Medical Marijauna: All Formulations Now Legal; Cannabis Harms Brain, Fails in Cancer Pain Study
1. You might have heard the news by
now:
- Ruling in Canada this AM:
Medical marijuana legal in all forms, Supreme Court
rules (via CBC)
Excerpt:
"Medical marijuana patients will now be
able to consume marijuana — and not just smoke it — as well as use other
extracts and derivatives, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled
today."
This is an important ruling for patients as we see more and more form - for instance, with cannabis oil being all the buzz these days.
2. That's the "good" news for patients; now for some sobering updates:
Cannabis Harms Brain, Imaging Shows (via Medscape)
Excerpts:
" The heavy, long-term use of cannabis is associated with negative
changes in parts of the brain not previously implicated, and is linked to
deficits in learning and memory, new research suggests."
"Cannabis shares a negative impact on dopaminergic transmission
with other drugs, only with a different regional profile," explained Dr
Abi-Dargham. An exploratory analysis showed a significant association between
lower dopamine release capacity in the associative striatum and decreased
cognitive measures in probabilistic category learning and working memory tasks,
Dr Weinstein reported.
In their study, the team compared 11 heavy cannabis users with 12
healthy control subjects, all approximately 28 years of age."
3. From January, but relevant when considering prescribing Sativex (which has refractory advanced cancer pain as indication in Canada):
GW Pharma's cannabis drug [Sativex] fails in cancer pain study, shares fall (via Reuters)
Excerpts:
"An experimental cannabis drug failed to alleviate pain in cancer
patients as hoped in a clinical study, sending shares in its British maker GW
Pharmaceuticals as much as 21 percent lower on Thursday.
GW, which is developing the drug Sativex
for pain in collaboration with Japan's Otsuka, said the first of three
late stage trials found no statistically significant difference between subjects
using its product and those given a placebo.
GW Chief Executive Justin Gover said the findings were both disappointing and surprising, given encouraging results in earlier tests, but the company's scientists had not given up hope. Results from two further Phase III trials are due later this year and, if positive, could still allow the drug to be submitted for treating pain in patients with advanced cancer, where it is designed to be given on top of opioids.
"Although we missed the primary endpoint in this trial, based upon the positive data seen in the Phase II programme, we remain confident in the ability for Sativex to relieve cancer pain in this patient population,” Gover said."
Read more...
GW Chief Executive Justin Gover said the findings were both disappointing and surprising, given encouraging results in earlier tests, but the company's scientists had not given up hope. Results from two further Phase III trials are due later this year and, if positive, could still allow the drug to be submitted for treating pain in patients with advanced cancer, where it is designed to be given on top of opioids.
"Although we missed the primary endpoint in this trial, based upon the positive data seen in the Phase II programme, we remain confident in the ability for Sativex to relieve cancer pain in this patient population,” Gover said."
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