From: Jim Rosenfield <jnr@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Date: 24 Dec 92 16:30 PST
Subject: News stories re: drugs 12/24
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1484000087:000:13582
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!jnr    Dec 24 16:30:00 1992


APf  12/23 0733  Drug Approval

Copyright, 1992. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.  

By F.N. D'ALESSIO 

Associated Press Writer 

CHICAGO (AP) -- A synthetic form of the ingredient in marijuana
that produces the high has won Food and Drug Administration
approval for use against the wasting effect associated with AIDS.


Doctors said the drug, called dronabinol, helps overcome severe
nausea and stimulate the appetite of AIDS patients, who often
suffer severe weight loss. 

The FDA gave its approval Tuesday to dronabinol, which is
marketed by Unimed Inc. of Buffalo Grove and Roxane Laboratories
Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, under the trade name Marinol. 

Dronabinol is a synthetic form of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol,
the main active ingredient in marijuana and hashish. Previously,
dronabinol's use had been limited by the FDA to fighting the
nausea experienced by some cancer patients undergoing
chemotherapy. 

Marijuana cannot be legally dispensed for medicinal use in the
United States.

"There is widespread agreement on the positive role that a
nutritional regimen plays in the health of AIDS patients, and it
is our belief that Marinol, as an appetite stimulant, can be of
great value," said Scott Broder, Unimed senior vice president of
sales and marketing. 

The FDA reviewed dronabinol's effectiveness against wasting after
people with AIDS reported that marijuana improved their appetite,
FDA spokeswoman Monica Revelle said. 

Dr. Harry Hollander, who treats AIDS patients at the University
of California at San Francisco Hospital, warned that the drug,
which can cause hallucinations in large dosages, may have side
effects in AIDS patients whose nervous systems are damaged, and
he said it should not be given to all patients. 

"This isn't the first drug that works on the wasting effect of
AIDS, but it definitely can give some people relief," he said. 

Dr. Robert T. Schooley, chairman of the infectious disease
program at the University of Colorado Health Services Center in
Denver, was more enthusiastic. 

"I'm really happy with it, wasting being one of the main problems
associated with AIDS," he said. 

Schooley said the approval marks a new openness on the part of
the FDA in considering AIDS treatments. 

<<>>UPf  12/22 1932  Synthetic marijuana approved for AIDS treatment

Synthetic marijuana derivative approved for AIDS treatment 

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A synthetic form of the active ingredient in
marijuana has been approved for preventing weight loss among
people suffering with AIDS, the Food and Drug Administration said
Tuesday. 

Unimed Inc., of Buffalo Grove, Ill., said the drug, dronabinol,
has been available since 1985 to reduce vomiting and nausea in
cancer patients who do not respond to other medications. 

Clinical trials of the drug to prevent anorexia and weight loss
among AIDS patients were started after some people with AIDS
reported benefits from marijuana use, which is widely illegal. 

Dronabinol is a synthetic form of THC or
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol 

the active ingredient of marijuana. 

Capsules of the drug will be available under the brand name
"Marinol" for prescribing to AIDS patients, many of whom lose
weight because of the immune system disease. 

"It is our belief that Marinol as an appetite stimulant can be of
great value," said a statement from Scott Broder, Unimed senior
vice president. 



Copyright 1992 United Press International  <<>>RTw  12/22 0924  FRANCE TO CRACK DOWN ON DRUGS

PARIS, Dec 22, Reuter - France has announced tough measures to
fight drug trafficking, drawing criticism from some experts in
treating addiction who said on Tuesday the planned steps were too
harsh. 

Interior Minister Paul Quiles told a news conference on Monday
the 10-point plan would focus on tracking down street dealers and
dismantling trafficking networks. 

"France has only one attitude toward this worldwide scourge
called drugs -- firmness," he said. 

But the head of the Marmottan drug treatment centre,  Dr Claude
Olievenstein, said the new measures were too restrictive. 

"These could transform 16-year-old kids into thugs," he told
French television on Tuesday. 

