cannabisnews.com: UK Researchers Will Test Cannabis for Pain Relief





UK Researchers Will Test Cannabis for Pain Relief
Posted by CN Staff on August 21, 2003 at 09:40:09 PT
By Mike Wendling, CNSNews.com London Bureau Chief
Source: CNSNews.com
London -- Britain will fund a large-scale experiment designed to determine whether two cannabis-based medicines are effective in relieving the pain of post-operative patients. The study, overseen by the Medical Research Council and researchers at Imperial College London, will give 400 volunteers one of various pills.Some patients will be given standard painkillers, while others will be given a placebo. Two other groups will be given two different cannabis-derived medicines. 
One will be a standardized cannabis extract, while the other, tetrahydrocannabinol, is a drug made exclusively from the active ingredient in the plant.The doctor leading the study, Dr. Anita Holdcroft, said that while anecdotal evidence indicates that marijuana can relieve pain, there is a lack of true scientific study in the area."Many patients and clinicians want an answer to the question of whether cannabis is effective at relieving pain." Holdcroft said. "We need to assess the scientific merits of some of the anecdotal evidence and we need to do this in the same way as any other experimental pain treatment."Volunteers will be assessed over a six-hour period after surgery and will answer questions about their pain levels. They will be able to request additional painkillers at any point during the survey. "The important thing to remember is no one will be left without access to pain relief during the trial, regardless of what treatment they are allocated and if successful, could help to improve patient choice in the long run," Holdcroft said.The drugs will be administered in pill form and patients are unlikely to get the "high" associated with recreational use of the drug. The study will cost more than $800,000. The Medical Research Council is a taxpayer-supported organization that funds a variety of experiments through the government-run National Health Service.The study was welcomed by the British Medical Association, which said that although marijuana itself isn't suitable for medical use, cannabis-derived medicines might have potential. "There has long been a need for more research into the effectiveness of cannabinoids for therapeutic purposes and this is a welcome development," the BMA said in a statement.The MRC has also funded a separate study to find out if cannabis-derived drugs can help multiple sclerosis patients. Results from that experiment are due to be released later this month.One British company, GW Pharmaceuticals has conducted trials of a cannabis-derived oral spray for MS sufferers and has applied for permission to sell the drug.Source: CNSNews.comAuthor: Mike Wendling, CNSNews.com London Bureau ChiefPublished: August 21, 2003Copyright: 1998-2003 Cybercast News ServiceContact: shogenson cnsnews.comWebsite: http://www.cnsnews.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:MRChttp://www.mrc.ac.uk/GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/Cannabinoids in Pain Management http://freedomtoexhale.com/drr.htmPatients To Get Cannabis in Hospital http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17120.shtmlNHS Patients To Be Given Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17115.shtmlCannabis on Trial for Pain Relief http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17108.shtml 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on August 21, 2003 at 19:16:50 PT
CorvallisEric
Thank You. If I get the nerve I might try it. I have used IE since late in 96 when I got on the Internet and it was IE3. I tried Netscape and Opera but I went back to IE. I don't use IE6. It was buggy so I uninstalled it and stayed with the one below 6. I can't get the Blaster Virus because my operating system isn't one then can get it luckily. I've learned at least for me that if it ain't broke don't fix it. LOL! So far so good. I don't like taking chances. I hate when my computer crashes. Don't we all!
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Comment #9 posted by CorvallisEric on August 21, 2003 at 17:30:57 PT
Links for comment #8
Mozilla Firebird website: http://texturizer.net/firebird/index.htmlFirebird tips and tricks (including "Ad-block"): http://texturizer.net/firebird/tips.htmlOne of many sources for the story on IE's future (always subject to MS disinformation): 
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1205138,00.aspPersonal comment: I think there is a high correlation between those who want everyone to use the same cruddy technology and those who want everyone to use the same cruddy intoxicants.
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Comment #8 posted by CorvallisEric on August 21, 2003 at 16:45:47 PT
Browsers (since we all seem off-topic today)
I'm a very happy user of Mozilla Firebird (soon to be called Mozilla Browser). No pop-ups and pop-unders (by default), almost perfect elimination of banner ads (instructions on their website, but takes semi-geek mentality), almost all text in my font and my size (easily set in options). Firebird isn't perfect but has a real chance of challenging IE because Microsoft won't be able to upgrade IE significantly until the next Windows version in a couple years.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on August 21, 2003 at 12:54:45 PT
Virus Information from The Washington Post
Worm Wars II: Attack of the Virus: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25178-2003Aug21.html
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Comment #6 posted by Jose Melendez on August 21, 2003 at 12:50:42 PT
one more thing:
from:http://spybot.eon.net.au/" . . . tested the newest Mozilla Firebird version and came to the conclusion that this will be my new browser recommendation. Very easy to set up, fast and comfortable, it can replace IE with just a few clicks.
 Using Mozilla or Firebird has the advantage that both don't support the ActiveX & BHO technology (though there are tries to implement it), which is very often used by hijackers and other malware. And you'll find the integrated popup and spam filters very helpful as well. And if you don't like it, you can always just continue to use IE.
 Mozilla (browser, email client and website composer) and Firebird (browser only) are available at www.mozilla.org . . . "note PepiMK makes Spybot Search and Destroy, which scans your windows machine for known issues and drastically improves stability and speed of Internet Explorer.
do WindowsUpdate
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Comment #5 posted by Jose Melendez on August 21, 2003 at 12:43:04 PT
trend micro
See: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.aspfor a free system file scan and cleanAlso, I noticed Spybot Search and destroy has new updates as of 15 August. 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 21, 2003 at 12:26:48 PT
Jose
Just finished my windows update. So far I'm still doing fine. Had to do an update for the satellite last night too. These viruses must really be bad. I read where it is causing some serious problems. 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 21, 2003 at 11:38:46 PT
Thanks Jose
My computer hasn't been affected luckily. I don't have one of the versions that are getting hit by the Blaster worm. I send email in plain text and don't use html in email. Very good advice. The strange thing is about this blaster worm is when I turned on my computer yesterday a warning from Direcway popped up. It was about the virus and it was causing problems with the whole satellite and if we do not fix the worm we will be shut down until we do. I've never seen such a strong warning. If anyone is denied access that has a satellite they will need to call technical support before they are activated again. That sounded serious but since my computer can't get it I'm ok.
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Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on August 21, 2003 at 11:26:52 PT
turn off html. do windowsUpdate
One thing that will help is to turn off html in your email reader. Another is to do windowsUpdate. The best solution, of course, is to get a Mac. A 180 MHZ mac surfs broadband and even pot-tv, and costs about $120 or less. New eMacs can be had for under $1000.
Buy Apple, Less Bugs, Period.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 21, 2003 at 10:52:41 PT
Virus Alert: SoBig Virus Breaks Speed Records
August 21, 2003 By Dennis FisherSo far, SoBig. The virus that has been rampaging through corporate networks and bringing mail servers to their figurative knees all week is now officially the most prolific piece of malware ever, at least by one measure. MessageLabs Inc., an e-mail security company based in New York, said it saw more copies of SoBig.F in its first 24 hours of life than it has of any other virus in a comparable period. Ever. That's no mean feat, considering some of the digital refuse that has hit the Internet in the past couple of years. Viruses such as Klez, Melissa and the Love Bug all caused their fair share of damage and each was at one time or another considered to be as bad as it gets. But this most recent incarnation of SoBig has taken the title, at least for now. 
MessageLabs has stopped more than 1.5 million copies of SoBig.F, including more than a million in a single day earlier this week. At the peak of the worm's activity on Wednesday, one in 17 pieces of e-mail was infected. For reference, Klez, which is still one of the most prevalent viruses on the Internet, reached a peak infection rate of one in every 138 e-mails. "[Tuesday] marked an unprecedented new level in virus propagation and demonstrated the growing ability of virus writers to disrupt business around the globe," said Mark Sunner, chief technology officer at MessageLabs. "The SoBig virus writer's use of an inbuilt expiry date indicates that he is committed to inventing new and improved versions. Each variant released so far has exceeded the previous one in growth and impact during the critical initial window of vulnerability." Despite the huge numbers associated with SoBig.F, it's difficult to estimate the number of infected machines. Unlike many of its predecessors, this variant has a multithreaded SMTP engine, which enables it to send out multiple copies of itself at one time rather than having to send single copies in succession. The worm also is set to send out a timed mass mailing every 10 minutes. These two attributes have combined to produce the massive amounts of SoBig-related spam that have been flooding inboxes this week. Some users have reported getting several hundred SoBig messages in a single hour. Virus experts also suspect that the worm may be using a proxy or Trojan previously installed on compromised machines to send commercial spam. 
URL: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1227345,00.asp Click here for more coverage of worms: http://www.eweek.com/category2/0,3960,1139334,00.asp
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