Britain tests cannabis painkillers

LONDON - British doctors could be filling out prescriptions for cannabis-based painkilling drugs as early as 2004 if clinical trials prove a success, says the Department of Health.

Last year, Canada became the first country to legalise marijuana as a treatment for chronic illnesses, and now Britain's clinical watchdog will consider offering cannabis-based pills on the National Health Service.

Trials financed by the Medical Research Council have been set up "to assess the use of cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis and post-operative pain", said Health Minister Lord Hunt.

"Results are expected at the end of 2002 and the [watchdog] National Institute for Clinical Excellence will use these results in its appraisal of these drugs."

The council is testing cannabis-based tablets on hundreds of multiple sclerosis sufferers.

Marijuana, long smoked as a recreational drug, is favoured by many multiple sclerosis or cancer sufferers, who say cannabis kills pain and stimulates appetite without the corrosive side-effects of many prescription drugs.

- REUTERS

nzherald.co.nz/health