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Ireland: Cannabis May Be Legalised As Painkiller
Irish Examiner
Saturday 18 Nov 2000 Website: http://www.examiner.ie/ Author: Cormac O'Keeffe CANNABIS MAY BE LEGALISED AS PAINKILLER PATIENTS with chronic pain may soon be given cannabis to ease their suffering as the Government considers legalising the drug for medicinal purposes. Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy Eoin Ryan said the Government would consider the initiative after meeting his British counterpart Mo Mowlam in Dublin earlier this week. Minister Mowlam, who heads the UK Drugs Strategy, said she hoped to have a cannabis prescription system in place by 2003. A Government backed trial was due to be completed by the end of next year, after which the cannabis based product would go before the British medical regulatory body for approval, she said. "Mo Mowlam was telling me about this development and it is something we will be looking at," said Mr Ryan. "People recognise that it does relieve pain and nausea". Research shows that cannabis has some accepted and many potential medical benefits, Dr Des Corrigan of Trinity College Dublin, chairman of the Government's National Drugs Advisory Committee said. "One proven benefit is in the treatment of nausea from chemotherapy in cancer patients. There are also many potential benefits, particularly in relation to muscle spasticity". He said cannabis could also be used to treat epilepsy and glaucoma, a painful eye condition, while its hunger inducing effect could benefit sufferers of anorexia, Aids and cancer. "What is important in the UK research is that it involves large numbers of people, so that it will be able to show statistically if it is beneficial and it will also compare it to existing treatments," said Dr Corrigan. The trial, carried out by GW Pharmaceuticals, is mid way through the second stage of a three part process. In the second stage patients are given cannabis based medicinal extracts while others are given a placebo, a harmless dummy. Neither patient nor doctor know which material is being tested on each occasion. The third phase, which is due to start next year, will involve large scale studies of the patients. Patients receive cannabis through an inhaler in spray form, a method that is expected to be proposed to UK Medicine Controls Agency. Dr Michael Moriarty of the Irish Cancer Society and consultant radiologist at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, has welcomed the trials. "We know from smaller studies that cannabis can have two main benefits: one as a pain relief and secondly as an anti nausea treatment. "It's possible that cannabis will find a niche where conventional drugs aren't effective. It's mood elevating properties could also be a benefit". Disability organisations here are keeping a close watch on the trials. "We often get phone calls from members asking about developments in relation to cannabis, so we are awaiting the results of the trials with interest," said Michelle Kerrigan of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland. Rheumatologist Dr Oliver Fitzpatrick said there was a lack of scientific research into how cannabis might benefit people with severe arthritis. "There are anecdotal reports and case studies where patients have reported an improvement, but we need trials that can stand up to rigorous scientific scrutiny". Experts have also warned that cannabis would not be suitable for people with mental illnesses. "Cannabis can have an adverse effect on people with depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia," said consultant psychiatrist and chairman of depression group Aware, Dr Patrick McKeon. Regarding the general debate on the decriminalisation of cannabis, "The decision should be based solely on the scientific evidence. Politics should have no part in this," said Dr Moriarty.
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