Marijuana-based Medicine Helps Arthritis

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Reported November 9, 2005

Marijuana-based Medicine Helps Arthritis

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Doctors who tested a medicine made from a

marijuana plant on people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) found it

helps ease pain and may also suppress the progression of the disease.

While noting the cannabis-based medicine (CBM) produced only small

and variable benefits in this small study of 58 patients with RA, the

investigators believe the treatment holds promise.

" The results from the first controlled study of CBM in rheumatoid

arthritis are encouraging, with overall improvements in pain on

movement and at rest, improvement in the quality of sleep and

improvement in the overall condition of the patients' arthritis, "

says Dr. Jubb, from the University Hospital Birmingham NHS

Foundation Trust in England.

People in the study self-administered the drug via a mouth spray and

were instructed to use it only in the evening to avoid any

intoxication effect. Researchers mention, however, it's unlikely

medicinal users of cannabis would actually get high from using the

medication on a regular basis, noting there has never been a

documented case of abuse for this particular drug.

Researchers say cannabis was first proposed as a treatment for

rheumatic diseases as long ago as 2800 BC. More studies are planned

to determine the effects of the medication.

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