MEDICAL CANNABIS 'TO BE LEGAL'

Cannabis could be prescribed by doctors in a few years The government will
legalise cannabis for medicinal use if trials show the drug can help patients.

Home Office Minister Charles Clarke told peers that the government will
change the law to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis if the drug is found
to have therapeutic benefits.

However, Mr Clarke insisted that recreational use of cannabis would remain
illegal.

Mr Clarke's comments came on the day that the government rejected the key
findings of a landmark report which proposed the easing of penalties for
possession of soft drugs and a reclassification of ecstasy and LSD.

Therapeutic benefits

The therapeutic benefits of cannabis are being studied in two trials in
England - one by the Home Office and another by a private company.

The private company, GW Pharmaceutical, hopes to have a licence to produce
cannabis for medical use by 2003.

Giving evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Mr
Clarke said: "If the clinical trials into cannabis are successful the
government is clear that we are willing to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act to
allow prescribing.

"The Home Office and the Department of Health are very, very clear that
once the trials outcomes are clear ... we will act very expeditiously that
any approved treatment can be brought into circulation."

But he emphasised the government would only act on the basis of scientific
evidence and not on the testimonies of individuals who said cannabis had
helped their condition.

He said: "We must act on the basis of scientific tests.

"To get to the position of changing the law we need to have a proper
scientific judgement."

Warning

But Dr Brian Davis of the Medicines Control Agency Licensing Division said
even if the present trials had positive results more extensive trials would
be needed before cannabis could be licensed for therapeutic use.

He said there were still questions concerning cannabis and he referred to a
study which suggested that the drug impaired the fertility of male monkeys.

He said: "We feel this needs to be investigated further."

Attempts by MPs to introduce a bill to legalise the medicinal use of
cannabis have previously failed.

Last week, Labour backbencher Paul Flynn, a chemist, accused ministers of
indifference and political cowardice over their refusal to back his bill.