Finnish man given permission to use cannabis against pain

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Finland’s National Agency for Medicines has granted a Finnish man special permission to use cannabis for the relief of pain.
      According to a story in Tuesday’s edition of the Turku-based newspaper Turun Sanomat, the cannabis prescription is valid for a year, after which the agency does not plan to renew the special permission to sue the drug.
      Terhi Hermanson, head physician at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, says that the case is the first one in which a patient has applied for permission to use cannabis for medicinal purposes in Finland.
      She adds that the ministry must now examine the legislative factors linked with this isolated case.
     
The patient in question suffered a serious injury to his back and neck in a traffic accident four years ago. Since then he has suffered pain caused by nerve damage to his back. For three years he took various opiates for the pain, which nevertheless had negative side effects in his stomach and heart.
      The patient had applied for permission to use cannabis for more than a year and a half. The final decision was made by the area’s administrative court.
     
The matter is seen as a special case. Erkki Palva, head of the drug safety section of the National Agency for Medicines emphasises that it should not be seen as a statement in favour of using cannabis as a generally accepted treatment.
      "Finland has significantly stronger drugs in use, such as morphine and other opiates", said Terhi Hermanson to Turun Sanomat.
      Cannabis is legally available for medicinal use in a number of countries, including The Netherlands, the UK, and Canada. In those countries it is used to treat spinal pain, as well as the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).


Links:
  Wikipedia: Medical cannabis

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