Source: Scotsman (UK)



Pubdate: 5 January 1999





The Scotsman

Tuesday, 5 January 1999



ubject: Harvest time for legally grown cannabis 

JENNIFER TRUELAND  Health Correspondent 



THE first licensed crop of cannabis plants to be grown in Britain is now

being harvested at a secret location, it was revealed yesterday. 



The initial crop of 5,000 plants will be used for research into medicinal

uses of the drug, which campaigners believe can relieve the symptoms of

conditions including multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. 



The 8ft tall plants, which have been growing in a climate-controlled

glasshouse at a secure research facility in the south of England, are being

cut off just above the stem and hung up to dry before transfer to the

laboratory. 



Eventually as many as 20,000 plants will be cultivated by GW

Pharmaceuticals, the company granted a Home Office licence to grow the

plant for research purposes. 



Dr Geoffrey Guy, the chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, said: "The plants we

are harvesting now will be used for prototype further extraction studies

and prototype formulations as well as in our initial clinical trials. 



"By the end of 1999 we intend to be working with pharmaceutical grade

extracts from cloned plants rather than growing from seed. We will then be

growing and harvesting on a regular basis." 



The cannabis seeds were sown in August after the company was granted two

licences, allowing them both to cultivate the drug and to possess and

supply it for medical research. 



The licences were only granted after extensive consultation with the Home

Office and the Department of Health. 



The move followed a groundswell of opinion backing the use of derivatives

of cannabis, known as cannabinoids, for medicinal use. The British Medical

Association is among those who have backed trials of cannabinoids in

treating the symptoms of illness. 



After the plants have been dried, they will be processed to produce a thick

treacle-like liquid, which will then be thinned so that it can be used in

inhalers. 



Dr Guy said: "Clinical trials will commence in spring 1999 and eventually

involve up to 2,000 patients in 18 to 24 months time. We will be using

whole plant extracts for delivery by inhalation since this is far more

precise and controllable than the oral route. The first area of study in

patients will concern the relief of nerve damage pain including sufferers

of multiple sclerosis." 



Hundreds of MS sufferers are known to use cannabis illegally to relieve

their symptoms. They tend to buy a product which is rich in THC, the

compound which induces the high associated with the drug. 



GW Pharmaceuticals grew particularly potent plants rich in THC and

cannabidiol (CBD), which could provide a treatment for strokes and epilepsy. 



The plants have been under constant electronic surveillance. A GW

Pharmaceuticals spokesman said older staff had been employed deliberately.

"It was thought that they would have a more mature attitude and be less

mesmerised by the whole thing," he said. "They would be less likely to give

in to peer pressure if their friends found out where they were working." 



As the project progresses, Dr Guy will be able to supply specific

researchers with the product for the purposes of research. The licence will

be extended to cover those professionals nominated by Dr Guy and approved

by the Home Office to perform specific sections of the programme. These

will include analytical chemists, clinical investigators, hospital

pharmacists and formulation pharmacists. 



As a Schedule 2 drug, the use of cannabis and its constituents could be

restricted, in the same way as morphine, but not banned. Schedule 1 drugs,

which include ecstasy, are those with high potential abuse and no

therapeutic value. 



GW Pharmaceuticals was founded solely to operate its Home Office cannabis

medical research licences.