One of the first people in England to use cannabis for medical purposes said the drug has changed her life.

Elaine Hogben, who has Multiple Sclerosis and is chairman of the Banbury and District MS branch, volunteered in September 2000 to take part in Home Office tests at an Oxford hospital.

She was one of 19 people chosen to take part in a pioneering two-and-a-half-year study into medical uses of cannabis.

Now, more than halfway through the study, Mrs Hogben said the drug has made a huge difference to her quality of life.

"Nothing worked until I was given cannabis," she said. "The effect was immediate. It doesn't cure the illness but alleviates it. Now I can sleep all night."

The issue came into the spotlight again last week when Home Secretary David Blunkett told Parliament the tests were going well, and he was considering making the drug available legally on prescription.

Mrs Hogben developed multiple sclerosis 12 years ago, shortly after moving to Banbury.

She said: "Doctors first thought it was a spinal problem. But then neurologists realised it was MS."

The study is being carried out by GW Pharmaceuticals at Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, Oxford.

GW is licensed by the Home Office to grow and use cannabis for clinical trials.

Study participants take cannabis in a spray form, squirted under the tongue.

Mrs Hogben said: "The dose isn't large enough to get 'high' on, and because the cannabis is so pure there are no side effects."

She said: "I had been disappointed for years by doctors saying there was nothing they could do for me. Then came this. It was just miraculous."

GW spokesman Mark Rogerson said the company was formed in 1998 specifically to look at the use of cannabis as a medicine.

He added: "Our intention is to have the drug on the market for prescription use by early 2004.

"The tests are principally on MS sufferers, but we are looking at using the drug for arthritis, cancer pain, and other nerve pain treatments."

Multiple sclerosis affects the nerve linings in the brain and spinal cord.