cannabisnews.com: High Hopes for Cannabis Medicine in Britain High Hopes for Cannabis Medicine in Britain Posted by CN Staff on October 03, 2002 at 19:33:42 PT By Ben Hirschler, Pharmaceutical Correspondent Source: Reuters Somewhere in the south of England, cannabis plants worth a small fortune on the street are ripening in high-tech glasshouses. But this crop, cultivated at a secret location behind a tight security cordon, will never be rolled up and smoked.Instead, it will be processed into a pharmaceutical-grade extract as part of an initiative that could see cannabis return to medical respectability. Two British research groups are conducting the world's biggest clinical trials to determine whether the Indian hemp plant really does confer the medical benefits many users claim. They will know the answer in a few months.Dr John Zajicek of Derrifield Hospital in Plymouth, southwest England, is leading a government-backed study which has just recruited the last of more than 660 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and believes cannabis will pass scientific scrutiny."I'm fairly confident we are going to find an effect in reducing spasticity, or muscle spasms, and it is also going to have an effect on bladder control," he told Reuters.Results of the 30-centre, placebo-controlled study on the effectiveness of cannabis capsules will be released next May or June.Meanwhile, GW Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech company holding the sole British licence to develop cannabis-based medicines, will publish its first authoritative clinical trial results for an under-the-tongue spray next month.GW has already reported good results in treating pain in intermediate, or Phase II, studies and is optimistic this will be replicated in the pivotal Phase III tests."One can be confident that the Phase III trials are going to yield results reflective of the Phase IIs," said Geoffrey Guy, GW's executive chairman. The group is growing 40,000 cannabis plants a year hidden in the English countryside. 2004 LAUNCH TARGETIf Zajicek and Guy are right, cannabis may be about to return to medicine cabinet after a century in the wilderness.The British government has already indicated it is ready to alter the medical schedule of drugs that doctors are allowed to prescribe if the trials are successful and Guy expects to have cannabis medicines legally on sale by early 2004.While shunned by modern doctors, cannabis has a long history of medicinal use, dating back to ancient Chinese times.The British herbalist Nicholas Culpeper described its analgesic effects in 1653 and Queen Victoria, whose physician described it as "one of the most valuable medicines we possess", is said to have taken cannabis tincture for her menstrual pains.It fell out of favour in modern medicine because of a lack of any standardised preparations and the development of more potent synthetic compounds.Nonetheless, many MS sufferers are convinced that cannabis helps their condition and an estimated 10 percent of British patients are estimated to use it illegally.Those expecting a marijuana high, however, are likely to be disappointed. The new medicinal cannabis products are designed to minimise psychoactive effects.Britain's Multiple Sclerosis Society has welcomed the research but is cautious until its sees more data."There is a tremendous amount of anecdotal evidence that cannabis in various forms can be helpful in alleviating some of the most unpleasant symptoms of MS," said spokesman David Harrison."But we also know that there have been people with MS who have had very bad experiences. So the main concern is whether the substance is safe in the long term, because people with MS have a condition that is going to last the rest of their life." APPETITE CONTROLOther applications for cannabis derivatives also beckon beyond pain relief and controlling symptoms of MS.One of the more intriguing prospects is using cannabis to control appetite.It has long been known that when people smoke marijuana they get the "munchies", or a strong urge to eat. Researchers are now looking to harness this effect to stimulate appetite in AIDS and cancer patients.The French drug maker Sanofi-Synthelabo, meanwhile, has taken the opposite approach by developing a drug that turns off the biological "switch" in the brain which triggers this hunger.The result is an experimental drug called Rimonabant that appears to help people quit smoking without gaining weight. It is also being developed for obesity.Scientists are still trying to establish how cannabis works by latching on to special receptors, or biochemical "docking sites", in the body. Their answers could help in the search for novel therapies for a range of ailments."Our brains and nervous system are stuffed full of cannabis receptors and we are only now starting to work out what roles they play," said Zajicek. Source: Reuters Author: Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent Published: October 4, 2002Copyright: 2002 Reuters UnlimitedRelated Articles & Web Site:UK Medicinal Cannabis Projecthttp://www.medicinal-cannabis.org/Fresh Evidence That Cannabis Reduces Painhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14322.shtmlNevada Conference Examines Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14282.shtmlSymposium on Cannabinoids in Pain Management http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14269.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on October 04, 2002 at 06:51:46 PT Cannabis derivatives Good thing cannabis is here on earth.Nobody invented it, it was here all along.People smoke it, eat it, eradicate it, make clothing from it, use it as medicine, extract oil from it.Governments spend billions of dollars to keep people from using it.It is an extremely valuable plant.Cannabis' greatest success is making fools of those who make it illegal. