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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.
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.
Reason #1 is our private prison industry, which wouldn't be profitable if the only people we locked up were actual violent criminals. Pot heads are great because they just quietly do their time.
Bonus reason #3 is that our uneven law enforcement policy allows states to implement defacto segregation by harassing and locking up minorities that show up in the 'wrong' place. Bonus reason #4 is harassing people who get uppity about political issues like the hippy left.
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" is made from a proprietary strain of cannabis"
Full fuckin stop right there.
How is DNA proprietary? If I have two plants at home and they spawn a seed with similar genetics, am I going to get sued for some patent violation?
>"Euphoria is bad, MMkay?"
Yeah, being "high" can, indeed, be bad in any number of situations when you might need to take a medication... like driving, operating on someone, doing dangerous work, operating machinery, being paid to be productive, making important decisions of directing people, etc.
Being able to take medically-useful components out of marijuana, while suppressing the "high" is a great step forward that can benefit lots of people who otherwise would not be able to take it. It is unfortunate that the ridiculous listing of marijuana as "Schedule 1" makes it so difficult and dogmatic to do useful research and create useful products.