http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/11/british-government-says-cannabis-has-medicinal-effect-in-breakthrough-moment-6186376/
Rob Waugh for Metro.co.ukTuesday 11 Oct 2016
Your time is coming, Herb
A government regulator has said that a cannabis chemical has a ‘restoring’ effect on humans – and is a legitimate medicine.
It could be a breakthrough moment for the movement to legalise Cannabis in the UK, activists have said.
The MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency) says
that cannabidiol has a ‘restoring, correcting or modifying’ effect on
‘physiological functions’.
‘Cannabidiol’ (CBD), is a chemical from Cannabis which campaigners
claim helps with diseases including cancer and Crohn’s disease.
Crucially, CBD products don’t contain any THC, the chemical in Cannabis which causes the high.
Jordan Owen, Managing Director of CBD company MediPen
says, ‘Since our inception we’ve worked hard to obtain our goal of
breaking down the negative connotations surrounding Cannabis to lead to a
reform in the law for medicinal use.
‘This is now finally becoming a reality, which will lead to ground
breaking results and provide those in need with legal access through a
properly regulated UK market.’
‘As the UK’s leading consumer cannabis biotechnology company, we have
been working very closely with MHRA classifiers over the past year and a
half and have been deeply involved with all developments regarding the
medicinal regulatory status of CBD.
It was in fact, our legal team who
initially pointed out that there was originally no regulatory status –
causing the CBD industry in the UK to flourish without any premature
intervention.’
The Results from the Largest Medical Marijuana Study Ever Are In | The Marijuana Times
The very first FDA approved study
done with cannabidiol (CBD) in a compound form called Epidiolex has
reached its completion. The reason for this study was to have a reliable
and controlled study of how Epidiolex
works for patients with epilepsy – which shouldn’t be a surprise as
there have been hundreds of stories of seizure-free children being
medicated with medical marijuana.
For the purpose of this study they
had a total of 313 children and young adults from 16 different epilepsy
centers around the United States. During the three month period each of
the patients was given Epidiolex in place of any previous medications.
After the 3-month period was over, 261 of the 313 patients had seen on average a reduction in seizures by nearly half – all with very few, if any side effects.
If you think that’s impressive, then consider that 9% of all patients experienced a 100% reduction in seizures
– meaning they were completely seizure free, many for the first time in
their entire life. Of that 9%, 13% had a specific form of epilepsy
known as Dravet Syndrome.
Since this was only the first of what
will (hopefully) be many more studies with CBD medications like
Epidiolex, this was an excellent result! With results this good they are
likely to keep going with it – and the fact that this study was done on
a federal level might just have cornered them into having no choice but
to reschedule marijuana on the controlled substances list.
After all – they cannot ignore their
own findings forever – especially not when so many people like myself
want this to be known! Marijuana IS medicine, end of story. There really
isn’t a way to logically deny that anymore and yet people still try
left and right.
At least now, in the case of
epilepsy, people will know that this really does work. Without
marijuana, these people would still be suffering from multiple seizures a
day – for some of them hundreds each and every month.
Can you imagine being a parent with a
child with epilepsy, knowing that there is a way to control – and even
cure your child’s disease – and knowing you can’t do anything about it
because it’s illegal?
This is the reason that so many
parents are demanding medical marijuana for their children – and this
study proves that they are not wrong, it does work! It works extremely
well in a large majority of individuals and all with hardly any side
effects.
I can’t wait to see where this study leaves us a few years from now.
Tommy Sheridan launches petition to have UK legalise cannabis (From Herald Scotland)
Tommy Sheridan has launched a petition calling for cannabis to be legalised in the UK.
The former Solidarity MSP, launced the petition earlier, in a bid to
legalise what he calls the "non-criminal action" of using cannabis, and
directing the money raised from taxing the drug into drug treatment
programmes.
Only 98 people have signed his petition on change.org since the petition was launched yesterday.
The petition is called "Legalise, regulate, licence and tax cannabis.
Drop the stupid 'war' on drugs. Wise up." and is directed at the UK
Parliament.
On the site, calling for people to sign his petition, Tommy said: "The
consumption of cannabis is a recreational choice not a criminal act.
"To criminalise such a non-criminal action is not only expensive and
counter productive it is also hypocritical in light of the legal
availability of much more damaging drugs like alcohol.
"The money raised from taxing the legal sales of cannabis can be
directed into proper drug treatment and rehabilitation services.
