| Subject: Scientists Stub Out Cannabis As Wonder Drug |
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LONDON (Reuters)
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Date Posted: Mon, July 30 2001, 7:52:48 PDT
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON (Reuters) - Cannabis is no better than codeine at controlling pain and its undesirable side effects mean it has no place at present in mainstream medicine, scientists said on Friday.
After trawling through 39 past clinical studies on its use in easing pain and nausea, two groups of researchers writing in the British Medical Journal poured cold water on the idea that cannabis was a neglected wonder drug.
``It hasn't turned out to be a great success. There are, at the moment, much better alternatives,'' Dr. Eija Kalso, associate professor in the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at Helsinki University Hospital, told Reuters.
Future research might provide better cannabinoids--the active substances in cannabis--which could help treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and pain from nerve damage, but current information suggested adverse effects outweighed the benefits, she said.
``On current evidence cannabinoids can be recommended only for use in controlled clinical trials in carefully selected conditions for which there is no effective treatment,'' Kalso concluded in an editorial in the magazine.
Interest in the therapeutic use of cannabis has grown recently, and patient groups in a number of countries have called for freer availability. Thousands of MS sufferers are already breaking the law by buying the drug from street dealers.
GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, a recently listed British company that aims to develop the world's first cannabis-based medicines, is currently conducting trials to try to prove the value of cannabis extracts in treating MS and cancer pain.
SIDE EFFECTS
Fiona Campbell of the Pain Management Centre at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, England--who led the study on pain--said cannabinoids compared poorly with modern medicines in controlling acute pain.
Furthermore, there were many adverse effects--including cognitive impairment, psychosis, blurred vision and palpitations--which limited its use.
Campbell said carefully selected cannabis derivatives might yet help some MS patients or those with complex pain, but more research was needed before these drugs would be used clinically.
``You can't have the process in reverse--you cannot introduce something into clinical practice and then see whether it's helpful afterwards,'' she said in a telephone interview.
Martin Tramer of Hopitaux Universitaires in Geneva, head of the second research group, had slightly more encouraging results in looking at treatment for chemotherapy-related sickness.
His team, analysing studies involving more than 1,300 patients, found cannabinoids were more effective than some conventional drugs but concluded that potentially serious side effects would limit widespread use.
``The really important point is that where we have good alternatives, we should not use cannabis, which is not as effective and also causes adverse effects,'' said Kalso.
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