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Sunday, 4 November, 2001, 22:35 GMT
Your comments on Cannabis from the chemist
Your Comments on Cannabis from the chemist
Your comments will be posted up all week.
We, the Dutch, have always been named -by the BBC and other conservative English media- as fools because we decriminalised the use of cannabis...
How long will it take before you start rehabilitatation...?
No comment!
I would like to pick up on a few points in these responses. We have to go through processes of evaluation as if this were a new drug. Those are the rules, established after thalidomide etc. Had cannabis not been thrown out in 1971 we could have started real clinical studies 20 years ago. Sadly the recreational and the medicinal uses of the drug get mixed up (even in the Panorama program). Whilst they are intertwined, they have to be dealt with separately.
Smoking cannabis is not a medicinal option. No other medicine is given in this form. Anyway, it is impossible to study it in this way.
Whilst cannabis does have its "downside" there is an urgent need to undertake research so that the benefits can be rolled out to all who might need it. We are still researching into morphine (a cheap plant based drug) some 190 years since it was purified.
Whilst some might criticise the Pharmaceutical industry, it is this particular industry that has got this "ball rolling". Otherwise we would now be no further forward than we were 5 or 10 or 20 years ago.
My colleagues and I now hope that we can get on and do the research now out of the public gaze.
I am HIV+ the only thing that has given me relief from the side effects of the medication I have been taking for the past five years is cannabis. My specialist has frequently told me that it will do me no harm (apart from the tobacco in the joint). I only smoke about 2 or 3 in the evening and it really does help me. If I could get it on prescription I would gladly give up smoking. I believe it should be legalised and derivatives of the active ingredients sold in chemists.
I feel that people should be aware that the benefits of cannabis demonstrated in this program were but a drop in the ocean. The cannabis debate has had a lot of ill informed coverage over the past few months and I think it is about time that someone, (do the BBC dare?) begins to address the real issues concerned.
Cannabis cannot be patented and it can be grown almost anywhere meaning that local communities have the opportunity for vast new industries. The potential, which is all scientifically documented if you bother to look, is there for more jobs, lower cost of living, higher standard of living and all without increasing taxes! Why are these issues never addressed?
My wife suffers from chronic back pain caused by arthritis, she goes for painkilling injections every 4 months which don't always work, she takes the strongest painkilling tablets daily the doctor says he can prescribe, and she is still in chronic pain. The medical profession just haven't got the answer for pain relief at the moment, give her and others like her at least the opportunity to try something which, may not have such serious side effects as the treatment she is on at the moment.
Thank you for bringing the subject out into the open.
I think if it helps people with a disabilitating illness then it is good idea to have it as a medicine.
Having watched your program about the above, the sooner the government allow the clinical use of Cannabis the better.
Rob Devon Speaking from experience I have smoked cannabis for around 25 years and have suffered no ill effects. About 4 years ago I developed M.E. and I found that cannabis was extremely useful in controlling muscle spasms and pain. Further it helped me get a good nights sleep-an extremely important component in my recovery. I am now a long way on the path to full health again. My only problem has been that cannabis has been very difficult to obtain after all it is illegal, the recent changes in law does not help me as I still have to obtain the cannabis from an illegal source. Further since my illness has left me physically unable to go out and about easily how does one remain in contact with a supply. I have often run out and these periods have been very hard i.e. severe pain and lack of sleep pushing me further back into bouts of illness. The sooner cannabis can be legalised the better. I can understand that there are concerns about psychosis resulting from misuse of cannabis however; I don't feel that cannabis is solely responsible for these reactions. What about the underlying reasons or problems as to why anyone should misuse any substance? Is alcohol illegal? No I don't think so, not in this country anyway. I am quite sure that more psychotic episodes result from misuse of alcohol than any other drug legal or illegal.
It's about time the difference was drawn between the passive cannabis smoker and the sort of person who robs and mugs to support his/her habit such as someone who misuses drugs like crack cocaine and/or heroin. Legalise cannabis and stop turning innocent law abiding people like myself into criminals!
People seem to still have an uninformed view of Cannabis. For instance, Cannabis does no more damage than beer, wine, and spirits. As matter of fact it is less damaging then most of things people accept as "OK".
Maybe now we will be more inclined to open our minds and think for ourselves. Then hopefully people will get the help they need instead of crap about legislatioisation. As for the risks, tell me what nowadays isn't bad or harmful to us.
Kim Cornwall I would like to contribute some personal experiences of the use of cannabis. I'm sure that maybe this drug does have some benefits to people suffering from muscular problems, as it has a tendency to relax people especially in the short term. However as a young person who has been to art college, smoked in the past, and seen people smoking it, I have serious reservations.
This drug is a serious threat to society, as it has the power to change personality, and induce psychiatric problems. I have seen may cannabis smokers suffer and have suffered from these problems myself to some degree. It works in a very subtle way, inducing feelings of well-being, and freedom, but in time it can have the opposite affect, making the body depend on it, creating agitation, lethargy, and other social problems including memory loss. So before people start calling it a wonder drug they really should look much deeper at the social implications, and do more research before such a claim can be made. I wouldn't touch it now myself at all just from my own experience.
A lot of negative comments on the side effects of cannabis on your comment page, do these people realise the bad side effects we have to put up with from prescription medicine? Myself I am in pain 24/7 with osteoathritis and can cut down my medication if I use a little cannabis, I don't like the high feeling so take only just enough and get no side effects. The people knocking cannabis should know the true on prescribed medication side effects first then decide. There will always be people that take too much & abuse it, that is a fact of life. Sensible folk take only enough to do the job.
Juliette Crouch Leyton
I have suffered from MS for 18 years with the complication of epilepsy. I can wholeheartedly support the benefits of cannabis which I have been using for 10 years, limbs not cramped up with spasms like before, many many less fits - I could go on. May I also add that I gave up smoking cigarettes 5 years ago so it is perfectly possible to smoke cannabis without smoking tobacco. Thank you BBC for fact not peoples' prejudices. Roll on the chemist! I would like to note that the so-called 'side effect' of getting high from Cannabis is surely no more or less dangerous from the high caused by regularly prescribed drugs such as morphine. It is interesting to see that people make a distinction between a legal high from 'good' prescription drugs and the illegal high from 'bad' Cannabis. Anyone who cannot see the hypocrisy in this attitude has obviously been listening to the propaganda for too long.
I do not deny that Cannabis may have some ill effects. However I believe that like all drugs if it is used sensibly and in moderation its effects are generally positive.
As a regular moderate recreational user of many years I continue to hope for true legalisation, especially for medical use.
Dom Derby
The programme was well balanced, particularly in relation to psychosis and long-term use. Unfortunately it lacked an important economic analysis. What will be the predicted drop in tobacco company and brewery profits if people, particularly the poorer sections of society, have a virtually free stock of garden grown intoxicants available. It seems that the agreed bad effects of cannabis are never compared to those of nicotine or alcohol. Could you investigate how much lobbying the tobacco and alcohol industries have done to prevent the legalisation of cannabis?
I think that since cannabis was made illegal in 1928 we have moved on a little since then don¿t you? I mean we have had women winning the right to vote, the age of gay consent down to 16, and still Cannabis is illegal! We all have a right to do what we choose. It seems that about 8 million people in this country choose to consume cannabis either for recreational or medical use, but due to the governments small mindedness we are all labelled as criminals!! Something needs to be done about it and fast!!!
I have suffered for many years with Rheumatiod arthritis. I have been prescribed various lotions, pills and potions. I have tried cannabis on several occasions as traditional remedies just don't work effectively. It provides relief from pain and after smoking it I can enjoy a pain free and comfortable nights sleep.
I watched your programme with interest last night and would like to say that for the most part the documentary was informative and enlightening, for those of us with medical reasons for seeking an alternative analgesic. Thank you for showing the programme and hopefully now the powers that be will sit up and take notice of the many many hundreds of people who could benefit from medicinal cannabis use.
Thank you, your programme last night was first class. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis; I'm now 40 years old and first had it in 1993. For two years now I have been pain free due to Cannabis. I now lead a normal life. Why don't the government see that if they legalize cannabis for medicinal reasons, they take the danger away for us going to drug dealers. They could also use the money we have to pay out.
I take up to 150mg Dothiepin, 150mg tramadol, and 25mg Atenolol daily. I have taken this amount for quite a few years now prescribed from the pain clinic at the Hallamshire hospital Sheffield. I am sure the side effects from cannabis would not be as aggressive as those from my safe 'prescribed' drugs. I have never knowingly broke any law I can remember, and would not smoke even to take away the pain, but a dose of cannabis extract seems to me to be something of a Godsend. I have had Chronic pain for well over 10 years now, seen lots of doctors, and paid to see professors privately. All unfortunately to no avail, any good effects I had from drugs mellowed over time, my pain is increasing weight out of control, and depression creeping back every so often. Dothiepin is an anti depressant I use for relaxing side effects. If cannabis really is so good I cannot wait to try it.
I have smoked cannabis daily for about 32 years. I have all my wits about me and I have very good health. I rarely even get a cold. I have a well-paid, responsible job with a big company in Holland, doing very complex logical and creative work. I work hard and love my job and my life. My work only gets better, all the time.
