They started to study medical marijuana in Russia

In Russia, hemp research and search for cannabis which would not cause severe psychosis or other side effects, if they would be used for medical purposes. This was reported by Eugene Brun, the chief freelance drug psychiatrist of the Ministry of Health, RIA Novosti.

“We don’t know which result would be when this research is finished, so we don’t have to talk about using cannabis for medical purposes either”, – he said, adding that it’s still in its early stage.

“When smoking marijuana, psychosis occurs in 1 to 3% of cases”, – said Brun. They are “heavy schizophrenic-like, and they are poorly treated, in fact they make a man disabled”. There are no plans to legalize marijuana because of this.

Besides, Brun noted that in some European countries, in the U.S. and in Canada hemp is given to patients in hospices to facilitate their departure from life. In his opinion, it is “a controversial story, or maybe they are speeding up the outcome”.

In England, two drugs based on cannabis that are used to treat epilepsy and multiple sclerosis (Epidyolex and Sativex – Nabiximols) were previously approved for medical use, the BBC said. Clinical trials have shown that a solution containing cannabidiol can reduce seizure rates in some children with epilepsy by up to 40%.

British law was changed last year to allow doctors to prescribe drugs with cannabis, but specialists prescribed them very rarely. Many doctors do not prescribe them, because most of these medicines, unlike Epidyolex or Hathysex, have not been studied.

Marijuana was legalized in Canada last year. Canadian doctors may prescribe cannabis to relieve symptoms of diseases that are not normally treatable. These include the side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients as well as pain and muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis. The government website also provides a list of side effects that may occur when such drugs are used.