We believe that for long term clinical use, properly developed medicines containing the beneficial components of cannabis are a better option than simply smoking the raw product. Clare Hodges, a member of the pressure group Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics and an MS sufferer, said the survey findings reflected the fact that patients were telling doctors they were using the drug to alleviate their symptoms. This confirms our experience that doctors are very supportive of the thousands of patients who are using cannabis to treat themselves. These results are also a tribute to the patients who have been telling their doctors that cannabis has helped them. Doctors are now sitting up and taking note, and seeing for themselves that cannabis can be therapeutic.
Doctors are very supportive of the thousands of patients who are using cannabis to treat themselves.
In a survey published yesterday, nearly half said that the drug caused fewer serious problems than alcohol, tobacco and prescribed drugs, and a quarter thought it was less addictive. If it was legally available on prescription, more than eight out of 10 would give cannabis to patients with serious illnesses such as multiple sclerosis or cancer. But only 32 per cent of the 1,000 doctors who responded to questions on Medix UK, a medical web site, thought the drug should be legalised. One in five said they would consider prescribing cannabis for minor backache and 16 per cent said they would think about using it as an alternative to traditional anti-depressant drugs if it were legalised. Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and health policy at the British Medical Association, said the findings fitted with their own survey of three years ago.