25
contains over 100 different cannabinoids – and frankly, medical researchers just don’t know where the effects of one end and the effects of another begin.
Think of it this way: the English alphabet contains a mere 26 letters, which can be combined to make millions of different words. Now multiply that by about four, add terpenes and flavonoids to the equation, and you can imagine how challenging it would be, even for a computer, just to spit out every possible combination. Then, think of how long it would take for researchers to get approval to test – then actually test – every combination on a sufficiently large study population.
It would require multiple lifetimes, even with a huge team of researchers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approves medications for use in the United States, simply lacks the framework for handling botanical Cannabis like other substances. FDA testing rubric is set up for single compounds, like the atorvastatin in Lipitor, or the fluoxetine in Prozac – not for hundreds of compounds like those found in Cannabis. The FDA’s model is essentially “test substance x for illness y,” which completely overlooks and excludes the medical benefits of marijuana associated with the entourage effect.
Finally, most patients simply tolerate botanical Cannabis better than synthetic cannabinoid medications. For most people, the acute (immediate/short-term) side effects of Cannabis are dry mouth, sleepiness, increased appetite, and possibly sore throat or coughing depending on the method of administration. Some people can also experience short-lived anxiety or paranoia, particularly if the dose is large, or if they’re in an environment where they feel uncomfortable.
By comparison, the side effects of Marinol, according to the drug’s official website, include “loss of memory, anxiety/nervousness, lack of motor coordination, confusion, depersonalization, dizziness, paranoid reaction, sleepiness, abnormal thinking, weakness, irregular or rapid heartbeat, facial flush, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.”
Marinol is, quite frankly, not used very often as Patients report taking it only once and then vowing never to try it again because of the extreme intoxication.