eeded to evaluate this possibility.Article published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in March 2000. NIDA-supported researchers demonstrate that individuals who regularly smoke marijuana experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, stomach pain, aggression, and anxiety, after they stop smoking the drug.A group of researchers in Boston found that middle-aged marijuana users were almost five times more likely than usual to suffer a heart attack after smoking marijuana. The study also showed that marijuana negatively impacts heart health by increasing heart rate, dilating blood vessels, increasing blood pressure, and decreasing the amount of oxygen that the blood vessel can carry to the heart muscle.The smoke still hasn't cleared in the debate over the medical use of marijuana, but a prestigious panel of experts said Thursday there is promising evidence that smoking pot may ease the suffering of some seriously ill patients.The chairman of an eight-member panel of specialists sponsored by the National Institutes of Health suggested that some new studies should be done. "I'd say that for at least some of the potential indications, we feel that it looks promising enough to recommend that there would be some new controlled studies done," Dr. William Beaver, a professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University, told a news conference..The panel concluded that while marijuana smoking may help some patients deal with cancer, AIDS or glaucoma, there is little hard scientific evidence. Although a final committee report is not complete, "the general mood was that for some indications, there is a rationale for looking further into the therapeutic effects of marijuana," Beaver said. NIH might finance studies. Another panel member, eye specialist Dr. Paul Palmberg of the University of Miami School of Medicine, said that in at least one of his patients, smoking marijuana had been an effective treatment for glaucoma some years ago. H...
