CLARIFICATION Cannabis based medicine used to cure Multiple Sclerosis – Bufale.net

In recent days our attention was caught by an article published on Altervista website Lastella. According to the post, hospital Ferrari of Casarano, Italy, is using cannabis based medicines to cure or relief the suffering of patients affected by multiple sclerosis. The story, being the report of a patient, is obviously anonymous, yet accurate. After all, it seems reliable since it provides a context based on precise information.
Among other things, article provides the name of the medicine, Bedrocan, and a quick google search is enough to identify the official site of the Dutch company producing it, simply named www.bedrocan.nl, translated in various languages. The site provides detailed explanations on the use and effects of the various products, not only the one used in Italy, same as well legal restrictions issued in different countrie.
In attempt to get further infos about, we directly contacted the company for a quick Q/A session with manager George Pappas. Here are the answers as we recieved them and with no filter.

Is your product „Bedrocan“ (or any of the others) used or have property to heal Multiple sclerosis?”
In some European countries, including Italy, cannabis for medical use is regulated as an “unapproved drug”. This means it is regulated, quality controlled, prescribed by physicians and dispensed in pharmacies (or by physicians), but that it has not yet met the required clinical research to be approved as a treatment for a particular indication, for instance such as Multiple Sclerosis.
To be approved for marketing in Europe, drugs must undergo 3 phases of clinical trials targeting a specific indication or condition. Only then can a manufacturer (like us) make the claim that a medicine has properties to heal that particular indication.
That being said, individuals are prescribed cannabis to treat symptoms associated with Multiple Sclerosis, as well as side effects of other pharmaceutical drugs intended to treat MS. Some clinical evidence does exist for the use of cannabis to relieve muscle spasms and pain associated with MS. Also, individuals do report using street cannabis to treat MS in published research. This research provides both physicians and individuals with guidance on its use as a possible therapy.
Individuals with MS may use any of our standardized and chemically distinct varieties. However, the use of our varieties Bediol and Bedrolite, with higher levels of the compound Cannabidiol (CBD), which may have properties that help to calm seizures or pain, and works differently than the more well-known compound, Delta 9 – Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is becoming more popular.
“Which are most common uses of Bedrocan.”
Cannabis and Bedrocan are most commonly used to treat conditions and symptoms associated with different types of pain, such as chronic or neuropathic pain, seizure or movement disorders, spasticity, nausea, vomiting, or appetite stimulation, gastro-intestinal disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Chron’s disease. There is some clinical evidence to support use in these indications. However, patients also report using cannabis for psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There is less clinical evidence supporting the use of cannabis for these conditions (there is evidence of efficacy in PTSD), however there is laboratory research on the internal mechanisms of THC and CBD in the body that may offer explanations for the relief some individuals feel for these indications.
“Do if you have a partnership with Hospital Ferrari in Casarano, Italy?”
Bedrocan medicinal cannabis is imported from the Dutch Ministry of Health by only a few select Italian pharmaceutical importers, who then sell it to hospitals and pharmacies for dispensing directly to patients. Therefore, we do not have a partnership with the Hospital Ferrari.

Further searches however witness that hospital actually distributes Bedrocan and uses it for therapy purposes, i.e. one article on major Italian information site Repubblica same as this video interview with hospital personnel available on Youtube. Unfortunately, both sources are in Italian.

 
Italian version of this article available @thislink