CANNABIS CANCER RESEARCH DISMISSED AS IRRELEVANT

A LOCAL cannabis expert refutes recent findings that the drug can promote
cancerous tumour growth.

Cannabis cookbook author Sam Day dismissed the study as irrelevant.

She said: "The study is invalid - it measures the effect of cannabis on
mice not humans.

"Cannabis has been used by humans for recreational and medicinal purposes
for more than 5,000 years, and there are no records of cannabis having such
an effect."

Research claimed mice injected with the cannabis chemical
tetrahydrocannabinol suffered from significantly increased tumour growth
compared to those injected with salt solution.

The findings have fuelled the contentious debate surrounding the effects of
cannabis, polarising public and expert opinion.

Sam Day is worried research may stifle growing support for cannabis as a
medicinal substance, depriving sufferers of illnesses like multiple
sclerosis of a valuable painkiller.

"The main benefit of cannabis is the pain relief it can offer to arthritis
sufferers by easing their symptoms," she said.

Fran Hawkins, spokesman for the Community Alcohol and Drug Advisory
Service, part of the Dorset Communities NHS Trust, said: "I cannot comment
on the individual study but our policy is that we condemn the use of any
illicit substance."

The results are a blow to the pro-cannabis lobby, following closely on the
heels of research by the Royal College earlier this year which delivered a
stark warning that repeated use can lead to psychotic and schizophrenic
episodes.

Free rob Cannabis, manager of hemp retailer Glastonbury In Harmony With
Nature, remains to be convinced.

He said: "This is an example of bad science.

"We are not mice and the pure THC is a synthetic drug manufactured in the
lab, not representative of the effect of cannabis."