almost none of the excessively advertised drugs really work but big Pharma heavily lauds them anyway. Making lots of money is their business not necessarily helping the sick.

I’m not sure if Oregon had the first “official law” for the successful treatment of Alzheimer's with Cannabis/Marijuana (C/MJ), but I believe it to be so. From the beginning, California did have a much more sensible and kinder medical marijuana law in that any condition which a doctor deemed helped by C/MJ was acceptable for a state permit, so it's possible that California came first.

Oregon’s law is somewhat different, but a person or persons can petition for a condition to be added. About 8 years ago, a well-dressed, high class lady came to the advisory board meeting and (as I heard it) just raised Hell that her husband had Alzheimer’s Rage and no medicine other than C/MJ helped. As a result of her intelligence, good looks and volatile wrath she did get Alzheimer’s put on the conditions list and possibly as many as 50 persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s have received permits. It must work.

I find this event rather strange but really O.K. in their case, and applaud their success.

Dozens of us have tried to get PTSD approved as an accepted condition, but the advisory board continues to say NO.

Their collective feeling seems to be that PTSD is a trivial matter and the victims “just want to get high”. I know that I had about 1000 PTSD victims both veterans and non-veterans that chose herbal medicine over heavy narcotics.

Most other states, but not all, accept PTSD as a condition for medical marijuana, but the cynicism at the VA and generally through the population snuggles to the idea that PTSD victims could "get over it" if they really wanted to. The result is an epidemic of alcoholism, illegal drug use, spousal and child abuse, crime, suicides and death.

TV advertises Alzheimer’s medications heavily but in Oregon we have accepted the outstanding fact that C/MJ works for Alzheimer’s. I am not saying that Marinol, pure THC (Marijuana extract), works because it is known to cause panic attacks and anxiety and I am certain the Alzheimer’s Rage patients or their spouses would not want that.

According to Reuters in 2006, investigators at The Scripps Research Institute in California reported that "THC inhibits the enzyme responsible for the aggregation of amyloid plaque — the primary marker for Alzheimer's disease — in a manner "considerably superior" to approved Alzheimer's drugs such as donepezil and tacrine."

"Our results provide a mechanism whereby the THC molecule can directly impact Alzheimer's disease pathology," said the researchers.

In closing, Alzheimer’s victims and their families deserve to be permitted to use a medicine which works-- no matter what state they're in. Maybe we should get our Hell-raising lady to raise more Hell and help out the rest of the country!

YES, CANNABIS HELPS ALZHEIMER'S!!!

More information on the history of Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of Phil Leveque about his experiences in WWII.
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier.

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com: Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES