Pubdate: Tue, 25 Oct 2005
Source: Vermont Cynic (U of Vermont, VT Edu)
Contact: http://www.vermontcynic.com/main.cfm?include=submit
Copyright: 2005 Vermont Cynic
Website: http://www.vermontcynic.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3982
Author: Kevin Lumpkin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Cited: GW Pharmaceuticals http://www.gwpharm.com/
Cited: University of Vermont Students for a Sensible Drug Policy 
http://www.uvm.edu/~ssdp/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?323 (GW Pharmaceuticals)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Sativex

MEDICAL USE OF CANNABIS UNDER FIRE

Sativex(R) is a drug developed by English-based GW Pharmaceuticals,
and is the first in a developing portfolio of cannabis-based medicines
the company plans to produce. Dr. Richard Musty, a UVM
psychopharmacologist, has been researching the effects of cannabis
(the plant from which marijuana is derived) on the human brain for
thirty years, and acted as a scientific consultant to GW
Pharmaceuticals during the development of this drug.

Sativex(R) has two active ingredients, both of which are cannabinoids
(derived solely from the cannabis plant), and are found in marijuana:
THC and cannabidiol. What makes the drug unique, according to Dr.
Musty, is that its users do not experience a "high" when it is taken
at its prescribed dosage.

Sativex(R) was approved by Health Canada in 2005, for the treatment of
neuropathic pain and decreased mobility in patients with Multiple
Sclerosis (MS.) Although the drug is currently being prescribed in
Canada, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) are wary of importing the drug.

Dr. Musty has had similar problems with the US government when dealing
with cannabis-related drugs in the past - several years ago, when
Musty and his colleagues were attempting to obtain approval for a drug
containing cannabinoids, "[the FDA] said, 'we have philosophical
problems with this.'" The issues the government had with the drug were
not scientific, but concerning public policy - "I think if people look
at the data, it's undeniable that it's a good drug," says Musty.

In previous meetings with governmental agencies, the
psychopharmacologist working for those agencies were not the ones
objecting to legalizing the cannabis-based drug. "They didn't raise
any issues about the potential medical uses of cannabis products,"
says Musty.

The government's reaction to drugs containing cannabinoids is drawing
sharp criticism from one campus group, the Students for a Sensible
Drug Policy (SSDP.) Larry Clarfeld, the President of the SSDP,
believes that, "there is no reason patients should be denied a drug
that is proven effective in treating their symptoms for any reason,"
and characterized the government's response to drugs like Sativex(R)
as being part of the "war on the sick."

One objection to the import and legalization of drugs such as
Sativex(R) is that such an act would lead down a slippery slope to the
legalization of marijuana itself. In fact, Dr. Musty does believe that
marijuana should be legal in the United States - "I would support
controlled legalization like they have in Holland." Many legalization
advocates draw comparisons between marijuana and legal drugs, such as
alcohol and tobacco. Given the current data available, Dr. Musty
believes that, "if you compare cannabis to alcohol, I would say
alcohol is a much worse drug."

The SSDP plans to host a lecture in the coming weeks featuring Dr.
Musty, spotlighting the effects of cannabinoids such as those found in
Sativex(R) on the brain. For more information about the organization,
you can visit http://www.uvm.edu/~ssdp
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake