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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Hospital in NHS cannabis trial
BBC Online Wednesday 20 Aug 2003 A Berkshire hospital is to take part in a government-funded trial to give cannabis-based drugs to NHS patients. Wexham Park hospital in Slough has been named as one of 36 hospitals across England to take part in the £500,000 study, being run by the Medical Research Council. Scientists hope to find out if the drug really can help to relieve pain. A total of 400 patients who have undergone surgery will take part in the study nationally. They will be given one of four pills after undergoing surgery, two of which will be a form of cannabis and the others either a standard pain-relieving drug or a dummy pill. All the patients' well-being and pain will then be monitored. Chemotherapy treatment Dr Anita Holdcroft, who will lead the study at Imperial College London, said: "Many patients and clinicians want an answer to the question of whether cannabis is effective at relieving pain. "We need to assess the scientific merits of some of the anecdotal evidence and we need to do this in the same way as any other experimental pain treatment." Earlier studies have shown that the drug might be effective in relieving pain in sufferers of multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. Researchers have also found evidence to suggest it can help to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment given to cancer patients. However, opponents of the use of cannabis point to the fact that it damages the ability to concentrate and, if smoked, may increase the risks of developing lung cancer.
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