Olievenstein said illegal drug use in France was well below
levels in neighbouring Italy, Spain and Switzerland, and that
many more people were killed through drunken driving. 

Quiles said that during the first 10 months of 1992, 4,753 drug
traffickers had been caught in France, 40 per cent more than in
all of 1991. Police seized 38.6 tonnes of illegal drugs in the
first 10 months, 35 per cent more than in 1991. 

He said the rise in arrests and seizures reflected more efficient
police work. 

Under the new plan, city police will focus on ferreting out
street dealers. Special anti-drug squads will be set up in police
forces where they do not already exist, Quiles said. 

Law enforcement officials should make no distinction between hard
drugs like heroin and soft drugs like marijuana, he added. 

REUTER NMG ASB MN  <<>>UPf  12/21 1331  Court upholds reinstatement of worker who failed
drug test

MONROE, Mich. (UPI) -- The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati has upheld the reinstatement of a Michigan worker
fired after flunking a drug test. 

A divided court ruled that the arbitrator's decision ordering
Monroe Auto Equipment Co. to rehire David Rafko was proper and
did not violate the national policy against drug use. 

Rafko, a mechanic, was fired in October 1989 when a
company-ordered urine test indicated marijuana use. 

He came under suspicion when company officials received an
anonymous letter accusing him of drug trafficking at work, a
charge he denied. Rafko and his union, the United Auto Workers,
challenged the dismissal and won an arbitration award ordering
his reinstatatement. 

U.S. District Judge Paul Gadola of Detroit upheld the
arbitrator's decision. 

Witnesses testified that Rafko was not acting abnormally on the
day he took the drug test and there was no indication his work
was unsatisfactory. A company expert said the drug level found in
Rafko's urine indicated he was under the influence of marijuana,
but conceded there is no legally accepted standard. 

The company's policy warns of immediate disciplinary action,
possibly including dismissal, for being "under the influence" of
alcohol or any illegal drug used before work. 



Copyright 1992 United Press International  <<>>APn  12/19 2203  Pot Case

Copyright, 1992. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.  

SEATTLE (AP) -- Two brothers who financed lavish lives in Europe
while running a huge marijuana ring have pleaded guilty to
smuggling, authorities said. 

Christopher Shaffer, 43, a fugitive in Europe until he
surrendered last week, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District
Court. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine. 

Also pleading guilty was William Shaffer, 46, who was arrested
earlier this year in Germany. The elder Shaffer, who U.S.
Attorney Mike McKay said was the ring's mastermind, faces 10 to
15 years in prison and forfeiture of $3 million in drug profits. 

Three others pleaded guilty to money laundering in connection
with the ring. They face sentences ranging from five to 10 years,
as well as fines. 

Authorities said the Shaffers made more than $50 million from a
23-ton marijuana shipment in 1986 and a 42-ton haul in 1987. The
money was laundered in Europe, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark
Bartlett. 

Authorities said the marijuana was shipped from Vietnam to
Alaska, transferred to fishing vessels and taken ashore near
Seattle, then driven in trucks to California. 

Authorities broke the ring after a tip from a disgruntled
employee, Bartlett said. 

While a fugitive, authorities said William Shaffer lived a
well-publicized high-rolling lifestyle in Switzerland, Italy,
France and Germany and owned a 104-foot yacht. 

<<>>UPn  12/18 0023  Scientists unlock mysteries of how drugs work in
brain

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Scientists have identified long-sought brain
chemicals involved in making marijuana and other drugs work,
which may lead to better ways to break addictions, block pain and
understand the brain. 

One group of researchers found a chemical produced naturally in
the brain that appears to stimulate the same cells that marijuana
stimulates. A second group cloned the protein that drugs like
heroin and morphine trigger to produce their effects. 

The findings, reported Thursday in two papers in the journal
Science, should enable scientists to learn more about how such
drugs work in the brain and could lead to ways to harness the
beneficial effects of drugs. 

