cannabisnews.com: Marijuana-Based Drug Sativex May Get FDA Approval
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Marijuana-Based Drug Sativex May Get FDA Approval
Posted by CN Staff on January 22, 2012 at 19:02:50 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press
San Francisco -- A quarter-century after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, additional medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself could soon be making their way to pharmacy shelves, according to drug companies, small biotech firms and university scientists. A British company, GW Pharma, is in advanced clinical trials for the world's first pharmaceutical developed from raw marijuana instead of synthetic equivalents- a mouth spray it hopes to market in the U.S. as a treatment for cancer pain. And it hopes to see FDA approval by the end of 2013.
Sativex contains marijuana's two best known components - delta 9-THC and cannabidiol - and already has been approved in Canada, New Zealand and eight European countries for a different usage, relieving muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis. FDA approval would represent an important milestone in the nation's often uneasy relationship with marijuana, which 16 states and the District of Columbia already allow residents to use legally with doctors' recommendations. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration categorizes pot as a dangerous drug with no medical value, but the availability of a chemically similar prescription drug could increase pressure on the federal government to revisit its position and encourage other drug companies to follow in GW Pharma's footsteps. "There is a real disconnect between what the public seems to be demanding and what the states have pushed for and what the market is providing," said Aron Lichtman, a Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacology professor and president of the International Cannabinoid Research Society. "It seems to me a company with a great deal of vision would say, `If there is this demand and need, we could develop a drug that will help people and we will make a lot of money.'" Possessing marijuana still is illegal in the United Kingdom, but about a decade ago GW Pharma's founder, Dr. Geoffrey Guy, received permission to grow it to develop a prescription drug. Guy proposed the idea at a scientific conference that heard anecdotal evidence that pot provides relief to multiple sclerosis patients, and the British government welcomed it as a potential way "to draw a clear line between recreational and medicinal use," company spokesman Mark Rogerson said. In addition to exploring new applications for Sativex, the company is developing drugs with different cannabis formulations."We were the first ones to charge forward and a lot of people were watching to see what happened to us," Rogerson said. "I think we are clearly past that stage." In 1985, the FDA approved two drug capsules containing synthetic THC, Marinol and Cesamet, to ease side-effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. The agency eventually allowed Marinol to be prescribed to stimulate the appetites of AIDS patients. The drug's patent expired last year, and other U.S. companies have been developing formulations that could be administered through dissolving pills, creams and skin patches and perhaps be used for other ailments. Doctors and multiple sclerosis patients are cautiously optimistic about Sativex. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has not endorsed marijuana use by patients, but the organization is sponsoring a study by a University of California, Davis neurologist to determine how smoking marijuana compares to Marinol in addressing painful muscle spasms. "The cannabinoids and marijuana will, eventually, likely be part of the clinician's armamentarium, if they are shown to be clinically beneficial," said Timothy Coetzee, the society's chief research officer. "The big unknown in my mind is whether they are clearly beneficial." Opponents and supporters of crude marijuana's effectiveness generally agree that more research is needed. And marijuana advocates fear that the government will use any new prescription products to justify a continued prohibition on marijuana use. . "To the extent that companies can produce effective medication that utilizes the components of the plant, that's great. But that should not be the exclusive access for people who want to be able to use medical marijuana," Americans for Safe Access spokesman Kris Hermes said. "That's the race against time, in terms of how quickly can we put pressure on the federal government to recognize the plant has medical use versus the government coming out with the magic bullet pharmaceutical pill." Interest in new and better marijuana-based medicines has been building since the discovery in the late 1980s and 1990s that mammals have receptors in their central nervous systems, several organs and immune systems for the chemicals in botanical cannabis and that their bodies also produce natural cannabinoids that work on the same receptors. One of the first drugs to build on those breakthroughs was an anti-obesity medication that blocked the same chemical receptors that trigger the munchies in pot smokers. Under the name Acomplia, it was approved throughout Europe and heralded as a possible new treatment for smoking cessation and metabolic disorders that can lead to heart attacks. The FDA was reviewing its safety as a diet drug when follow-up studies showed that people taking the drug were at heightened risk of suicide and other psychiatric disorders. French manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis, pulled it from the market in late 2008. Given that drug companies already were reluctant "to touch anything that is THC-like with a 10-foot- pole," the setback had a chilling effect on cannabinoid drug development, according to Lichtman. "Big companies like Merck and Pfizer were developing their own versions (of Acomplia), so all of those programs they spent millions and millions on just went away..." he said. But scientists and drug companies that are exploring pot's promise predict the path will ultimately be successful, if long and littered with setbacks. One is Alexandros Makriyannis, director of the Center for Drug Discovery at Northeastern University and founder of a small Boston company that hopes to market synthetic pain products that are chemically unrelated to marijuana, but work similarly on the body or inhibit the cannabinoid receptors. He also has been working on a compound that functions like the failed Acomplia but without the depressive effects. "I think within five to 10 years, we should get something," Makriyannis said.Note: Sativex contains pot's two main components - delta 9-THC and cannabidiol - and already has been approved in Canada, New Zealand and eight European countries.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: January 22, 2012Copyright: 2012 The Associated PressCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by keninsj on January 25, 2012 at 21:20:32 PT:
Only two compounds
"Sativex contains marijuana's two best known components - delta 9-THC and cannabidiol"For all we know these may be harmful in some way without the rest of the plant. Take something that is purest in its natural form and remove only two compounds and call it the same. Insane.