I get high often, taking care that my dosage is appropriate to the situation. I can't understand why cannabis is only going to be permitted if it allows pharmaceutical companies to profit from it and if it doesn't get you high! Can someone tell me what's wrong with getting high? I don't understand this bit. Most of us are oriented towards pleasure and away from pain. It's a normal human trait.
And further, why the spray? What's wrong with the leaves or the resin? Would you want to spray parsley extract on your salad?
I have been disabled with back pain following an accident and 2 operations on my spine. That was 16 years ago. The first 6 years I was on morphine, I was totally spaced out all the time and constantly constipated. For the last 10 years I have managed my pain levels by using cannabis. It is the only thing that enables me to have some form of normality to my life. All my muscle spasm goes from having a puff on a joint or a pipe of cannabis. I am all for the decriminalisation of it and would like to be in a situation where I do not have to break the law so as to have some pain relief!
My wife suffers from MS and has just recently been prescribed beta interferon after a two year fight with our local health board. We knew that beta interferon was about to be banned from use on grounds of cost and was lucky to beat the announcement by about 3 weeks. Hopefully this drug will help ease her symptoms, if it doesn't then our next option may be cannabis. We know there is no cure as yet, so surely anything that can relieve these symptoms must be of benefit. It is a shame that Panorama did not consider the Canadian experience with the legalisation of cannabis for medical purposes only. Earlier this year federal legislation came into force legalising prescription cannabis, the first country in the world to do so. It would have been interesting to hear the arguments used by the Canadian government and other Canadian groups to rationalise this decision.
To think I lived in ignorance all these years? I suffer from Acute Arthritis, and am in constant pain. I've tried all the pain relief drugs my doctor has prescribed and apart from knocking my stomach for six, I am reduced to taking strong painkillers at the maximum dose which I consider to have side effects themselves. I have NEVER been pain free, but no matter how I tell the doctor, I still get fobbed off with "Have another Hot Shower, try to Exercise more, etc!
Well after watching this programme, I'm definitely going to go out of my way and get some Cannabis!
(P.S. I medically retired after long service in the Prison Service, and have always abided by the Law! Well now it's relaxed for personal use I have to give it a try. I wish I could have been included on the Trials!
Great show - the pharmaceuticals industry, if I am correct, are there to ensure a human's rightful opportunity to cure or relief of states of being which prevent one from leading their life to the best of their ability. It is therefore their responsibility to pursue the relative research to maintain this. People need to be given the opportunity to make choices from all the options, not just the ones they are drip fed. They can't patent cannabis. Congratulations on a wonderful programme tonight.
There is surely something wrong with a Government and a Medical Profession that will not allow those of us who suffer chronic disabilities a way of relieving the discomfiture and pain associated with them.
I have Generalised Dystonia and have campaigned in Ireland for many years to have marijuana legalised for medical use.
Surely it is time that those of us with disabilities were afforded some dignity and a quality of life that your programme clearly demonstrated can be achieved.
Well done to all concerned.
My 16 yr old is presently in an adolescent unit (has been for 6wks) suffering with paranoia psychosis. He has smoked a lot of cannabis - what about the dangers that cannabis is doing to their brains! He is improving and is on olazapine to help. No one seems to be aware of the dangers of cannabis in this respect and I think it should be highlighted more. If cannabis is doing so much good for these very ill people then it must be a very powerful drug!
Good comments from Mr Lane, but how many goods friends can't hold down a job through alcohol
Blimey! What an eye-opening programme. As a recreational user of cannabis for a number of years I can heartily recommend its use. After a hard day's work, there is nothing I look forward to more than a relaxing smoke to take the stresses of the day away.
Over the years, I have become increasingly interested in the both the political and medicinal arguments for the legalisation of cannabis. However, until I saw this evening's programme, I had no idea how profound an improvement my favourite herb could make.
I would like to wish all those featured in the programme, and all other sufferers, a happy and pain free life. I wish for their sake that some really strident moves will now be taken to legalise cannabis, if only for medicinal purposes.
I wasn't too impressed with the programme tonight as there wasn't anything new reported. Yes lots of us still enjoy the recreational use of cannabis even if illegal & yes the medicinal uses are well known so what is new? Congratulations on an excellent programme, but judging from the amount of material being posted into this forum, there is plenty of room for more debate, and also more programmes on this subject. The amazing and miraculous properties of the female cannabis plant are not just confined to the treatment of the ailments mentioned on your programme, but to a wide variety of other ills including asthma, glaucoma, reducing tumours, nausea relief (eg AIDs, cancer therapy, and even travel sickness), epilepsy, herpes, cystic fibrosis, insomnia, emphysema, migraines, and many more. The seeds of the plant are the most nutritious single food source on the planet, containing 80% essential fatty acids that our needed by our immune systems, and can supply a nearly complete diet for both humans and domesticated animals. The seed oil can also be used as the basis for paints and varnishes, and also lighting oil. The male cannabis plant, aka hemp, can be used to produce textiles and fabrics, rope, twine and cordage, and art canvas. The fibres can be used to make paper - one acre of hemp can produce four times the amount than an acre of trees. The fibres can also be compressed into boards, much like MDF, and can be used as a building material. Hemp can also be used as a biomass fuel, as it is one of the fastest growing and most resilient of annual plants. Thus, hemp can be burnt to produce charcoal to fuel power stations, and methanol and fuel oil to supply the same by-products of the traditional fossil fuels. As it is an annual plant, it also removes the carbon dioxide from the environment, thereby redressing the balance. This plant has been persecuted for long enough. It is now high time for a debate on this subject, and it is my hope that journalists like yourselves will help to publicise the truth about cannabis sativa, and expunge the propaganda that has survived for far too long.
Thank you Panorama for giving us the results of the trials on cannabis. I suffer from chronic tinnitus and use cannabis on a regular basis to alleviate the horrible ringing in my ears. It has however struck me that perhaps the BBC could take the cannabis issue further. Why did you not look at other resources cannabis sativa can offer this world? The most versatile plant in the world has more to offer than just pain relief. For a start it is estimated there are 4 million cannabis users in th UK alone. Perhaps spending on average between 10 and 20 pounds a week on their recreational habit, money that goes to dealers and suppliers. This means around 3 billion pounds annually goes underground and is never taxed. I watched your programme tonight, and wish to comment that since suffering mental illness in 1989, it is only recreational cannabis use which has above all other previous medical prescriptions, allowed me to regain the self which was originally familiar to me. It has helped to such an extent, and without the side effects which previous prescriptions have always had, and in a way that other medications have not been able to do - that I am now more occasionally able to contemplate the voices which are symptoms of my condition with anything resembling equanimity. Instead of depression, I am now more able to converse in company, as opposed to former reticence, and can now choose to read or write - two of my favourite passions, without the irritation of the turbulence of voices that affected my mood.
My emphasis is that further exploration of the medicinal uses of cannabis might discover that contrary to causing psychosis, as it is now alleged and may well be true in some cases, it might actually in some other cases, assist to relieve it. If as the medics say, that there are side issues attached to the use of cannabis, then why not legalise it and write a health warning with it as with cigarettes - and let people make their life choices as should be the case in a democratic society? People should have the right to decide their own medicine, particularly where the scientists themselves are no wiser...
You had a chance to inform people on some of the risks involved in taking cannabis but you wimped out. Doing some research myself, coupled with personal experience from smoking it a few years ago, has shown me that it is far from being some "wonder drug". Apart from the fact that I have read that it is as carcinogenic as tobacco, (stands to reason) but also it can cause depression and anxiety ( I know from experience as well as from medical evidence) with it leading to schizophrenia and psychosis. I know of one individual locally that suffered from the former as a direct result. There are also social effects. After leaving University two of my fellow students smoked it so often that neither could hold down a job for very long. One is still unemployed now and has become involved not only in taking harder drugs but also in their dealing. I know because he was once my best friend. Recently I heard supporters of cannabis claiming that it's good for a baby during pregnancy; good for those suffering from asthma, and someone even said that it improves your driving skills!
Great Programme - they cannot possibly prosecute anyone for growing plants now.
The Panorama programme attempted to demonstrate the medicinal use of Cannabis in treating people with terminal medical conditions who have not been able to benefit from other forms of medical treatment. Most people who use Cannabis do not suffer from such chronic illnesses. The majority of Cannabis users take the drug for its intoxicating effects. As a clinician working in the field of drug abuse, I have not yet met a Cannabis user who doesn't experience paranoia and memory problems. I am writing to say thank you to the BBC for this coverage. I had a car accident 18 years ago which left me with constant back and neck pain along with chronic migraines every few weeks which I still get. I also have MS now and I get great benefit from cannabis, although I can't always get it. I would like to point out though that after the accident(about two years which would be around 1986) I was suicidal and very depressed which was diagnosed as post traumatic stress disorder, and I didn't feel any benefit when I tried it then. It seemed to have an effect of making me feel less grounded, less secure about my life. So I think what I am trying to say is, give people the information of what it does and doesn't help and let them make their own choice.
My son was a regular recreational user of cannabis for many years and he normally became very relaxed, but the last lot was 'stronger' and he became completely paranoid for 3 or 4 days. If cannabis helps people medically that is very good, but it can also cause great harm.
