Canada approves cannabis spray in MS sufferers, UK close behind

Canada has taken the lead in approving the use of a cannabis spray that relieves pain in multiple sclerosis sufferers. The UK is close behind in its own approval after a study revealed recreational use of marijuana amongst MS patients.

The Canadian health authorities have decided to allow GW Pharmaceuticals to sell the spray as a prescription painkiller through its marketing partner, Germany’s Bayer (BAY).

The drug Sativex, is derived from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, two compounds of the cannabis plant, and is administered by an oral spray.

Health Canada says 86 percent of people with the disease experience neuropathic (nerve) pain. The UK company will have to conduct additional trials of the medicine over the next five years, while confirming the results of the studies conducted so far, Health Canada said.

The side-effects from the drug, which are usually “mild or moderate,” can include nausea, fatigue, dizziness and reactions at the application site.

Unlike other drugs that used synthetic forms of cannabis, Sativex uses marijuana extracts derived from plants grown by GW Pharmaceuticals in a secret location.

Rob Kampia, executive director of the U.S. Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. welcomed the news and says that drug company GW Pharmaceuticals has proven that marijuana is a medicine that is both effective and remarkably safe, and the Canadian government has acknowledged that.

This week’s approval of Sativex marked the world’s first cannabis-based drug to reach the market, according to the drug’s U.K.-based manufacturer, GW Pharmaceuticals. Approved by Canada’s regulatory body, Health Canada, the cannabis-derived spray should hit the market in late spring.

Shares of GW rose by 0.75 percent Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange.

The drug is dispensed via a spray, which is delivered under the tongue or on the inside of the cheek.

About 50,000 Canadians suffer from MS, according to GW, and about 50 percent of those with MS suffer from neuropathic pain. Things like touch, temperature, or movement can cause this type of nerve pain.

Many use marijuana to ease the discomfort. But the dose is hard to regulate and the drug is difficult to get legally.

GW Pharmaceuticals has been harvesting 40,000 pot plants in a secret location to produce the drug. The spray has so far been rejected by regulators in the UK. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves that can affect muscle control, strength, balance, vision and sensation.