Researchers from Israel and Spain revealed their findings at a Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain symposium on medical cannabis.

"We have come a long way in ten years and there is still a lot of research ground to cover," said Professor Tony Moffat, chairman of the symposium.

"There is currently considerable interest in the medical benefits of cannabis and related compounds for a range of conditions including arthritis, multiple sclerosis and neurological pain."

"Although recent press coverage has focused on the abuses associated with the plant, cannabis-derived medications may offer novel opportunities in drug discovery."

"Cannabis as it is normally smoked has mind-blowing properties and there are compounds in there which has these hallucinogenic properties."

"However, some of the indications for Alzheimer's in a mouse model is just a single compound that's used from cannabis plant material which is extracted and it can stop the memory loss."

"Now if you take that single compound and apply it to humans in clinical trials, we could prove for those 400,000 Alzheimer's patients that it could be used for those."

Alzheimer's expert welcomed the possibility of a new way to treat the incurable condition.

"I'm sure there will be people who want to enter the trial," said Dr Suzanne Sorenson of the Alzheimer's Society.

"The treatment opportunities for Alzheimer's disease are so few, it is incurable."

"The drugs that exist at the moment aren't suitable for everybody."

"So there being other drugs available, I'm sure will be a positive thing for patients."

But there was caution surrounding cannabis and its currently illicit status.

"We need robust clinical trials into the potential benefits of non-psychoactive components of cannabis," said Dr Clive Ballard, also from the Alzheimer's Society.

"It is important for people to note that these treatments are not the same as recreational cannabis use, which can be potentially harmful."