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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Disabled could face jail with changes to cannabis ruling
Mature Times Friday 27 Jun 2008 But things could get even worse for the thousands of disabled people who use cannabis for chronic pain relief if Home Secretary Jacqui Smith reclassifies the drug from class C to class B 'in the interests of public health'. The reclassification would mean a maximum prison sentence for five years. Helen Yates, chief executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre, said cannabis was 'a last resort' for many people who have exhausted every other option for managing their condition. "If they find that cannabis works for them, I think they will risk a prison sentence and the increased penalties that go with a class B drug." Alun Buffry, from the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, warned that disabled users would suffer in additional ways, because to compensate for higher sentences, dealers would increase prices and supply lower quality cannabis. Meanwhile a Home Office spokesman 'expressed sympathy' for disabled people who cannot alleviate their symptoms with existing medication. He said the government had no intention of legalising cannabis in its raw form for medicinal purposes, but when the cannabis-based medicine Sativex is approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the government would change the law to make it legal for doctors to prescribe it. An MHRA spokeswoman said reclassification would have no influence on whether or not Sativex was granted a UK licence. She said: "The MHRA is primarily concerned with the quality, safety and efficacy of all medicinal products, and will only grant a marketing authorisation for a product once it is satisfied that data, including those from clinical trials, submitted by the applicant demonstrate that the quality of the medicine is acceptable and that the efficacy and safety indicate that the product has an acceptable risk." GW Pharmaceuticals (GWP), the manufacturer of Sativex, withdrew its application to the MHRA for a license last year to study the drug’s effectiveness in treating spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis. Justin Gover, GWP’s managing director, expects to resubmit an application in the first half of 2009. GWP originally applied for a license in 2003. Gover said it was "deeply frustrating” that the process was proving to be so lengthy, but the delay was part of the business of developing a new prescription medicine and not because of its association with cannabis. He added: "We are absolutely committed to ensuring that we do provide the MHRA with the data that they need and that we do ultimately obtain a license for Sativex." http://www.maturetimes.co.uk/node/6013
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