Hyderabad: To ensure that cannabis can be used for medicinal purposes in end-stage cases of cancer and chronic neurological conditions it is very important to allow scientific research and relaxation of legal parameters, experts said.
The use of cannabis or marijuana is prohibited under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. For this reason, its use in the form of clinical trials and standardising the chemical in the weed for research will require the legal framework to change first.
Dr Sanjay Kumar, senior scientist with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said, that to develop a medicine based on cannabis, it is important to have a standard, stable and predictable dosage from the plant which is clinically effective. The law has to be amended to allow for research, he said.
The plant is usually found in hilly regions. According to findings of the industry, there is a lack of distinct standardised cannabis plants with standard cannabinoid output derived from their flowering tops to get consistent medicine. There is also lack of clinical trials on cannabis and its isolated compounds due to the NDPS Act.
The chemical cannabidiol has aroused a lot of interest in scientific community due to its medical and therapeutic capabilities in the United States and Europe. Early studies have shown beneficial effects of cannabidiol but the molecule has to be subject to stringent and scientifically rigorous testing.
In India, it has been found that the cannabis plants are of different varieties and a standardised variety has to be developed. Standardisation is the key, explained scientists at CSIR as it will mean availability of a standard quality of cannabis variety or strain.
This will assure a standard product whose chemical can then have effective potion for remedy.
Cannabis has undergone a major socio-cultural stigma since 1985.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration lists cannabis as Schedule 1 of controlled substances that cannot be legally prescribed, possessed or sold for commercial use. It can only be used to treat medical conditions in the form of the approved drug Dronabinol.
With the availability of the plant in the hilly terrains of India there is a growing demand that it must be developed in India as the medicine will be highly cost-effective.
With non-communicable diseases on the rise and rising costs of healthcare, there is a demand to look within for resources which will reduce the cost of production of medicines.
