cannabisnews.com: Take Two Tokes, Call Me In The A.M. 





Take Two Tokes, Call Me In The A.M. 
Posted by CN Staff on June 01, 2003 at 08:50:05 PT
By Charlie McKenzie 
Source: Hour Magazine 
Shares in GW Pharmaceuticals, a British firm pioneering in cannabis-based medicines, hit an all-time high recently when Germany's Bayer AG Inc. (the Aspirin folks) acquired rights to its first marketable product. Bayer will pay GW $41-million (U.S.) for exclusive rights to market Sativex, a cannabis-based product derived from the 40,000 marijuana plants GW grows each year at a secret location somewhere in the English countryside.
The drug, which is sprayed beneath the tongue, will be available in the U.K. later this year for multiple sclerosis patients and is also being studied for treating pain caused by cancer and spinal cord injury. The British government has already indicated it will alter cannabis laws to allow doctors to prescribe Sativex.The deal also gives Bayer marketing rights for other European countries, as well as Canada. The lucrative but more difficult U.S. market is not part of the deal. Dr. Mark Ware, who heads a cannabis research project in pain management at McGill University, welcomes these developments. "I haven't seen the clinical trial data as yet," he said, "but arguably they [GW-Bayer] are leading the way for the non-smoking application of medicinal cannabis. "Most patients presently smoke it," he explained. "They seem to prefer that delivery mechanism, but that's only because they're limited by what's presently available." Raised in Jamaica, Dr. Ware trained in medicine at the University of the West Indies. He first became aware of the possibilities of cannabis use for pain management while working with adult sickle cell patients and moved to Montreal in 1999 to get involved in medical marijuana research. For Dr. Ware, the idea of an oral cannabis spray presents an interesting option. "We might actually see such a product in this country in a couple of years," he said. "I suggest keeping an eye on it."Source: Hour Magazine (CN QU)Author: Charlie McKenziePublished: May 29, 2003Copyright: 2003 Communications Voir Inc.Website: http://www.hour.ca/Contact: letters afterhour.comRelated Articles & Web Site:GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/GW Hits High as Bayer Snaps Up Cannabis Drug http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16348.shtmlCannabis Medicine 'On Sale This Year' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15773.shtmlGW Sets Up Launch of Cannabis Drugshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15203.shtml
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