cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Drug Cuts Arthritis Pain





Cannabis Drug Cuts Arthritis Pain
Posted by CN Staff on June 10, 2004 at 18:01:25 PT
Cannabis is being grown under licence
Source: BBC News 
A drug made from an extract of cannabis has helped to reduce the pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis. The drug, Sativex, has been developed by GW Pharmaceuticals, which is assessing the medical benefits of cannabis under a UK government licence. Tests of a spray form of the drug on 58 arthritis patients showed it helped reduce pain, and improve quality of sleep.
Few people showed signs of side effects, the company said.  " Cannabis-based medicines may offer therapeutic potential across a range of medical conditions." - Dr Philip Robson GW Pharmaceuticals has previously carried out trials showing that Sativex can reduce the pain associated with multiple sclerosis. Dr Philip Robson, director of GW's Cannabinoid Research Institute, said: "These results are particularly exciting because this is the first ever controlled clinical trial of a cannabis-based medicine in the treatment of arthritis. "To date, GW's research has concentrated on multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain and it is therefore very encouraging to see these positive effects of Sativex on pain and other symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. "This exploratory trial provides further strong support to our belief that cannabis-based medicines may offer therapeutic potential across a range of medical conditions." The research will now focus on the most effective dose to give patients. Big Help The study was welcomed by the Arthritis Research Campaign. A spokeswoman said: "It's not going to cure the disease, but it will do a lot to alleviate the pain and suffering of people with rheumatoid arthritis. "Cannabis is probably less harmful than other available painkillers. "This idea that people with rheumatoid arthritis will be sitting around smoking joints and getting high is quite wrong; cannabis-based pain killers should be taken very seriously." Arthritis Research Campaign scientists have previously carried out studies which showed that cannabidiol - a natural constituent of cannabis that has no mind-altering effects in its purified form - can ease the effects of collagen-induced arthritis in mice. GW cultivates some 40,000 cannabis plants a year at a secret location in the English countryside. The government has already said it would grant permission for the use of cannabis-based medications if trials produced positive results. Source: BBC News (UK Web) Published: Wednesday, June 9, 2004Copyright: 2004 BBC Contact: newsonline bbc.co.ukWebsite: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Related Articles & Web Site:GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/The Cannabis Conundrumhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18285.shtmlBritish Firm Holds Hope for Users of Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18277.shtmlBritain To Approve Medicine Derived From MJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18224.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 11, 2004 at 06:57:46 PT
Related Article from ic Birmingham UK
Cannabis To Help Kill Pain June 11, 2004 
By James Cartledge, Evening Mail
 
 
A new cannabis-based medicine is bringing fresh hope to thousands of Birmingham arthritis sufferers desperate for an end to their agony.People living with the crippling condition could be helped by a mouth spray called Sativex, which cut pain and improved sleep in a trial of 58 patients.Chan Gordhan, manager of the Birmingham Arthritis Resource Centre, said the breakthrough would be welcomed by patients already excited over another new therapy found to halt the disease in 40 per cent of cases.The second treatment, a cocktail of two drugs called Enbrel and methotrexate, is already licensed and should be available within months."Anything that alleviates pain and helps people retain their mobility is welcome," she said."We are also being inundated with phone calls from people asking where they can get the Enbrel and methotrexate treatment."But we are telling them that they need to discuss it with their GP and their consultant. Headway is being made with every piece of research but this will not be suitable for everyone."Sativex was designed to help multiple sclerosis patients and it will have to pass another trial and gain official approval before it can be made available to arthritis sufferers.Drug company GW Pharmaceuticals, which carried out the trial, is the only company to legally develop and produce cannabis-derived treatments.It grows about 40,000 cannabis plants a year at a secret site in the English countryside.The Arthritis Resource Centre is based on the fifth floor of Birmingham Central Library in Chamberlain Square and provides a range of information about the condition.Leaflets and audio cassettes on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have been translated into Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Cantonese and Arabic. 
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on June 10, 2004 at 18:36:31 PT
The wheels of injustice grind slowly
It is great to see GW stay afloat while their products acceptance keeps getting pushed back even though millenia have proven its safety along with 2 decades of witchhunting by NIH in the US.The task at hand for Nancy Reagan seems to be to find a cure for Alzeheimer's. It would be the greatest irony if instead of saying no, she would have at least said maybe.There is plenty of information out their that says cannabinoids have an effect on inflamatory diseases. The subject of inflamation is as large an area in medicine now as pain. I still hope the Time Magazine piece on inflamation is up when I have time to read it.But inflamation is an indicator of heart attack. Now with me, the most scary of things is a stroke and that can come when inflamation seperates that transfat and other garbage from the blood vessels in the body. We were lucky to have Dr. Russo dedicate so much time here it spoiled us. Now we are left to our own devices, like his books and other books. The whole thing about the GW extracts is that safety has long been proven and we know damned well that relief in MS at least is immediate according to personal testimony. The delay has come after the hoops had long been jumped through and now the arthritis studies are done. It is time to set cannabis free.The biggest fact before us in the US is that GW has all the THC they want and UniMed out of Illinois is allowed to sell THC in their sesame oil for $37.50 retail. How could anyone with any sense have enough cognitive dissonance to not see that something is wrong when the exact some molecule from GW is illegal and the synthetic is blessed by the DEA by letting Marinol have the honor of being the only "narcotic" listed on its schedules under a trademark name? It is all wrong on the surface. Well, cannabis policy is all wrong everywhere. Tell 'em Montel.It is not just that pain is out there. It is that science has been corrupted for 7 decades and twisted badly in the last 3. It is that once GW gets some money coming in we will see some real science on a miracle plant that might save us all a stroke or heart attack and who knows what else.The medical issue means legalization because with safety and ubiquitous cure, prevention, and therapeutic properties everyone could have a doctor recommend it. It is a miracle waiting for service for man and animals.
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