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UK: Cannabis spray will be cleared for NHS use
David Leppard The Sunday Times
Sunday 13 Apr 2003 THE world's first cannabis-based medicine is expected to be approved by government regulators this summer. Sativex, an aerosol drug sprayed under the tongue, will be available on NHS prescription by the autumn after approval by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), sources say. Many of Britain's estimated 85,000 multiple sclerosis sufferers will be able to use the drug to alleviate pain and muscle spasms. Some already use the illegal forms of cannabis. Sativex's maker, GW Pharmaceuticals, says the drug may also benefit people with cancer, spinal cord injury and nerve damage. The move comes amid claims that the pharmaceutical industry is directing huge resources into "lifestyle" drugs - products such as Viagra, the impotence treatment, and the antidepressant Prozac - which have become widely used by people with little or no medical complaint. However, a member of the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs denied Sativex would be used as a lifestyle drug. He said its approval was not an "amber light for the decriminalisation of cannabis". GW Pharmaceuticals applied two weeks ago for a licence to sell the drug. Insiders say the McA will approve the drug, possibly as early as June. The company has been licensed to cultivate 40,000 pure marijuana plants at a secret location in southern England. Kevin Smith, a company spokesman, said Sativex contained the two key ingredients of natural cannabis. They are THC, associated with the "high" sought by recreational users, and CBD. Despite fears some patients might want to use the drug for recreational purposes, or sell it to those who do, he said most patients would control the dose, relieving the pain without getting high. Ministers are said to be keen to license the drug, partly because of the embarrassment caused by MS and cancer sufferers breaking the law to treat their illnesses. A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published tomorrow will show home cultivation of cannabis is now so widespread it may account for half of all cases related to the drug drawn to the attention of police.
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