ACT toys with cannabis reform
By Rebecca Collerson
Reform to drug laws in the ACT, enacted on November 30, which allows legal cannabis consumption for those suffering from certain illnesses, is likely to be reversed following an outcry from the federal police and doctors' groups.
The new law, passed by the Liberal opposition and independents, allows possession of up to 25grams of cannabis by people suffering from certain illnesses, providing they have a certificate from their doctor permitting it.
The law, however, is likely to be changed so that cannabis may be prescribed only to people taking part in clinical trials or research projects being carried out with permission from the health minister.
Trials of cannabis as medicine have occurred throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Cannabis made up half of all medicines sold in the US from 1842 to 1900.
Doctors may prescribe cannabis for glaucoma, cancer, AIDS and muscular disorders. Cannabis is believed to also be effective in the relief of pain from arthritis, cystic fibrosis, migraine, rheumatism and menstruation. It is reputed extremely effective in the relief of nausea, particularly that caused by chemotherapy, and in increasing appetite in those suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia.
The multinational pharmaceutical company Roche has poured huge amounts of money into the development of a synthetic THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) called Manisol to market as a treatment for glaucoma. Studies have shown cannabis to be two to three times more effective than current medicines for reducing ocular pressure.
Cannabis contains at least 60 therapeutic compounds. The possible medical advantages of cannabis can be gauged from the fact that pharmaceutical companies in the US contribute half the funds of the anti-marijuana lobby.