Cannabis' effectiveness as a pain-relief drug is set to be decided by a three-year trial involving 5,000 Britons. The participants in the study will all be suffering from chronic pain caused by conditions such as arthritis and, if the cannabis treatment is successful, it could subsequently be prescribed on the NHS.
The drug will be taken in a vaporised form through an inhaler - a process that will only take five minutes every day, as reported by the Daily Mail. At the end of the trial, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) will then decide whether cannabis - inhaled in that manner - can become an approved treatment.
Chronic pain is defined as any pain lasting for longer than three months and afflicts a third of the UK's adult population. Should cannabis be available through the NHS, it is also hoped that would stop self-medication, when chronic pain sufferers turn to drug dealers and internet suppliers to ease their discomfort.
