MS SUFFERERS AWAIT CANNABIS IN A SPRAY BOTTLE

Health Canada has expedited approval of a new pain-relieving spray
drug derived from marijuana because of what the agency describes as an
unmet medical need among multiple sclerosis patients.

But it is still asking for more "confirmatory studies" from the makers
of the drug, which is called Sativex.

No treatments exist to treat the symptoms of pain suffered by MS
patients. They take everything from over-the-counter aspirin to
morphine in what are often futile attempts to quell discomfort.

Sprayed into the absorbent red tissue on the inside of a patient's
mouth, Sativex is "a bit like a breath freshener" and tastes like a
"rather bitter Guinness," said Mark Rogerson, spokesman for the
product's manufacturer, GW Pharmaceuticals, based in the United Kingdom.

Most patients start with a single spritz every four hours, about five
times a day.

Each dose releases a tincture made of tetrahydrocannabinol, the potent
principal ingredient in marijuana, and cannabidiol, its mellower
counterpart.

Together, they produce an effect that numbs pain affecting the nervous
system without numbing a patient's brain as well.

"It is absolutely not necessary to become intoxicated in order to get
pain relief," Rogerson said.

Intoxication, or getting high, can be a major deterrent for patients
who would otherwise benefit from pot's pain-relieving properties. MS
sufferers named it as one of the main reasons for not using cannabis
in a 2003 study published in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Studies.

"I have to take care of myself, and being stoned and forgetting stuff
can't be part of my life," one respondent said.

Canada's liberal approach to marijuana as a medicine made it a logical
marketplace for Sativex, which is still in the approval process in the
United Kingdom.

It will only be introduced to American regulators at the end of the
year, long after approximately 25,000 MS patients in Canada are given
the treatment option by their doctors.

"When we were talking to Health Canada we found that we were talking
to people who were on the same wavelength as us," said Rogerson.

Manufacturers predict Sativex will be available, by prescription, in
drug stores by the end of June.

The price for a 50-dose bottle is still being determined by
distributors, who will import the product from England where the
marijuana is grown.