CANADA APPROVES CANNABIS PAINKILLER

TORONTO -- Canada has become the first country in the world to approve
a cannabis-based painkiller for patients suffering multiple sclerosis,
a move applauded by those with the disease and proponents of medical
uses for marijuana.

Health Canada, the federal agency that oversees medical care for
Canadians, announced Tuesday that it approved the prescription
painkiller Sativex, made from components derived from the cannabis
plant that have been shown to ease pain.

British drug company GW Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug,
said Canada is the first country to grant regulatory approval for
Sativex, which will be marketed by Bayer HealthCare and could be in
pharmacies by the summer. The drug can be sprayed under the tongue or
inside the cheek, avoiding the carcinogenic dangers of smoking pot.

Medical professionals voice high hopes for the drug's
success.

"The pain [of multiple sclerosis] can be absolutely excruciating and
very debilitating," said Judith Watt-Watson, a professor at the
University of Toronto's Center for the Study of Pain.

Many people with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that
affects the central nervous system, treat their pain by smoking
marijuana. But the dose is hard to regulate, and the drug is difficult
to obtain legally.

About 50,000 Canadians and 400,000 Americans have MS, and some 2.5
million people are believed to be afflicted worldwide, according to
the New York-based National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

About half of MS patients suffer from chronic pain.

"It's hard to explain to someone who has never felt this type of
pain," said Steve Walsh of Ontario, who suffers from MS and was 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."

He told The Globe and Mail that he smoked marijuana in an attempt to
ease his pain but didn't like the feeling of being out of control.

Dr. Allan Gordon, a neurologist and director of the Wasser Pain
Management Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said that because
Sativex is administered as a spray, it provides controlled doses and
allows the patient to decide how much he or she needs.

In the United States, the government has classified marijuana as a
drug that is as dangerous as heroin, although 10 states have passed
laws that allow its use under medical supervision.

In 2001, Canada became the first country to adopt a system regulating
the medicinal use of marijuana for people suffering from terminal
illnesses and chronic conditions.