Greek Medical Marijuana Users Expect to Enter Cannabis Industry
GREECE- Greece legalized cannabis for medical use last year, and in March this year it lifted a ban on growing and producing it, in the hope of drawing foreign investment into the sector.The law permitting Greeks to grow cannabis has come as a relief to patients, who say that lifting the ban on using it was only half the battle, as long as it remained hard to get.
The number seeking medicinal cannabis has grown "by thousands," said Konstantinos Syros (medicinal user for debilitating pain for more than 20 years), who heads the Organization for Patients Supporting Medicinal Use of Cannabis and lives off a disability pension. "They call me desperately asking for the medicine and the medicine does not exist."
Imports of medicinal cannabis products were given the green light last year, but complicated regulations made it difficult to arrange.
Syros said he has been arrested three times for growing cannabis in his home. Now, he has begun growing hemp in a field near his home in Xylokastro, outside Athens, as part of a collective which makes products including creams and oils. He is planning soon to produce medicinal cannabis himself.
Georgis Economopoulos, a neurologist and head of the Greek Association for Therapeutic Cannabis, said thousands of patients in Greece use cannabis for a range of serious conditions.
"It has thrilled patients and their families, who were tortured with having to go abroad to find cannabis," he said of the law.
Jaqueline Poitras, a member of the Mothers for Cannabis Foundation whose 18-year-old daughter is epileptic, said she had to try 17 different medications with dangerous side effects before using cannabis oil in 2014 to manage seizures.
"If you open the pamphlets in some of these boxes, some of the side effects are things like coma, death," she said. "This should have been the first drug of choice and not the last drug of choice."
Panel to Look at Prescribing Medicinal Marijuana
LONDON- The government has announced measures which could make it easier for people to access medicinal cannabis.At the moment, it is almost impossible for anyone to get a prescription, despite cannabis oil having proven benefit in controlling epileptic seizures. In the House of Commons, mid June, Home Office minister Nick Hurd, Member of Parliament (MP) announced an expert panel to look at the scientific benefits of cannabis medicine, and any individual applications.
It will be made up of clinicians, led by chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies, Mr Hurd said.
He said the high profile cases of Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley had ‘highlighted the need for the Government to explore the issue further and our handling of these issues further’.
It comes after Charlotte Caldwell had to smuggle it in from Canada to be able to get it for her son Billy, with the medicine only released to him in hospital after the Home Secretary stepped in when he started having extreme seizures. Billy was released from hospital today after the medicine brought his condition under control.
It comes after an urgent question this afternoon about whether Billy Caldwell would be allowed the rest of his medication.
Nick Hurd MP told the house: ‘I recognize the need to ensure the approach to licensing works more effectively.’ He refused to go further in talking about legalization of medical cannabis as he said it wasn’t a decision politicians should rush, saying ‘a clinician must be at the heart of the process.’ It would not be a blanket legalization of medicinal cannabis, he said, with measures to ensure it did not lead to backdoor legalization of the drug recreationally.
MPs questioning him afterwards strongly pushed for a change in the law to allow it to be prescribed by doctors, with few defending the status quo.
Nick Hurd MP said there would likely be more announcements on medicinal cannabis in due course, implying that people were most likely to be granted licences to access medicine.
World Health Organization to Collect Cannabis Scientific Studies
A real formal scientific review of Cannabis has never been done – although the WHO, by mandate, has been responsible since the 1960’s for undertaking risk assessments of all drugs that have dependence or abuse potential and furthermore mandated since the 2000’s for updating its reviews every 20 years.Here is a list of recent scientific studies of cannabis to recently emerge from around the world.
Iran - Palmitoylethanolamide improves treatment of autistic children in a clinical study
According to a clinical study with 70 children with autism the addition of the endocannabinoid PEA (palmitoylethanolamide) to the usual treatment with neuroleptics improved some symptoms of the disease. Scientists of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, published their research on children aged 4 to 12 years in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. They investigated the addition of PEA to risperidone on behaviour of the children within a treatment period of 10 weeks compared to placebo.
The combination of PEA and risperidone improved irritability and hyperactivity measured with a standard test, the ABC-C (Aberrant Behaviour Checklist-Community Edition). There was also a tendency to an improvement of inappropriate speech at the end of the trial for PEA compared to placebo. Authors wrote that “PEA may augment therapeutic effects of risperidone on autism-related irritability and hyperactivity.”
Khalaj M, Saghazadeh A, Shirazi E, Shalbafan MR, Alavi K, Shooshtari MH, Laksari FY, Hosseini M, Mohammadi MR, Akhondzadeh S. Palmitoylethanolamide as adjunctive therapy for autism: Efficacyand safety results from a randomized controlled trial. J Psychiatr Res. 2018;103:104-111.
