Coalition Reform Will Do Little, Say Experts A Victorian government plan to make clinical trials of medicinal marijuana easier to conduct will do little to expand access to the drug, an expert on drug law reform says. In response to growing calls for cannabis to be legalised for people with certain illnesses, including children with intractable epilepsy, Victorian Health Minister David Davis said on Thursday that he would amend the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act to make it easier for doctors to conduct clinical trials of medicinal cannabis. [continues 393 words]
Compound May Be Tested on Young A compound found in marijuana could soon be tested on young Australians to prevent and treat psychosis after European research suggested it could treat schizophrenia with fewer side effects than other drugs. As state and federal governments face increasing calls for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, leading psychiatrist and mental health advocate Patrick McGorry said one part of the drug was showing promise as an anti-psychotic medicine. The director of Orygen Youth Health Research Centre said while tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC) in cannabis was widely thought to be dangerous and increase the risk of psychosis in about 10 per cent to 20 per cent of people, another component cannabidiol ( CBD) appeared to relieve psychosis, depression and anxiety. [continues 360 words]
TAXI drivers, tradesmen and body builders are among the growing number of people using St Kilda's 24-hour needle and syringe exchange program - - the only service that operates all night, every night in Victoria. The manager of health services for the Salvation Army's Crisis Service, Sue White, said that since the Grey Street program started operating round the clock in late 2007, it had helped an extra 1000 people get clean equipment every month. Aside from local sex workers, she said, tradesmen were using the after-hours service alongside truck drivers and a small number of taxi drivers. [continues 212 words]
AUSTRALIAN doctors should be allowed to prescribe heroin to long-term addicts to prevent fatal overdoses, crime and the spread of blood-borne viruses, leading addiction specialists say. Dr Alex Wodak, director of the alcohol and drug service at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, called for Canberra to investigate whether long-term addicts who fail rehabilitation programs should be given a last-resort option of receiving the drug on prescription. "This group may be 5 per cent of all heroin users, but they have the biggest habit, and they account for a disproportionate amount of the crime," he said. [continues 215 words]
WHEN Sean started smoking cannabis as a teenager, it seemed like a harmless thing to do. At first, he and his mates smoked "joints" at parties to relax and have a laugh, but as the years went by, Sean found himself smoking the drug about four times a week. "Of all the drugs around, it was totally acceptable," he said. But when Sean started university a few years ago, things changed. One day, the voice of a female friend started talking to him when she was not around. [continues 280 words]
