Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Copyright: 2001 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.phillynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339 Author: Associated Press BRITISH DRUG FIRM READIES MARIJUANA-BASED PAIN RELIEVER LONDON - GW Pharmaceuticals, the only British firm licensed to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes, said yesterday it foresees a surge in sales once the government relaxes laws restricting use of the drug. The company is conducting trials of a marijuana-based pain reliever and expects that it could start selling the medicine under prescription by 2004. A day after the government announced its new policy, investors pushed company shares 13.7 percent higher to 107 pence ($1.52) on the London Stock Exchange. GW Pharmaceuticals makes the medicine from an extract taken from 15,000 marijuana plants that it cultivates in a greenhouse. It plans to sell the drug as a spray applied under a patient's tongue and aims to market it to Britain's 85,000 sufferers of multiple sclerosis and to the even larger numbers of people with rheumatoid arthritis. "We are confident that significant numbers of these patients will welcome a medicine like this," said company spokesman Mark Rogerson. Home Secretary David Blunkett said Tuesday that he proposes to reclassify marijuana, or cannabis, as a "Class C drug" - putting it in the same category as anabolic steroids. Such a change means that that although the use of marijuana would remain illegal, the penalties would be less severe and police would not have the power of arrest. Offenders could instead be warned, cautioned or reported for a summons to appear in court. Marijuana is currently a Class B drug, and possession carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail. Simple possession of a Class C drug carries a maximum sentence of two years. Blunkett's statement to the House of Commons comes amid an intensifying political debate about marijuana. Senior figures from all three major political parties have now urged a review of cannabis laws. "We welcome it, obviously," Rogerson said of Blunkett's announcement. Based in Salisbury in southwestern England, GW Pharmaceuticals was licensed by the Home Office in 1998 to cultivate, possess and supply marijuana for medical research purposes. It has completed initial clinical tests on 80 patients and plans soon to expand trials to include 1,000 patients, Rogerson said. GW Pharmaceuticals hopes to submit results of its next round of trials to regulators in 2003. If the trial data look promising, Blunkett has indicated the government will change marijuana laws to allow prescription sales. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth