Cannabis News Media Awareness Project
  Cannabis Tests Show Relief of Long-Term Pain
Posted by FoM on December 09, 2000 at 08:55:43 PT
By Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor  
Source: The Times U.K. 

medical The doctor leading a trial into the medical benefits of cannabis has said that more than three quarters of those with chronic pain have been shown to benefit from using it.

Willy Notcutt, of the Pain Relief Clinic at the James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth, said: “There’s no doubt in our minds that a large number of patients have gained benefit — between 70 and 80 per cent.

“That’s actually very good results for people with long-standing pain, although not all the benefits are in the relief of pain, but in the quality of life.

“We have one patient who has actually gone back to work, albeit in a part-time capacity, doing manual stuff. That’s a very important bonus, that patients can actually find that they can do a lot more even with the same amount of pain.”

The trials have been financed by G.W. Pharmaceuticals, which developed a way of admistering the drug as a spray under the tongue.

“A joint is a very good system for delivering cannabis but it’s impossible to do any research into it because you don’t know what you are getting,” Dr Notcutt said.

“From a medical point of view we do not give any drugs to patients by telling them to burn it themselves and inhale toxic smoke.”

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is currently monitoring two larger trials of the use of the drug: a £400,000 study involving 300 patients to see if cannabis tablets can replace morphine as a painkiller after surgery and a £900,000 study of 660 patients with multiple sclerosis. Both trials are funded by the Medical Research Council.

“We have had to do this research very much on a shoe-string,” Dr Notcutt said. “It’s not easy to get money for research and added to that we have had disparaging remarks because we are a district hospital.”

Source: The Times U.K.
Author: Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor
Published: December 9, 2000
Copyright: 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd.
Web Site: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/
Contact: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/section/0,,9,00.html

Related Article & Web Sites:

Royal Pharmaceutical Society
http://www.rpsgb.org.uk/

UK Medicinal Cannabis Project
http://www.medicinal-cannabis.org/

Cannabis Pills Go on Trial
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7587.shtml

Cannabis Laws Too Strict Say Doctors
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7524.shtml

Cannabis To Be Legal as Painkiller in Two Years
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7342.shtml

CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:
http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml


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Comment #10 posted by Vince B on September 14, 2001 at 14:16:05 PT:

Ingestion of Cannabis leaf
Unless the leaf has any chemical sprayed onto it you are in no danger by eating it. the worst taht can happen to you is short term memory loss. The effects of cannabis have had no bad side effects on me or my partner and we have eaten it and smoked it for the past 5 years with hardly a day missed.
The taste however may deter you to do it twice. Cook it into cakes etc: E-Mail me for a lovely recipe..


[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #9 posted by ZorZ on May 01, 2001 at 08:50:35 PT:

Does it do me harm?
I know smoking sucks, all it does it eats up your health but is it ok for me to eat it? Could I take a leaf and chew on it and than swollow it? Is that completely harmless?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #8 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on December 10, 2000 at 04:37:16 PT:

Cannabis Essential Oil
The essential oil of cannabis (or hemp) is commercially produced by distillation, and may or may not have traces of THC. It can be purchased from ValChanvre ("Hemp Valley") in Switzerland, and has a lovely, heady aroma:

http://www.valchanvre.ch/e_index.html

John McPartland and I are currently finishing an article on the other components of cannabis beyond THC, and treat this topic at length. It will appear in the 3rd/4th double-issue of Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. In essence, the essential oil of hemp contains limonene, caryophyllene and many other components with antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and other important synergistic actions with cannabinoids.



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Comment #7 posted by hempcanadian on December 09, 2000 at 17:19:36 PT:

Cannabis for Pain
“A joint is a very good system for delivering cannabis
we do not give any drugs to patients by telling them to burn it themselves and inhale toxic smoke.”

No but we can give you pills to rot holes in your stomach lining so ya bleed to death.
Or you can swallow this liquid that will give you such a pharmaceutical adverse reaction you die.
Or enough medication to shut down you liver and or kidneys!
It's ok to kill people with legal pharmaceutical drugs but not do minimal harm with cannabis.

Feed your head!



[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 09, 2000 at 13:43:05 PT:

Cannabis Spray Eases Pain for MS Patients
I put a news brief in the comment section of this article but it's small enough that I can post it here too.

Why Won't Government Let Us Use Marijuana
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7925.shtml

Cannabis Spray Eases Pain for MS Patients

Source: Electronic Telegraph
Author: David Sapsted
Issue 2024 Saturday 9 December 2000
© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2000
Web Site: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Research into the medicinal benefits of marijuana is showing that three-quarters of a trial group of multiple sclerosis sufferers report significant benefits.

Interim findings from an experiment at an East Anglian hospital are regarded as an important step towards the legalisation of cannabis for medical use. In Government-backed tests at the James Paget Hospital, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, patients report remarkable benefits after using a cannabis spray.

Though the trials are small in scale, 10 of the 13 guinea pigs, multiple sclerosis sufferers or people experiencing severe pain after surgery, have reported finding relief. Benefits include relief from pain, enabling sufferers to sleep better and allowing a return to more active lives.

Dr Willy Notcutt, leading the trial, said: "The results so far are very acceptable." Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, has stated the Government's willingness to legalise the medical use of cannabis if trials show it can be of "a clear benefit".

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 09, 2000 at 13:05:24 PT
Thank You Muy
Thanks Muy but I guess I really want to know how can the aroma part of the plant be extracted. It's a little different then making an extract. Pure essential oils of lavender etc. are the aromas. It's something I've wondered about for a while. Essentials oils can be applied topically or inhaled. It's a very interesting way of using plants as medicine. I burn my essential oils. You can consume some but they are very potent and I don't use them that way. Clove essential oil is good for a toothache. I hope this explains what I mean by essential oils.
Peace, FoM!

http://www.halcyon.com/kway/details.htm

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #4 posted by muy_poderoso on December 09, 2000 at 12:44:36 PT
How is Cannabis extracted
here be one way-

http://cheaptalk.marijuana.com/420/showthread.php?threadid=6696

careful: enhanced penalties 4 'concentrated cannabis' etc


[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 09, 2000 at 12:11:11 PT
A Question on Essential Oils
Dr. Russo,
You say that the whole plant extract of cannabis that combines the synergistic cannabinoids and essential oils will be used. I am an avid enthusiast on using medicinal herbs and essential oils. I do not take pharmaceuticals drugs anymore not even antibiotics and not since 94. My medicine cabinet consists of Tree Tree oil, Eucalyptus,and my favorite is Lavender. Lavender is very calming and helps with tension headaches if applied to the temple. It works for me. When I feel run down or am exposed to someone having a cold I take Echinacea in high doses but not to high for a few days and then I don't get sick. I believe the immune system is the key to many illness.

I know that Lavender is easier to extract then Rose which takes alot of pedals to get any amount of rose essential oil. How is Cannabis extracted compared to other essentials oils and how does a person make it? I know you are busy so please don't feel you have to answer this I just really would like to know.
Peace, FoM!


[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on December 09, 2000 at 11:52:13 PT:

This is the Real Deal
I am familiar with the program discussed here, inasmuch as I am planning similar trials with GW Pharmaceuticals in the USA. A couple of points are important. Firstly, this is a whole plant extract of cannabis that combines the synergistic cannabinoids and essential oils. Secondly, international governments are seriously looking at these trials. If successful, rapid approval of the first cannabis-based medical extracts will likely occur in the UK and Canada. The USA will likely need to follow in kind, although, response may be slower. Any positive results from these trials can certainly be extrapolated to smoked cannabis. The stumbling blocks for governmental regulatory bodies are the act of smoking, and the issues of standardization of the medicine and its dosing. GW realizes that some people will choose to grow and smoke their own medicine. Rather, the CBME's will be ideal for the patient that prefers to "play by the rules" employing what is expected to be a Schedule III or better pharmaceutical preparation.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #1 posted by defenderoffreeworld on December 09, 2000 at 11:07:46 PT:

good research, too bad its just going to be...
disregarded like many other researches that have pretty much proven the medicinal advantages of cannabis. one wonders how many studies are gonna have to take place before people drop their prejudiced attitudes and accept reality. after a reasonable research such as this, they are probably going to counterprove it with some studies on monkeys, or lizards, or freakin elephants. who knows what they will do next to deceive the public.

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