"Both of these findings are really important. They will lead to
some very interesting science in the next half decade," Michael
Brownstein of the National Institute of Mental Health told
Science. 

Drugs work because they contain chemicals that travel to the
brain and, like a key, fit into structures likened to locks
called "receptors" on certain brain cells, triggering activity by
those cells. 

Scientists have long searched for both the specific receptors for
certain types of drugs and the naturally occurring chemicals in
the brain that fit those receptors. 

William Devane and his colleagues at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem reported they had found a naturally occurring substance
that triggers the same receptors as does tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. 

The THC receptor is one of the most common receptors in the
brain, indicating it may be involved in a wide range of brain
functions, including memory, appetite and motor function, Devane
said. Defects in the receptor, therefore, may be involved a
variety of diseases, including possible the devastating disorder
schizophrenia, he said. 

"Perhaps we can discover what its natural function is and what
diseases it may be involved in," Devane said in an interview.
"This is just like opening a door to a new room. It provides a
lot of new avenues to explore. This will stimulate a lot of
research." 

Devane dubbed the newly identified substance "anandamide," from a
Sanskrit word meaning "bliss." Devane and his colleagues
identified the substance in the brains of pigs, but presumably an
equivalent substance is produced naturally in human brains, he
said. 

The findings could enable researchers to develop drugs that have
the beneficial effects of marijuana, such as relieving pain,
reducing blood pressure and nausea and pressure in the eye from
glaucoma, without producing the psychotropic effects, he said. 

Meanwhile, Christopher Evans of the University of California, Los
Angeles, and his colleagues identified the structure of the
"opioid" receptor, which is activated by drugs like heroin and
morphine. 

The discovery of a receptor for opiates could help researchers
searching for non-addictive painkillers and for helping alleviate
withdrawal symptoms for addicts. 



Copyright 1992 United Press International  <<>>RTf  12/17 1802  Analysts zeroing in on cells that create drug
high

By Sue Kirchhoff 

WASHINGTON, Dec 17, Reuter - Researchers moved closer to decoding
the workings of tiny brain receptors that react with heroin and
marijuana to create a "high" sensation -- findings that may
eventually lead to new, nonaddictive painkillers. 

Research on the genetic makeup and functioning of the receptors,
reported in this week's Science magazine, may also aid in the
study of drug addiction, scientists said. 

"Our findings will help us understand the biological processes of
(drug) tolerance and dependence," said Dr. Christopher Evans of
the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine. 

"It should enable us to precisely design drugs that target
specific receptors and are effective in their therapeutic role,
while exhibiting fewer negative side effects such as addiction,"
he said. 

After years of effort, Evans and his colleagues managed to clone
a receptor gene in the brain that recognizes opiates and allows
them to take effect. 

French researchers reported similar findings in the current issue
of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Working with pig brains, academics at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem were also able to identify a natural brain molecule
that reacts with the marijuana receptor, providing new insights
for the development of synthetic drugs. 

Nearly 20 years ago, scientists discovered that morphine relieves
pain by binding to specific receptors on the surface of brain
cells. In the 1970's, scientists also found receptors that
interact with naturally occuring opiates. 

But figuring out the genetic structure of the receptors and the
identity of molecules that bind to them has been tougher than
expected, an accompanying Science article said. 

Scientists have already found the marijuana receptor and a
molecule that binds with the opiate receptor. With the UCLA
research, it should be easier to clone other opiate receptors. 

"The search for new painkillers that will not produce drug
dependence and withdrawal can now be logically pursued. (The
findings) offer a new starting point for studying addictive
disorders," said Dr. Floyd Bloom of the Scripps Research
Institute. 

The marijuana research offers new hope for medications to treat
everything from anxiety to glaucoma that have the painkilling
effects of marijuana, without the high. 

The work should also help researchers develop a better inventory
of receptors to drugs, how they change during drug dependence,
and how to target them with new therapeutic drugs, Science
magazine said. 

REUTER  <<>>