LORDS RECKON IT'S HIGH TIME FOR A CHANGE

BRITISH law should be altered to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana and
pharmacists to supply it, according to an influential House of Lords
committee.

At present, doctors in Britain are not permitted to prescribe cannabis, and
patients who want it to relieve the symptoms of diseases such as multiple
sclerosis must turn to the black market for supplies.

In an unexpectedly forthright report, the House of Lords Select Committee
on Science and Technology concludes that this "exposes patients and in some
cases their carers to all the distress of criminal proceedings".

In recommending that doctors be allowed to prescribe herbal cannabis,
rather than merely chemicals extracted from the plant, the Lords go further
than other expert groups.

This is bound to provoke opposition from ministers and the medical
establishment. Last year, the British Medical Association called for more
research into the main active ingredients of cannabis and recommended that
these cannabinoids be made available to a wider range of patients.

Pointedly, however, the BMA did not advocate prescribing cannabis in herbal
or resin form. Several scientific witnesses who testified to the Lords
committee agreed, given the absence of conclusive evidence that smoking
cannabis offers patients more relief than taking individual cannabinoids.
And the British government has repeatedly said it will only consider
changing the law if such evidence emerges.

"The problem with this policy is that it will take several years at least
for this to happen," concludes the report. "In the meantime, 85 000 people
in this country will continue to suffer the very unpleasant symptoms of
multiple sclerosis."

Checked-by: Pat Dolan