Source: Daily Mail (UK)
Contact:  Thur, 24 Sep 1998
Author: Steve Doughty

MEDICAL CANNABIS MAY BE OK, SAYS HELLAWELL
THE legalisation of cannabis for medical uses was yesterday backed by the
Government's drugs czar.

Keith Hellawell said that there 'may be justification in certain
circumstances' for the drug to be used to help those suffering from some
serious illnesses.

The former police chief, chosen by the Prime Minister to head the nationwide
anti-drugs battle, said that if cannabis could help relieve pain, 'no
government would block legalisation on its use'. It is the first time he has
indicated support for a change in the law -he has always opposed
decriminilisation of the drug.

Mr Hellawell's remarks were taken as a powerful hint that Ministers are
prepared to back legalisation if trials now under way support doctors'
claims that cannabis can help those suffering from serious diseases. The
views of the ex-chief constable are certain to be welcomed by those
campaigning for the full decriminalisation of the drug. Medical use is seen
as a step towards its availability.

Mr Hellawell spoke out in an interview with the civil servant's magazine
Public Service after a Home Office decision to allow experiments to examine
whether cannabis really does ease the pain of the chronically-ill.

He said: 'There may be justification in certain circumstances for certain
derivatives of cannabis to be used on medical grounds.

'There may well be use for multiple sclerosis.' In 1960, when the medical
profession was asked about decriminalisation they thought that cannabis was
of little or no value in treating M.S patients and that other drugs were far
better, added Mr Helawell.

Now national polls showed a slight majority in favour of making the drug
legal for medical reasons.

However, the former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, appointed a year ago
as UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, opposes the legalisation of cannabis for
those seeking pleasure or relaxation.

*Campaigners for the legalisation of cannabis for medical use received a
boost yesterday with the publication of research proving the drug can
relieve pain.

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, say they have
isolated a brainstem circuit which acts in suppressing pain during the use
of both morphine and cannabis.

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Checked-by: Don Beck