CANADA APPROVES POT-BASED SPRAY FOR MS

Sativex Is the First Such Pharmaceutical Available in the World

OTTAWA -- A mouth spray made from marijuana could be available in
Canada as soon as the end of the spring, making it the first pot-based
pharmaceutical for sale in the world.

Approved by Health Canada on Friday, Sativex is a spray made of
pulverized pot plants, used to treat pain symptoms in multiple
sclerosis (MS) patients.

"It's the first cannabis-derived pharmaceutical product approved
anywhere in the world," said a spokesman for Bayer Inc., which is
distributing the tincture here.

Though Health Canada has asked for more "confirmatory studies" from
the drug's manufacturer, approval for Sativex was expedited to fill
what the agency describes as an unmet medical need.

No treatments currently 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 their 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, UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals.

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.

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
UK.

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.

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.