CANNABIS TRIALS USEFUL - GOVT

If overseas trials find cannabis has therapeutic benefits, the Government
would consider allowing its use for medical purposes, Health Minister
Annette King says.

Trials are being conducted in Britain and the United States to determine
whether cannabis can help alleviate symptoms of conditions including
multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and glaucoma.

"Where I would come from is that these particular trials are going to be
very useful for us in any decision we make," Ms King said.

Evidence currently available was largely anecdotal, but if the trials came
up with scientific proof, the Government would have to look at whether it
should allow medical use of cannabis, she said.

"People say that it is useful, particularly for MS sufferers, and the
history of it as a leaf was that it was used to relax women in childbirth
100 years ago - it has certainly been put to therapeutic use in the past."

If the trials found medical benefits of the drug, it could potentially
become available by prescription by specialists here, Ms King said.

There appeared to be a double standard where medical use of opiates was
acceptable under the law, but similar use of cannabis was not, Ms King
said. She said therapeutic use of cannabis was not part of the review of
the legal status cannabis currently being undertaken by health officials,
because she saw it as a separate issue.

Health Ministry spokesman Matthew Allen said that under the Misuse of Drugs
Act, New Zealanders could apply to the ministry to be permitted to use
cannabis for therapeutic purposes. People made such applications
"periodically" but without clinical trials to back their claims the
ministry was not prepared to permit use of cannabis, he said.