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Zilos

Home Secretary Charles Clarke’s move to reassess the dangers of cannabis will not affect the decision on whether to give the go-ahead to a prescription form of the drug, the Government said today.

The medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency is currently deciding whether to give a UK licence to Sativex, a cannabis-based oral spray, which its makers claim eased pain in cancer sufferers in recent trials.

Mr Clarke has asked his independent advisors about introducing a higher classification for cannabis in the wake of emerging evidence about stronger forms of the drug and possible links to mental illness.

But a Home Office spokeswoman said today: “The review will not have any bearing on consideration of the application for a cannabis-based medicine. We are committed to reviewing that as quickly as possible.”

The reassurance came as a study suggested large numbers of doctors are unofficially advising their patients to try cannabis.

According to the study, published this week in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, one in six people who use cannabis for medical reasons say it was suggested to them by their doctors.

With doctors currently not allowed to prescribe the drug patients have to find their own way of obtaining it.

The British Medical Association said it was not aware of doctors acting in such a way.

But the study of 947 people in the UK who use cannabis for medicinal purposes showed 62% had it suggested to them by a friend or relative – and 16% by their doctor.

Dr Mark Ware, from McGill University Health centre in Montreal, Canada, and lead author of the study, said: “The results of the survey, including the extent of use and reported effects, lend support to the further development of safe and effective medicines based on cannabis.”

The study said people with chronic pain were most likely to use cannabis for medicinal purposes (25%) followed by patients with multiple sclerosis (22%), depression (22%) arthritis (21%) and neuropathy, or nerve disorders (19%).

The majority of patients (68%) said cannabis made their symptoms much better and 35% said they used it six or seven days a week.

Recent cases in which ill cannabis users have found themselves in court include that of 66-year-old Patricia Tabram from Hexham, Northumberland.

In December she admitted possession at Newcastle Crown Court but claimed she used the drug to relieve tinnitus and pain from a car crash and has since campaigned for the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use.

She recently announced plans to stand against the Leader of the House of Commons, Peter Hain, in the general election.

A spokeswoman for charity DrugScope said: “Many drugs that are currently illegal have medicinal properties. For a number of years it has been obvious some people do find benefits from using cannabis with illnesses like MS and it’s an area that is open for exploration.

“If there is any way of harnessing that in a prescribable medicine it’s got to be a good thing.

“I don’t think the classification issue really affects it.”

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett downgraded the drug from Class B to Class C – placing it alongside steroids and some prescription anti-depressants – in January last year, thus making most cases of cannabis possession a non-arrestable offence.

A future reclassification to Class B could see stiffer penalties for people claiming to use it for medicinal reasons.

But mental health campaigners have welcomed Mr Clarke’s move.

Paul Corry, a spokesman for Rethink Severe Mental Illness, said: “At last the Government has woken up to the risk they have been running of a drug induced mental health crisis.”

“There is mounting evidence that cannabis dramatically increases the risk of developing schizophrenia in people where there is a family history of the illness, and significantly increases the risk even where there is no family history,” he said.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said the group was “relieved” at Mr Clarke’s action.

She said: “Sane has campaigned for over 18 years to highlight the damaging effects of cannabis, particularly on young people at risk of mental illness.

“Far from being a relatively harmless recreational drug, for vulnerable teenagers the innocent spliff, or chilling out, could trigger a journey of life-long disintegration.”

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Buzzby

In light of this, don't you think it's curious that cannabis use has increased tremendously while schizophrenia rates have remained flat?


Wow! They really have a lot invested in proving that marijuana is a dangerous drug. You might say that their entire existence as an organization depends on it. But that wouldn't lead to any bias, would it? No scientific study linked cannabis use with mental illness until a few months ago but they've been fighting against cannabis for 18 years on that basis. (And those studies are full of methodological problems.)


More likely a journey of life-long exploration.

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Lothar121

Amen to that.

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cschaef13

I thought that entire schitzo thing was bull and it was discredited by most because it only had effects on 3 people or something?

Mendrel

Quote:
“Far from being a relatively harmless recreational drug, for vulnerable teenagers the innocent spliff, or chilling out, could trigger a journey of life-long disintegration.”

No, they got it right...."a journey of life-long disintegration." Too bad they[groups like this and politicos] are the ones who caused it.

Or maybe you are right, a disintegration of the BS that they've been force fed over the years. I hope more people wake up and 'get disintegrated'.

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Buzzby

You should know that the marijuana debate has little to do with science and everything to do with entrenched belief systems. Out of a universe of information, each side selects those bits that support what they already believe.

The idea that marijuana is The Killer Weed is ridiculous. It is equally ridiculous to declare that it's a harmless plant. Everything has good and bad points, and even what's considered good and bad varies with the observer's point-of-view.

Prohibitionists know that marijuana is evil. From that premise they look for everything negative about it (true or false) and ignore everything positive. Smokers know that marijuana is The Sacred Weed. They look for everything positive about it (true or false) and ignore all the negatives.

Even the same fact can be positive or negative, depending on who's looking at it. At a very basic level, smokers say, "Marijuana's good. It gives me pleasure." Prohibitionists say, "Marijuana's bad. When people get pleasure without having to work for it they stop striving for success." Is pleasure good or bad? It all depends on who's looking at it.