Filler: Competition to Pennsaid??
Health Canada sponsors pot-pain research
WebPosted Thu Jul 26 17:20:51 2001
MONTREAL - The federal government is investing
$235,000 in a study to determine whether or not
pot relieves pain.
INDEPTH: Medical Marijuana
LINKS: Websites related to this story
Health Canada has awarded the money to
researchers at McGill University to study whether
actually smoking marijuana gives relief to those
with chronic pain.
Previous studies were restricted to people
ingesting the active ingredient, THC, instead of
smoking a joint.
Dr. Mark Ware of the McGill Pain Centre says
there may be more active ingredients than just
THC in cannabis. Ware will head up the study that
will also investigate any potential negative side
effects of pot smoking.
Starting in January, thirty-two people who suffer
from chronic pain will be smoking marijuana daily
over a four-week period. They'll smoke different
strengths of the drug to help determine the doses
needed for pain relief.
The participants will report the effects through
what is known as the McGill Pain Questionnaire.
Ware says his goal is to discover how much
cannabis is needed to obtain pain relief, and
whether this amount produces any side effects.
Health Canada already allows people with AIDS,
MS, arthritis, epilepsy and other serious conditions
to use the drug if it helps ease their symptoms.
Written by CBC News Online staff
cbc.ca
cbc.ca
32 patients
3 joints per day
28 days or 4 week period
----
2688 joints for the project
$235,000 cost of the study
$87.42 cost per joint (including researcher salary, resource, raw material)
Some history at the next link. But HC will spend $5mm over 5 years for Marijuana supplies. Tax payer money. Why? Check the following:
cbc.ca
n December 2000, Ottawa awarded Prairie Plant
Systems, a Saskatoon company, the first licence to
grow marijuana for research purposes. The company
will be paid more than $5 million over five years to
provide Health Canada with a reliable source of
marijuana to meet the country's medical and research
needs.
So how much did the Saskatoon company cough up for the license?? So do users pay for the joint or does HC gives it away? (or take it home? <gg>) $5mm !? Lots of dough for lots of joints. Another MP perks? Or Allan Rock perk? Many questions?
Perhaps Pennsaid is a threat to HC and their drive to spend the $5mm for supplies. Sounds like some addict protecting his turf and that this is one reason why Pennsaid is being held up after years of clinicals, completion of phase III and IV and many $$$. Did anyone notice how slow HC works and their ability to analyse outstanding clinical results?
Dab some Pennsaid on those joints. |
