Medical Marijuana: National Multiple Sclerosis Society to Fund Study 6/23/06
Source: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/441/msmedmjstudy.shtml
In what could be the first sign of a course reversal by the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society, which has scoffed at medical marijuana in
the past, the group announced this week that it will fund a study on
the effect of marijuana on spasticity in MS patients. While the
Society acknowledges that up to 15% of MS patients use medical
marijuana, funding the new study is the first time the group has
indicated it is hearing what those patients are saying.
The society currently rejects the use of marijuana to relieve MS
symptoms. As it notes on its web site, "Based on the studies to date,
it is the opinion of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Medical
Advisory Board that there are currently insufficient data to recommend
marijuana or its derivatives as a treatment for MS. Long-term use of
marijuana may be associated with significant serious side effects. In
addition, other well-tested, FDA-approved drugs are available, such as
baclofen and tizanidine, to reduce spasticity in MS."
The Society said it was moved by inconclusive earlier studies on the
effect of marijuana on MS spasticity to fund a one using a new
measure. The study is not a new one; the group is taking over funding
for ongoing research at the University of California Center for
Medicinal Cannabis Research, which lost funding when the investigation
was only partially completed.
The study, by Dr. Mark Agius and fellow researchers at the University
of California-Davis School of Medicine, is scheduled for completion in
March 2008.
