cannabisnews.com: Blow for GW Pharma Cannabis Remedy





Blow for GW Pharma Cannabis Remedy
Posted by CN Staff on November 27, 2003 at 20:48:56 PT
By Stephen Foley
Source: Independent UK
GW Pharmaceuticals, the company developing a painkilling spray from cannabis, is braced to miss its end-of-year deadline for gaining approval to launch the drug.The company is also growing less confident that the Government's medicines regulator will approve the drug, to be called Sativex, for all the uses it originally requested. At briefings with City analysts, GW has been saying it expects approval "from the end of the year", while its broker, Collins Stewart, has warned its clients that a decision could take until next autumn.
In an investment note, Collins Stewart analyst Jonathan Kwok wrote: "We expect to hear the final decision from the end of 2003 onwards."With barely a month to go, sources at the MHRA believe it is unlikely an announcement would now be ready this year. Multiple sclerosis patient groups have long campaigned to be allowed to use a cannabis drug to relieve their symptoms, and GW believes it has trial data which shows Sativex is an effective treatment for muscle stiffness and bladder problems.It has also requested that it be approved for use to relieve neuropathic pain, pain caused by a diseased or damaged nervous system. This would be a breakthrough treatment since neuropathic pain is viewed as difficult or impossible to treat.People close to the company now believe the regulator, the MHRA, could reject the application to launch Sativex for neuropathic pain until more trial results are available later next year.The likely delays will dismay investors who bought into a fund raising by the company after its interim results in June. At the time, the company said it was confident Sativex would be available on prescription in the UK by the end of 2003. Geoffrey Guy, the founder and chairman, sold £5m of shares at 200p at that time.The company itself yesterday insisted nothing had changed since the start of the year. A spokesman said: "The process is continuing as expected. There is a month to go and we are confident of getting approval. We have always said the timing was going to be in the hands of the regulator".The launch of Sativex will require a change in the law to reschedule cannabis, which the Government has promised on MHRA approval. GW shares were off 5p at 189.5p yesterday on fading hopes that the drug can be made available this year. Newshawk: 13th step Source: Independent (UK)Author:  Stephen FoleyPublished: November 28, 2003Copyright: 2003 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.Contact: letters independent.co.ukWebsite: http://www.independent.co.uk/ Related Articles & Web Site:GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/Canada: GW and Bayer Announce Agreement http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17741.shtmlCannabis Spray Painkiller in Use in Monthshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17083.shtmlGW Hits High as Bayer Snaps Up Cannabis Drug http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16348.shtml 
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Comment #15 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 29, 2003 at 06:03:21 PT
Weighing In
As you will note, there have been differing accounts of this matter in the press. I have no special additional information, but with these matters, the agencies decide when they decide. Matters are still on track, and this will happen. It is simply question of when more than if. Everyone should try to be patient, especially me, although that is asking for a great deal.
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Comment #14 posted by Virgil on November 29, 2003 at 01:58:57 PT
The 2003 story of the year
I would say that this is the story of the year here at Cnews. This story is significant in that is alone in a world of media that broke the silence on the greatest news of the year in the cannabis world.Here we have the cannabis story of the year on what was heralded as the event of the century so far in the world of clinical cannabis. The story should have been the first sales of their products this December. This strategy is delay and the play of power to strengthen the longevity of this harsh hoax of prohibition.The story of this news comes from the Independent of the United Kingdom. No American media has had mention of this story so far at Cnews. We know it is non-existant in the Nazi airwaves and we expect silence until there is another boo!!! from propaganda central.That is what makes the story of Tom and Rollie at Rainbow Farms by Playboy the second best story of the year. The Playboy told what was a new story that would have been the main event in the Cannabis world in 2001. It took two years to mention the greatest story of 2001. Old news was new news this year to many because of Playboy.I would say the third best article would be the Cato Report http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb108/hb108-17.pdfand the fourth one would probably be the NYT article article- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/16/thread16476.shtmlI would think the fifth best article would concern Rosenthal, but which article here at Cnews was best I do not know.This article here has got to be the story of the year unless the Canadian Supreme Court says something. I do not have the top 5 Cnews article links yet. Okay it is time to be getting your top 5 list together for 2003. Maybe we can have a vote at DU after Christmas or maybe FoM might just give her Freedom of Mind awards to them.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on November 28, 2003 at 17:13:47 PT
DeVoHawk 
Ending cannabis prohibition would allow people to be considered the responsible citizens that most of them are. When I was a child I thought how cool it will be when I grow up and can make decisions for myself and that never happened. The elimination of fear would be the best benefit of cannabis legalization.
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Comment #12 posted by DeVoHawk on November 28, 2003 at 16:57:42 PT
FOM
The Previous DeVoHawk Statement was meant to relay the fact that I would have a lower daily stress level if prohibition was lifted. I can not say exactly how differently I would act but it is a known fact that stress screws animals up in labs. I can only assume that added stress coupled with the fact that I am a LEO is a negative thing.Surely I would smoke pot in many places I currently do not, like everywhere in public where children are not present.
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Comment #11 posted by DeVoHawk on November 28, 2003 at 16:47:34 PT
Planted Evidence
Much like a bloody glove can be planted at the scene of a crime, Illegal drugs can be planted on a person and then they get the shi* beat out of them and end up in jail.Since I am known to enjoy Gods plants it would be believable to others around me. If it were coke, heroin, meth, or and crap like that no one would believe it of me. Then after the evidence is planted I can have my house taken away, land, cars, voting rights, children, and denied the ability to actually leave the country.This was just the first thought that comes to mind. I believe I could write and injustice a day that concerns me due to prohibition.A second thought is suppression of free speech. If someone at a Norml events smokes cannabis Norml can be fined an extreme amount due to the Rave act.
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Comment #10 posted by observer on November 28, 2003 at 14:10:09 PT
too fun?
''has warned its clients that a decision could take until next autumn''This can only mean one thing ... users may experience the undesirable side-effect of mild euphoria (pleasure). This would be sinful and is therefore politically unacceptable to appointee-stacked regulatory ministries.
breaking drug news http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/
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Comment #9 posted by Virgil on November 28, 2003 at 13:28:12 PT
We need more research
What a sad story. It will be interesting to see what THC4MS says about this. We know that these extracts have no enduring side effects and the warning label will only advise people not to use machinery until they learn to deal with the buzz. There is plenty enough to allow these extracts on the market and the only reason the world has not benefited from cannabinoid research to its near full extent is because of reefer madness that has taken over the mindset of the government.I just wonder how much of this is tied to the election next November in this country. This is not just a small event. Who could ever believe that the governments of the world could inflict such a harsh prohibition on such a beneficial plant. Would people not think that the prohition in the US has inflicted more harm than the Civil War now that the country has 8 times more people and 66 years of insane federal laws?Cannabis extracts have fulfilled the requirements for entry and we know they are safer than almost anything the pill companies sell. Now the government wants to play hoop jumping as people suffer and the product that would create a great awakening just had its snooze button hit.CP is a sad story with a new sad paragraph. What makes this sad though is that it all should have never been illegal. What a world that would have been. It would have been a wonderful life.
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Comment #8 posted by 13th step on November 28, 2003 at 13:26:11 PT
Great Question...
Fom sez:
"What you all are saying is true. Anyone want to try to say how they would behave differently if the laws were changed and cannabis was legal? Maybe this question would be hard to answer and I understand if no one wants to try."Whew. What a question!I suppose for me, I'd love to be able to plant some strains of canna out in the yard with my tomatoes , so I would do that. But other than that, I suppose it wouldn't change too much. I already smoke mostly at home when I smoke , and of course I don't let the laws stop me from transporting minute amounts to friends houses , or out to the woods for a hike...If cannabis were legal , I think a lot of us who buy it illegally could get away from the black market types , who are uncaring for others, and only want to make money , and who perhaps sell other things , or sell to kids 16 years or so. I remember a Margaret Cho routine that was about how she was glad she quit smoking pot because it got her away from the guy she always could get it from. His house always smelled of cat pee, or some such.. I know that personally , if it weren't for having to buy illegally , I wouldn't set foot in some of the places I have.I would hopefully be able to smoke a joint at the old family picnic, instead of watching others swill beer while I have to "sneak off" to get my buzz. I would be able to smoke cannabis in a smoking allowed hotel room without wetting down towels to block the door , and bringing air fresheners & whatnot to cover the smell.
(Or the old toilet paper tube with dryer sheets in it...)I could stop buying visene...Hmmm, thought I had a lot to say...but you know, that's really it. 
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on November 28, 2003 at 12:32:18 PT:
We Are Above Ground Now
Pot may or may not be legal in Canada at present. Does an appeals court have the power to resuscitate a dead law? However, the Summer of Legalization allowed us to legally partake of the healing herb, and better than that to get to know each other better. We can continue to acknowledge and support each other, whether or not we feel the "need to smoke and hide" because we know what its like to "take a legal ride." Irie-ites!I'm listening to Richard Cowan's Battle for Canada on Pot-tv and thinking about the two months we have to network with allies, who support civil rights and freedom against the "prohibitionist backlash" and the neo-con government of Paul Martin.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, we need a Health Minister who actually knows something about health rather than about prohibition."Some people (and governments obviously) subscribe to the germ theory of illness, while others of us believe the best protection from the new-age plagues is to keep up your body's immune response. Germs are all around us, but not everybody gets sick."Interesting. Why are some people more susceptible that others to the billions of virus and bacteria cells in the average subway sneeze?"Well, gosh. There's a very good question. If I were minister of health, I'd sure be looking at that."But sadly, if you decide to pursue a strengthened immune system, you're on your own. The family MD might suggest a low-stress lifestyle (how exactly is that done?), lots of rest and proper food. "No one would argue with that but I know that during my life, no doctor has ever, and I mean ever, asked me what I eat or how much I rest. "And if it's not a prescription drug, I'm on my own hook as no medical plan I've ever had paid for vitamins and supplements. Nor for my naturopath visits, during which diet, lifestyle and emotional states are examined in detail. I am not part of the problem of overprescription of antibiotics. "All this I do on my own, like a hobby, and pay cash money for it. Ditto my forays into the natural foods store."So I get a little miffed when I hear radio ads urging Ontarians to get their flu shots. I'm sure it protects some people from a bout of the flu and that's a good thing but it's the same germ theory all over again."Get a shot and be immune."It takes only a minute to protect yourself and your family from (insert disease here)."This is the same mentality that has us taking a pill for every ailment and then more pills for the side-effects of the first pill."The mentality that has no patience for the slow, steady buildup of a strong system. Everybody wants a magic bullet...." --Toby Yull, excerpt from Building the immune system is worth the effort, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday, November 26, 2003, page Go 17
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 28, 2003 at 12:08:18 PT
I Have a Question
What you all are saying is true. Anyone want to try to say how they would behave differently if the laws were changed and cannabis was legal? Maybe this question would be hard to answer and I understand if no one wants to try.
