Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2001
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2001, The Globe and Mail Company
Page A7
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Daniel Leblanc

HEALTH CANADA TO STUDY MARIJUANA AS PAINKILLER

OTTAWA -- Health Canada is contemplating expansion of the medical use of 
marijuana with the launch today of a year-long study on the drug's 
potential as a painkiller.

The McGill Pain Centre has received a $235,000 federal grant to conduct a 
study on the benefits of marijuana for people who suffer from chronic pain 
due to damage to the nervous system.

So-called neuropathic pain, which is extremely difficult to control, can 
affect people who suffer from such ailments as diabetes or spinal-cord injuries

Health Canada has already allowed people with AIDS, multiple sclerosis, 
arthritis, epilepsy and other serious conditions to use the drug if it 
eases their symptoms.

In a press release obtained by The Globe and Mail, to be released 
officially today, Health Canada says the results of the study "will 
eventually help contribute to the development of health policy to address 
the medical use of marijuana and cannabinoids."

Health Minister Allan Rock also heralds the study as a "historic step 
forward" in the scientific research on the potential health benefits of 
marijuana. He adds that the study "furthers our compassionate effort to 
ascertain the potential of marijuana to provide therapeutic benefit to 
Canadians."

In a second press release, lead researcher Mark Ware says his goal is "to 
discover how much cannabis is needed to obtain pain relief and whether this 
amount produces any side effects."

Mary Walsh of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids 
said in an interview that, if the research is successful, it could lead to 
additional medical use of the drug.

"If there is well-controlled data out there, there will be a greater 
comfort level on the part of physicians and patients with regards to its 
use," she said.

The new McGill study is being billed as "the world's first peer-reviewed 
clinical trial examining the effects of smoked cannabis in a non-HIV or 
Multiple Sclerosis population."

It is also the first time that participants will take the drug at home.

Researchers plan to recruit 32 patients who are unresponsive to usual 
treatment methods. The participants will take the drug daily through a pipe 
over a four-week period and report the effects through what is known as the 
McGill Pain Questionnaire.

Among other things, researchers hope to find out more about the appropriate 
dosage of the drug and its effects on the patient's quality of life and mood.

At a recent appearance before a Senate committee on illicit drugs, Ms. 
Walsh complained about the lack of sound research on marijuana's potential 
as a painkiller. She said there is plenty of research on animals but not 
enough on humans.

"There is a lot of compelling data showing us that cannabinoids are very 
good pain drugs," she said.

"However, it is surprising how few human studies have been done on these 
agents as good painkillers. There are only six published control trials in 
the world literature, and only three of them are on chronic pain.

The three on acute pain have been mixed. Unfortunately, they are all old 
and small."

Dr. Ware, an anesthesia professor at McGill University, said the study that 
will be launched today is part of a longer-term research plan.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager