Society funds study on marijuana and MS spasticity.

Many people with MS--as many as 15%, according to one study--use marijuana for relief of symptoms, including spasticity. But the results of clinical trials of smoked marijuana and of one of its major active ingredients, THC, in oral spray form, have been inconclusive. Part of the problem is that these trials have measured spasticity on the Ashworth Scale, which relies on the subjective judgment of the examiner.

A new scale

Mark A. Agius, MD, and fellow researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, developed an objective system to measure leg torque, or twisting movement, and electromyographic (EMG) activity. The new and highly sensitive system was developed for a study on marijuana in people with MS, but the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research lost funding when the investigation was only half done.

The National MS Society stepped in and is funding the study to its completion, which is scheduled for March 30, 2008. This will be the first study on marijuana that meets rigorous scientific standards for data--and the first such study funded by the Society.