Czech Republic - Long-term efficacy of a cannabis spray in the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis.
In a study with 106 MS patients, who responded to a treatment with the cannabis spray Sativex during a treatment period of 4 weeks and received the cannabis spray or a placebo for another 12 weeks in addition to their standard medication, cannabis “provided better and clinically relevant improvement of resistant MS spasticity compared with adjusting first-line antispasticity medication alone.”
Thomayer's Hospital, Praha, Czech Republic. Markovà J, et al. Int J Neurosci. 2018:1-26.
Poland - Effects of cannabinoids on kidney cancer The synthetic cannabinoid WIN55,212-2 induced cell death in kidney cancer cells, and this effect remained even after blocking the CB1 and the CB2 receptor by use of appropriate antagonists.
Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland. Khan MI, et al. BMC Cancer. 2018;18(1):583.
Canada - Social norms around the medical use of cannabis remain unfavourable for many users in Canada
Despite the fact that the medical use of cannabis is legal in Canada for more than 10 years a survey with 276 patients, who use cannabis for therapeutic purposes, showed that there are still problems with acceptance. Only 38% perceived their doctor being supportive, while support from the family and from friends (66.3%) was much higher.
School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada. Leos-Toro C, et al. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2018 Jun 5.
Brazil - The mechanism of action of CBD’s antidepressant effects
In a study with mice CBD showed fast anti-depressant effects. And this effect was associated with elevated levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in certain brain regions (medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus). Authors wrote that their data “support a promising therapeutic profile for CBD as a new fast-acting antidepressant drug.”University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Sales AJ, et al. Mol Neurobiol. 2018 Jun 4.
Italy - Cannabinoids may be useful in sleep disorders according to a review
According to a review cannabinoids may be effective in some parasomnias. Parasomnias are a kind of sleep disorders characterised by abnormal movements, behaviours, perceptions, emotions and dreams, for example bruxism.Sleep Medicine and Epilepsy Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy. Manni R, et al. Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2018;20(7):26.
- 2-AG improves memory consolidation
Scientists tested the effects of the endocannabinoid 2-AG (2-arachidonoylglycerol) on memory consolidation in rats. 2-AG facilitated memory consolidation and this effect was mediated by activation of the CB2 receptor.Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Ratano P, et al. Neuropharmacology. 2018 May 26
Spain - Time of cannabis use onset has no effect on cognitive performance in psychosis
In a study with 349 patients with a first episode of psychosis, of whom 38.7% used cannabis, the drug had no influence on cognition. Of them, 53 started cannabis use early (before the age of 16) and 82 started later. Patients were followed for 3 years. Authors wrote there were no “differences between the early-onset group and the other two groups in long-term cognitive performance, even if they kept consuming cannabis during the first three years of disease progression.”University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. Setién-Suero E, et al. Schizophr Res. 2018 May 31.
- Naltrexone and CBD act synergistically in reducing alcohol consumption
In a study with mice low doses of naltrexone and cannabidiol (CBD) reduced the intake of alcohol. Authors wrote that the “combination of low doses of CBD plus NTX was more effective to reduce ethanol consumption and motivation to drink.”
Institute of Neuroscience, University of Alicante, Spain. Viudez-Martínez A, et al. Br J Pharmacol. 2018 Jun 2.
- A cannabis spray has positive effects on activities of daily living in patients with Multiple Sclerosis
According to a retrospective analysis patients treated with the cannabis spray Sativex 96.9% of participants had a positive global impression of change during treatment time (mean: 31.9 months). Activities of daily living, for example ability of standing up, were maintained or slightly improved.Unidad de Neurología, Hospital General de Elda, Spain. Mallada Frechín J, et al. Dis Manag. 2018
China - THC reduces viability and motility of endometrial cancer cells
THC inhibited the viability of aggressive endometrial cancer cells and their motility. This effect was mediated by inhibition of the so-called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and by the down-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9).
Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China. Zhang Y, et al. Oncol Lett. 2018 Jun;15(6):8527-8535.
Mexico - Endocannabinoids protect nerve cells against toxins
In a study with rats increased levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide protected nerve cells against the toxic effects of quinolinic acid. This substance causes an overactivation of the neurotransmitter NMDA, which may participate in the onset and development of neurological disorders.National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery Manuel Velasco Suárez, Mexico City, Mexico. Aguilera-Portillo G, et al. Mol Neurobiol. 2018 May 25.
