DRUG THAT MIMICS MARIJUANA GETS OK

WASHINGTON - Seventeen years after it was withdrawn from U.S. markets,
a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana is going
back on sale as a prescription treatment for the vomiting and nausea
that can accompany chemotherapy.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International of Costa Mesa, Calif., received
Food and Drug Administration approval Monday to begin selling Cesamet.
It hopes to have the drug on the market in the next two to three
weeks, company president Wes Wheeler said.

Valeant bought the drug from Eli Lilly and Co. in 2004. It sells the
drug, also called nabilone, in Canada. It will compete with Marinol,
made by Belgium-based Solvay SA.