CANADA APPROVES CANNABIS-BASED DRUG FOR MS

Canada has become the first country to approve a cannabis-based
pain-killer for multiple sclerosis patients.

Sufferers and proponents of medical uses for marijuana have applauded
the move.

Health Canada, the federal agency, has approved the prescription
pain-killer Sativex, made from parts of the cannabis plant that ease
pain.

British drug company GW Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug,
said Canada was the first country to grant regulatory approval for
Sativex.

Bayer HealthCare will market Sativex in Canada. The drug could be in
pharmacies by the northern summer.

Sativex can be sprayed under the tongue or inside the cheek, avoiding
the carcinogenic dangers of smoking pot.

Medical professionals have high hopes for the drug.

"The pain (of multiple sclerosis) can be absolutely excruciating and
very debilitating," said Judith Watt-Watson, a professor at the
Toronto University's Centre for the Study of Pain. "There's an urgent
need for more options."

Many people with multiple sclerosis, an auto-immune disease that
affects the central nervous system, smoke marijuana to ease the pain.
But the dose is hard to regulate and the drug is difficult to obtain
legally.

About 50,000 Canadians, 400,000 Americans and at least 15,000
Australians have the disease and 2.5 million people are believed to be
affected worldwide, according to the New York-based National Multiple
Sclerosis Society. About half the patients suffer chronic pain.

"It's hard to explain to someone who has never felt this type of
pain," said Steve Walsh of Ontario, who has MS and is eager to try the
new drug.

"It's like being plugged into an electric socket all the time. At
times, putting on clothes or anything touching me can be too much to
take."