MS group welcomes cannabis trial results

THE success of the largest-ever medical trial of cannabis has been welcomed by the local branch of the MS Society. Although the results of this large-scale trial were a bit inconclusive, it did appear that the properly-supervised medical use of cannabis can bring relief from pain, spasm and sleeping problems,' said the charity's treasurer, Ron Hendry. Local MS Society medical liaison officer Dr Peter Richards said that there was mounting evidence that cannabis-based pharmaceuticals had a role in the management of MS. But he cautioned against reading too much into the results, which provided some evidence that cannabis-based drugs boosted mobility and eased symptoms. 'The use of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals is for only one or two of the symptoms and will certainly not be recommended for all sufferers,' he said. 'This is such a tragic illness it is important not to give unrealistic expectations.' Results of the study - involving more than 600 patients, all with some muscle stiffness and spasms - were published in the Lancet medical journal. Funded by the Medical Research Council, the trial was set up five years ago to provide hard evidence of whether cannabis relieved some symptoms for MS patients. Sufferers were given either cannabis extract, containing all the chemicals in the street drug, a synthetic copy of one cannabinoid chemical, called THC, or dummy pills with no active ingredient. Local sufferers have been involved in similar trials and many reported an improvement in their condition. 'As the range of existing treatments is very limited, any development which improves their quality of life must be welcomed,' said Mr Hendry. He was optimistic that cannabis-based drugs would be available as a licensed medicine in the UK by early next year. 'On the evidence now available, it is probably appropriate for cannabis pills or sprays to be available on prescription in Guernsey and the local branch hopes that the Board of Health will give early consideration to this.' Board of Health president Peter Roffey said that Guernsey tended to follow UK guidelines in such cases. He added that there was no reason why, if cannabis-based pharmaceuticals were licensed in the UK, there would be a delay in doing so here.