cannabisnews.com: Britons Could Get Cannabis on Prescription in 2003










  Britons Could Get Cannabis on Prescription in 2003

Posted by CN Staff on November 05, 2002 at 08:20:55 PT
By Ben Hirschler  
Source: Reuters  

London -- British multiple sclerosis patients could get cannabis medicine on prescription as early as next year. GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, the company behind the treatment, said on Tuesday that four Phase III trials showed its product was significantly better than placebo in relieving disease symptoms. Phase III is the last stage of drug testing before approval.
The medicine, which is sprayed into the mouth rather than smoked, effectively reduced nerve damage pain, spasticity and sleep disturbance in the tests involving around 350 patients. Those expecting a marijuana high from the new drug, however, are likely to be disappointed since the British company's product is designed to have minimal psychoactive effects. GW--which cultivates some 40,000 cannabis plants a year at a secret location in the English countryside--now plans to seek marketing approval from Britain's Medicines Control Agency early next year. "The performance of GW's medicine has exceeded our own expectations," said Executive Chairman Geoffrey Guy. "Subject to regulatory approval, we are now on track to deliver our first prescription medicine to the UK market next year." GW had previously forecast a product launch in early 2004 but the good results mean patients could get the drug earlier. Britain's Multiple Sclerosis Society, representing patients with the nerve disease, said the news was "very encouraging." "We hope we are moving much closer to the day when people with MS will have access to cannabis-derived drugs which have been proved both effective and safe in the treatment of symptoms of this long-term condition," said spokesman David Harrison. Many multiple sclerosis sufferers have long been convinced that cannabis helps their condition and an estimated 10% of British patients are estimated to already use it illegally. OTHER USES GW is conducting a further five Phase III trials as part of an overall program that is the largest ever undertaken into the medicinal effects of cannabis. The spray is also being studied for treating pain in cancer and spinal cord injury. Julie Simmonds, biotechnology analyst at Evolution Beeson Gregory, expects GW to generate peak sales of around 250 million ($388.9 million) a year in Europe and Canada, the first markets where approval will be sought. The British government has already indicated it is ready to alter rules governing the use of cannabis to allow doctors to prescribe GW's medicinal formulation. Europe and Canada are expected to follow any green light from Britain within six to nine months, but approval in the United States will be at least two years behind due to the stringent tests required by the Food and Drug Administration. No decision on pricing has yet been made but Guy told Reuters GW's product would be competitive with rival medicines for nerve pain that cost some 1,200 to 2,000 a year. GW, which reported a loss of 5.3 million in the six months to March 31, expects to sign a marketing deal with a large pharmaceutical company by early next year. For more health and medical news, visit: http://www.reutershealth.com Source: Reuters HealthAuthor: Ben HirschlerPublished: November 05, 2002Copyright: 2002 Reuters Related Articles & Web Site:GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/Fresh Evidence That Cannabis Reduces Painhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14322.shtmlCannabis Kills Pain in Medical Trialshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14299.shtmlNevada Conference Examines Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14282.shtml

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Comment #13 posted by FoM on November 05, 2002 at 14:10:19 PT

Dankhank
I don't know but if the vaporizer requires much configuring that would be hard. My father in law while we were building our homes cut off his fingers with a carbide tipped blade saw that we were using for trim. He doesn't have the ability to even cut up his own food to eat. So unless it's easy it wouldn't work for him.
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Comment #12 posted by Dankhank on November 05, 2002 at 13:44:23 PT:

Vaporization ...
Is Vaporation far enough away from the idea of smoking to work for folks who "can't smoke?"Vaporizing was like breathing to me. 
Hemp N Stuff
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on November 05, 2002 at 13:04:34 PT

My Feelings
This is purely personal. My father in law can't smoke. He has congestive heart failure and is very old and has a lot of pain. The pain medicine keeps causing him to fall. Every day we hear him say how much he wishes the pain would stop. He can't handle narcotics and needs oxygen to breath. We need this spray for those who can't smoke or barely can eat anything anymore.
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Comment #10 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on November 05, 2002 at 13:00:07 PT

In order to remain united in our cause...
...we must push on all fronts.While I agree with schmeff's worries, we WILL be better served by having people in lab coats state that "There is therapeutic benefit" rather than having no white coats on our side, leaving it up to us longhairs to do the convincin'. There is a certain segment of the population that this type of announcement will resonate with, and it will allow us to soon follow with the benefits of self-produced "organic minty fresh herb" (I love that comment). We WILL be subjected to the same arguements of "standard & unsmoked" versus "unstandard & smoked" in the short term, in order to help keep herb illegal. You can bet on it. But it's not like that would make it any more illegal than it already is. We can practically only go forward with this issue. In the long term, this info is more ammuntion in our fight against rhetoric. Think long term and keep your ass out of jail until then!...peace.
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Comment #9 posted by schmeff on November 05, 2002 at 12:53:30 PT

Clarification too
The "GW on this side of the pond" I referred to was GW Bush. In this context, the question of whether "...GW does not expect cannabis as a plant to disappear", is problematic.He probably thinks cannabis is a piece of furniture, as in, "The ice bucket is in the liquor cannabis."
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Comment #8 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 05, 2002 at 12:29:07 PT:

