CLINIC OFFERS PUFF OF RELIEF FOR CHRONICALLY ILL

A Tel Aviv medical clinic has quietly begun giving marijuana to
cancer and AIDS sufferers, legally and with Health Ministry approval,
reports Yediot Tel Aviv. The move, the first of its kind in Israel,
is aimed at alleviating the pain suffered by the chronically and seriously ill.

According to the report, the clinic began giving the drug to
suffering patients about six months ago. By Israeli law, marijuana
can legally be used as a medicine if a patient obtains a special
license from the Health Ministry. The drug is approved only for
patients with cancer, AIDS or Crohn's Disease (a chronic
gastro-intestinal illness), and aims to help ease the chronic pain
they suffer from the illnesses or as side-effects of treatments for
the diseases. The clinic - which the Health Ministry has refused to
identify publicly, reportedly either to prevent protests or to keep
criminal elements away - gives out the drug in small, controlled
quantities when a patient presents their license.

One cancer patient said the ministry's decision to offer the drug
through the clinic was "a blessing," saying it prevents suffering
patients from being driven to buy the drug illegally. The patient
said more doctors and the Israel Cancer Association should be made
aware of the therapeutic, pain-relieving benefits of marijuana, and
not regard it solely as an undesirable and harmful illegal drug. A
spokesman for the cancer association said it was true that the drug
could reduce painful side-effects for some patients undergoing
chemotherapy or other treatments, and the organization would consider
adding information about this to its website.