Cape Town - MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini’s impassioned plea in Parliament to have dagga legalised for medical use has received support from scientists, with one Cape Town researcher suggesting decriminalising it could reduce drug ills and generate income for the government.
JP van Niekerk, consulting editor of the SA Medical Journal, wrote in this month’s issue that dagga was much less harmful than two legalised drugs: alcohol and tobacco.
He described Oriani-Ambrosini’s plea as a wake-up call, but said it was probably wiser to go beyond legalising marijuana for medical purposes.
“There is good evidence that decriminalisation of the use of drugs reduces the harm of drugs, reduces the power of the drug lords, and generates revenue for the government. A good case can be made for its legalisation.”
Van Niekerk said the regulation of the drug would allow medical researchers to test the use of dagga for medical or social purposes without fear of persecution.
In February Oriani-Ambrosini, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in April last year and given six months to live, made a plea to President Jacob Zuma in the National Assembly to legalise medical marijuana.
He introduced a private member’s bill, the Medical Innovations Bill, that aimed to legalise and regulate alternative treatments for cancer, including cannabis.
He told Zuma that even though he was supposed to have died many months ago, “I am here because I had the courage of taking illegal treatments in Italy in the form of bicarbonate of soda, and here in SA in the form of cannabis, marijuana or dagga.
“Otherwise, I would be pumped with morphine and I would not be able to speak to you.”
Responding, Zuma expressed distress to see Oriani-Ambrosini, whom he had known for more than 20 years, in such a condition, and referred him to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Van Niekerk said while the country’s National Drug Master Plan, 2013-2017, had called for further research on the issue, “bold leadership and action” was needed rather than revisions of the plan.
Professor Charles Parry, acting vice-president of the Medical Research Council and director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, said while there was evidence of harm associated with cannabis use there was also emerging evidence about its anti-cancer properties, particularly its anti-tumour effects.
Cannabis’s negative effects included its contribution to road traffic injuries, trauma, and sexually risky behaviour.
Given the divide between reported medical benefits and risks, Parry said there was a need for proper research.
“Although evidence from pre-clinical studies points to the potential for cannabinoids to contribute to symptom alleviation and possible effects on disease status for a number of medical conditions, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the potential benefits and risks associated with their use.
“Most notable is the lack of evidence from human trials.”
Parry said the government should make it easier for researchers to conduct studies, and provide funding.
Such research should include investigation of factors that led to policy shifts in countries that had legalised the use of cannabis, their experiences of the policy shift, and conducting clinical trials to study the effect of the drug in alleviation of diseases. - Cape Argus