Push to legalise cannabis

REVENTING the underground sale of cannabis to treat ailments, including reducing the pain in cancer patients, is one of the reasons IFP MP Narend Singh is pushing for it to be legalised for medicinal purposes.

“I am aware of many people who are selling cannabis oil illegally. We need to prevent the underground sales because we don’t know what is contained in this oil and the price is extremely exorbitant,” Singh told POST.

“With proper research, one can find out what needs to be contained in this product.”

In 2014, IFP MP Mario Oriana Ambrosini proposed the Medicinal Innovation Bill to Parliament.

The aim was to legalise the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes to be sold on the market.

Ambrosini, 53, admitted during a State of the Nation Address he was using cannabis as part of an alternative treatment regime for his lung cancer.

He died in August that year, slightly over a year after he publicly disclosed he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.

But the IFP is continuing with the fight.

The Medicines Control Council (MCC) had recently corresponded with Singh, saying it expected to soon publish proposed guidelines on cannabis production for medicinal use.

If cannabis is legalised in South Africa for medicinal use, it will downgrade from a Schedule 7 banned substance to a Schedule 6 prescription drug.

Singh said prescription cannabis should, however, only be prescribed by a medical doctor and should be available by the state and private healthcare.

He could not confirm what form of cannabis would be available for medicinal purposes.

“We are awaiting research as to what products will be available to consumers. I am aware of cannabis oil, leaves for tea and capsules. The finer details have to be confirmed.”

The Cancer Society of South Africa (Cansa), the minister of health and the deputy minister of justice have been consulted.

According to the MCC, which is South Africa’s drug regulatory authority, a small but growing body of evidence has emerged suggesting cannabis may have medicinal value for some patients in conditions where other treatments have failed.

If approved, registered medical practitioners can apply to the council for authorisation to prescribe a controlled medicine for a specific patient in certain exceptional circumstances.

Authorisation from the council is dependent on the submission of an appropriate dosage regimen and acceptable justification for the proposed and intended use.

Despite the excitement in some circles around talk of legalising cannabis for medical purposes, medical doctors argue the introduction of this plant should be researched further before being given the go-ahead.

As a result, a tug-of-war between doctors and cannabis activists has begun.

Doctors believe there is not enough research to validate cannabis as a treatment for serious conditions, while activists argue it is nature’s way of healing.

The former president of the International Narcotics Control Board, Dr Lochan Naidoo, said a controlled distribution of the plant for medical use would ensure a user was made aware of the side effects.

“Existing pharmaceutical medication is already being abused. If we can’t regulate something that is already existing, how are we going to regulate cannabis?

“The extracts of a cannabis plant can be used for medical purposes but each purpose needs to be defined and appropriately spelt out.

“At the moment, people who are advocating for cannabis see it as a solution for all ailments. They ought to be aware of the side effects and drug interactions inherent to any pharmaceutical products.

“South Africa does not have a structured programme for cannabis prescribers, trained in the area of the use of cannabis. There is still a lot of work to be done,” said Naidoo. Dr Shaquir Salduker, board member of the Psychiatry Management Group, believes the proposed legislation requires review and thorough research, which to date has not been done.

“Although there are some studies indicating that cannabis is as effective as existing painkillers and does have some effect on nausea, appetite stimulation, anxiety and seizures, there is to date no landmark studies into its role in pain management that would make it a revolutionary agent in pain control.

“The legislation change should be scientific not socially driven. We simply don’t have enough research to understand the complexity of the substance to say it’s safe to use in the long term.

“The government’s proposal should focus on legalisation for purposes of research and for ease of access in the appropriate patient groups for example palliative care, pain control and cancer patients.”

Salduker said the trends in countries that have legalised cannabis led to fraudulent prescriptions and ultimately became an epidemic of abuse, especially amongst those younger than 18.

A medical cannabis consultant in Cape Town, Ralph Higgo, who is advocating for the use of cannabis as an alternate medical treatment, is hoping for progress to be made.

“Cannabis needs to be legalised to encourage harm reduction and to remove inferior producers from the market by providing standardised and qualified plant material products that are tested and validated,” he said.

“The Medicine Control Council is due to, hopefully, release the framework or blueprint, which then needs to be put forward for public comment and feedback from the various government departments.

“This may take several months. Only once all of this has been achieved will it then go before Parliament and signed into law,” said Higgo.

“There are a lot of South Africans already producing and selling cannabis and cannabis oil but this is being done illegally.

“There is currently no framework or process, which allows for the use of cannabis as a treatment option.”

He said a licence application process would be implemented.

The health specialist for Cansa, Michael Herbst, said they were not in a position to comment on the alleged healing properties of cannabis.

“Cannabis is still illegal in South Africa. Cansa cannot support anything on cannabis. Only when the legislation is signed and approved by the president and made legal, then we can comment,” said Herbst.