BRITISH DRUG FIRM READIES MARIJUANA-BASED PAIN RELIEVER

LONDON - GW Pharmaceuticals, the only British firm licensed to grow
marijuana for medicinal purposes, said yesterday it foresees a surge in
sales once the government relaxes laws restricting use of the drug.

The company is conducting trials of a marijuana-based pain reliever and
expects that it could start selling the medicine under prescription by 2004.

A day after the government announced its new policy, investors pushed
company shares 13.7 percent higher to 107 pence ($1.52) on the London Stock
Exchange.

GW Pharmaceuticals makes the medicine from an extract taken from 15,000
marijuana plants that it cultivates in a greenhouse.

It plans to sell the drug as a spray applied under a patient's tongue and
aims to market it to Britain's 85,000 sufferers of multiple sclerosis and
to the even larger numbers of people with rheumatoid arthritis.

"We are confident that significant numbers of these patients will welcome a
medicine like this," said company spokesman Mark Rogerson.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said Tuesday that he proposes to reclassify
marijuana, or cannabis, as a "Class C drug" - putting it in the same
category as anabolic steroids. Such a change means that that although the
use of marijuana would remain illegal, the penalties would be less severe
and police would not have the power of arrest. Offenders could instead be
warned, cautioned or reported for a summons to appear in court.

Marijuana is currently a Class B drug, and possession carries a maximum
penalty of five years in jail. Simple possession of a Class C drug carries
a maximum sentence of two years.

Blunkett's statement to the House of Commons comes amid an intensifying
political debate about marijuana. Senior figures from all three major
political parties have now urged a review of cannabis laws.

"We welcome it, obviously," Rogerson said of Blunkett's announcement.

Based in Salisbury in southwestern England, GW Pharmaceuticals was licensed
by the Home Office in 1998 to cultivate, possess and supply marijuana for
medical research purposes.

It has completed initial clinical tests on 80 patients and plans soon to
expand trials to include 1,000 patients, Rogerson said.

GW Pharmaceuticals hopes to submit results of its next round of trials to
regulators in 2003. If the trial data look promising, Blunkett has
indicated the government will change marijuana laws to allow prescription
sales.


Newshawk: Wars On Too Many Fronts - End The WOD
Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2001
Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
Copyright: 2001 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact: Views@phillynews.com
Website: http://www.phillynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339
Author: Associated Press