DOCTORS SUPPORT CANNABIS REMEDY

Multiple sclerosis sufferers in Norwich are being advised by doctors to
take cannabis to relieve their pain, it was claimed today.

The news coincides with the revelation cannabis-based painkillers could be
available on NHS prescription within two years.

Jo Gardner, who lives in the Norwich area, has had MS for 20 years and has
smoked cannabis to ease the pain which racks her body, particularly at night.

She said she and fellow sufferers in Norwich were routinely advised by
their GPs that the drug was the best treatment for the incurable condition
— and her doctor had even offered to appear in her defence if she was ever
charged for possession of the illegal drug.

"I have tried it, and it's absolutely wonderful. MS is very like arthritis,
so normally when I wake up it is incredibly painful, but after taking
cannabis the night before the pain eases," she said.

"I have been advised it is the best thing I can take by my doctor, as have
many other sufferers I know. It puts people in a very dangerous position of
having to buy it on the black market."

In Lambeth, cannabis laws have been relaxed as part of a pilot project
which means people caught with cannabis are cautioned, but not arrested.

Ms Gardner added: "If I lived in Brixton, I could buy it and carry it
around, but because I live in Norwich I am classed as a criminal if I buy
and/or carry it.

"Being able to get the help we deserve on prescription over the counter at
the chemist would be such a relief to so many people. It is fantastic news
that this has now moved a step closer."

Dr Peter Harvey, medical secretary for the Norfolk Local Medical Committee,
said doctors were "receptive" to such innovative treatment to treat
difficult conditions.

"We can draw parallels with the use of other controlled substances for
other sorts of pain, we are allowed to prescribe morphine and that's a
controlled drug," he said.

"GPs welcome research, I think we've been looking for a more controlled
environment in which GPs are able to prescribe treatments for their
patients irrespective of what it is.

"It would be much better than those patients having to use the black market."

The use of cannabis derivatives to relieve pain in multiple sclerosis
sufferers and post-operative patients was yesterday referred to the
National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice).

They will now assess the effectiveness and cost of cannabis derivatives
with a decision on licensing for official medical use thought "likely" some
time in 2004 or 2005.

The Norwich MS Society today backed the move towards legalised medical use,
which could help ease pain for dozens of sufferers in Norfolk.

Welfare officer Diane Procter said: "This is definitely good news. For some
of our members this is crucial to help relieve pain, ease spasms and
improve sleep.

"There are not many treatments available to people with MS, so the help
that cannabis derived medicine could give is vital. But no one wants to
beak the law and no one wants to feel like a criminal."

Trials funded by the Medical Research Council to assess the use of
cannabinoids in pain relief have been carried out on patients in Norfolk.

Results of the trials at the James Paget Hospital, in Gorleston, showed the
medicines had benefited more than 70 per cent of test patients.

Mark Gibson, medical spokesman for the Norwich-based Legalise Cannabis
Alliance, said MS sufferers needed cannabis to be legalised as soon as
possible.

"It might be 2004 before this comes in which is only two years, but try
telling that to someone who desperately needs the medicine," he said.

His wife Lezley started smoking cannabis more than 10 years ago and says
without it she would have no quality of life.

She said: "It would be great to be able to get cannabis in some form from
the chemist. It will mean people who need the medicine like me will be able
to get it without being made to feel like a criminal."