Health

Big Pharma pushes for patents of pot-based pills

by Rob Peters | July 7, 2008 at 09:29 am

614 views | 4 Recommendations | 12 comments

I found this statistic surprising: in 1994 there were only two pot-based pharmaceutical drugs in development in the US, while in 2004 there were 27. That's a big leap, one that could potentially hold some clout in determining government policy. Interestingly, the world's first cannabis-based prescription pharmaceutical, Sativex, comes in the form of a spray.

Big Pharma is busily applying for -- and has already received -- multiple patents for the medical properties of pot. These include patents for synthetic pot derivatives (such as the oral THC pill Marinol), cannabinoid agonists (synthetic agents that bind to the brain's endocannabinoid receptors) like HU-210 and cannabis antagonists such as Rimonabant. This trend was most recently summarized in the NIH paper (pdf), "The endocannabinoid system as an emerging target of pharmacotherapy," which concluded, "The growing interest in the underlying science has been matched by a growth in the number of cannabinoid drugs in pharmaceutical development from two in 1995 to 27 in 2004." In other words, at the same time the American Medical Association is proclaiming that pot has no medical value, Big Pharma is in a frenzy to bring dozens of new, cannabis-based medicines to market.

Not all of these medicines will be synthetic pills either. Most notably, GW Pharmaceutical's oral marijuana spray, Sativex, is a patented standardized dose of natural cannabis extracts. (The extracts, primarily THC and the non-psychoactive, anxiolytic compound CBD, are taken directly from marijuana plants grown at an undisclosed, company warehouse.)

As the private sector continues to move forward with research into the safety and efficacy of marijuana-based pharmaceuticals, it will become harder and harder for the government and law enforcement to maintain their absurd and illogical policy of total pot prohibition.

Sativex was recently (well, in 2005) approved in Canada as a prescription drug. It's the world's first artificial pharmaceutical medicine derived from cannabis.

Sativex is an oromucosal (mouth) spray developed by the UK company GW Pharmaceuticals for multiple sclerosis patients, who can use it to alleviate neuropathic pain and spasticity.

Approved by Health Canada under a licence with conditions (NOC/c) for prescription use in April 2005, Sativex is the world's first artificial pharmaceutical prescription medicine derived from the cannabis plant. The product is approved in Canada as adjunctive treatment for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis. In June 2007, Health Canada issuing a Qualifying Notice for the approval of Sativex in the relief of cancer pain, with the final approval of this indication expected by fall 2007.

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René

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:48 on July 7th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

René

at 09:53 on July 7th, 2008

But they will want to keep pot illegal, so that all those pot-based medical products can only be gotten by prescription. These things might be had over-the-counter if it was made legal, cutting profits.

mtippett

at 10:29 on July 7th, 2008

In this scenario big Pharma will be aligned with organized crime in their objectives. Strange bedfellows indeed.

opar'owicz

at 02:33 on July 8th, 2008

my little treasure ;)

opar'owicz has contributed a photo to this story.

opar'owicz

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:06 on July 8th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

dannydickman

at 08:57 on July 8th, 2008

Cannabis Museum, Amsterdam.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spunkinator/

dannydickman has contributed a photo to this story.

unroyal1984

at 12:47 on July 8th, 2008

This one was taken in a farm in Tomboco, Angola. Farmers grow their own cannabis for medical reasons and smoke, they also like to mix some flowers with coffee.

unroyal1984 has contributed a photo to this story.

DiscoWeasel

at 03:08 on July 10th, 2008

Wonderful story. An unbiased highlight of the hypocrisy that is so common in the U.S. policies.

muckkko

at 16:28 on July 11th, 2008

Any pressure we can direct on the feds is helpful at this time. The pharmaceutical companies are spending mostly their own money to develop cannabis delivery systems that benefit the most severely ill patients. Smokeless oral and nasal delivery systems are especially promising. However, such systems are already available to patients who need cannabis for less serious problems such as a genetic predisposition to glaucoma, which I have. Or Crone's Syndrome which my son, an Iraq veteran, has. Fortunately, with the likely election of a Democrat in November, federal pressure on states with medical marijuana laws will certainaly go down.

Brinna (not verified)

at 10:18 on July 14th, 2008

Even the United States Government has taken out a patent on the medicinal uses of cannabis (Patent#6,630,507). The patent claims that cannabinoids are useful in the prevention and treatment of a side variety of diseases including stroke, trauma, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, auto-immune disorders, dementia, etc. So why does this same government claim that cannabis has no medical value. We should all write to our representatives and ask them why this is so. We can get this prohibition lifted if there is enough public outcry. Remember the fellow who was denied a liver transplant because, under the recommendation of his doctor he used medical cannabis to relieve his symptoms. He's dead now: not because of cannabis, but because of cannabis prohibition.

hoolito

at 12:03 on July 19th, 2008

well those where my plants :) a very nice harvest .... there where 8 plants ... 2 males and 6 females ;)! that's why i told that was a very good harvest ... all plants where california orange, mexican sativa and colombian sativa ... i think that i'll plant more seeds this season

enjoy marihuana guys!!

hoolito has contributed a photo to this story.

ring wood

at 22:24 on August 6th, 2008

For the last forty years I've listened to people say - 'don't worry - it will be legalised soon.' What a crock! The only way to free the herb superb is to plant it everywhere - in parks, yards, nature strips and public spaces & places of all types.

Glad you like the shots of Nimbin.

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- R.A.