They cause widespread misery and suffering, as well as mental and physical illnesses, and they destroy thousands of lives, but recreational drugs may have health benefits. Research is increasingly showing that drugs may be able to help some patients with conditions as diverse as arthritis, cancer, and Parkinson's, to chronic pain, headaches, and heartburn. Some, like cannabis, were used as medicine for centuries before they became illegal, and have been investigated as potential therapies for many disorders, but newer drugs, such as ecstasy and LSD, are also being investigated. [continues 1147 words]
SCIENTISTS are about to embark on trials of the first vaccine against cocaine addiction. Once inoculated, patients will be unable to feel any of the effects of cocaine, no matter how much they take, because the drug will be neutralised by the immune system. "We have done the work on animals and we are moving into the clinic later this year," said Professor Kim Janda of The Scripps Research Institute in California. "We plan to work with patients, possibly at a hospital in France, by the autumn of this year. [continues 273 words]
Marijuana tablets that relieve pain without giving a high are to be tested on people for the first time this week, doctors say. In the study at the University of California some patients will given the new tablets, which contain a synthetic version of one of the drug's ingredients. Their progress will be compared with that of patients who smoke marijuana three times a day. The initial aim of the research is to see what effect the new drug has on the nausea suffered by patients receiving experimental Aids drugs and how it interacts with new drugs being developed. [continues 506 words]
BRITAIN is rapidly becoming a world leader in the testing of new drugs on healthy people, a practice that is banned or limited in the US and other developed countries. Students, the unemployed and other volunteers are being paid up to UKP1,000 a time to act as human guinea-pigs. Organisers of clinical trials have launched a television advertising campaign to recruit volunteers in one area, and nationally up to 8,000 people a year are now being used by contract companies to test a wide range of drugs before they are used on sick patients. [continues 806 words]
RECORD numbers of children are being given the drug Ritalin to control their behaviour. Prescribing rates for the drug, which is used to calm hyperactive children, have trebled in the past year and are 24 times what they were six years ago. A study by a Southampton University researcher reveals that some children were given the drug four times a day for up to four years. Yet it found little evidence that the effects of the drug are monitored. Figures from the Department of Health show that in the past 12 months 47,900 prescriptions for Ritalin were issued, compared with 14,700 in the previous year and only 2,000 in 1991. [continues 138 words]
