For all the people in canada check this out

By Wendy Koch, USA Today
Source: USA Today

\t\tCanadians now have access to a legal spray alternative to medical \t\tmarijuana. Beginning this week, multiple sclerosis patients with \t\tconstant tingling pain can get a doctor's prescription for a new drug, \t\tSativex, derived from the marijuana plant.
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\t\tThe under-the-tongue spray, approved only in Canada, is one of several \t\temerging alternatives to smoking pot for medical relief. The new \t\tpharmaceuticals, some of which may not enter the U.S. market for years, \t\tmay alter the public debate about medical marijuana.
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\t\t"People ... who don't want to break the law" will use the spray, says \t\tDr. Lester Grinspoon, professor emeritus at Harvard University and an \t\tadvocate for legalizing pot use. "They're elevating the debate on \t\tmedical marijuana."
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\t\tBut Grinspoon expects many new users will find they prefer smoking \t\tmarijuana. "There is no holding back medical marijuana. It's going to \t\thappen," he says.
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\t\tTom Riley, spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug \t\tControl Policy, agrees there's change ahead. But he says the new drugs \t\twill lessen the controversy over medical marijuana.
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\t\tRiley says the Bush administration, which has opposed medical pot use, \t\twould welcome alternatives that are scientifically proved to be safe and \t\teffective. Several Republicans, led by Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana, \t\tcited the availability of Marinol - a pill with the active pot \t\tingredient THC - in arguing against a bill to protect medical pot users \t\tfrom federal prosecution.
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\t\tThe U.S. House broadly defeated that bill last week. Its rejection \t\tfollowed a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that allows federal \t\tprosecution even if smokers are following state laws. Currently, 10 \t\tstates allow medical pot use.
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\t\t"This is a burgeoning field," says Dr. Andrew Mattison, co-director of \t\tthe Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of \t\tCalifornia-San Diego. "There's probably going to be great potential with \t\tthe Sativex compound."
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\t\tSativex is a whole plant extract that contains THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) \t\tand CBD (cannabidiol) as main ingredients. The user gets quick relief \t\tbut does not get high. About 20,000 MS patients in Canada with chronic \t\tnerve pain could find relief with the spray.
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\t\tMark Rogerson, spokesman for Sativex maker GW Pharmaceuticals, says the \t\tBritish firm is taking the first step toward U.S. regulatory approval. \t\tBut he says the U.S. market, while "very big and attractive" is also \t\t"very difficult."
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\t\tSolvay Pharmaceuticals, maker of Marinol, is also seeking U.S. \t\tregulatory approval for a spray version of its drug. It is conducting \t\ttrials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's oversight but \t\texpects the approval to take years. Its spray would give users relief \t\twithin minutes. The pills take about two hours to reach peak effect.
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\t\tMarinol is the only legal pot alternative in the USA. Approved in 1985, \t\tit is used to treat anorexia in AIDS patients and nausea and vomiting in \t\tchemotherapy patients. It contains only THC, one of about 400 compounds \t\tin the marijuana plant.
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\t\t"We estimate 25,000 prescriptions are written for Marinol every month in \t\tthe United States," says Kevin Rose, Solvay's director for specialized \t\tmarkets.
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\t\tGrinspoon says many users who've tried Marinol don't like it as much as \t\tmarijuana, complaining that they have a hard time swallowing the pill or \t\tthat it takes too long to work.
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\t\tThe alternatives have the advantage of being smokeless, but they're \t\tcostly. A vial of Sativex costs $124.95 in Canada, which provides 51 \t\tsprays, enough for 10 days for the average user. That amounts to about \t\t$375 monthly. Currently, insurers are not covering it. Marinol, which \t\thas been on the market 20 years, also costs hundreds of dollars monthly. \t\tMany insurers cover it.

Source: USA Today (US)
Author: Wendy Koch, USA Today
Published: June 23, 2005
Copyright: 2005 USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact: editor@usatoday.com
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/
Link to article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/sativex.htm

 

i just hope it works good. They have marional also (Thc pills) but they dont do jack shit compared to weed, most medical marijuana paitents consider marional a fucking joke. The problem with this spray is it only uses one of the checmicals in marijuana, THC. There are hundreds of other chemicals in marijuana that they didnt use in this spray so who knows if it will work like weed. One thing i found intresting was they said the spray wont get you high but it will kill the pain.

I am all for other alternatives because it seems thats the only way we can get the government to legalize medical marijuana but so far no drug companys have come out with a product that actually worked as good as marijuana does. So im a little skeptical, hopefully it works though. Time will tell though pretty soon though. Im pretty involved in the medical marijuana scene so ill know soon enough from other paitents weither or not it works. I dont think I can get this spray since I live in america so until then im just gonna stick to my prescription herb.

 

hah, old news.. but really what should happen is like in holland where you can go to a pharmacy and pick up your med-bud..

of course insureres won't cover it, what a scandal that would be.. pfft