LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A University of Kentucky pharmacy researcher is working to create a prescription patch to deliver marijuana-like chemicals to ease nausea and stimulate appetite in people with AIDS and cancer.

The patch would be a breakthrough because it could administer beneficial marijuana chemicals without inhaling the illegal plant. Most states outlaw smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Audra Stinchcomb’s patch idea received $361,000 in funding three years ago by the American Cancer Society.

“This is pioneering work,” said David Ringer, scientific program director for the American Cancer Society. “It’s a very novel use of cannabinoids.”

Stinchcomb has applied for a patent related to the technology. Her patch will use synthetic cannabinoids — active marijuana compounds created in a chemist’s lab — not directly extracted from the illicit plant.

“It’s a very hot area of drug development,” said Peter Crooks, a UK pharmacy professor who specializes in new drug discovery. “The potential is enormous.”

Human testing could follow once initial studies are complete. If all goes well, the patch could be commercially available in five years.

Cannabinoids have significant potential for pain treatment related to neuropathy, a common type of nerve damage, which isn’t well controlled with current medications, Crooks said. The compounds also could be used for treatment of depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and more.

“They’re much safer as drugs,” said Stinchcomb, 37, who arrived at UK in 2001 from the Albany College of Pharmacy in New York. “You never hear of people being stoned to death.”

Researchers think cannabinoids don’t have the significant side effects — dependency, nausea, vomiting — that occur with morphine-based drugs now common in pain treatment.

Though not well known, a cannabis-based prescription capsule has been available in the United States for more than 15 years. Marinol (dronabinol), approved by the FDA in 1985, treats nausea, vomiting and severe loss of appetite from chemotherapy or AIDS.

Research with marijuana-related compounds or any drug classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance requires a government permit, inspection by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, security checks of the facility and lab staff and other requirements. The red tape involved also discourages some researchers, said Mary Lynn Mathre, a registered nurse, addictions specialist and organizer of the National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics.

Still, cannabinoid research is becoming more common.

A THC-based rectal suppository is in development at the University of Mississippi. THC, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is a main intoxicating chemical in marijuana. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University are looking into THC’s potential to reduce dependence for people on long-term morphine therapy. Other researchers are developing inhalers, vaporizers and lozenges that are placed under the tongue.