DOCTOR SUPPORTS CANNABIS ADVERTS

A NorthEast pharmacologist last night welcomed a planned advertising campaign
calling for the legalisation of cannabis for medical use in Britain.

Dr Roger Pertwee of Aberdeen University has conducted research which revealed
claims by multiple sclerosis sufferers that using cannabis helped ease their
pain.

And now the promotion, which is believed to be the first to back an illegal
product, is being planned by a top London advertising firm.

The research at Aberdeen University involved 112 people from the UK and
America
being questioned on the drug's medical benefits.
Dr Pertwee said: "We sent questionnaires to sufferers of MS whom we knew
used
cannabis to selfmedicate and they said it reduced their pain and their
spasms.
Therapeutic
"We would now like to conduct a clinical trial of cannabisrelated compounds
and their effects and their potential therapeutic benefits.
"People are already selfmedicating with cannabis and I would rather see them
having it prescribed by a Doctor than them having to break the law and go to
dealers.

"There needs to be more experiments carried out, but the patients feel they
cannot wait.
"As far as they are concerned, they have found a drug that works for them, but
it is illegal for them to use it. It's a terrible quandary and it must be
terrible for them."

The advertising campaign will call for the legalisation of cannabis for
treating chronic arthritis, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma and cancer.

It is being conducted on behalf of the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics.