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Bulletin .

A newsletter about cannabis and cannabinoids as medicine

2005
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    IACM-Bulletin of December 25, 2005

    🌐 Spain/UK — Agreement for the marketing of Sativex in Europe

    GW Pharmaceuticals and Almirall Prodesfarma announced on 12 December that they have entered into an exclusive agreement for Almirall to market Sativex in Europe (excluding the UK). Sativex is a cannabis extract produced by the British company GW Pharmaceuticals. Almirall is Spain’s largest pharmaceutical company and one of Europe’s leading private pharmaceutical companies. It is headquartered in Barcelona and is currently present in around 100 countries worldwide. It has subsidiary operations in several European markets, including France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Belgium.

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    IACM-Bulletin of December 11, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Cream with endocannabinoids effective in the treatment of pruritus due to kidney disease

    Researchers of the University of Wroclaw, Poland, investigated the effects of an ointment with structured physiological lipids and endocannabinoids in 21 patients with pruritus due to end-stage failure of kidney function. So-called uremic pruritus is still a common symptom in patients with end-stage renal failure. However, there is no effective treatment for this condition. All patients applied the tested cream twice daily for a period of three weeks. Global pruritus and dry skin were examined before the trial, on study visits at weekly intervals, and two weeks after completion of the study.

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    IACM-Bulletin of November 27, 2005

    🌐 UK — Sativex available for individual patients as an unlicensed medicine

    On 15 November GW Pharmaceuticals announced that its cannabis extract Sativex may be imported from Canada for individual patients in the UK as an unlicensed medicine. This development is in response to enquiries from a number of UK doctors and individual patients who have been in contact with the Home Office to request access to Sativex.

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    IACM-Bulletin of November 13, 2005

    🌐 Germany — Federal Administrative Court paves the way for certificates of exemption for the medical use of cannabis

    In a ruling dated 19 May 2005 that was made public this week, the Federal Administrative Court indicates that the Federal Institute for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products cannot globally deny applications for the medical use of cannabis. It confirmed the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court (German High Court, Bundesverfassungsgericht) of 20 January 2000 that medical treatment of ill people is of public interest and that therefore a certificate of exemption according to the paragraph 3 of the German Narcotics Act is possible in relation to therapeutic use of cannabis. The ruling pertains to the case of a 56 year old advocate suffering from multiple sclerosis who benefits from cannabis medicinally.

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    IACM-Bulletin of October 30, 2005

    🌐 USA — Taxation of medical cannabis distributors in California

    The state of California approved a policy that opens the door for medical cannabis distributors to collect and pay state sales tax. The policy considers their unique fear of being targeted by federal authorities because of legal questions surrounding their product.

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    IACM-Bulletin of October 16, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Cannabinoids may promote the development of new brain cells

    According to animal research at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, cannabinoids that bind to the CB1 receptor promote the development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus, a brain region that is very important for memory and behaviour. This cannabinoid effect may decrease anxiety and depression.

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    IACM-Bulletin of October 2, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Cannabis reduces neuropathic pain due to multiple sclerosis in clinical study

    British researchers of the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Liverpool demonstrated that the cannabis extract Sativex of GW Pharmaceuticals is effective in reducing central neuropathic pain and sleep disturbance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). "Central neuropathic pain occurs frequently in people with MS. It can be tremendously debilitating and unresponsive to existing therapies," Dr Carolyn Young, principal investigator of the study, said.

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    IACM-Bulletin of September 18, 2005

    🏷️ IACM — News at the IACM 2005 Conference at the University of Leiden

    On 9-10 September the IACM held its 3rd Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine. Here are some excerpts from presentations.

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    IACM-Bulletin of September 4, 2005

    🌐 USA — NIDA rejects a study with vaporized cannabis

    A scientific protocol to investigate the types of emissions produced by cannabis vaporization has been rejected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) after an 18 month regulatory delay. In it's letter rejecting the protocol, NIDA claimed that the study would "not add to the scientific knowledge base in a significant way."

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    IACM-Bulletin of August 21, 2005

    🌐 USA — Oregon legislature raises the amount of cannabis that patients may possess

    The lawmakers of Oregon passed a bill that would amend the state's medical cannabis law. The original law dates from 1998 and was passed by 55 percent of state voters. According to the website of the Oregon Department of Human Services about 11,000 citizens of Oregon are currently registered medical cannabis patients with an identification card (http://www.dhs.state.or.us/publichealth/mm/data.cfm).

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    IACM-Bulletin of August 7, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Patients with inflammatory bowel disease may benefit from cannabinoids

    Patients with inflammatory bowel disease may benefit from cannabis-based drugs, UK scientists believe. The Bath University team found an abundant number of cannabinoid-2 receptors in certain tissues of the intestine of patients. They believe this is part of the body's attempt to dampen down the inflammation and that giving a drug that binds to these receptors could boost this.

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    IACM-Bulletin of July 24, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Only moderate increase of cannabis potency in Europe in the past ten years

    According to an editorial in the journal Addiction the evidence available suggests "that the potencies of resin and herbal cannabis that have been imported into Europe have shown little or no change, at least over the past ten years." The authors also questioned concerns and allegations that the increase of strength of some forms of cannabis (sinsemilla) would result in an increase of health problems.

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    IACM-Bulletin of July 10, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Cannabis smoking does not cause cancer according to a case-control study

    According to a case-control study by Dr. Donald Tashkin and his colleagues of the University of California in Los Angeles even heavy and longterm smoking of cannabis is not associated with lung cancer and other types of upper aerodigestive tract cancers. The results were presented on 26 June at the annual conference of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS).

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    IACM-Bulletin of June 26, 2005

    🌐 Canada — Sativex now available in pharmacies

    Since 20 June Sativex, a cannabis extract produced by GW Pharmaceuticals and distributed by Bayer Health Care, is available in Canada by prescription for the treatment of neuropathic pain in adults with multiple sclerosis. In April 2005, Canada became the first country in the world to approve Sativex.

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    IACM-Bulletin of June 12, 2005

    🌐 USA — Supreme Court declares legal the prosecution of medical cannabis users by federal authorities

    A 6-to-3 decision of the Supreme Court overturned a 2003 ruling by a federal appeals court that had shielded California's medical cannabis law of 1996, from the reach of federal drug enforcement. The appeals court had ruled that Congress lacked constitutional authority to regulate the noncommercial cultivation and use of cannabis that does not cross state lines. The Supreme Court disagrees.

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    IACM-Bulletin of May 29, 2005

    🏷️ Science — THC helps to reduce delayed nausea following cancer chemotherapy

    Results of a new study show that THC (dronabinol) capsules help to reduce delayed nausea and vomiting following cancer chemotherapy. The study was presented on 16 May at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting in Orlando, USA. It used Marinol, synthetic THC of Solvay Pharmaceuticals and was conducted by investigators at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida, Compassionate Cancer Care in Fountain Valley, California, Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, among others.

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    IACM-Bulletin of May 15, 2005

    🌐 USA — Bill in support of the medical use of cannabis introduced in Congress

    Republicans Ron Paul (Texas) and Dana Rohrabacher (California), along with Democrats Sam Farr (California), Barney Frank (Massachusetts), Maurice Hinchey (New York), and 25 co-sponsors reintroduced legislation on 4 May in Congress (House of Representatives) to permit the medicinal use of marijuana by seriously ill patients in states with a corresponding law.

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    IACM-Bulletin of May 1, 2005

    🌐 Canada/UK — Sativex gets approval in Canada for the treatment of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis

    On 19 April the British company GW Pharmaceuticals announced that their cannabis extract Sativex has been granted regulatory approval in Canada for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis. According to a statement by the company the drug is likely to be launched in May and the price would only be announced shortly before launch.

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    IACM-Bulletin of April 17, 2005

    🏷️ Science — THC slows development of atherosclerosis in animal study

    THC protects arteries against harmful changes that lead to atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries, researchers of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, found in a study with mice. Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of stroke and heart disease. The study published in the journal Nature revealed that THC can block the process of inflammation, which is largely responsible for the changes in the vessels. Inflammation combines with fatty deposits to narrow the arteries.

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    IACM-Bulletin of April 3, 2005

    🌐 Holland — Health minister considers stopping the sale of medicinal cannabis in pharmacies

    Health Minister Han Hoogervorst is considering abandoning the legal sale of medicinal cannabis in pharmacies and closing the Office of Medicinal Cannabis. In response to questions from the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives of the Dutch parliament) he said on 17 March that he intends to decide on the future of the program after summer.

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    IACM-Bulletin of March 20, 2005

    🌐 UK — Survey on the medical use of cannabis

    A questionnaire study of patients who use cannabis for medical reasons in Britain found 16 per cent do so on the advice of their doctors. The study was conducted between 1998 and 2002 and published in the March issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

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    IACM-Bulletin of March 6, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Cannabinoids reduce the progression of Alzheimer's disease in animals

    Research by scientists of Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute published in the Journal of Neuroscience has demonstrated that cannabinoids can reduce pathological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers hope that cannabinoids may be used to develop new drug therapies against the disease.

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    IACM-Bulletin of February 20, 2005

    🏷️ Science — Cannabis effective in cancer pain

    According to a press release by GW Pharmaceuticals a cannabis extract containing equal amounts of THC and CBD (Sativex) was effective against cancer pain in a Phase III clinical trial. A THC rich extract was not superior to placebo.

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    IACM-Bulletin of February 6, 2005

    🌐 Spain — Catalonia is planning to make cannabis available on prescription in a pilot study

    Catalonia, a region in the northeast of Spain with the capital Barcelona, is planning to make cannabis available on prescription to the seriously ill in a pilot study, an official of the regional health authorities said on 1 February.

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    IACM-Bulletin of January 23, 2005

    🏷️ Science 🌐 UK — Cannabis extract reduces cancer pain in clinical study

    The British firm GW Pharmaceuticals reported further positive clinical trial results with its cannabis-based medicine Sativex on 19 January and said a UK regulatory hearing on the drug was expected within six months. The company also announced it was looking at an eventual launch in the United States.

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    IACM-Bulletin of January 9, 2005

    🏷️ Science — THC improves spasticity in multiple sclerosis in long-term study

    First results of a follow-up study of the largest ever conducted clinical study of THC and cannabis in multiple sclerosis, known as the British CAMS study (Cannabinoids in Multiple Sclerosis), were published. The results of the 15-week-trial with eligible 630 patients had been published in November 2003 in the Lancet. 80 percent of the original study population participated in a 12 months follow-up study.

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