THERE is no strong evidence to back the use of cannabis extract in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), it was claimed yesterday. A review of evidence on the first licensed preparation made from an extract of the drug, Sativex, said there were "limitations" which made it difficult to identify the place of the product in clinical practice. However, the makers of the drug said they believed the comments gave a misleading view and that the review writers appeared to have misunderstood important elements of the trials which were carried out. [continues 421 words]
PARENTS last night criticised Scottish Executive support for Tony Blair's plan to combat drug use in school with random urine tests for pupils and use of sniffer dogs. Alan Smith, the chairman of the Scottish School Boards Association, called the Prime Minister's plans unworkable and said they would turn teachers into prison wardens. "Parents should be consulted before anything like this is introduced. There are already sufficient powers in schools to deal with this and to have headteachers acting as some kind of wardens from Alcatraz would break the trust that exists between pupils and teachers," he said. [continues 497 words]
Facts, Mr. Ross (letter, "Curry is wrong," March 1)? Every study shows that drug use is equal among races, yet twice as many blacks as whites are in prison where drug crimes are the highest. Considering blacks' proportion of the population, it is clear that the drug war is being waged against blacks more than 10 times as hard as it is against whites. Perhaps if drug dogs were run through college dorms, or proportional numbers of whites were searched for drugs, the numbers would equal out. You would also have to fix a court system that shows a greater propensity to jail blacks for the same drug offenses as whites. [continues 113 words]
Your Sept. 22 article, "Poll shows support for medical marijuana" contains factual errors which must be corrected. The article said The Maine Medical Association last week voted to oppose the referendum because it was so vague and the ballot question asks if voters support the use of marijuana to treat specific illnesses without defining what those illnesses are. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact is the Maine Medical Marijuana initiative is very specific in listing the diseases covered. The act specifically lists the following medical conditions as the only conditions covered by the act: [continues 191 words]
The article said The Maine Medical Association last week voted to oppose the referendum because it was so vague and the ballot question asks if voters support the use of marijuana to treat specific illnesses without defining what those illnesses are. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact is the Maine Medical Marijuana initiative is very specific in listing the diseases covered. The act specifically lists the following medical conditions as the only conditions covered by the act: 1. Persistent nausea, vomiting, wasting syndrome of loss of appetite as a result of: acquired immune deficiency syndrome or the treatment thereof; or chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to treat cancer; [continues 156 words]
