Pubdate: Mon, 03 Sep 2001
Source: London Evening Standard (UK)
Copyright: 2001 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/914
Author: Geraint Smith, Science Correspondent

NEW TRIAL SHOWS CANNABIS WORKS

Cannabis can have a real role in reducing chronic, long-term pain, 
according to the first results from a hospital trial. The trial at Great 
Yarmouth's James Paget Hospital looked at the response of 23 patients to 
measured doses of the various active compounds found in cannabis.

All were suffering chronic, long-term pain on which all other treatments 
including morphine had failed. Half had multiple sclerosis, the remainder 
had a variety of causes of pain including spinal injury and surgery.

They were asked to assess their pain on a scale from zero to 10, the 
highest rating being unbearable, "the worst pain you could imagine", Dr 
William Nortcutt told the British Association Annual Science Conference at 
Glasgow University. The drug was administered as a spray under the tongue. 
Their self-reported-pain was traced as a graph as they took different 
active compounds - known as cannabinoids - or placebos, which had no 
effect. The graphs showed that it was the compounds that were having the 
effect.

Dr Nortcutt said: "Several patients had a dramatic effect. They reported 
that their pain went from a 10 level to zero. We had responses from that 
down to helping sleep.

"Only three patients did not benefit - one who had to leave the trial 
because she could not stand the side effects, one for whom there were 
protocol violations and we had to withdraw, and one on whom it simply had 
no effect."

People could have taken doses of the drug which would have given them the 
sort of high experienced by recreational drug smokers, he said."One or two 
of the early patients pushed it to see what the high was, but having done 
so, said that they were already trashed by their pain and didn't want to 
sit round being stoned all day. They wanted to get on with their lives," he 
said.

"They were fed up with being immobilised. One is working again in an 
executive capacity, one is looking after a child successfully, several are 
driving again, one actually told me the other day that he'd gone up a 
ladder with a power tool to cut a hedge." These were things that would have 
been impossible for them without treatment, he said. However, he added it 
was too early to recommend use of the drug and more tests were still being 
conducted.
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