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Comment #4 posted by dongenero on January 23, 2012 at 11:08:07 PT
crackpots doctors on $$$$
"The big unknown in my mind is whether they [cannabinoids] are clearly beneficial."Right. Meanwhile anti-depressants like Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are handed out like Skittles based on a highly ambiguous and becoming more so, link with serotonin and depression. The side effects of these SSRI's:
  anhedonia
  apathy
  nausea/vomiting
  drowsiness or somnolence
  headache
  bruxism
  tinnitus
  extremely vivid or strange dreams
  dizziness
  fatigue
  mydriasis (pupil dilation)
  urinary retention
  changes in appetite
  insomnia and/or changes in sleep
  excessive diarrhea
  weight loss/gain (measured by a change in bodyweight of 7 pounds)
  increased risk of bone fractures and injuries
  changes in sexual behaviour (see the next section)
  increased feelings of depression and anxiety (which may sometimes provoke panic attacks)
  mania and psychotic disorders
  tremors (and other symptoms of Parkinsonism in vulnerable elderly patients)[20]
  autonomic dysfunction including orthostatic hypotension, increased or reduced sweating
  akathisia
  renal impairment
  suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide)
  photosensitivity[21]
  Paresthesia
  dissociative disorders, cognitive disorders and loss of contact with reality
  Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone hypersecretionYea, the link is that people feel better about their mental disorders if they're told it's a chemical imbalance and can receive dangerous pharmaceutical$ for it.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on January 23, 2012 at 10:04:44 PT
Magic pills
No pill is a "magic bullet"! If you believe that you could soon be at death's door from lethal side effects. Been there, done that.This prescription medicine issue will be interesting to watch. One would think the insurance industry might come around to herbal medical cannabis once they start getting billed $1500 per month for Big Pharma's version.On the other hand, the same families probably own and control Big Pharma and the insurance industry. And we know the insurance industry is already charging 5-10 times as much to medical MJ patients for life insurance, even though studies show cannabis does not affect mortality.
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Comment #2 posted by Oleg the Tumor on January 23, 2012 at 09:22:46 PT:
Another escapee from the "Armamentarium"…
… Which sounds like a place where heavily armed people "with issues" hang around looking for trouble.Tim Coetzee is just miffed because he didn't get the insurance company gig – he's not a clear enough quack, so they went with the duck instead.This Is Big Pharma wading in, ready to muck everything up, per usual.A cracked bell is known by its sound, a cracked mind by its speech – and it's not bad enough that this guy invents ridiculous words, Tim insists on going on: "The big unknown in my mind is whether they [cannabinoids] are clearly beneficial."Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me… Is there anyone at home? Come on Tim, it's still a non-toxic plant!
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on January 22, 2012 at 19:24:26 PT
"The cannabinoids and marijuana will, eventually, 
likely be part of the clinician's armament"Yes, thanks to GW (Guy/Wirtschafter company) we still won't have legal marijuana without the interference and obstruction from pharmaceutical tyranny.Great Job! (not) How compassionate! (not)And Dear Mr. Timothy Coetzee, the word "armamentarium" does not exist, courtesy of my spell checker.
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