|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: I'd take cannabis drug if it was free
Sarah Halls Wimbledon Guardian
Friday 03 Mar 2006 For those suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) the drug Sativex could be the answer to their prayers. The cannabis-based drug is not available on prescription and can only be accessed if the patient is prepared to pay for it themselves. Merton's MS Society locum support officer Carol Carey, above, who has MS, said she would like to try Sativex but cannot afford to pay for it herself. She said if it passes the tests, the primary care trust should pay for it to be available on prescription. Carol, from Wimbledon, said: "I would definitely take it if it would help. Why not? I've read a lot about it and want to try it but I can't afford to pay for it as I don't work. "I asked my GP about getting hold of the drug and he said he would look into it but he never got back to me. I wouldn't be worried about it being derived from cannabis. "If it works then I would take it as a lot of the problems I have as a result of MS are very inconvenient." Sativex, an oral spray, it is not available through normal NHS channels because it does not have UK licence. But it can be prescribed on a "named patient" basis, whereby GPs and consultants take each case on an individual basis. The drug is then imported from Canada through its manufacturer GW Pharmaceuticals and costs each patient £176 for a four-week course or about £5 a day. A woman in neighbouring Wandsworth, who has had MS since December 1994 and does not want to be named, is trying the drug. Her husband said: "My wife has tried smoking cannabis but not being a smoker she did not like the act of smoking and wanted to keep within the legal standards. "We had two small children at the time who knew what cannabis was and we were determined not to have it in the house." He said it was too early to tell if the drug, which is said to help relieve spasticity, nerve pain, sleep disturbance and bladder problems, had worked. His wife, who is 52, started taking Sativex on Friday, February 24, and it takes about 10 days to fully realise the effects. "We are certainly not worried about the fact it is derived from cannabis," her husband said. Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (PCT) said it would need to wait for the results of the clinical trials before the PCT prescribing committee made a recommendation on it. The chairman of the MS Society's Wandsworth branch, Jack Wood, said: "We have all got high hopes for Sativex but until it is actually being used on a larger scale we can't be absolutely sure. One is always hopeful though." http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.699235.0.id_take_cannabis_drug_if_it_was_free.php
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!