Drug Maker Profits Soar after Cannabis Study Results

For the most part, medical marijuana is grown in local dispensaries and the products are made in local laboratories. There are lot of reasons for this, but one of the most important is that it is generally illegal to transport medical marijuana across state lines. This typically included even flying over state lines in an aircraft which largely prevents medical marijuana from shipped.

While many like the local and even small business aspect of the medical marijuana industry, big pharmaceutical companies do not want to be cut of the equation if they see an opportunity to make a lot of money. At the end of the day, most drug makers care far more about making money than they do about helping patients get the medicine they deserve.

According to a recent news article from Marijuana Business Daily, a British drug company that has produced cannabis derived drugs for quite some time has just released study results that appear to be promising in terms of treating a dangerous type of epilepsy that affects young children. This disease is not only very scary to parents, but it can lead to brain damage and death of the child. The specific type of epilepsy is known as Dravet’s syndrome, and the new drug being studied has been branded as Epidiolex.

The news study results show Epidiolex, administered as an oral syrup in children, reduced the total number of seizures per month by nearly 40 percent. As with most other clinical trials, the drug was tested against a group randomly being administered a placebo. The placebo patients experienced a reduction in the total number of monthly seizures by only 13 percent. While this is still a somewhat significant reduction, it is nowhere near as many reductions as seen after taking the new medical cannabis drug.

It should be noted that this is not major news to the medical cannabis community or the parents of children with Dravet’s syndrome. Parents have been using medical marijuana (sometimes illegally, based upon their state of residence) to treat children with Dravet’s syndrome and other types of epilepsy for years. These parents are taking marijuana and cooking it down at home to render the THC oil, so it can be administered via an eye dropper or in a beverage. These children are not smoking marijuana, as it is being administered via liquid form.

However controversial this may be, many of these parents have tried accepted pharmaceutical drugs likes Valium, Xanax, Klonapin, and they have not worked. It is somewhat ironic that these same people who are against giving a sick child medical marijuana in oil form have no problem giving a child powerful and addictive drugs with many side effects simply because those drugs are sold at your local pharmacy.

While it is good that there may be a new treatment for the seizure disorder, many in the medical cannabis industry in Los Angeles are still weary of big pharma getting more involving in the medical cannabis market. While on some levels it could help legitimize the industry, it could also change it in a way that is not in the best interests of the patients.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Study Results Send GW Pharma’s Stock Soaring, March 14, 2016, Marijuana Business Daily
More Blog Entries:
Kosher Medical Marijuana for Orthodox Patients Available, Jan. 23, 2016, Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyer Blog