Clarification
Certainly, if one used too much of the GW material, they would become stoned. That is thought of as a "side effect" by some who wish symptom relief without impairment. Finding the right dose is usually possible for most patients.As to the effects on the herb. As I have said repeatedly, GW does not expect cannabis as a plant to disappear. However, cannabis the plant can never be accepted by FDA as a prescription medicine as the rules stand. This material can. For the person who wishes HMO reimbursement for a defined prescription medicine that will help with their condition, it is the ticket. Not everyone grows grapes when there is Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf. Similarly, some will toke on homegrown while others will reach for the vaporizer, and others the standardized prescription product.Nothing will advance the acceptance of cannabis faster than good quality research of this type. Believe it. Spread the word.
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Comment #7 posted by schmeff on November 05, 2002 at 11:54:03 PT

They steal what we own, & sell it back to us
While I generally agree that this news from GW pharma is good news, it seems a double-edged sword.The GW on this side of the pond will undoubtedly let the big corporations belly up to the trough, but good old fashioned creator-given, natural and organic minty fresh herb will still be prohibited as dangerous and not sufficiently strength and dose controlled. Korporate-controlled medical cannabis will be available to the upper/middle class few with good medical coverage.The vast majority will be unable to purchase a doctor to prescribe it or to afford the 'drug' itself, and will be prohibited by the police state from growing it.By beguiling the collective mind into accepting that this is a medicine/drug, we tend to lose our ownership of this herb. An herb that needs no processing. Just eat the flowers - non-toxic and effective in a wide range of doses...freshens the breath and the outlook...side effects are ususlly mild and well-tolerated, and may include smiling, feelings of hunger and moments of clearheadedness
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Comment #6 posted by TroutMask on November 05, 2002 at 10:09:43 PT

A third gift...
p4me, another gift should be arriving soon: The Canadian House of Commons report is due this month, I believe. It's pretty certain they will suggest decrim (they get voted in and therefore can't tell the whole truth, don't cha know).-TM
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Comment #5 posted by p4me on November 05, 2002 at 09:23:51 PT

How do you argue with this, Walters?
I think that there are going to be people beating down the door for this. They surely have allowances to let this on the market earlier with such things as signing a waiver. The most valuable thing for people with chronic pain is relief and they are not interested in political niceties. They want relief and they want it now. GW has a more detailed statement at their website: http://www.gwpharm.com/news_pres_05_nov_02.html THC4MS is well organized and I believe they will demand that allowances be made to give people relief now. They cannot supply all of their patients with cannabis relief and the patient patient that they refer to on their homepage is going to be mighty resltless now as they suffer in their beds and whellchairs with nothing to concentrate on but relief from pain. They do not have anything up just now but it would be worth checking later on today: http://www.thc4ms.org.uk/I am sure that when Dr. Russo said in comment1 that this disproves the Schedule One Lie, he really maeant that this is real science and medicine in fact proving that the DEAth position really is the Schedule One Lie. Now what is Walters got to say about this? We have two great gifts in recent months. The Canadian Senate Report and now the proclaimations of GW saying we have something for your pain. Cannabis will find the pain.Prohibition kills and corrupts. Prohibitionist are murderers and destroyers of the environment. Goddamn the prohibitionist and twice if they are Republican.1
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Comment #4 posted by TroutMask on November 05, 2002 at 09:19:35 PT

Human physiology and national borders
It's odd how when one crosses into the US, one's body is changed so that marijuana is no longer a medicine. Then one hops across the border into Canada and oila, marijuana is medicine again. Those DEA folks must be sending out some kind of invisible rays or something. (end sarcasm)-TM
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on November 05, 2002 at 09:19:33 PT

spin control
"Those expecting a marijuana high from the new drug, however, are likely to be disappointed since the British company's product is designed to have minimal psychoactive effects."This is total BS...they didn't "design" anything! During the BBC "Panorama" show, they showed that GW had tried different combinations of cannabinoids, and the high-THC one worked the best for MS. THC is the principle euphoria-inducing cannabinoid; CBD and CBN are mostly non-psychoactive.I wish GW just told the truth - that the mental "high" side effect from cannabis, raw or extracted, is considerably less than most prescription pain relievers and muscle relaxers.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 05, 2002 at 09:00:54 PT

Dr. Russo
I want this to be legalized quickly. We were called out two times last night because the pain pills my father in law took made him fall. This would be so good for geriatric pain relief! Hurry Hurry Hurry! Thank you for all your are doing.
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 05, 2002 at 08:57:42 PT:

An Urgent Plea
This is monumental: the first Phase III clinical trials ever performed with cannabis. Make no mistake about this. The material used is a whole cannabis extract and has all the medicinal benefits of the herb, and possible side effects except for those related to pulmonary and other risks of smoking.These studies disprove the Schedule I lie. Cannabis is both safe and effective for a variety of medical conditions. Once this is general knowledge among American physicians, cannabis will no longer fit any of the Schedule I criteria.PLEASE SPREAD THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR PHYSICIANS, POLITICIANS, AND NEWS ORGANIZATIONS!Disclaimer: Yes, I am a scientific consultant to this company and admit to some bias. No, I do not own stock. 
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