"Drug use is a medical and social issue not a criminal problem.
"Forcing supply to be controlled by criminal gangs is a big part of the problem and is no part of the solution.
Dunblane 20th anniversary, special service being held today
"Society should be waging war on poverty not recreational drugs.Sign
the petition and call on the Home Office to legalise, licence, regulate
and tax cannabis but prohibit promotion or advertising."
Cannabis legalisation: Nick Clegg backs campaign calling for medical use of drug | UK Politics | News | The Independent
A campaign to legalise the medical use of cannabis is being launched
amid warnings that up to 1.1 million people across Britain are currently
breaking the law by taking the drug to combat the pain of chronic
conditions.
The drive, called End Our Pain, coincides with a Coronation Street storyline
focusing on the issue, and is being supported by the former Deputy
Prime Minister Nick Clegg and senior politicians from all parties.
Campaigners hope to attract hundreds of thousands of signatures for a
petition backing the move, with the aim of forcing a Commons debate on
legalising medicinal cannabis. They are pressing for ministers to follow
the lead of several Western European countries and US states in
allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to alleviate the painful
symptoms of disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and
rheumatoid arthritis.
Estimates of the number of people in the UK who use cannabis for
medical reasons range between 861,000 and 1.15 million. They are thought
to represent between a quarter and a third of the country’s three
million-plus regular cannabis users.
Supporters of legalisation believe they will receive widespread
support after millions of television viewers watched the plight of the Coronation Street
character, Izzy Armstrong, who is a wheelchair user. She begins to
suffer such severe pain that her regular prescription medicine cannot
tackle it and in desperation resorts to cannabis.
The campaign’s co-ordinator, Peter Carroll, said: “For too long the
issue of medical cannabis has been caught up in the wider issue of drug
law reform, but this is a standalone issue. Denying patients access to a
medicine that can help them just because it contains cannabis is
morally wrong and cruel. We are criminalising people whose only aim is
to ease the pain and discomfort of their condition.”
Mr Clegg, who recently met a delegation of medicinal cannabis users,
said: “This is an issue whose time has come. Thousands of Britons live
with agonising pain when there is a medicine that we know works that
could be made easily available to them. They deserve our compassion and
support, not criminal records or a lifetime of pain. Whatever your views
on cannabis or drug use more widely, surely we can all agree that
doctors should be able to prescribe medicine to their patients if they
think it will help them.”
The Labour MP, Paul Flynn, said: “This is a drug which has been
trialled for 5,000 years by many millions of people. If there were
serious adverse effects, they would have been apparent many years ago. I
believe the evidence is overwhelming. From scientific trials it does
have an effect particularly relieving the spasms that people with
multiple sclerosis have.”
Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, said: “I’m persuaded by the evidence
that cannabis should be regulated and available for medical use via, for
example, pharmacists. It’s important to get the regulatory model right,
but the bottom line is that we need to end the perverse way in which
individuals are criminalised simply for wanting to relieve the pain they
are suffering.”
Several Conservative MPs have backed legalising medical cannabis.
They include the former cabinet minister, Peter Lilley, who has pointed
out that Queen Victoria is believed to have used the drug to relieve
menstrual pain. He said: “If it is a Victorian value, surely it can be
made more widely available.”
Potential uses
Chemical compounds called cannabinoids – found in cannabis – affect
how the body reacts to pain. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has called
for an open mind on the issue of altering the legal status of medicinal
cannabis. Its chief scientist, Jayne Lawrence, has said: “The worst
possible situation would be to have patients deprived of potentially
effective medicines.”
Multiple sclerosis: The stiffness and muscle spasms
experienced by people with MS could be alleviated by cannabinoids, as
well as tackling the chronic pain associated with the condition and
treating depression experienced by many sufferers.
Arthritis: Cannabis has been used for centuries to
relieve the pain of chronic arthritis, as well as reducing the
inflammation associated with it. Researchers are working on designing
artificial cannabis to ease the symptoms of osteoarthritis. They are
examining ways of inhibiting a pain-sensing pathway in the spinal cord.
Chrohn’s Disease: Studies suggest cannabis could reduce the inflammation caused by the disease with few side-effects.
Cancer: Research in the US suggests that marijuana
could help kill cancer cells and reduce the size of others, including
cells from one of the most serious types of brain tumour.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): The
compounds in cannabis could correct the deficiency of dopamine thought
to cause ADHD by calming and focusing adults with the condition.
