JAMAICA HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER

Rheumatology

Consultations are provided for patients who develop rheumatological disorders including osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. There is a twice-monthly arthritis clinic and bone mineral density testing for diagnosing osteoporosis.

Pulmonary Medicine

A newly refurbished pulmonary function laboratory uses the latest equipment to diagnose and treat patients experiencing breathing abnormalities and acute and chronic lung disorders.

Oncology

The Oncology Division offers consultations for both inpatients and outpatients diagnosed with cancer. An ambulatory chemotherapy unit, staffed by compassionate, specially trained nurses, is available for the administration of chemotherapy and blood products. A clinical nurse specialist assists in coordinating nursing care.

Neurology

Consultations are provided for patients with neurological diseases. The division's Neurophysiology Department is available to provide diagnostic testing for both adult and pediatric patients.

Endocrinology

Consultation services are provided for patients with diabetes, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis, and diseases of the pituitary, adrenal and reproductive systems. In addition, a diabetes nurse educator assists with inpatient care and helps hospitalized patients make the transition to home.

BY NATALIE ESCOBAR NIÑO 200620842

Ganja medicine in Jamaica

EYE AND EYE

Dr Manley West is an emeritus professor and administrator who runs a pharmacology lab at the University of the West Indies (UWI) campus in Kingston. He has worked with ophthalmologist Dr Albert Lockhart on pioneering research that turns raw ganja into specialty medicines for glaucoma and other disorders.West and Lockhart were trained at prestigious academies in England, Scotland and the United States.

West has been the head of UWI's pharmacology department, and has nearly 40 years of experience in medicine and health. Lockhart has 36 years experience as a researcher and ophthalmologist. The lauded duo has received two of Jamaica's highest medical honors: the Order of Merit for Medicine and the Musgrave Gold Medal. Why were they honored? Because they created Canasol, a ganja-based medicine that helps decrease intraocular pressure with none of the side effects caused by other treatments.West explained that he and Lockhart began studying cannabis-glaucoma pharmacology in the early 1970's. Scientists had long known that cannabis lowered intraocular pressure, but instead of utilizing whole smoked cannabis, American researchers spent millions of dollars on a poorly-designed topical THC eyedrop treatment that had caused eye irritation and failed to decrease intraocular pressure.While Randall smoked ganja, found it a miracle medicine, and fought the US government's attempts to prevent him from using it, West and Lockhart were doing innovative experiments to determine which ganja constituents were responsible for marijuana's anti-glaucoma effects. The Jamaican government granted them an official new drug certification for Canasol in February 1983."It was a breakthrough," West explained.

"I had long been interested in finding therapeutic compounds derived from natural origins. Glaucoma hits blacks sooner in life, progresses faster, and more often results in blindness. About 100,000 of our 3 million island population has it. Other glaucoma medications produced side effects, and the only other treatment was surgery, which is also risky. We wanted a safer, more affordable medicine for Jamaicans.

Canasol appears to be the answer. It works within minutes to lower pressure, even in patients who have rare forms of glaucoma or have not responded well to other treatments."

BY NATALIE ESCOBAR NIÑO 200620842

MANY MEDICINES

In an article published in the West Indies Medical Journal in 1978, West wrote: "Sun-dried whole plant (cannabis sativa) was obtained from the Police Department. The material was carefully examined for extraneous matter. A macerate was made which contained 5% w/v of whole cannabis. The solution was filtered using Whatman's No. 1 filter paper and the solution rapidly sterilized using a sintered glass filter (5 on 3) with a porosity of 1 to 1.5 microns. The sterilized solution was distributed aseptically into eye drop containers and stored in a cool dark place above freezing point."

Neither West nor Lockhart would elaborate on the exact procedures used to transform the above-mentioned solution into a prescription medicine, although Lockhart did say that a stable "powder" had been made in sufficient quantity to supply the experimenters with all the "principle" they needed to conduct numerous experiments and to make stable pharmaceutical preparations. Canasol has been stored at varying temperatures for eight years, West noted, and had no significant loss of potency.

During the 1980's and 90's, West said, thousands of vials of Canasol have been tested and used as a topical eye medicine in Jamaica, Europe, the Caribbean, the South Pacific and other areas.

"It has no reported side-effects," West emphatically stated, "which makes it safer than the standard chemical glaucoma medications. It acts very quickly, both as a preventive and in situations of acute onset, to lower intraocular pressure. Patients report excellent results and ease of use, and doctors are quite happy to have Canasol in their therapeutic arsenal. It is part of the curriculum in medical schools, during courses that discuss drugs affecting the eye."

With Canasol increasingly accepted by doctors and patients worldwide, the Jamaican researchers turned their attention to other medical uses of ganja constituents. In 1990, they released Asmasol, a cannabis derivative that helps relieve asthma attacks.

"Asmasol is useful during both the acute phase of an asthma attack, and as a preventive during the impending phase," West explained, adding that he and Lockhart have also created Canavert, a ganja-based treatment for motion sickness, and are working on Cantimol, another glaucoma medication slated for imminent release.

More research is planned, as the imaginative team looks into ganja's effects on nausea, arthritis, pain and migraine headaches.

"This plant has hundreds of potentially helpful constituents," West explains. "It is useful for many conditions, and is a storehouse of amazing proportions."

by NATALIE ESCOBAR NIÑO 200620842