SHARES STRONGLY UP/DOWN this week 12/12/05 (Master RSI)

GWP

The Times December 17, 2005

Cannabis medicine is implicated in death of pensioner
By Richard Irving

A CORONER raised fresh fears over the link between the use of cannabis and mental problems yesterday after he ruled that an experimental medicine derived from marijuana plants was linked to the development of an illness that killed a pensioner suffering from severe diabetes.



At the end of a week-long inquest into the death of Rene Anderson, a former supermarket superviser, Chris Dorries, the coroner, told the court in Sheffield that the drug, known as Sativex, was a “significant contributory factor” in Mrs Anderson’s failing health.

Mrs Anderson, of Frecheville, was prescribed Sativex to ease pain and numbness of the limbs caused by an extreme form of diabetes. The court heard that hours after taking her first dose Mrs Anderson developed disturbed behaviour. Four weeks later she was admitted to hospital in a “confused and intoxicated” state.

The inquest, which could delay development of cannabis-based medicines, heard that Mrs Anderson’s physical condition continued to decline in hospital. She died five months later of acute kidney failure.

The coroner said that it was still unclear as to why her condition worsened after she was admitted and taken off the drug. He conceded that there were no scientific grounds to connect Sativex to her continued illness after she stopped taking the drug, but added that he could see no other reason for the deterioration in her health.

GW Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Sativex, has been trying for years to prove that the cannabis-based spray can help to relieve severe pain in the nerve endings, muscle spasms and even sleep deprivation.

A spokesman for the company insisted that the verdict would not raise safety fears over the treatment. “While the case is very sad by its nature, we do not believe it raises any additional concerns over the use of Sativex,” he said, adding that more than 2,000 people had tested Sativex over the course of its development and no one had died during that.