Yet another Panorama which lives up to the standards we have come to expect! I would have liked to see more facts but obviously these can't be relied upon in the early phases or research.
It seems once again, as seen in many recent events, our nation's blind acceptance of outdated "Victorian" ethics and morality has been brought to question. Maybe it's time for a total rethink, so that the often mistaken attitudes of the past can stop clouding our present and hindering our future.
Excellent programme, but I'm a little worried that it was more of a commercial for GW pharmaceuticals than an attempt to put right the horrendous folly of cannabis prohibition. LET THE PEOPLE GROW! We don't need years of pseudo-science and government licensing procedures. Just give us the herb and let us get on with it, whether for medical, recreational or spiritual purposes. BIG BROTHER DOES *NOT* KNOW BEST.
Well done BBC, a well informed and informative programme about the medicinal benefits of cannabis. As a long term recreational user (32 years) I am however dubious about it's general recreational use, I now find that I am very dependent on it to see me through the day. If I cannot get it I suffer from terrible mood swings and depression. So although I approve of its 'legalisation' for medicinal use I am concerned that it is regarded as totally harmless substance, it is a very powerful psychotic drug.
Finally something can now be done.
Stop me being a criminal.
Legalise it.
Those correspondents calling for a "more balanced approach" from the BBC as they didn't highlight the harm from cannabis often enough - You have to be joking?! The vast majority of programmes about any illegal (as opposed to alcohol/tobacco/caffeine or any "medicinal" drug etc) drug are nearly always biased against drug use for fear of a (misinformed) public backlash. Ditto politicians/policy. The facts are that after decades of study and millennia of use we know cannabis to be physically NON-addictive and this is largely true mentally as well and that the "harm" it does is tiny and much less than that received from regular consumption of alcohol, for instance. It is about time people removed their blinkers and attempted to be a bit more open-minded and "grown-up" in their thoughts. Lets have a real debate not one smothered in the cotton-wool of what we WANT to be the case, rather than trying to find out what IS the case.
It's only a matter of time before Cannabis is decriminalised. At present, the law is woefully out of touch with today's
'pharmaceutical' culture, and a culture that no longer sees a moral difference between alcohol, tobacco and cannabis.
Because of this, most people who use cannabis will not be affected irrespective of govt. legislation, in the same way as Londoners of the early 1700's drank alcohol when prohibited. In the end, the govt. will have to relent, just as it did then - because, economically, it's just too good a tax earner to ignore!
After watching this programme I felt moved, it's about time they took an interest. I'm glad to hear the government is finally hearing what the people want, it's not so people can get "high". It would be good for a lot of other uses like nerve disorders so it should be used to help. After all it's a good resource!
I have had a mild form of MS for at least the past eight years for which I am not given any medication. However for all the "mild" symptoms I suffer with, and have to deal with in my daily life, I am frustrated and inconvenienced. For example, legs that feel like blocks of wood, feet that feel as if my shoes are falling off, dizzy spells, irritable bowel syndrome and lack of muscle tone, (which leads to "accidents", and proves very embarrassing) etc. I have never smoked, but often wonder if a "joint" would help relieve these symptoms? but have so far not tried it.
Now my husband has started to suffer with arthritis, and he lives on strong painkillers, which he really doesn't like taking, but that is all the help his doctor will offer.
If cannabis was legalised and on prescription, and it could offer him some relief, as well as me, it would transform the quality of both our lives.
I was disappointed at Prof Robin Murray's comments as I believe them to be an inaccurate reflection of majority psychiatric opinion. In all my years of clinical psychiatric practice I never encountered a case of true cannabis induced psychosis in someone not suffering with an underlying mental illness such as schizophrenia or an inherent predisposition to psychosis. In fact I doubt whether cannabis in normal doses ever induces hallucinations or delusions in normal individuals. What is of greater concern is that mentally ill people are increasingly resorting to illicit drugs of all types which are undoubtedly harmful to them and unfortunately the Government pays them significant cash sums in benefits which enables this to happen and makes them targets to drug dealers rather than benefits being paid in kind which would avoid this happening. I have no doubt of the medical benefits of cannabis and its undoubted safety. As a last comment I also never witnessed any crimes being committed under cannabis unlike alcohol which both makes people often more aggressive and definitely also does damage brain cells. Whereas in spite of Professor Baroness Greenfield's comments the evidence for neurotoxicity of cannabis in normally consumed doses is rather weak.