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by DdC on October 04, 2002 at 01:44:36 PT U.S.Feds Need One Million Joints... Staff Will Pay $4 Million to U of Mississippi June 24, 2000 / Source: FedBuzz / http://www.fedbuzz.comThe government may be waging a war on illegal drugs, but it continually has the need for marijuana – a lot of marijuana. In fact, it has just placed an order for one million cannabis (marijuana) cigarettes and some bulk pot, both Mexican and Colombian. The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded the $4.2 million, five-year contract to the University of Mississipi School of Pharmacy, which has been growing the federally-used marijuana under previous contracts. The majority of the marijuana cigarettes will be used in NIDA-supported research, said Steven Gust, special assistant to the director of NIDA. “We are mandated to do research on the causes and treatment of drug addiction,” said Gust. “We currently ship marijuana to 10 researchers, mostly in universities.” “Another major category of use is for FDA (Food and Drug Administration) programs for eight patients for whom the government provides marijuana,” said Gust. “They have a variety of conditions -- cancer, glaucoma, muscular disorders.” The FDA stopped accepting patients into this medicinal marijuana program some time ago, he said. Why do eight patients constitute a “major category?” Guest replied: “Actually, some of the patients tend to use quite a bit of it.” Continued... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread6164.shtmlLong-Term Pot-Use Study: No Ill Health Effects By Peter Gorman, Special To HighWitness News Source: High Times That program was closed to new applicants in 1991*, but continues to supply medical marijuana to seven patients. The four patients studied-one with glaucoma, one with chronic musculoskeletal pain, one with spasm and nausea, and one with spasticity from multiple sclerosis-were run through a battery of tests, including magnetic-resonance-imaging brain scans, chest X-rays, and neuropsychological, immunological and pulmonary-functions tests. The study provided the first opportunity to investigate the long-term physical effects of cannabis-smoking on patients who used a "known dosage of a standardized, heat-sterilized, quality-controlled supply of low-grade marijuana for 10-19 years."The results, which will be published in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics in January 2002, showed "all four patients are stable with respect to their chronic conditions, and are taking many fewer standard pharmaceuticals than previously." Mild changes in pulmonary function were found in two of the four, but no cancer cells were detected. No other negative functions were discovered."This is a positive result using a poor-quality medicine. What could we expect using a better quality cannabis?" Al Byrne, Patients Out of Time's other cofounder, told HT. Asked whether he thought the study would result in a reopening of the Compassionate IND program, Byrne bristled. "No. I don't think it will, but it should. I think the study's effect on the government will be that they will no longer be able to say that long-term therapeutic cannabis use is bad for you. But will the federal government pay it any heed? Probably not." Continued... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread10533.shtmlGeorge McMahon, one of eight(7) patients in the federal medical marijuana program and a founding member of Patients Out of Time http://www.trvnet.net/~mmcmahon/"I realize now that I was never blinded by glaucoma, I was blinded by ignorance" Elvy Musikka Blinded by Ignorance Interviewed by Dana Larsen http://cannabisculture.com/backissues/jul96/elvybod.html* G.W.Bush Sr. cut off any new patients as one of his last sadistic acts before leaving office. Jr. follows in his footsteps... Ever wonder how Dan Quayle became VP?U.S. Representative Dan Quayle, March 1977: "Congress should definitely consider decriminalizing possession of marijuana... We should concentrate on prosecuting the rapists and burglars who are a menace to society." People that are really very weird can get into sensitive postitions and have a tremendous impact on history. It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.I was recently on a tour to Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people.Dan Quayle V.P?The Bush/Quayle/Lilly Pharmaceutical Sellout excerpted from The Emperor Wears No Clothes Chapter 5 Marijuana Prohibition (Scroll to bottom) http://www.jackherer.com/book/ch05.htmlIn America, marijuana's most outspoken opponents are none other than former First Lady Nancy Reagan (1981-1989) and former President George Bush (1989-1993), the former Director of the CIA under Gerald Ford (1975-1977) and past director of President Reagan's "Drug Task Force" (1981-1988). After leaving the CIA in 1977, Bush was made director of Eli Lily to none other than Dan Quayle's father and family, who owned controlling interest in the Lilly company and the Indianapolis Star. Dan Quayle later acted as go-between for drug kingpins, gun runners and government officials in the Iran-Contra scandals. The entire Bush family was large stockholders in Lilly, Abbott, Bristol and Pfizer, etc. After Bush's disclosure of assets in 1979, it became public that Bush's family still has a large interest in Pfizer and substantial amounts of stock in the other aforementioned drug companies. In fact, Bush actively lobbied illegally both within and without the administration as Vice President in 1981 to permit drug companies to dump more unwanted, obsolete or especially domestically-banned substances on unsuspecting Third World countries. While Vice President, Bush continued to illegally act on behalf of pharmaceutical companies by personally going to the IRS for special tax breaks for certain drug companies (e.g. Lilly) manufacturing in Puerto Rico. In 1982, Vice President Bush was personally ordered to stop lobbying the IRS on behalf of the drug companies by the U.S. Supreme Court itself. (See Appendix.) He did - but they (the pharmaceuticals) still received a 23% additional tax break for their companies in Puerto Rico who make these American outlawed drugs for sale to Third World countries. (Financial disclosure statements; Bush 1979 tax report; "Bush Tried to Sway a Tax Rule Change But Then Withdrew" NY Times, May19, 1982; misc. corporate records; Christic Institute "La Penca" affidavit; Lilly 1979 Annual Report.) The Elkhorn Manifesto http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html Cannabis Hemp: The Invisible Prohibition Revealed http://www.sumeria.net/politics/invpro.htmlOK, Now What? We dump tea into Boston Harbor to join England in rebelling against Prince George's American fascist D.E.A.th, torture and oppression cast down upon the poor, sick and dying masses? Sounds good to me mon...Peace, Love and Liberty or the sickness of D.E.A.th...DdC D.E.A.th Deceptions [ Post Comment ] Post Comment