Doctors in the southern part of England are being told by their primary care trusts not to prescribe Sativex – a liquid medicine derived from cannabis – that we told you about a couple weeks ago. These trusts claim that Sativex is not effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

The MS Society charity described the decision as “disappointing” and said it would campaign against the decision.

So England finally approves a new cannabis-based medicine, and insurance companies can’t wait to tell them not to use it.

They said these types of drugs “were not cost effective and test results were not convincing”.

Notice how they mention cost effectiveness before they throw in that they believe it just doesn’t work. And lest we forget that real people are effected by bureaucratic decisions:

Mike Bray, from Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire, has lived with the neurological condition for 15 years.

It affects the transfer of messages from the central nervous system to the rest of the body and there is no cure.

Last week he tried to get Sativex from his GP but he was told he could not be prescribed it.

“What he said to me when I went to the surgery was that he couldn’t prescribe it but suggested that I contacted a neurologist,” he said.

Mr. Bray went on to talk about the stigma attached to Sativex when there is no stigma for morphine – when both are derived from a “controlled substance.”

“There is no leap made between heroin and morphine so why should there be a leap made between Sativex and cannabis.”

With about 100,000 people living in the UK with MS, this is sad news indeed. Just when they thought there was something new with which to combat their debilitating disease, it is denied to them. It seems England becomes more like the U.S. everyday. In this instance, that’s not a good thing.

- Joe Klare