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Clemson Researchers Try To Replicate Marijuana's Medical Benefits
Synthetically Medical Marijuana Used To Relieve Pain, Help Nausea

TheCarolinaChannel.com

Clemson SC Dec 27, 2004 -- A Clemson University team of researchers is looking at ways to get the medical benefits found in marijuana without getting bogged down in the politics of the drug.

Chemist John Huffman is leading the team, working on synthetic versions of the substances that provide the same medical benefits of marijuana without side effects such as an unwanted high or lung damage.

Eleven states allow people to smoke marijuana for medical benefits, including relief of pain and nausea from a variety of ailments. But the U.S. Supreme Court decided three years ago that the drug is subject to federal anti-narcotic laws.

Huffman and his team have been working for 20 years on federally funded research into cannabinoids, the chemicals in marijuana that confer its potency in the brain.

Researchers want to eliminate the part that creates highs but keep the parts that have medicinal effects.