CHEMISTS URGE CANNABIS TRIAL

PATIENTS would get medicinal cannabis on prescription from chemists under a
Pharmacy Guild of Australia proposal.

NSW wants to trial medicinal cannabis, probably in tablet or spray form,
and the Federal Government is considering the idea.

An alternative distribution would be through hospitals or doctors' surgeries.

The guild told Federal Health Minister Kay Patterson it welcomed new moves
to improve life for patients. It was interested to see if cannabis treated
effectively symptoms of MS, cancer, AIDS, pain and chemotherapy side-effects.

It said its members could dispense the drug for the trial in the same way
it dispensed other restricted drugs, such as morphine and methadone.

A doctor would authorise use of the cannabis, with stringent security and
reporting.