cannabisnews.com: Cannabis To Be Legal as Painkiller in Two Years Cannabis To Be Legal as Painkiller in Two Years Posted by FoM on October 14, 2000 at 18:26:33 PT By Jenny Booth and David Bamber Source: Electronic Telegraph Cannabis will be legalised for medical use within two years because clinical trials of the drug show it has few side effects, the chief scientist of the (RPS) believes. According to research obtained by The Telegraph, the first trial in Britain, on six healthy people, concluded that "there were no safety concerns" about the drug's use.Last night Professor Tony Moffat said: "I have read sufficient in the literature about the small trials that people have already done showing that these are very potent compounds for relaxing muscles, and the anecdotal evidence from MS sufferers who smoke it saying it is absolutely wonderful. All the evidence points that way." Once accepted as a medicine, cannabis would almost certainly become a social drug too, he added.Prof Moffat said that cannabis need not take the form of a cigarette with its attendant health risks, and swallowing the drug was not effective as 90 per cent of it was broken down by the liver before having much effect. But a mouth spray or even a suppository would deliver 50 per cent of the drug into the user's system. Medicinal cannabis will not give people a drug-induced "high" but will be used as a painkiller and relaxant.Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, and his predecessor Frank Dobson, have both said the Government would legalise the medical use of cannabis if trials showed a clear benefit. The debate about legalising cannabis for medical use was reignited in 1998 when the House of Lords science and technology committee acknowledged that part of the cannabis plant seemed to alleviate asthma as effectively as conventional treatments. The RPS is monitoring two large clinical trials of cannabis: 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 are funded by the Medical Research Council. A commercial drugs firm, GW Pharmaceuticals, has commissioned two trials of cannabis extracts delivered in a spray squirted under the tongue. The spray takes effect within two or three minutes, almost as quickly as cannabis inhaled from a cigarette. A report on the first phase of GW Pharmaceuticals' trials said that cannabis was "well-tolerated" by volunteers, and there were "no safety concerns". The trial volunteers reported feelings of "light-headedness, awareness of a 'high', mellow or happy mood, relaxation and dizziness or unsteadiness" at high doses.The World Health Organisation has promised to transfer cannabis from schedule one to schedule two of its list of drugs, sanctioning it for medical use worldwide, if clinical trials show it is useful as a medicine.Mike Goodman, the director of the drug charity Release, predicted that cannabis would be decriminalised within five to 10 years and fully legalised within 15. It would be sold either as resin or grass and ready-rolled in packets of five or 10 joints with brand names such as Double Zero, Purple Haze and Northern Lights. Like tar and nicotine in cigarettes, the amount of cannabinoids would be controlled.External Links: Release: http://www.release.org.uk/ World Health Organisation: http://www.who.int/ Royal Pharmaceutical Society: http://www.rpsgb.org.uk/Medical Marijuana Magazine: http://www.marijuanamagazine.com/UK Medicinal Cannabis Project: http://www.medicinal-cannabis.org/Cannabis/Dope/Grass - Release: http://www.release.org.uk/cannab.html Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics: http://www.marijuana-as-medicine.org/alliance.htm Medicinal Use of Cannabinoids: Royal Pharmaceutical Society: http://www.rpsgb.org.uk/science/frameCann.htm Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)ISSUE 1969 Sunday 15 October 2000 Copyright: Telegraph Group Limited 2000Contact: dtletters telegraph.co.ukWebsite: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Blair: Keep Marijuana Illegalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7339.shtmlHealth: Cannabis Trials 'Encouraging' http://cannabisnews.com/news/3/thread3683.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by dddd on October 15, 2000 at 18:19:59 PT Thank you Dr. Russo I appreciate your clarification and insight. I am aware that there are many people who dont want to get high to ease their pain,or cure their ills.In a way,this makes the prohibition and villification of cannabis in its natural form even more ridiculous.After years of studies have found marijuana relativly harmless,it took the drug companies to put the genie into a bottle before legalization was taken seriously. Even though this article is somewhat encouraging,I am no less outraged by the scandalous nature of the prohibition of this wonderful herb............dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 15, 2000 at 11:44:40 PT That's good to know! Thank freedom fighter,I'll sure keep that in mind if we have problems with leg cramps. Cannabis is a wonderful medicinal plant and it's beautiful too. I believe in aromatherapy. I use different essential oils for different things and the aroma of Cannabis is one I sure wish could be extracted. Essence of Cannabis! That sounds so good!Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by freedom fighter on October 15, 2000 at 11:25:22 PT Cannabis salve Hi FoM,I read somewhere on the net, there is an old Mexican remedy. They would soak some buds with alcohol. After the salve is thoroughly soaked and mixed, one can apply on affect areas of the body. Good for muscle pains.