News In Brief

GERMAN HEALTH MINISTER SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIHUANA

The 'Stuttgarter Zeitung' (http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de) was one of a
number of German, Austrian and Swiss papers which carried reports of
Germany's health minister speaking in Bonn last Monday, (March 22, 1999) on
the subject of 'Marihuana as Medicine'.

BONN Germany’s drug czar, Christa Nickels (Greens), considers it sensible
to use Cannabis products such as marihuana and hashish for therapeutic
purposes in medicine.

Speaking exclusively of marihuana as a natural herb, she said it had shown
itself to be "a potentially successful therapy in the treatment of AIDS, MS
and cancer sufferers" and is "more cost effective than synthetic
substitutes".

"Marihuana as a freely accessible drug is a different question," she said.

A professional association of doctors also announced the call for "Cannabis
as medicine," and protested the denial of marihuana prescription rights to
doctors.