MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS FORUM HEARS OF POT'S BENEFITS

A well-known herb was touted as a way to ease the painful muscle
spasms of multiple sclerosis at a conference on the neurological
disease Saturday.

Toke, anyone?

MS is one of the medical conditions for which Ottawa allows people to
smoke marijuana.

Winnipeg naturopathic doctor Sean Ceaser listed it as a complementary
therapy, along with diet restrictions and exercise, at the Multiple
Sclerosis Society's annual daylong conference for doctors and
patients. About 250 people came to the Winnipeg Convention Centre to
hear speakers from the U.S. and Canada discuss the latest findings.

Some 3,000 Manitobans are believed to suffer from the progressive
condition of the central nervous system that has no known cause or cure.

Doctors have long known the disease is linked to the immune system
and to environmental triggers. Allergic reactions to wheat and diary
products or a vitamin D deficiency from lack of sunlight are thought
to trigger the disease. MS destroys the lining of nerve cells,
robbing people of the ability to control their movements.

Marijuana, the illegal street drug that can get you arrested and
jailed, remains a medicine people with MS hate to admit they use.

Cannabis -- the formal name for marijuana -- along with various other
medicinal herbs and nutritional supplements like vitamins K, D, B-12
and omega-three fish oils, are attracting patients nevertheless, Ceaser said.

The Charleswood health practitioner cited THC, the active ingredient
in cannabis, as a nerve-affecting element that soothes spasms, eases
pain and promotes sleep. Doctors can help patients get federal
approval to use it.

Conference spokeswoman Gwenda Nemerofsky confirmed there are people
in Manitoba who have applied to Health Canada for legal permits to
use marijuana as medicine.

"But most will not come forward," she said.

Some take it by prescription in forms like nasal spray. Others roll
it up in cigarette papers and smoke it. Some even grow it.

The conference focused on the social and emotional devastation that
can accompany a diagnosis of MS and ways, including pot, that
patients can cope better. Among the other findings Saturday was
research that indicates MS strikes the same proportion of people in
the rest of Canada as in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Prairie
provinces were previously believed to be hot spots for the condition.

Winnipegger Erica Maxwell, 27, was diagnosed with MS six years ago,
shortly after she gave birth.

She said she was eager to learn about natural therapies she can use
to augment conventional treatment.

The condition has slowed Maxwell down. She has to nap every day and
go to bed early. Her husband and their son, 6, pick up the slack at
home, from laundry to housecleaning. Stress makes symptoms worse.

Dr. Michael Schapiro, an expert in MS from the Minneapolis Clinic for
Neurology, said his mother had the disease, so he understands how
hard it is for patients and their families to live with it.

But the American doctor is not keen on marijuana as a solution,
especially if it's smoked.

Studies show smoking pot can block symptoms like muscle tremors, the
doctor said. And prolonged toking can kill off brain cells in the
same way alcohol abuse does. It can also cause respiratory diseases,
like tobacco-smoking does.

"It's not just a casual thing," Schapiro said.