1. The Pharmaceutical Journal 31 JUL 2017: MS charity says cannabis should be legalised for medicinal use
UK should follow the lead of Germany and Canada and legalise the drug for people with multiple sclerosis, a condition that already has a licensed cannabis-derived treatment, says MS Society.
Multiple sclerosis is the only condition that has a licensed treatment derived from cannabis, Sativex, but apart from in Wales no pricing agreement has been struck between the manufacturer and the NHS.
Cannabis should be legalised for medicinal use for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to relieve their pain, a leading charity has advised.
A report by the MS Society, which represents people with the condition, found that 72 per cent of people with MS thought that cannabis should be legalised for medicinal purposes.
The MS Society also said it was “urgent” for people with MS to have access to Sativex, a cannabis spray, which is generally not available on the NHS and which is too expensive for most people to buy privately.
MS is the only condition that has a licensed treatment derived from cannabis, Sativex, but apart from in Wales no pricing agreement has been struck between the manufacturers and the relevant approval bodies.
The MS report said that “cannabis for medicinal use could benefit many people with MS experiencing pain and muscles spasms, if they have tried other treatments that haven’t worked for them”. People with MS felt there was a strong case to support a change in the law, the report also revealed.
The report follows a survey of pharmacists’ views on the medicinal use of cannabis launched by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). The results of the survey will be used to inform draft RPS policy on the issue, which will then be presented to national pharmacy boards for discussion.
Genevieve Edwards, director of external affairs at the MS Society, said:
“We think cannabis should be legalised for medicinal use for people with MS to relieve their pain and muscle spasms when other treatments haven’t worked.
“Evidence shows cannabis could help some people manage these often exhausting and relentless symptoms.
While there are NHS treatments for pain and muscle spasms, they don’t work for everyone.”
Edwards stressed that other countries, like Germany and Canada, have already done this “in a safe and controlled way”, and urged that the UK government “should follow suit”.
“It would make a real difference to around 10,000 people with MS who could potentially benefit,” Edwards said.
Citation: The Pharmaceutical Journal URI: 20203314
2. Sydney Criminal Lawyers | The Dangers of a Blanket Ban on Synthetic Drugs
Over recent years, some of Australia’s top ex-law enforcement officials have spoken out against drug prohibition. Former Victorian police chief Ken Lay has said that the issues surrounding the use of illegal substances are not something you can “arrest your way out of.”
Greater criminalisation
So it seems rather counterintuitive that the Andrews government is proposing a blanket ban on what it has termed “psychoactive substances,” or what are more commonly known as legal synthetic drugs.However, that’s exactly what the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Miscellaneous Amendment Bill 2017 will do if it is passed by the upper house of parliament.The bill will amend the Victorian Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981. Amongst other things, it will add to the list of “drugs of dependency” and prohibit the production, sale and promotion of psychoactive substances, as well as increasing police powers pertaining to them.
Voices against the bill
A coalition of leading harm reduction organisations – including the Victorian Aids Council, LEAP, Yarra Drug & Health Forum, High Alert, Harm Reduction Victoria, the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA), Rationalist Society of Australia, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and DanceWize – are speaking out against the bill before it’s too late.Ms Molly O’Reilly, acting executive officer of VAADA, said that despite “other jurisdictions implementing similar policies, use of these substances remains prevalent with users shifting to alternate means of procurement.”
Indeed, the UK introduced a similar law last year under the Psychoactive Substances Act. Since the ban, people have continued to obtain Spice – synthetic cannabis – via the black market. But now, with no quality control, harmful batches of the substance are being sold on the streets.
Manchester’s then crime commissioner Tony Lloyd told the Independent in April it was currently harder for police to stop potentially deadly strains of Spice than before the law was passed, as instead of simply asking shop owners to stop selling these batches, they now have to track down drug dealers and arrest them.
“This may also create additional challenges for frontline services and drug treatment services,” Ms O’Reilly told Sydney Criminal Lawyers. She warned that these services will need to “manage the increased number of people presenting with symptoms associated with these substances.”
Expansion of police powers
The amendment bill, which was introduced into parliament by Victorian police minister Lisa Neville in March, was passed by the lower house that same month. The move is more of the same from Victorian authorities, who continue to increase law enforcement measures, despite calls for a different approach.
Victoria police have been pushing for an expansion of search powers at music festivals, so officers are able to search patrons without having a reasonable suspicion to do so. And in April, police launched Operation Safenight, which increased sniffer dog use in nightlife precincts.