This programme was excellent in highlighting the benefits of cannabis for medicinal purposes. In this respect cannabis should have been legalised years ago. With regards recreational use it was equally successful in demonstrating that cannabis, like any drug, is not a miracle drug when it is abused; it can lead to serious psychological problems. This said however, cannabis should be decriminalised. Currently thousands of people in this country face excessive punishment for using a drug that is not, and should not be classed as any more dangerous than cigarettes or alcohol.
As a sufferer of M.S., I have found cannabis beneficial in reducing stress which accentuates the symptoms such as cramps and depression.
Great show
As an Osteo-Arthritis sufferer in chronic pain I have used the herb out of curiosity, I do not like the high and find it difficult to regulate the dose at the beginning. This will come with experience. I find it much safer to grow a few plants which I can cope with. Taking the strong pain killers prescribed for me leaves me feeling very depressed and find I can take these less if I use a little herb (cannabis) 2 or 3 times a week. I do not smoke it but use it in cooking to good effect. Hardly addicted wouldn't you agree! Alcohol leaves me in tremendous pain for days, even a glass of wine? so I am teetotal. Cannabis has been given very bad press mainly due to the minority who abuse it and the media making stories out of nothing just to sell a paper. You only have to look at the youngsters with their bottles of Alcopops to see a real problem in the making.
I would go on the trial tomorrow if asked.
Presumably, the patients on the trial also noted a number of other 'side effects' that were down to being on cannabis - the programme didn't seem to note any of these. Perhaps, it should have, to at least, offer more of a balanced view.
An excellent programme!
About time people got to know the facts, from an Un-biased view.
Free the weed.
Thank you and congratulations on being courageous enough to publicly say what an unheard but growing minority of us have been saying years. Ever since I read Jack Herer¿s "The Emperor wears no clothes" I've been alerted to how repeatedly positive results to cannabis studies never surface because no reputed organization or body are prepared to accurately represent the findings for fear of being branded pro-cannabis. It was refreshing to hear someone finally tell it like it is!
I was diagnosed as an MS sufferer in Oct 2000. Since then it has severely affected my mobility & quality of life & my children are also missing out because of the rapid deterioration in my health. Tonight's programme gives me some hope but as a single dad with 4 children I wonder how long I will have to wait to try this treatment & will it be too late to help. My family are from the Caribbean. Cannabis has been used there for many years. It is mainly smoked but it is also used in baking & in a beverage, known as 'bush tea'.
Panorama has as usual, taken a misunderstood subject & projected it to the public in an informed & fair manner, well done. I hope that the trials prove to be successful & that people who 'need the weed' will be given the right to use it legally.
I believe cannabis should be legalised for medicinal purposes. I also think the government could make a lot of money through taxation which could also help to fund the NHS. Not only should it be legalised for medicinal use but also for recreational use. But we have to make sure of one thing - It is legalised strictly for medical purposes very soon. Think of the suffering we could reduce!
I was locked in a cell for the weekend and sent to the crown court for trial for permitting a disabled friend to have a joint in my house. This should never happen again.
After a horrendous accident in which I degloved my entire left arm, multiple fractures and dislocations I have found cannabis treated nerve, muscle and arthritic pain, helped with depression and also relieved some of the side effects of opiate based pain relief. Just easing the side effects is a major turnaround in my life as I no longer suffer from irritable bowels, nausea and violent mood swings. Pain relief is not absolute but rather takes my mind off the severe pain especially during the winter months. If I did not use cannabis I have no doubt I would have taken my own life at some point within the past 6 years because of severe pain and depression. My family can testify about the significant change in my quality of life, improved functionality and complete change in personality for the better with no more violent rages towards my wife and children. I believe that prescribed medication while relieving pain to some extent had far more negative effects than positive and I thank the lord that a caring nurse at the hospital's plastics unit put me on the road to a better life by recommending cannabis. How can a naturally occurring herb be illegal when it can save a life and a family's sanity and bring us back from despair?
I believe future generations will regard the 20th century attitude towards cannabis as an obsolete Victorian eccentricity. It seems we are finally moving on.
Drugs and medicines which can be prescribed for chronic pain now, can cause a feeling of being 'out of it' without gaining much pain relief, but at the moment that is the only choice. Your programme showed that people in pain want to feel pain-free, clear headed and normal, not 'high'.
The programme proved very little as far as I could tell. I'm not dismissing the possibility that Cannabis has its benefits, but when will the BBC finally get round to doing a documentary on the harm and risks involved in smoking Cannabis. It seems to me that the BBC should have done a more balanced documentary. I wait in hope that one day soon we might see one.
I'd like the medical fraternity to take its use in depression and panic attacks seriously. I suffer from severe depressions and social phobia, but it helps me live a relatively normal life. I am sure it helps and not causes my anxieties, as I have suffered from them longer than I have taken. England has not gone mad since Labour's u-turn on drugs last month. As a nation we use cannabis more responsibly than we do beer. It should be legalised.