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Comment #5 posted by DeVoHawk on November 28, 2003 at 11:52:44 PT
Summer of legalization
I went to Toronto this summer. I felt a great repression lifted from over my head while in Canada. While at Sarstock I was able to enjoy cannabis with police everywhere.The only arrests, less than 10, where alcohol related.
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Comment #4 posted by 13th step on November 28, 2003 at 11:19:04 PT
It is a shame
I think BigDawg is hitting the nail right square on the head.Prohibition causes criminal behaviour. It's caused me to be completely untrustworthy of police , parents, educators , and anyone who tells me they know better.I went to Canada this summer , mostly so I could say I was in the land of legal pot ; my first words out of my mouth to my wife once we crossed the border was "I'm not a criminal now."It was quite powerful a thought. I almost cried. It would be nice for people to not have to think like criminals , no surreptitious behaviour that you become desensitized to , and then that lying becomes routine. Then that backstabbing that inevitably comes with it.I think of recent news , and how the F.B.I. infiltrates antiwar groups , and this has been done to relegalizers for decades. They sow the hate , and many times we fight each other and can't get anything done because we get hung up on minutae.We can win this fight , and truth is a big weapon. 
Love is our biggest weapon , though, even love for the Bennets/Limbaughs/etc. Espescially for them.Proselytizing isn't the answer , living by example is. Someone stabs you in the back , learn from it. Yes , be more guarded , be more careful. But still accept and love them. Our lives are way too short to live at their level , show them that it won't be accepted ,and move on. We have to do this, or we won't succeed.With loads of a big dopey hippie's love , 
13th step.
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Comment #3 posted by BigDawg on November 28, 2003 at 09:40:20 PT
E_J
You touch on a subject that has bothered me since I was a teen.The first time someone inhales cannabis, they become a criminal. If they continue to inhale, they begin to THINK like a criminal because they ARE a criminal. IMHO, this is the worst part of prohibition... what it does to the mindset of people.Anti-social behavior is one of the things prohibs tell parents to look for in a teen using drugs. Is this behavior caused by the drugs... or their fear of being arrested?I can go on for hours about this sad topic....
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 28, 2003 at 09:05:37 PT
EJ I Hope This Product Comes Out Too
There are people who will benefit from using this spray. I think of those who have had cancer surgery particularly in the throat and can't smoke or eat cannabis brownies etc. I see definite needs for this product. People who have chronic lung disease and couldn't smoke would be a large group and many senior citizens. I think of an Aids patient who wants to go shopping and while shopping nausea hits them hard in the middle of a big shopping mall. There's no way a person can get relief if the spray is not available. If they could use this spray it might save their day. It would make the quality of their life much better.As far as the problems with our community I've come to conclusions and am sure I'm right in my belief. After 5 years here on CNews and before that other boards I've learned that not everyone that says they care cares. That was a rude awakening for me but I accepted that some people don't have pure motives. I use this page to remind me and help me to sort thru this confusion. If when I read this page I can find people that fit in this category they get pushed away to the side in my mind and I don't give them any of my time. I would much rather use my time to help bring harmony to this community and not be one who makes pain for folks. Please read this link and see if you can come to conclusions too. I know your motives are pure so please try to find help by reading this link.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/troll.htm
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on November 28, 2003 at 06:07:10 PT
I hope this product comes out
I used to be against this but I am so sick and tired of the marijuana community now, I can't wait for an opportunity to live in the normal world against where lying is bad and telling the truth is good.In the marijuana community, lying is good and telling the truth is bad. That's what happens to people who are criminalized. Lying is considered good ethics and being open and honest is called narking. This is the upside down moral universe imposed upon people by prohibition.But people have taken the criminal mind set to be some kind of actual real standard of good and evil so the marijuana community has been by and large a community of people who think like criminals because they have accepted within themselves that this is the right way to think, not merely some wrong way to think imposed upon them by a wrong system.It will be nice for sick people to have a way to get the benefits of cannabinoids without having to come into contact with hopelessly criminalized people.
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