05/06/2007 00:00:00
Could recreational drugs have health benefits?
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Illicit highs wreck lives - but scientists are discovering they could
also treat conditions from depression to strokes and cancer.
They cause widespread misery and suffering, as well as mental and
physical illnesses, and they destroy thousands of lives, but
recreational drugs may have health benefits.
Research is increasingly showing that drugs may be able to help some
patients with conditions as diverse as arthritis, cancer, and
Parkinson's, to chronic pain, headaches, and heartburn.
Some, like cannabis, were used as medicine for centuries before they
became illegal, and have been investigated as potential therapies for
many disorders, but newer drugs, such as ecstasy and LSD, are also being
investigated.
CANNABIS
What is it?
First used as a medicine 5,000 years ago, it comes from the plant
Cannabis sativa. The main psychoactive chemical is THC or
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which gives the high that makes it the
most widely used illicit drug. But it also contains more than 460 other
chemicals, around 60 of which are cannabinoids that work on brain
receptors, and which may have a protective effect in a number of diseases.
What is it used for?
As well as being the most widely used illicit drug, cannabis is also the
most studied by medical researchers. Much of the research has centred on
its effects in a dozen conditions - cancer, nausea, loss of appetite,
chronic pain, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries,
Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, glaucoma, Parkinson's disease and
dystonia (a neurological movement disorder). A Naples University report
suggests benefits, too, in diarrhoea and stomach ulcers.
Research
Multiple sclerosis:
Cannabis has been investigated in more than a dozen clinical trials and
used to treat many symptoms of the disease. Two trials are under way at
Rome University and at Montreal Neurological Institute, where
cannabis-based extracts are being used for treating spasticity and pain.
"There is evidence to support the view that cannabinoids can reduce
muscle spasticity in people with MS,'' say the Rome team
Results from trials have been mixed. A Liverpool University study
concluded, "Cannabis-based medicine is effective in reducing pain and
sleep disturbance in patients with multiple sclerosis-related pain.''
Another UK trial with 18 patients found a significant reduction in
muscle spasms and pain, but some have found little or not effect. A
report from the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, suggests cannabis may work by
protecting nerves from the kind of damage that occurs in the disease.
Cancer
Cannabinoids are used with cancer patients to stimulate appetite and to
prevent nausea, vomiting and pain, but according to researchers at
Salerno University, they may also halt tumours.
Rheumatoid arthritis
A study at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Bath, has
found it is effective against pain: a "significant analgesic effect" was
seen with rheumatoid arthritis.
Heartburn
An Amsterdam study is looking at the effects of a cannabis-based
medicine on reflux and heartburn. It may have a beneficial effect on the
valve that stops stomach contents flowing back into the oesophagus.
AMPHETAMINES
What are they?
Drugs that have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, they
are also know as speed and can be addictive. During the Second World
War, amphetamines were widely used to keep soldiers alert. Amphetamines
speed up the nervous system and trigger the release of adrenalin, which
increases heart rate, blood pressure and alertness.
What are they used for?
Dextroamphetamine is used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), and narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that involves sudden attacks of
sleep. According to the State University of New York, amphetamines have
also been used for obesity and depression. Another study says it is
being looked at for improving recovery from stroke.
Research
A Harvard University study found that a once-a-day mixture of
amphetamine salts reduced symptoms of ADHD in teenagers. Its authors say
60 per cent of patients were very much or much improved, while 33 per
cent were unchanged.
ECSTASY
What is it?
MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive
drug. It acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, and is thought to act
on the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine.
What is it being used for?
It's being investigated as a therapy for anxiety related to cancer and
post-traumatic stress. Work on animals suggests a role in Parkinson's
Research
Parkinson's disease
Researchers at Duke University, North Carolina, have found that ecstasy
may reverse the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in mice. The researchers
say the findings indicate that drugs could be made with similar effects
to offer useful alternatives to current therapies.
Cancer
Patients given a diagnosis of cancer can feel frightened, depressed, and
have intense anxiety. One of the effects of the drug is to produce
feelings of closeness to other people, empathy, and a sense of well
being, all of which reduce anxiety. Doctors leading a clinical trial at
Harvard University and its affiliated McLean Hospital say MDMA can
produce effects uniquely suited to reducing anxiety from a cancer diagnosis.
LSD
What is it?
Discovered in 1938, lysergic acid diethylamide is made from lysergic
acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other
grains. It is hallucinogenic and triggers distortions in perception of
reality and has an effect on serotonin, the neurotransmitter involved in
mood, hunger, sexual behaviour, and muscle control.
What is it used for?
Has been tried for cluster headaches, and as a treatment to help people
trying to give up other drugs.
Research
Harvard Medical School researchers interviewed cluster headache patients
who had used LSD to treat their condition. Seven out of eight LSD users
reported relief and some remission. "Research on the effects of LSD on
cluster headache may be warranted,'' say the researchers. According to a
US Food and Drug Administration report, scientists in Baltimore have
looked at whether LSD could be a treatment for addiction to heroin,
opium, alcohol, and sedative hypnotics. "Other scientists are focusing
their psychedelic research on learning about the human brain,
discovering antidotes to drug overdoses, and relieving pain in cancer
patients.''
http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2614895.ece
Posted by The Legalise Cannabis Alliance http://www.lca-uk.org
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12590
Author:
The Independent via UKCIA
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