I am a sufferer of motor neurone disease. The use of cannabis does have definite positive effect, even miraculous effect on my symptoms. It is visible that the smoking of a joint will stop or at least suppress muscle tremors, and I believe in my case the regular use may also be responsible for delaying the progression of the disease as a whole.
An unfortunate down side from the use is that I suffer continually from chest complaints and I have recently been advised that I must stop smoking completely. I would love the opportunity to take part in any further trials or have the chance to use the spray forms.
On the programme I noted that the best results were from the two people that had used cannabis before and were not so alarmed by the narcotic effect of the drug. I am sure the others will have better results once they have established a tolerance and become more used to the high.
Good programme tonight on medicinal use of cannabis, but you missed out on one really important aspect of recreational use i.e. the comparison between cannabis and alcohol. Please ask your experts for a realistic comparison. Cannabis may well be more carcinogenic (if smoked) than tobacco, but how much less harmful is it than alcohol? Over the years I have seen many people drunk from alcohol and many people stoned from cannabis - cannabis is far less harmful, let me assure you. If you want a personal reference, I've tried both, many times, and I know very well that cannabis is far less likely to cause aggression, sickness and general bloody-mindedness than alcohol - and that comment comes from a 49 year old Solicitor of the Supreme Court!! Legalise now!!!
I've had MS since I was 21. I'm 32 now and a joint is the only medicine that takes the stiffness away from my leg, I can actually bend at the knee. Mental health issues are a worry, as I smoked cannabis before the stiffness/MS. It should be made available on prescription for those who would benefit.
I think everyone agrees that this is a good drug
Excellent programme on Cannabis and its potential benefits to people with MS, but I now feel frustrated: who can I ask for more information? I am currently on Beta interferon, so am getting help for my MS through this, but can I benefit even more through using cannabis as well? I can imagine my GP would be very cagey in his answer, as he cannot afford to condone me using cannabis whilst it remains illegal.
A very well-planned and presented documentary, encouraging me to access this web page for the first time. What an amazing resource! I will be using this site repeatedly in future. Thanks for all the hard work that's been put into it!
The programme proved very little as far as I could tell. I'm not dismissing the possibility that Cannabis has its benefits, but when will the BBC finally get round to doing a documentary on the harm and risks involved in smoking Cannabis. It seems to me that the BBC should have done a more balanced documentary. I wait in hope that one day soon we might see one.
I have AS a chronic arthritic condition and have been told many times by fellow sufferers that Cannabis can give relief to the condition. Why does the law and medical opinion deny people this drug but happily dish out synthetic opiates which are potentially far more harmful? Sick people just need relief from symptoms they are not interested in 'getting high', to do that they could just take a bigger dose of their prescription medication. The majority of chronically ill people that I have met hate being reliant on large quantities of pills with pills to counter side effects ad nauseum. Are we just being manipulated by the drug industry for profit?
Cannabis helped mend my damaged neck and brain damage sustained from assault. Unfortunately I was arrested for possession with intent to supply in 1999, 2 years after my assault. I have to use di-hydracoedine and valium to relieve pain now. The law should change.
I have smoked cannabis socially, in different forms, for about 14 years. I have found it good to relax me when stressed. It's either that or alcohol. Nowadays I'd choose a joint rather than a tumbler! However, when suffering from depression from bereavement and rape in the late eighties in I was referred for counselling. I was strongly advised not to smoke cannabis as it caused mood swings when depressed. I did try it out a couple of times and my mood swings were terrifying - mentally! I wanted to attack people for no reason at all. I ceased smoking cannabis until I had recovered from my depression.
If cannabis is legalised - which I support - it must be done so under the strict guidance of the patient's GP, especially if they are prone to depression. As it was mentioned in the programme - Prozac and other anti-depressants are quite freely available, so why be so hard on Cannabis? Prescribe Cannabis for those poor unfortunate people featured on tonight's programme to ease their pain and suffering, but not to those suffering depression as there is very little mental health care these days to support, treat and protect them.
Good one BBC!
It's about time a programme was aired to show the positive benefits of cannabis!
When we see people's lives so improved by using this drug, how can red tape be allowed to stop it? All people want is a quality to their lives, we should help them get it!
I am a firm believer that people have a right to put whatever they want into their bodies, as long as they are not hurting anyone else.
The government should be able to govern the country, not our own bodies.
Again, well done!
