Cannabis fails to slow progress of multiple sclerosis in UK study

Cannabis capsules failed to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in a large British study, dealing a blow to hopes that the drug could provide long-term benefits for patients with the debilitating nerve disease.

Despite promising signs in earlier, shorter studies, researchers found patients who took capsules containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a key active ingredient in cannabis, fared no better than those given a placebo.

The finding is a disappointment for researchers who thought cannabis might provide a viable therapy in the disease's secondary progressive stage, when patients have few treatment options.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients were assessed in the trial known as CUPID (cannabinoid use in progressive inflammatory brain disease) on both a disability scale administered by neurologists and another based on their own reporting.

"Overall the study found no evidence to support an effect of THC on MS progression in either of the main outcomes," researchers led by John Zajicek of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Plymouth University, said.

Results from the study, which was funded by Britain's Medical Research Council, will be presented at the Association of British Neurologists' annual meeting in Brighton later on Tuesday.

Scientific Research Supports Medical Cannabis Between 1840 and 1900, European and American medical journals published more than 100 articles on the therapeutic use of the drug known then as Cannabis Indica (or Indian hemp) and now simply as cannabis.

Today, new studies are being published in peer-reviewed journals that demonstrate cannabis has medical value in treating patients with serious illnesses such as AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and chronic pain.

The safety of the drug has been attested to by numerous studies and reports, including the LaGuardia Report of 1944, The Schafer Commission Report of 1972, a 1997 study conducted by the British House of Lords, the Institutes of Medicine report of 1999, research sponsored by Health Canada, and numerous studies conducted in the Netherlands, where it has been quasi-legal since 1976 and is available from pharmacies by prescription.

Recent published research on CD4 immunity in AIDS patients found no compromise to the immune systems of patients undergoing cannabis therapy in clinical trials.

The use of medical cannabis has been endorsed by numerous professional organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association, and the American Nurses Association.

Its use is supported by such leading medical publications as The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.

Cannabis contains more than 60 different cannabinoids, of which THC is thought to be the most active, and many MS patients have long said the drug helps them cope with the effects of the disease.