\/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Peter on October 15, 2000 at 11:06:36 PT: There is a need for an alternative method ... There is a need for an alternative method of using whole cannabis. I use cannabis for migraines. It's most effective during my prodome or aura phase. I need to use it within about 15 minutes of these symptoms to totally abort the migraine. Used after this time period, it diminishes the head pain and nausea but doesn't make my other symtoms go away ( vertigo,tinnitus, movement problems, confusion, problems speaking, etc.)and the migraine will return when the dose wears off.I've been in situations such as public transits or airplanes when I had a migraine come on and no possible way to smaoke cannabis. The spray or inhaler would be a great non-combustion alternative for me. However, Dr. Russo says it may take 15 minutes for the effect, which may be too long for optimal results.By the way - I don't get "high" when I use cannabis for migraine. I use the minimal amount to relieve my symptoms. I just want to return to my normal life and getting high would be a problem. I have nothing against getting high, it's just not what I'm after.-Peter [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on October 15, 2000 at 06:39:41 PT: Cannabis Thanks Dr. Russo for your wise explanation. I am aware that people that are seriously ill don't necessarily want to get high, they just want pain relief. My son had Marinol and I asked him why it didn't use it and he said it made him to spacey and he said I don't have long to live and I want my head as clear as I can have it. He had unbearable pain in his legs so much so that just touching his leg sometimes made him cringe with pain. Since then I've learned that Cannabis helps stop the pain of neuropathy (sp?)I think it is called. I understand I really do.Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by EdC on October 15, 2000 at 05:38:00 PT: Cannabis to ba a legal painkiller in two years The more studies that are out in the open the better. Let them extract as many single compound formulations as they can, just get it out there and let the truth be known.This remarkable plant will still grow up through the cracks in the sidewalk, free as a bird if they would just leave it alone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on October 15, 2000 at 04:58:16 PT: Defense of GW Dear D4 et al, I understand your feelings about the packaging and marketing issues with respect to cannabis. I know the principles at GW Pharmaceuticals well, and feel it necessary to clear up some misunderstandings. Firstly, GW Pharmaceuticals understands that many patients will always prefer to use cannabis the traditional ways, grow their own, etc. They have no issue with that. Secondly, their extracts include all the base components of cannabis: THC and other cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenoids that act in synergy to provide the unique effects. Unlike 99% of pharmaceutical companies, they endorse the concept of herbal medicine that the results of the herb are greater than the sum of its parts. GW extracts will make people high if taken in sufficient dosages. However, and this requires emphasis, so forgive me if I shout for a moment: TREATMENT OF MANY PAINFUL, INFLAMMATORY, AND OTHER CONDITIONS WITH CANNABIS DOES NOT REQUIRE THE PATIENT TO BE HIGH FOR THE MEDICINE TO BE EFFECTIVE. A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF PROSPECTIVE PATIENTS WILL BE ATTRACTED TO ALTERNATIVE FORMULATIONS OF CANNABIS BECAUSE OF THEIR UNIQUE EFFICACY FOR THEIR PROBLEMS, THIER STANDARDIZATION, CONVENIENCE OF DOSAGE APPLICATION, THE ABILITY TO AVOID ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING, BUT YET STILL PROVIDING EASILY ACHIEVED DOSE TITRATION. Another major factor has to do with bureaucratic success. Even when and if the USA allows cannabis usage to occur, the FDA will not endorse it under existing rules. Those rules only recognize single compound formulations (or very simple combinations) where there has been exhaustive safety and efficacy testing and rigorous standardization. This will never happen for cannabis (or any living garden herb), even if cloned samples of "Panama Red" or other strains were available. I was in Washington, DC in August to meet with GW, FDA, PHS, and other agencies, and it is clear that cannabis extracts can and will clear through the hoops in the near future. They are able to provide rigorous standardization of ingredients and dosages with safety. GW products (sublingual spray, nebulized inhaler, and other vehicles) will have market application to the segment of the population who sees their doctor, and is prescribed this type of medicine for their condition, does not wish to get high, but merely achieve relief of symptoms and go on about their day. That is a very common scenario, and these people (GW, and the patients) are not enemies of the movement. When the effective treatments are available, and people realize the innate wonders of this plant, and that it will probably be in Schedule III or lower, attitudes will change in its favor. That is inevitable. Recreational users, and those medical users who prefer the traditional methods can continue in kind. Chaque a son gout! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by dddd on October 15, 2000 at 00:36:25 PT profit It's remarkable how all of a sudden,the people in this articleare talking so confidently about the legalization,as if it was a done deal. Once again,we hear of a legal form of marijuana,that would have all the benifits,but without that annoying stoned feeling. What is really ridiculous,is the absurd notion of taking this harmless,natural herb,and making it legal,but only in the form of a spray,or something you put in your butt.(I'm sure they will also come out with a "patch"). The long and the short of it is,the gradual legalization of cannabis will only occur when legaldrug dealing corporations,like GW, figure out how to reap maximum profit by legalizing only certain patented forms. It's all prt of the "New World Order"........?.....dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 14, 2000 at 19:27:14 PT: Thank You! Thanks Dr. Russo,I went ahead and fixed it! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on October 14, 2000 at 18:56:27 PT: That's GW Pharmaceuticals FoM, it's hard to believe that the original story got the name wrong, but that is GW Pharmaceuticals, headed by Dr. Geoffrey Guy, that is doing the work on cannabis-based medicine extracts. The sublingual spray is just one vehicle they are exploring. It seems to take about 15 minutes, not 2-3, but that is still pretty good compared to any oral medicine. 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