Cannabis experiment on NHS patients

Wednesday, 20 August 2003 12:00 AM

NHS patients are being asked to volunteer for trials of cannabis as a painkiller.

The Medical Research Council is planning to find out if cannabis can be used as a post operation painkiller, and has called for patients waiting for an operation to come forward to take part in the experiment.

Of those willing, 400 patients at 36 hospitals will be randomly chosen to take part, and will be asked to take one of four pills, two of which will be a form of cannabis.

One of the pills will contain an active ingredient from a cannabis plant while the other will contain a standard cannabis extract. Other patients will be given either a standard painkilling capsule or a placebo.

Marijuana is believed to have a wide range of medical applications, with sufferers of menstrual pain, asthma, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, strokes, alcoholism and insomnia all claiming it has some positive impact on their problems.

While most claims remain circumstantial, science has recently added weight to its case for three conditions. They have found some evidence that the effects of chemotherapy can be reduced by the use of the drug, and the USA's Food and Drug Administration allows its use to boost the appetites of AIDS sufferers with wasting diseases.

Most notable in the UK has been a recent study that found pain caused by Multiple Sclerosis was significantly reduced in patients using cannabis.

Dr Anita Holdcroft from Imperial College London explained the aim behind the experiment, saying: 'Many patients and clinicians want an answer to the question of whether cannabis is effective at relieving pain. We need to assess the scientific merits of some of the anecdotal evidence and we need to do this in the same way as any other experimental pain treatment. This is a proper study in a clinical setting where patients can be routinely monitored, using an oral capsule containing a prescribed dose'

However, anti drugs campaigners are concerned about the legal use of the drug, which they argue can lead to concentration problems and increased risks of cancer when smoked.

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