Pubdate: Wed, 27 Aug 2014
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2014 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  http://www.smh.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/441
Author: Julia Medew
Page: 12

New Research

Compound May Be Tested on Young

MARIJUANA COULD HELP TREAT PSYCHOSIS

A compound found in marijuana could soon be tested on young 
Australians to prevent and treat psychosis after European research 
suggested it could treat schizophrenia with fewer side effects than 
other drugs.

As state and federal governments face increasing calls for the 
legalisation of medicinal cannabis, leading psychiatrist and mental 
health advocate Patrick McGorry said one part of the drug was showing 
promise as an anti-psychotic medicine.

The director of Orygen Youth Health Research Centre said while 
tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC) in cannabis was widely thought to be 
dangerous and increase the risk of psychosis in about 10 per cent to 
20 per cent of people, another component  cannabidiol ( 
CBD)  appeared to relieve psychosis, depression and anxiety.

He said his team was hoping to trial pharmaceutical CBD in young 
people showing signs of early psychosis to see how it compared to 
other antipsychotic medications, which often cause undesirable side effects.

" There's been a lot more cern in recent times about psychotic medication.

" Obviously it's really effective, but the longer term side effects 
are worrying people, especially weight gain and metabolic problems, 
so the ethical climate has changed a bit," Professor McGorry said.

" People are willing to try more experimental treatments that have 
got some promise and cannabidiol conantiis definitely one of those." 
Professor McGorry said he planned to apply for funding to start a 
trial soon and expected no major ethical hurdles.

In 2009, German researchers published a double-blind, controlled 
study of 42 patients with acute paranoid schizophrenia in the journal 
European Psychiatry. It showed that CBD worked just as well as the 
antipsychotic drug, amisulpride, at reducing psychotic symptoms over 
four weeks and caused " significantly less side effects". Professor 
McGorry said the research suggested there were good and bad parts of 
cannabis, which should not be confused.

He said he and his colleagues regularly advised young people not to 
use cannabis because of the risks it posed to their health.

If a trial of CBD was set up, it would only involve that component of 
the drug in a pharmaceutical form. " We're definitely not saying 
smoke dope to treat psychosis," he said.

Director of the University of NSW's National Cannabis Prevention and 
Information Centre Jan Copeland said CBD was a " very interesting 
part of the complex cannabis chemistry" that does not get people 
stoned, but rather appears to balance the effects of THC, which makes 
some people anxious.

She said there was a small, but growing number of studies suggesting 
CBD relieved psychosis, anxiety and insomnia, and that her team was 
trialling it in about 10 people withdrawing from cannabis use to see 
if it helped them through the process.

But Professor Copeland said people should not try to source CBD in 
street-based cannabis because tests on seized portions of showed that 
it contained virtually no CBD.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom