Results from the world's largest study into the medical effects of cannabis have shown that the drug can reduce pain and improve the lives of people with multiple sclerosis. Scientists concluded that patients for whom other treatments have failed should be given tablets made from cannabis derivatives. The three-year study, published in the medical journal The Lancet today, is the first clinical appraisal of whether cannabis-derived drugs can help treat MS. Mike O'Donovan, chief executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Society said: "These improvements to quality of life can make a significant difference to people with MS. On the evidence now available, the MS Society believes those who might benefit should be able to have treatment prescribed on the NHS." Patients say that smoking the drug reduces symptoms such as muscle stiffness and tremors, and gives them greater mobility. Pharmaceutical companies are working urgently to develop drugs using cannabinoids, the natural chemicals found in cannabis which appear to soothe pain and alleviate muscle stiffness. About 85,000 people suffer from MS in Britain, and it is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in the Western world. Full article over at The Independent.