POT SPRAY APPROVED FOR MS

Pharmacists May Have Sativex by June

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 to quell their discomfort.

Sprayed into the absorbent 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, U.K.-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.

Getting high can be a major deterrent for patients who would otherwise
benefit from pot.

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.

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.