Pubdate: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS) Copyright: 2010 The Halifax Herald Limited Contact: http://thechronicleherald.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180 Author: Anne-Marie Tobin Note: Download the study at http://mapinc.org/url/t4KIh82X Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) POT OFFERS BUZZ-FREE PAIN RELIEF - STUDY Research Took Almost 10 Years to Complete Smoking pot can make some of the pain go away, without the patient getting high. The finding comes from what researchers in Montreal believe to be the first outpatient clinical trial of smoked cannabis, involving 21 people with chronic neuropathic pain. The results, which included improvements in mood and sleep, were published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Dr. Mark Ware and colleagues at McGill University and McGill University Health Centre got the ball rolling for the study almost a decade ago, but found it was a long road to get all the necessary approvals and import a convincing marijuana placebo from the United States. But they plowed ahead, supported by a grant from the Canadian Institute for Health Research, because they felt it was important to generate some scientific data. Marijuana is illegal in Canada but can be used medicinally in some circumstances. In 2001, Health Canada brought in marijuana medical access regulations outlining conditions for possessing, producing and using the herb for medical purposes. Despite the years that have passed, "the debate rages on about medical marijuana," Ware said. "We hear this a lot from policy makers and from regulatory colleges, especially here in Canada . . . there is very little evidence, and many of them aren't aware of any evidence that smoked cannabis has any medical value." Marijuana with potencies of 2.5 per cent, six per cent and 9.4 per cent of the active ingredient THC were obtained from Prairie Plant Systems, the company that was given a government contract 10 years ago to produce a safe, standardized supply of marijuana. A placebo came from the U.S., where an alcohol extraction process was used to remove the active ingredient, and the herb was reconstituted so it looked like a green leafy material, Ware said. There was a lot of paperwork and back-and-forth. "Importing cannabis from the United States is not a trivial issue in this environment," Ware noted. Patients were given a special pipe bought on the Internet and 25-milligram capsules of a substance to put in the pipe and light. The smoke was to be inhaled once - three times a day for five days - and patients didn't know whether they were getting a placebo or one of three different potencies of active drug. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake