THE CASE
On the 7th of February this year I wrote about Sativex, an oral cannabis spray, being developed by GW Pharmaceuticals for use in controlling the pain and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. It has also been shown to be useful for relieving the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy and HIV. The advantage of Sativex is that it frees medical users of cannabis from many of the side effects, and the possibility of legal sanction if they are caught. At the time I expressed the opinion that:
I think it will be a long time before Australian MS sufferers will have the benefit of Sativex. Our populist press would have a great difficulty with "taxpayer funded pot" or "getting high at public expense".
The good news is that the NSW Minister FOR Health, Reba Meagher, has applied to her Federal counterpart Nicola Roxon for permission to import and trial a cannabis based drug, presumably Sativex.
To counter a possible wowser attack, the New South Wales Justice Minister John Hatzistergos said that although the State Government does not support the legalisation of marijuana, it is in favour of medical trials.
Both the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Cancer Council NSW have welcomed this initiative.
This is not really new news. As long ago as 2001 the "New South Wales Premier's Expert Working Party on the Use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes" recommended that appropriate regulatory and legislative changes be made to legally permit the use of cannabis for defined serious medical conditions. Two years later, in May 2003, the Premier of NSW, Bob Carr, announced a four-year trial to allow the medical use of cannabis to help control severe pain. Nothing happened.
MY VERDICT
Third time lucky? Lets hope.
2 comments:
In the US "medical marijuana" is clearly being used as a half-true wedge issue to legalize all marijuana. (I can't judge Australia, but I'd be curious.) If you type in "marijuana" or "cannabis" into the PubMed web database, you'll get many articles showing very severe consequences, especially for longterm users, and especially for people who are at risk for psychosis. It took decades to discover the longterm effects of smoking (early death). It may take just as long to see the effects of the marijuana explosion in the last few decades. But history suggests this is going to be very bad.
Sativex is an auromucus spray (which tastes foul) and relieves pain and spasms but does NOT make you high!!
I am a 24/7 carer for a progressive MS sufferer who has been using it (prescribed) for over a year and not even been dizzy, let alone high!!
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