Britain Could Approve Prescription Cannabis Drugs
Originally published by Reuters Health, February 19, 2002
LONDON (Reuters) — British doctors could be filling out prescriptions for cannabis-based pain-killing drugs as early as 2004 if clinical trials prove a success, the Department of Health said on Monday.
Canada became the first country to legalize the use of marijuana as a treatment for chronic illnesses last year and now Britain's clinical watchdog will consider offering cannabis-based pills on the National Health Service.
"Medical Research Council funded trials supported by the Department of Health and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have been set up to assess the use of cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis and post-operative pain," Health Minister Lord Hunt said.
"Results are expected at the end of 2002 and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) will use these results in its appraisal of these drugs," he said.
Britain's Medical Research Council, a government-funded research body, has already begun trials with cannabis-based tablets on hundreds of sufferers of the crippling condition multiple sclerosis.
The results of those tests will be forwarded to NICE, Britain's medical watchdog, which will decide whether the cannabis tablets should be offered on prescription through the government's National Health Service.
"A decision whether one or more of these (cannabis-based) products will be licensed for official medical use is likely in 2004/5," the Department of Health said in a statement.
"If the drugs do receive a license the NHS will require timely and clear guidance on the clinical and cost effectiveness of these treatments," it said.
Long smoked as a recreational drug, marijuana is favored by many multiple sclerosis or cancer sufferers, who say cannabis kills pain and stimulates appetite without the corrosive side effects of many prescription alternatives.
Britain has recently relaxed its stance against marijuana, saying it would downgrade its classification so users caught with small quantities of the drug for personal use will escape with only a police caution.
A British company, GW Pharmaceuticals, is developing cannabis-based prescription medicines. It recently said it would expand clinical trials into dealing with cancer pain.
