RECENT MEDICAL TRIALS
Several trials of medical extracts of cannabis are underway in the UK. One such trial has been undertaken by Dr. William Notcutt of James Paget Hospital, Norfolk. He set out to study the effects of the drug on chronic pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and spinal injuries. He used a group of 23 patients. The majority of these he reported to have experienced, so far, pain relief from using the drug. In the other patients, the only benefit was that they were able to sleep at night, he said. Two experienced no benefit at all, and another two complained of side effects, with one having to withdraw from the trial. Dr Norcutt's study was NOT with smoked cannabis but with a sub-lingual spray.
He said that while the results of the trial were 'going well' it was necessary to' study this in many more patients than we have done so far'. The extracts being tested were taken from special plants grown in the UK by GW Pharmaceuticals. Dr Norcutt refused to be drawn on whether his research would provide further support for those seeking to legalise cannabis.
While all of us welcome any breakthrough in pain relief and suffering we must recognise the need for much more research to ensure safety in all medicines. The horrendous aftermath of Thalidomide must never be forgotten. Also the carcinogenic content of tobacco despite putting Low Tar Content and Tips on cigarettes. It took over 50 years to "prove" tobacco caused cancer, strokes, heart attacks etc., but strong indications came much earlier.
We should also be aware of the research done in Scotland which warned of the link between mental illness and cannabis. Professor Robert Pertwee of Aberdeen University has investigated the positive elements of cannabis, including claims that it can ease pain in cancer and multiple sclerosis sufferers. But his research found that cannabis use can lead to cancer, heart failure and mental illness. Prof. Pertwee said "I am against cannabis being made available for recreational use because, like other drugs, it has powerful adverse effects. For some people the biggest risk is that it produces signs of schizophrenia. There is evidence that if you are genetically pre-disposed to schizophrenia, then cannabis can trigger it. There are people who appear perfectly normal and have no idea they are prone to the condition," he stated. Prof. Pertwee has been studying the medicinal benefits of cannabis since 1968 and helped launch a £1million research project last year.
Doctors at Glasgow Royal Infirmary have warned that regular smokers of cannabis are at risk of developing the potentially fatal lung disease emphysema. Smoking three cannabis cigarettes a day is as dangerous as having a whole packet of standard cigarettes according to the researchers.
Dr Martin Johnson wrote in the journal Thorax "Smoking three to four marijuana cigarettes per day produces a comparable histological effect on the airways to smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes daily. There is a public perception that marijuana smoking has little adverse effect on the physical health and given the growing political lobby to legalise marijuana and associated substances in the UK, we hope that our case reports will stimulate further study into their potential lung toxicity.
Dr Murray Littleman of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston has stated that the researchers recent findings that in the first hour after taking cannabis, the heart attack risk was 4.8 times higher than during periods of non-use. Cannabis increases the heart rate and makes blood pressure erratic.
The study by American scientists, published in the Journal of Immunology revealed that the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) promotes tumour growth. It works by increasing immunity-suppressing chemicals in the body, meaning cancerous cells are able to proliferate. Previous studies have shown that THC can lower resistance to bacterial and viral infections. The study by experts at the University of California Jonsson Centre, in San Francisco, also suggested that smoking marijuana may be more of a lung cancer risk than tobacco because of the high tar content. And regular use of the drug may increase the risk of respiratory tract cancer.
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