cannabisnews.com: Official Trials of Cannabis on Patients begin Soon





Official Trials of Cannabis on Patients begin Soon
Posted by FoM on January 11, 1999 at 15:17:28 PT

Preparations for the first official tests of the therapeutic effects of Cannabis on patients have begun.Doctors, scientists and Government officials met the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in London to discuss how the trials will be run.
A working party set up by the RPS last year has produced guidelines for research into the effects of cannabis on patients with multiple sclerosis and post-operative pain.GW Pharmaceuticals is growing thousands of cannabis plants at a secret glasshouse facility in the south of England expressly for medical research.The company is the first to receive special Home Office licences allowing it to grow and supply the drug for research purposes.An initial crop of 5,000 plants was sown in August at a secure glasshouse in the south of England.The mature eight-foot-tall plants are now being cut off just above the stem and hung up to dry before being transferred to a laboratory.Cannabis contains chemicals which are said to be useful as painkillers and for treating illnesses such as MS and epilepsy. Many MS sufferers now take the drug illegally.Professor Tony Moffat, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said the trials would be unique."Although trials into the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids (the active chemicals in cannabis) have taken place in the past, they have never been accepted by the World Health Organisation as proof of therapeutic benefit."The new protocols will ensure that a large number of patients participate in the trial and that the trials are scientifically based to give sufficient proof of cannabinoid effectiveness. "No trial has ever been able to do this in the past and we very much hope clinicians present at the meeting will want to be part of this unique opportunity to establish effectiveness."If the results were accepted by the WHO, it would pave the way for the Government to reschedule cannabis and its active ingredients under the Misuse of Drugs Act.This would mean that standardised preparations of cannabis or the chemicals it contains could be prescribed, subject to certain regulations.The cannabis being grown by GW Pharmaceuticals is a potent variety yielding large amounts of "high"-inducing chemicals.Because of its potential illegal street value the crop has been guarded round the clock, and its location kept secret.Eventually 20,000 plants will be under cultivation at the facility.Patients taking part in the trials will probably receive cannabis through an inhaler device since this is seen as the most efficient delivery method.
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Comment #1 posted by hilly on January 12, 1999 at 10:27:11 PT:
uk cannabis trial
does anybody know the stain they are using?
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