July 10, 2003 – Marijuana is said to provide effective pain relief, without necessarily plunging its user into a stupor preventing him from functioning.
At St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, rats were injected with WIN-55,212, a substance made by a British company that mimics the effects of marijuana and is said to be more stable than THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Then, the researchers placed food in the cage to see if the rats, despite having previously been injured in the legs, would explore their environment, or if the drug would instead freeze them in place.
They found that the rats continued to function normally, apparently without side effects and without feeling pain. In comparison, morphine and other opiates can cause a slow heartbeat and deterioration of motor skills.
Supporters of the therapeutic use of marijuana welcomed the results of this small in vivo study with joy. They say they hope it will end the stagnation they say has plagued the federal government since it gave Prairie Plant Systems (PPS) a mandate to supply marijuana to qualified Canadian patients.
The problem, supporters say, is that four years and ten million dollars later, PPS has yet to distribute a single gram of marijuana. Ottawa claims this is due to the uneven quality of PPS production, but critics point out that the federal Department of Health, in addition to refusing to fund any new studies on the therapeutic use of marijuana, recently shut down to a pilot project with AIDS patients in Toronto.
If scientific discoveries do not move Ottawa, court rulings may well take care of it. Recently, an Ontario Supreme Court judge ruled that it was unconstitutional to force a patient to turn to the black market for marijuana.
As a result, earlier this week, the federal Department of Health released its interim policy on the supply of medical marijuana. This policy will notably allow qualified patients to obtain marijuana seeds from PPS.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
From CNW, CP and Globe and Mail; July 5, 8 and 9, 2003.