I do not see why cannabis should not be available on prescription to those suffering from chronic pain which no other drug can ease. Not only will this give great relief to the suffering individuals, but, as shown in the case of Tyrone, can reduce the amount of care (or carers) needed by that individual, and help restore some dignity. I strongly believe that people have a right to suitable pain relief, and it is understood that many existing legal drugs are not effective for all illnesses. Anyway, alcohol and nicotine in large quantities can prove quite a drain on NHS funds via transplants/other treatments, so why not carry on this research and hopefully give many sufferers out there a much needed break!
The ability of medical users to grow should be seriously considered. Why should my money go to a dealer or multinational pharmaceutical when I could grow it myself. Also, how many ministers have shares in the companies or have an interest?
Excellent programme tonight. It could be seen in the faces of the patients that they were feeling relief from their pain. Cannabis does seem to be the latest wonder drug and probably less harmful than the old valium was.
I'd like to see a programme comparing recreational use/abuse of cannabis and use/abuse of alcohol. I feel that alcohol is a far more dangerous drug.
My boyfriend and his brother are currently serving 15 months for cultivation of cannabis. They weren't dealing but had a particularly good crop and the police counted 300 plants (including shoots and cuttings) - We think this sentence was very severe. I am finding it very difficult to cope with Dave in prison - it is not the sort of thing I expected to have to deal with at the age of 46.
A good programme as I said but a bit too late for Dave, his brother Pete and me.
I am so pleased to see in your programme how people with muscular disability are helped by cannabis. As someone who has been rendered disabled with neurological disease affecting my mobility, I have smoked recreationally for over 25 years but unfortunately being 'stoned' does not seem to alleviate pain, rather continue to make things seem 'ok'. Believe me cannabis is not completely 'harmless' although it is the nicotine so readily associated with the drug that negates its obvious positive effects.
This drug as it says in the programme "is a MIRACLE". Please get something done about this - legalise it.
The medical use of Cannabis enjoys a ridiculously high profile in the arena of drug research. The publicising of generally subjective trials can do nothing to separate the two issues - i.e. the recreational use and the medical use. I believe the scientists should be left in peace to conduct proper long term scientifically based trials and if they are successful then the therapeutic extracts can be packaged and made available on prescription. This in no way affects the illicit use of the drug in the same way that the illicit use of amphetamines has no connection with their use in medicine. PLEASE let's leave the research out of the spotlight until the drug is either made available (or not) depending on the results.
I am in my mid thirties and have a disability that causes lots of pain and muscles spasms. It was interesting to see that there may be alternatives to things like valium in the near future. If medicinal cannabis becomes a reality it may well enable me to do a lot more physically.
Cannabis helped me after a fatal car crash killed one of my friends. It helped the pain of reconstructive surgery on my face and a punctured kidney. Legalise it now.
It heartens me that my friend who has been recently diagnosed with MS will be able to use cannabis without unnecessary worries.
My mother suffers from MS, one of her main symptoms is stiffness of the joints, she uses painkillers every day and gets around by use of a walking frame. I feel after watching the programme the Cannabis Spray could help my mother hugely.
Excellent programme. My wife has MS. We know it works. The only time she can walk unaided is after a joint. Keep this sort of thing coming.
Very informative, but somebody should check Australian policies on cannabis, it has been decriminalised for over 7 years in some states like South Australia. And they also prescribe THC tablets for people with MS/AIDS/Cancer etc.
Very interesting programme with some clear helpful points. But it does just skim the surface a little bit. We need to know more and go even deeper into the debate.
Great - this opens up a whole new door, the government must decriminalise cannabis immediately.
Finally, a mainstream programme which acknowledged positive medicinal uses of cannabis.
I have felt for a long time that cannabis should be legalised for medical use. For a while, I suffered badly from panic attacks and smoking a joint was the only thing that seemed to help. Any other prescription drugs I was given didn't stop the attacks in the same way that cannabis did. If it helps those who need it for medical purposes then it should be given without prejudice.
After seeing the smile on the peoples' faces who needs to question the legalisation?
There is no such thing as a medicine that has no side effects. Too much parecetemol can kill you, but it is up to the individual to choose their way in their life. The sooner this is understood the sooner more people can be helped. How can people be against something that will make people with real problems happy for the rest of their life. If you can take away pain, why not?
Interesting documentary. I wonder how far the pharmaceutical companies will go to ensure that the right to cultivate plants is not granted - the cynic in me cannot see medical cannabis becoming a reality without the big companies making sure they have got a piece of the action.
It is estimated that 8,000,000 people in the UK smoke cannabis regularly. IF these people smoked only 1 gram on average, this would equal £14.6 billion pounds would be used. How much money of this do you think the Government could tax, considering the current tax on "recreational drugs" such as alcohol and tobacco?
Well done BBC.
Very good programme - opened my eyes to all the good it does!! Give it to the people who need it most!
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