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Marijuana For Multiple Sclerosis?
Aired November 07, 2003 - 15:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Could marijuana relieve some people of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis? Some British researchers think a little pot goes a long way to ease the pain of stiff muscles.
And yet, ITN's Lawrence McGinty reports, there's some conflict between what doctors and patients have to say about the benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE MCGINTY, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): Lesley Friend has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 24 years. She's one of over 600 patients who have been taking part in a three-year trial of a new drug based on cannabis to relieve the symptoms of the disease. It's no miracle cure, but like most of the patients in the trial, she says it's made a big difference to her life.
LESLEY FRIEND, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SUFFERER: It does make a big difference in your social life and to your whole image of yourself, because you perceive yourself as a rather pathetic creature with it. You do revert back to the person you were before.
MCGINTY: The patients in the trial weren't smoking joints. They took pharmaceutical extracts of cannabis under medical supervision. And although the results were mixed, they did report clear-cut benefits.
DR. JOHN ZAJICEK, TRIAL TEAM LEADER: We found that there were positive effects, particularly in pain, bladder disturbance, walking speed, and sleep quality. But there weren't in other areas, such as muscle stiffness, in terms of what we can objectively measure. But the patients told us that it did improve their muscle stiffness.
MCGINTY: Although mixed, the results of the trial are good enough to justify prescribing cannabis extracts on the NHS, according to the MS Society.
MIKE O'DONOVAN, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: I think the evidence is quite compelling. And a very large number of respondents said they had improvements in their symptoms. And they were also taking their existing medication. So this is addition.
MCGINTY: One drug based on cannabis could be available next year. That's in the form of a mouth spray, which gives a bigger dose and could show more clear-cut benefits.
Lawrence McGinty, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 7, 2003 - 15:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Could marijuana relieve some people of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis? Some British researchers think a little pot goes a long way to ease the pain of stiff muscles.
And yet, ITN's Lawrence McGinty reports, there's some conflict between what doctors and patients have to say about the benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE MCGINTY, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): Lesley Friend has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 24 years. She's one of over 600 patients who have been taking part in a three-year trial of a new drug based on cannabis to relieve the symptoms of the disease. It's no miracle cure, but like most of the patients in the trial, she says it's made a big difference to her life.
LESLEY FRIEND, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SUFFERER: It does make a big difference in your social life and to your whole image of yourself, because you perceive yourself as a rather pathetic creature with it. You do revert back to the person you were before.
MCGINTY: The patients in the trial weren't smoking joints. They took pharmaceutical extracts of cannabis under medical supervision. And although the results were mixed, they did report clear-cut benefits.
DR. JOHN ZAJICEK, TRIAL TEAM LEADER: We found that there were positive effects, particularly in pain, bladder disturbance, walking speed, and sleep quality. But there weren't in other areas, such as muscle stiffness, in terms of what we can objectively measure. But the patients told us that it did improve their muscle stiffness.
MCGINTY: Although mixed, the results of the trial are good enough to justify prescribing cannabis extracts on the NHS, according to the MS Society.
MIKE O'DONOVAN, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: I think the evidence is quite compelling. And a very large number of respondents said they had improvements in their symptoms. And they were also taking their existing medication. So this is addition.
MCGINTY: One drug based on cannabis could be available next year. That's in the form of a mouth spray, which gives a bigger dose and could show more clear-cut benefits.
Lawrence McGinty, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
