Director Of UK Alliance For Cannabis Therapeutics Testifies Before House Of Lords Committee
May 4, 1998 ACM bulletin of 3 May 1998 Great Britain: Director of ACT before the House of Lords committee The Director of the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics (ACT), Clare Hodges, described
her experience with the use of cannabis before the House of Lords committee examining the
scientific arguments over the medical and recreational use of cannabis. The ACT, a loose
alliance of patients, doctors and politicians, is campaigning for cannabis to be available
on prescription. Clare Hodges developed multiple sclerosis 15 years ago. She
suffered "great discomfort" in her bladder and sometimes had to go to the toilet
at least 12 times a night. No conventional medicines provided sustained relief. Six years
ago a friend got some cannabis for her: "It was effective within about five minutes.
The tension in my bladder and spine melted away, and I felt less sick and stiff."
See
British Medical
Journal Reports That UK "Experts" Will Speed Up Work On Alternatives To Medical
Marijuana
Peers were also told by physiology professor Patrick Wall of the need for more research into the medicinal use of cannabis. The expert, who is professor of physiology at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, later spoke of the benefits patients said they got from cannabis. He said after the hearing that it was "ridiculous" that doctors had to apply for special permission to do research into cannabis above and beyond what was required for work on heroin or cocaine.