|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Patients to use cannabis in painkiller trial
The Times
Wednesday 20 Aug 2003 Hospital patients scheduled to undergo surgery were being asked to take part in trials to find out if cannabis can provide pain relief after an operation. The trials were being carried out at hospitals throughout the UK in the hope of measuring the effects of cannabis plant extract against other pain relieving drugs. Doctors carrying out the study for the Medical Research Council were hoping to recruit 400 surgical patients to take part. Each patient was being randomly assigned to one of four oral pain relieving treatments containing either standardised cannabis extract, tetrahydrocannabinol (an active ingredient in cannabis), a standard pain relieving drug, or a placebo. The pain relief and side effects were then being assessed over a six-hour period with patients being asked to respond to questions about their pain and feelings. Dr Anita Holdcroft, from Imperial College London, who is leading the UKP500,000 trial, said anecdotal evidence suggesting cannabis could provide effective pain relief for a variety of debilitating conditions needed to be assessed scientifically. "My 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. "This is a proper study in a clinical setting where patients can be routinely monitored, using an oral capsule containing a prescribed dose," she said. She added that if oral cannabis plant extract was found to be effective and without adverse side effects, it could provide another pain relief option to doctors and patients. Cannabis DrugScope, a charity that aims to advise and inform on drug-related policy, welcomed the trials.Frank Warburton, director of DrugScope, said: "The therapeutic benefits of cannabis have been well-known for some time. "We welcome this trial which appears to be a sensible and rational exploration of these benefits, and look forward to seeing the results of the evaluation." A spokesman for the British Medical Association also welcomed the study. He said: "BMA research has shown that although cannabis itself is unsuitable for medical use, some cannabis-based medicines have the potential to relieve pain. "There has long been a need for more research into the effectiveness of cannabinoids for therapeutic purposes and this is a welcome development." The MRC confirmed that the hospitals currently signed up to take part in the trial are: Chelsea and Westminster, London Charing Cross, London Hammersmith, London Ravenscourt Park, London Barts and the Royal London, London The Middlesex UCLH, London The Manor, Walsall, West Midlands Ealing Hospital, London Hillingdon Hospital, London West Middlesex, Middlesex The Whittington, London Royal United Hospital, Bath St John's Hospital, Livingston, Lothian Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast City Hospital, Nottingham Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, West Sussex Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital York District Hospital Southampton General Derriford Hospital, Plymouth Wexham Hospital, Slough, Berkshire Wrexham Maelor, North Wales Glasgow Gartnavel Whipps Cross, London Luton & Dunstable Hospital, Bedfordshire The Lister Hospital, Stevenage, Hertfordshire Stirling Royal Infirmary, Falkirk & District Royal Infirmary Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow Blackpool Victoria Hospital Princess Alexandra, Harlow. Essex Royal Liverpool University Hospital Southmead Hospital, Bristol James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!