The High Alert campaign was formed in response to Operation Safenight, which came to an end on July 29. Campaign founder Nevena Spirovska said, “The exorbitant amount of police resources did not justify the outcomes of the four month operation.”
The coalition against the amendment bill argues that enforcing the blanket ban with be a logistical nightmare for police and a further waste of their resources. It will also take its toll on the Victorian court system, as it is impossible to prove the psychoactivity of a substance in a court of law.
Harm reduction is the better approach
The focus on increasing drug law enforcement in Victoria has been in response to a recent spate of drug-related deaths in the state. In January, three people died after a deadly batch of MDMA – that was mixed with the more dangerous drug NBOMe – was sold at Chapel Street nightclubs.
“The important thing to remember, is that particular incident was caused by a drug that came from the black market,” explained Nick Wallis of the Australian Psychedelic Society. He pointed out that the proposed “law would not have changed the outcome of that incident.”
According to Wallis, the continual banning of more substances, only leads chemists to develop different ones. And drug prohibition is merely a “lazy, buck-passing policy” that does nothing to reduce the harms associated with drug use.
Rather than banning more substances, Mr Wallis points to harm reduction approaches like pill testing. The method of pill testing is relatively easy. Drugs can be checked on the spot at booths at music festivals, or at a High Street service in a nightclub precinct.
This approach has been shown to remove dangerous substances from the market in European nations – such as the Netherlands and Germany – where official pill testing services have been running for decades. The European Union has even produced pill testing best practice guidelines.
It’s time to decriminalise
The coalition further outlines that criminal penalties for the possession and use of illicit substances causes more harm than it prevents. The group explained that criminalisation creates barriers to treatment and rehabilitation, as well as makes criminals of people who actually aren’t.
“The criminalisation of personal possession and use of drugs is counterproductive,” Simon Ruth, chief executive of the Victorian AIDS Council told Sydney Criminal Lawyers. It “adds to stigma and discrimination.” And he added it doesn’t recognise drug dependency is actually a health issue.
Decriminalising the personal possession and use of drugs allows for the millions spent on drug law enforcement to be funnelled into health programs.
Whereas, further criminalising more substances will lead to dangerous batches of unregulated drugs showing up on the streets.
3. Echonetdaily Jul. 11th, 2017: Australian medical marijuana company gets green light
Australian firm The Hydroponics Company has been granted a licence to grow and refine medicinal cannabis products for the Australian market. (file pic)
An Australian-owned company that plans to grow, refine and produce medicinal cannabis products has this morning announced it has been approved to go into production and envisages it will have products on pharmacy shelves by next year.
Sydney-based The Hydroponics Company (THC) has secured a medicinal cannabis research licence, which will allow it to grow its exclusive protected cannabis sativa strains.
THC’s chairman, Alan Beasley said, ‘THC is now among the first ASX-listed cannabis companies to have secured a research licence and I commend the… team for their diligent efforts throughout the approval process.’
Speaking to Echonetdaily, company secretary Henry Kinstlinger said that the company was unable to confirm whether any of its contracted growers would be located on the Northern Rivers.
‘We’re not at liberty under the conditions of the licence to disclose the location of our facilities,’ he said.
‘What we have achieved with the grant of the licence is something that will affect Australia as a whole.’
Mr Kinstlinger said the medications the company would researching would treat, ‘different ailments, depending on the composition of the treatment,’ ranging from ‘pain relief, epilepsy, arthritis and a large number of other common ailments.’
‘However, before they are able to be prescribed, we have to go through a series of testing – that’s part of the research process – and we will engage with collaborative partners in order to roll those out,’ he saide.
Mr Kinstlinger said products could be available for prescription as early as 2018.
‘We’re looking to do our trials through an accelerated path – we’re quite confident we’ll have product out in the market during 2018.’
But he added that none of the products the company is currently working on would be over-the-counter medications.
‘All product we’re developing will be under the pharmaceutical line and will be only available through a doctor’s prescription in compliance with the various regulations that the drug control office establishes,’ he said.
Mr Kinstlinger said it was ‘our objective’ to refine and manufacture its product in Australia.
He said the company was currently in discussion with growers and producers, adding ‘we have a licence for a number of varieties of plant that has already been established and we will continue our research and development with those particular proprietary lines that we have.’