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FDA Approves First Drug Derived From Marijuana Plant (wsj.com)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first prescription drug derived from the marijuana plant, as a treatment for rare forms of epilepsy that primarily afflict children. From a report: The FDA said Monday that it cleared GW Pharmaceuticals's Epidiolex, also known as cannabidiol, to reduce seizures associated with forms of epilepsy known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, in patients 2 years of age and older. Cannabidiol is derived from the cannabis plant, also known as marijuana. U.K.-based GW Pharmaceuticals says the solution, taken by mouth, is made from a proprietary strain of cannabis designed to maximize a therapeutic component while minimizing components that produce euphoria. GW Pharmaceuticals grows the plants in the U.K.

The FDA said Monday that the drug doesn't cause the high that comes from the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the main psychoactive component of marijuana. FDA officials also said the drug doesn't appear to have abuse potential, citing minimal reports of euphoria in patients who took the drug in clinical studies.
Further reading: StatNews, The Guardian, and FDA.

3 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Full stop by HornWumpus · · Score: 3, Informative

    You breed two strains. You have a F1 hybrid with unique properties, it will not breed true and nobody except you knows exactly which strains you crossed.

    As a practical matter, you own it.

    They can square the plant (manipulate the genetics of a cutting to make it produce male parts) than cross it to itself. But that produces an inbred version, which won't be as good as the original (see modern 'Trainwreck'). As noted above, a regular self cross (breeding two instances in the regular way) won't produce more of the same, rather a 3rd generation with each individual having randomized properties, some being 100% like original parent 1, some 100% like parent 2, each trait being mixed individually).

    Seed companies have 'owned' strains of hybridized plants since _long_ before genetic engineering. There are patented rose strains, taking cuttings is criminal.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  2. Re:Reason #2 why Marijuana's not legal by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Informative

    Focusing on the private prison industry (8% of total prisoners in the U.S.) is ignoring the bigger problem: prison guard unions support the same measures that increase prison population and they're much, much larger and politically more powerful. According to this article police and prison guard groups were responsible for about half of money raised to oppose legalizing recreational marijuana in California.

  3. Re:Schedule C by sjames · · Score: 3, Informative

    You're confusing the categories. Sched 1 is SUPPOSED to be for drugs with high abuse potential, high addictive potential and NO recognized medical value.

    Schedule 2 is for drugs with high abuse and addiction but with a recognized medical value.

    Unfortunately, the scheduling is based on politics and the feels rather than an actual objective evaluation, even ignoring simple logic. Based on the simple logic that marijuana is actually prescribed by doctors in good standing wherever it is legal and that it is not considered addictive, it probably belongs in schedule 4 or 5 (since it does have potential for abuse). CBD oil shouldn't even be scheduled. At worst, it should be classified as a supplement.