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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Legalisation of medicinal cannabis likely
Surgery Door
Tuesday 23 Oct 2001 Home Secretary David Blunkett has said he is prepared to alter the law to allow the prescription of cannabis-based medicines - an announcement that has delighted patient groups. Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday (23/10/01), Mr Blunkett said that he would make the necessary legal changes if current clinical trials of cannabis-based drugs prove successful. Campaigners welcomed the announcement. A spokeswoman for the Arthritis Research Campaign said arthritis sufferers who took cannabis for pain relief were often unfairly penalised. "People take cannabis because it seems to have some kind of anti-inflammatory effect and it certainly helps with relaxation and reduction in pain. And really people with arthritis need all the help they can get, so anything that helps them we would welcome and we would certainly welcome this move," she said. The Arthritis Research Campaign is funding a study of cannibinoids at the Kennedy Institute in West London and preliminary results are reported to show that cannabis is effective in relieving pain. A number of other clinical trials of cannabis are currently under way throughout the UK. Two - at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and Hammersmith Hospital in London - are being publicly funded. Mr Blunkett also said he had asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to report on the medical and scientific implications of downgrading cannabis from a grade B drug to grade C. He stressed that, should reclassification go ahead, cannabis would remain a controlled drug and use would remain a criminal offence. The move forms part of the government's drive to implement a "balanced and credible" drugs policy. According to Mr Blunkett, reclassification will make the distinction between cannabis and class A drugs like heroin and cocaine clearer and result in a more effective use of police time. "In spite of our focus on hard drugs, the majority of police time is currently spent on handling cannabis offences," he said. "It is time for an honest and common sense approach to focusing effectively on drugs that cause most harm." The police have no power to arrest people in possession of class C drugs, although those supplying and trafficking in the drugs can be arrested. Mr Blunkett said the Home Office would also be working with the Department of Health to produce new guidelines for heroin prescribing.
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