Most people who regularly use cannabis for medicinal purposes had discussed using the illegal drug with a doctor or health worker, according to a survey released on 15 April. "The survey shows that general practitioners (GPs) don't fly into a rage and chuck people out of their room when a patient talks about cannabis use," said the survey's author David Helliwell, based in the northern New South Wales town of Nimbin.

He analysed the responses of 202 medicinal cannabis users from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and overseas. 63 per cent of respondents had discussed using cannabis with a health worker while about 50 per cent had spoken to their local doctor about using it.

Dr. Helliwell said his research found that some chronic pain sufferers, such as those on slow-release morphine and other strong pain relief drugs, had been able to reduce their dosages through the medicinal use of cannabis. Amongst medicinal cannabis users, anxiety and stress were the commonest complaint, with 71 per cent saying they used the drug to reduce symptoms. Depression was the second most common condition, with 56 per cent of respondents, followed by somatic pain in 55 per cent.

Just over half the female respondents, 51 per cent, stated they used cannabis medicinally for both pre-menstrual tension and dsymenorrhoea. Other conditions treated with cannabis were nausea (32 per cent), chronic pain (31 per cent), muscular spasm (23.5), digestive disorders (21.5), glaucoma (4.5), nausea associated with chemotherapy (3.5) and wasting associated with HIV/AIDS.

(Source: ACM Bullettin 18.4.99)