In this article, Brian Preston takes a look at the discussion
surrounding legalisation of cannabis for
therapeutic
use in
Canada. Some would like this to mean legalisation of home-grown
marijauana which could, of course, be used to get high. However,
Bayer AG has submitted an application to Health Canada for approval to
distribute Savitex, a cannabis extract delivered in a sublingual spray,
which is being developed and produced by GW Pharmaceuticals of
Britain. A Canadian company, Cannasat Pharmaceuticals of Toronto,
is also developing a cannabis-based medicine and its lawyers are
lobbying the Canadian government to change the law to allow its
distribution.
If approved, Savitex would be marketed as a treatment for Multiple
Sclerosis (MS), which currently afflicts about 50,000 Canadians.
Trials have shown that the drug is very effective in reducing the
debilitating muscle spasms and pain associated with the
condition. However, Preston points out that, once a controlled
drug becomes available which is also effective in treating nausea from
chemotherapy and all chronic pain, physicians will probably prescribe
it for conditions other than MS. This would inevitably lead to
further research into the
therapeutic uses of cannabis.
In answer to the fear that therapeutic use of
marijuana would lead to
drug addiction, GW has developed a delivery system which allows the
prescribing physician to control the dosage. Since only very low
doses are required, patients do not experience the euphoria sought
after by recreational drug users.
Currently, Prairie Plant Systems of Saskatoon is licensed to produce
and distribute cannabis to Canadian patients who are able to obtain a
doctor’s authorisation. However, many doctors are reluctant to
prescribe cannabis because of the carcinogens inhaled when smoking
marijuana and the bureaucracy involved makes the application process
daunting, especially to patients already coping with the effects of
MS. At the time the article was written, only 753 had
bothered. Clearly, a medication such as Savitex, would be
preferable.
In addition to taking a close look at Savitex and GW’s trials with the
product, Preston looks at compassion clubs which grow and distribute
marijuana illegally and who, surprisingly, tend to be opposed to the
distribution of Savitex. He also relates some anecdotal evidence
for the efficacy of cannabis use for therapeutic treatment of MS from
those using both legal and illegal cannabis products.
GW has spent about $100 million developing Savitex, which at time of
writing had not been approved for release in the United Kingdom, where
GW is conducting its trials. Although it increasingly seems
inevitable that cannabis will become legally available to Canadians in
the near future, it remains to be seen whether Bayer and GW will have
to await the development of a Canadian product by Cannasat before
marketing Savitex, and whether the Canadian government will drag its
feet in legalising marijuana under pressure from the United States.
Preston has researched his subject thoroughly and provides a wealth of
detail on cannabis, the patients who use it, and those who grow it,
both legally and illegally. His presentation is dispassionate,
even clinical, and will make even the most entrenched opponent of the
legalisation of therapeutic marijuana think twice.