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Introduction Views and Opinions Latest Research Latest News Web Resources	"It is beyond my comprehension that any humane person would withhold such a beneficial substance from people in such great need simply because others use it for different purposes." Steven Jay Gould "There is accepted safety for use of marijuana under medical supervision. To conclude otherwise would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious." Judge Young, DEA, 1988
BMA backs legal medical cannabis

Welcome to the Internet's premier medical cannabis information source. We hope to summarize in simple language the evidence for and against the medical effectiveness of cannabis. Evidence from doctors, nurses, patients, and scientists that cannabis is a cheap effective and safe medicine for many conditions. First and foremost there is the testimony of the patients themselves, more and more of whom are speaking out, despite fear of recriminations. Many patients report that cannabis is the only substance that relieves their symptoms, and that it has none of the harmful side-effects of standard treatments. They all ask why should I be made a criminal because I seek relief from my condition? Some of the testimonies on these pages were reprinted from Marijuana - The Forbidden Medicine. Others were made availiable by the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, who campaign for medical cannabis to be made availiable on prescription in the UK. UKCIA would very much like to gather testimonies from Internet users. If you use cannabis medicinally please email us, all replies treated in confidence. The second type of evidence comes from scientific research, and UKCIA also encourages its expert readers to contribute here. Please if you have a specific comment on any aspect of medical cannabis, or about any condition, please let us know.

email us, all replies treated in confidence. The second type of evidence comes from scientific research, and UKCIA also encourages its expert readers to contribute here. Please if you have a specific comment on any aspect of medical cannabis, or about any condition, please let us know.

Cannabis is useful for Cancer Chemotherapy Glaucoma Multiple Sclerosis AIDS Wasting Syndrome Chronic Pain Migraine Menstrual Cramps & Labour Pain Spinal Injury Spasms Epilepsy Depression & other Mood Disorders Pruritis Cannabis may be useful for Asthma Insomnia Kidney Dialysis Antimicrobial Effects Antitumoral Effects Dystonias Alcoholism UK Medical Cannabis Campaigners Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics Free Medical Marijuana Foundation

Cannabis has been used as a medicine worldwide for over 5000 years. It was part of the British formulary until 1971 when fears of recreational misuse resulted in it being banned. Cannabis was very popular as a medicine in the 19th century, but it fell out of fashion due to the development of injectable opiates and synthetic drugs, which were more reliable and faster acting than cannabis preparations of variable quality. It is the war on drugs which has prevented cannabis from coming back into fashion, even though the synthetic drugs that replaced it are very dangerous. Cocaine and heroin are availible on prescription, why not cannabis? In a survey carried out by Channel 4 in March '95, 70% of doctors thought cannabis should be availible on prescription. This mirrored the findings of the BMA's own "panel" of more than 150 doctors. In February '94, 74% of them believed that cannabis should be availible on prescription. In early November '95, an incredible 98% of callers to a phone in poll during The Time, The Place TV program supported medical cannabis. In March '95 a survey carried out by the Independent found 70% of the population in favour of medical cannabis. Paul Flynn (Lab, Newport west) tabled an Early Day Motion calling for cannabis on prescription in summer '95. This resulted in a debate on medical cannabis in the House of Commons, during which a government health minister stated that the government would not support medical cannbis because there was not enough evidence of its effectiveness. There is little evidence because legal supplies are not availible for research studies. Also in the present climate of the war on drugs no doctor or researcher wants to risk his or her career to tabloid attacks of being a "pot doc". You can read about the lack of research here. However there are millions of people worldwide who illicitly treat themselves with cannabis, and risk imprisonment because of it. To argue that cannabis has no medical use, is illogical. Why would people risk so much, and spend so much time and money trying to obtain, a medicine that did not work?

Medical Marijuana Handbook This a draft by Todd. H. Mikuriya MD, a long-time advocate of medical cannabis, respected author and one of the medical staff at the San Francisco Buyers Club. Its patchy, and uncomplete, and acts only as a framework for Dr Todd to store snippets of info on various aspects of medical cannabis.	Marijuana as Medicine - A Plea for Reconsideration, is a commentary article written by Lester Grinspoon and James Bakalar, which appeared in the June 21st 1995 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Alternative link. 2nd Alternative Link.	There is a History and Overview of medical cannabis by the Marijuana Policy Project of Washington DC. The Medicinal Use of Marijuana is a special topic article, written by nurse Mary Mathre, that appeared in the June '93 issue of Perspectives on Addictions Nursing.
Judge Young's ruling (Docket 86-22) The US Drug Enforcement Agency held hearings in 1987 to determine whether cannabis should be allowed as medicine. After 1000's of hours of legal deliberations, the judge in charge accepted that cannabis is "capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people" and that it would be safe to use cannabis as a medicine under medical supervision. He recommended that the DEA should allow cannabis as a medicine, but its Administrator refused. The full text of Judge Youngs ruling is online ... the testimony of doctors, nurses and patients makes astonishing reading.		Ian Goddard is writing Medical Reality Versus Authoritarian Brutality which exposes the lies of US federal bureaucrats who claim that cannabis is harmful with no recognised medical use. The full text will be availiable soon.