norml11 - Page 42
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VII.
= ACCEPTED MEDICAL USE IN TREATMENT
MULTIPLE {CLEROS!S, SPASTICITV
AND HYPERPARATHYROIO ISM
I
. o
_ Findinqs Of Fact o
The preponderar_ce of the evidence clearly establishes the following facts
with respect to marijuana_s use in connection with multiple sclerosis,
spasticity and hyperparathyroidism_
I. MuTtip_e sclerosis is the major cause of neurological disability
among young and middle-aged adults in the United States today. It is a life-lom
disease. It can be e×treme_y debilitating to sQme of its victims but it does
not shorten the life span of most of them. Its cause is yet to be determined.
It attacks the myelin sheath, the coating or insulation surrounding the
message-carrying nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Once the myelin
sheath is destroyed, it is replaced by plaques of hardened tissue known as
scleroSiSo During the initial stages of the disease nerve impulses are trans_
mitted with only minor interruptions_ As the disease progresses, the plaques
may completely obstruct the impulses along certain nerve systems. These obstruc-
ti. ons produce malfunctions. The effects are sporadic in most individua'Is and
the effects often occur episodically, triggered either by malfunction of the
nerve impulses or by external factors.
2. Over time many patients develop spasticity, the involuntary and
abnormal contraction of muscle or muscle fibers. (Spast_city can also result
from serious injuries to the spinal cord_ not related to multiplesclerosis.)
3. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis v_ry according to the area of
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