STRANGE PRIORITY

Cash to study marijuana, while drugs with more potential still not approved

Health Canada has signed a $6-million deal to investigate the therapeutic
possibilities of marijuana, but has yet to approve a drug, developed in
Canada, that offers relief to sufferers of osteoarthritis.

It's puzzling that the department can find time and money to research
marijuana, which holds only modest promise as a pain reliever, but can't
find resources to approve a drug already shown to ease severe
osteoarthritic pain.

Pennsaid, developed by Dimethaid Research, has had extensive clinical
testing over the past five years, closely monitored under the highest
global standards. The tests show Pennsaid is effective and, unlike other
drugs used to treat osteoarthritic pain, has no side effects. It has been
approved for use in Great Britain. Approvals in Europe and the U.S. are
pending, but Canada has yet to act.

Marijuana research is useful, even if it just points to what marijuana
won't do. But is it a good use of resources when other areas show much more
promise? The Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Health of the U.S.
Institute of Health has already reported finding little concrete evidence
in favour of medicinal marijuana. In many cases where marijuana provided
relief, other drugs available by prescription or over the counter would
have been more effective.

At a series of workshops, people crippled by their illnesses described how
marijuana helps them lead normal lives. An AIDS sufferer described how
marijuana helped him regain his appetite and put on weight. A woman with
multiple sclerosis said marijuana gave her back her mobility.

"This collection of anecdotal data, though useful, is limited," said the
institute's report. "We heard many positive stories, but no stories from
people who tried marijuana but found it ineffective. This is a fraction
with an unknown denominator.

"Marijuana clearly seems to relieve some symptoms for some people even if
it is only a placebo effect. What is the balance of harmful and beneficial
effects? That is the essential medical question that can be answered only
by careful analysis of data collected under controlled conditions."

Marijuana derivatives show some promise in treating some AIDS symptoms,
particularly loss of appetite and weight, but the institute warns against
smoking the drug in most cases, because of the harm the smoke can cause.

More power to Health Canada if it can carefully analyze data collected
under controlled conditions. The world will be watching -- this is a big
issue, not because of medicine, but because of politics. The idea of
marijuana as medicine appeals to many people, while drugs with more promise
don't attract the same kind of attention.

We urge the government to keep the research from becoming muddied by politics.