07/11/2007 00:00:00
Dutch want cannabis registered as regular medicine
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AMSTERDAM, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Wednesday it
wants to promote the development of cannabis-based medicine and will
extend the drug's availability in pharmacies by five years to allow more
scientific research.
In 2003, the Netherlands became the world's first country to make
cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies to treat chronic
pain, nausea and loss of appetite in cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis
patients.
"Medicinal cannabis must become a regular registered medicine," Health
Minister Ab Klink said in a statement, adding he wanted to give the
development of a cannabis-based medicine by a Dutch company a serious
chance.
The Netherlands, where prostitution and the sale of cannabis for
recreational use in coffee shops are regulated by the government, has a
history of pioneering social reforms. It was also the first country to
legalise euthanasia.
The Dutch government regulates the growing of special strains of
cannabis in laboratory-style conditions to supply pharmacies. A Dutch
company started working on developing a cannabis-based drug last year,
the health ministry said.
"The development path, that could take several years, can deliver
scientific details and insight into the balance between the efficacy and
safety of medicinal cannabis," it said.
In 2005, Canada became the first country in the world to approve a
cannabis-based medicine produced by Britain's GW Pharmaceuticals Plc
as a treatment for MS patients.
U.S. regulators granted approval last year for a clinical trial for the
GW under-the-tongue spray called Sativex, but the company announced in
July that European regulators had requested a further clinical study
before approval.
Cannabis has a long history of medicinal use. It was used as a Chinese
herbal remedy around 5,000 years ago, while Britain's Queen Victoria is
said to have taken cannabis tincture for menstrual pains.
But it fell out of favour because of a lack of standardised preparations
and the development of more potent synthetic drugs.
Critics argue that it has not undergone sufficient scientific scrutiny
and some doctors say it increases the risk of depression and
schizophrenia. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07550424.htm
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12994
Author:
Reuters via UKCIA
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