Pubdate: Mon, 09 Jun 2014
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Jeremy Warren
Page: A4
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)

ARTHRITIS PAIN RELIEF FOCUS OF POT STUDY

Hard Evidence Sought

An upcoming clinical trial from Saskatoon's CanniMed Ltd. will test 
the safety and efficacy of using medical marijuana to manage 
arthritic pain, the first study of its kind.

Health Canada recently approved an application from Prairie Plant 
Systems, CanniMed's parent company, to test the use of cannabis in 
patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. With scant medical evidence 
to back up anecdotal evidence, doctors are looking for reliable proof 
cannabis can help pain management, said company president and CEO Brent Zettl.

"There are clues, but they are not conclusive," Zettl said in an 
interview. "Medical cannabis has been used for more than 4,000 years 
by human beings, but we've never really put our minds and effort 
toward proper, disciplined scientific study. We really want to look 
at the hard evidence that can hold up to scientific scrutiny."

The randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial run by a 
third-party contractor will involve at least 60 patients and could 
last up to two years. It will use "vaporized" marijuana, and will 
test different strains with varying levels of 
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), two common 
active ingredients in cannabis.

Testing different strains - in this trial and others - could help 
researchers understand what ratios of THC and CBD work best for 
individuals and different ailments, Zettl said. Previous studies show 
pain receptors in the body's joint and nervous-system tissue, immune 
cells and bones respond to cannabinoids in medical marijuana, he added.

Research such as this could lead to cheaper and more effective 
medical marijuana treatment, Zettl said.

"The only way to get there is to start at square one and prove it 
out," he said. "Otherwise, what do the doctors have to go on?"

Zettl estimates one-third of Canada's 38,000 licensed medical 
marijuana patients are using cannabis to treat arthritis, an ailment 
affecting up to 4.3 million Canadians. The use of marijuana to treat 
arthritis has never been tested in clinical trials, according to 
Health Canada's website.

Clinical trials are needed because doctors are reluctant to prescribe 
a medication without fully understanding its safety and efficacy, 
said Bryan Salte, College of Physicians and Surgeons associate 
registrar and legal counsel.

"One of our concerns is that (medical marijuana) hasn't been 
effectively studied and to the extent that there are appropriate 
studies it's very helpful to add to the body of evidence that would 
support or refute the use of marijuana for certain medical 
conditions," Salte said.

He couldn't comment on the specifics of the CanniMed study, but Salte 
said it could be helpful, whatever researchers find.

"If hypothetically it was found there is no benefit, or more risk 
than benefit, then we would have the basis to say to physicians this 
is bad medicine," he said.

"On the other hand, if the evidence does come out that supports the 
use of medical marijuana, that's an additional piece of information 
that should cause physicians to think seriously about using that as a 
possible treatment for arthritic pain in the knees."

Before launching CanniMed, Prairie Plant Systems was the sole 
producer of cannabis for Health Canada under the old medical 
marijuana regulations. The rules changed on April 1, allowing other 
businesses, with Health Canada approval, to sell directly to patients 
with doctor prescriptions for cannabis. Currently, 13 companies 
across Canada are approved retailers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom