IT HAS been known for many years that the medicinal use of cannabis extracts can have a beneficial effect in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, cancer pain and a range of other conditions. But because cannabis has been declared an illegal substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act, there has been an official reluctance to address the issue. Now that the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has approved the cannabidiol drug Sativex, on prescription, the necessary enabling legislation should be introduced as a matter of urgency.
This particular product, which is dispensed through a vaporiser, was approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in Canada 17 years ago. It has been authorised in six other countries since that time and is available in Northern Ireland under the National Health Service. Delaying its availability to patients here, now that it has been recommended for use as “a valid treatment option” by the IMB, would be cruel. Discussions on how to authorise medicinal cannabinoids, while retaining existing controls on cannabis use, should be quickly resolved within the Department of Health, along with issues of cost and the range of conditions to be covered.
The cannabis plant has been used as a medicine for thousands of years in China, Egypt and the Middle East. An Irish physician William Brooke O’Shaughnessy has been credited with reintroducing cannabis to modern western medicine for the treatment of muscle spasm, stomach cramps and general pain in the 1830s.
Laudanum, a tincture of opium, was also freely available in western society and was later found to be hugely addictive. The approval of synthetic cannabis for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, along with glaucoma and the effects of chemotherapy, in the United States and elsewhere has sharpened public debate on recreational use of the cannabis plant. A gradual reduction in the severity of criminal sanctions has followed in many countries.
Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogens found in tobacco. The damaging effects the drug can have on adolescent users, particularly in relation to learning, remembering and problem solving cautions against legalisation, not forgetting the risk of a psychotic episode in some cases. On the other hand, the huge profits made by drug gangs suggest strict licensing as an appropriate response. Whatever about that debate, the Department of Health should make sure that patients who may benefit from this drug receive it as soon as possible in controlled circumstances.