vol2 - Page 270

 _
 "chronically _ which_ of courses is one reason they produce so
 many serious adverse side effects.
 30, Since all drugs used to treat glaucoma have_ as
 both Keith Green and Dr. Spaeth acknowledge, many unintended
 and undesirable effects, the obvious question is how do the
 known adverse effects of drugs now accepted as _safe" for use
 in the treatment of glaucoma compare to the known (rather than
 imagined) side effects produced by marijuana?
 31. Unlike Keith Green and Dr. Spaeth, _ have the
 benefit of actual experience with marijuana's use in humans. I
 have conducted research on and treated human glaucoma patients
 with marijuana° As a _esult of my studies and experiences I
 was tSe first physician to report that_ when improperly smokeds
 t
 :o
 _ marijuana can trigger an abrupt reduction in blood pressure.
 This can" lead to fainting spells. WhAle not clinically serious
 this could be a contemn particularly since older patients
 might suffer injury as the result of a fall.
 32. Greene An particular, cites this response and
 suggests it is one reason marijuana should not be considered
 ...... "safe. _ _ dlsagree. First, this abrupt hypo_en_ive response
 occu=red only in very few patients (less than 15% of marijuana-
 naive subjects (Merritt, Cooker Davls, 1982) and was triggerea
 by improper techniques o_ inhalation. SE_cond, patients allowed
 to smoke marijuana at their own pace through pipe delivery
 systems over 5_10 months (in effects self-titrating the dose)
 do not appear to encounter this problem. Quiet sitting the