BRITISH LEGALISE CANNABIS FOR MEDICINAL USE

The British government is to legalise the use of cannabis for
medicinal purposes in a significant change to its hardline policy on
drugs.

The highly controversial move represents a compromise between Mo
Mowlam,the Cabinet Office Minister, who wanted a government-ordered
review of whether cannabis should be decriminalised, and Tony Blair
and Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, who both adamantly opposed any
relaxation of the law.

What has now been agreed is to allow people suffering from multiple
sclerosis (MS), and other conditions which bring severe pain, to use
cannabis legally.

Ms Mowlam, who took over responsibility for drugs last October, has
failed in an attempt to persuade Mr Blair to set up a Royal Commission
to review the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act, which critics claim is out of
date.

Such a review could have paved the way for possessing cannabis for
personal use to be decriminalised. But Mr Blair and Mr Straw have
rejected the idea, arguing that any weakening of the government stance
could encourage young people to experiment with soft drugs and then,
they believe, to move onto hard drugs.

But senior government sources said yesterday that Ms Mowlam will win
her battle to allow cannabis to be used legally for therapeutic purposes.

``It is a trade-off,'' a Home Office source said. ``Mo will get the OK
for medicinal use but she won't get anything else.''

The final go-ahead will come after human trials which are expected to
confirm that cannabis can have medical benefits. Research using mice
at University College London found that cannabis can ease some of the
painful symptoms of multiple sclerosis. The British Medical
Association and a House of Lords select committee have backed human
trials.