Albany College of Pharmacy researcher Audra Stinchcomb was awarded a $361,000 three-year grant on 21 January by the American Cancer Society to study whether cannabinoids can be absorbed effectively through the skin.

The research could led to the development of a cannabinoid patch for therapeutic use. It could ease the pain, nausea and vomiting that chemotherapy patients can suffer, said Gail Tyner-Taylor of the American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey.

Stinchcomb is an assistant professor who specializes in transdermal delivery or the study of transmitting drugs through the skin. She said transdermal delivery can be tricky because the skin is a good barrier. Patches are currently used as painkillers, seasickness medication, to quit smoking (nicotine) and to treat menopause (estrogen).

The researchers will use leftover human skin from "tummy tuck" operations to see if and at what rate the active ingredients in marijuana reach the bloodstream through the skin. "It could take a decade before a marijuana patch would be available," said Stinchcomb. "If the initial tests prove successful, animal tests and later human tests would have to be completed."

The patch could give a continuous, steady dose over a period of days. "Smoking can provide a high immediate dose and make some patients high," said Stinchcomb. "However, a marijuana patch could work better than a pill because people suffering from the effects of chemotherapy have trouble keeping pills down."

The grant for the marijuana patch is the first the American Cancer Society has awarded for marijuana research. "Some people may not approve," said Don Distasio, of the American Cancer Society, "but we are going to stick to our guns because we see this as an issue of helping patients suffering from unnecessary pain."

(Sources: UPI of 21 January 2000, AP of 21 January 2000)