Cannabis-based pain drug nears approval for Ireland

A cannabis-based pain-relief spray backed by Tom Lynch, the pharmaceutical veteran, received a regulatory high last week by being recommended for approval in 10 more European countries, including Ireland.

GW Pharmaceuticals, the AIM-listed developer of the new treatment called Sativex, already sells the product in Britain, Spain, Germany and Denmark, and hopes to launch it here this year. Justin Gover, managing director of GW said the only obstacle remaining to selling the spray in Ireland was for it to be added to the controlled drug schedule which will allow it be prescribed by doctors here.

“We’ll launch the product,” he said, “as soon as this is completed.”


Sativex is not addictive and has no withdrawal symptoms, and users experience no cannabis-like effects.

Source:Read more at the link but you sure gotta love news like this
http://www.independent.ie/business/...-drug-nears-approval-for-ireland-3105713.html

Sativex is not addictive and has no withdrawal symptoms, and users experience no cannabis-like effects.

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Then how does it work? I don't believe that for a second.

Why do you not believe it? Because you're not getting high from it? It's entirely possible, man... But what do I know, I don't know jack shit about this stuff.

..But for the record, they were [are] working on a non-hallucinogenic LSD in use for treating cluster headaches. So... It's possible, man.

isn't sativex an extract of the naturally occuring cannabinoids or am i confusing it with something else? if i'm right it would be bound to show some effects, right?

edit: wikipedia says:

Nabiximols (USAN[1], trade name Sativex) is a cannabinoid oromucosal mouth spray developed by the UK company GW Pharmaceuticals for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, who can use it to alleviate neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bladder, and other symptoms. Nabiximols is also being developed in Phase III trials as a potential treatment to alleviate pain due to cancer. It has also been researched in various models of peripheral and central neuropathic pain. Nabiximols is distinct from all other pharmaceutically produced cannabinoids currently available because it is derived from cannabis plants, rather than a solely synthetic process. The drug is a pharmaceutical product standardised in composition, formulation, and dose, although it is still effectively a tincture of the cannabis plant. Its principal active cannabinoid components are the cannabinoids: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The product is formulated as an oromucosal spray which is administered by spraying into the mouth. Each spray delivers a fixed dose of 2.7 mg THC and 2.5 mg CBD.

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cLoud* said:

Why do you not believe it? Because you're not getting high from it? It's entirely possible, man... But what do I know, I don't know jack shit about this stuff.

..But for the record, they were [are] working on a non-hallucinogenic LSD in use for treating cluster headaches. So... It's possible, man.

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Because it contains THC and CBD. I don't think CBD can completely suppress the effects of THC, so if you don't get high off it you're simply not taking enough.

Nobody really knows if BOL-148 (2-bromo-LSD, I guess what you're thinking of as non-hallucinogenic LSD) is actually non-hallucinogenic or just less potent than LSD. Since most people apparently don't need a high enough dose to produce hallucinogenic effects to prevent cluster headaches, the development of non-psychedelic psychedelics for that is pointless, except to prevent 'abuse.'

I think this is a similar situation, a few sprays of sativex a day isn't going to be enough to get high, but might still provide some relief of symptoms. So you could get the same effect by ingesting a sufficiently low dose of cannabis. It just sounds like an excuse to sell drugs that could be cheap and readily available if it weren't for the law for an extortionate price.

Edit: How should I use sativex:

The usual starting adult dose of tetrahydrocannabinol - cannabidiol is one spray 2 times a day on the first day. You should start to feel its effects in about 30 minutes. Do not spray the back of the throat or into the nose. After the first day, you may be advised to increase the dose by 1 spray every 24 hours, spacing the doses evenly. No more than 12 doses should be used over a 24 hour period.

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1 squirt is equivalent to about 18mg of 15% THC cannabis, assuming similar bioavailability. The max dose of 12 sprays a day would be about equal to smoking 0.2g of cannabis a day...

Just found this too

There were no statistically significant differences in Cmax, time to maximum concentration or in the AUC(0 to 10.5h) between similar oral THC and Sativex doses.

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So 12 squirts a day would be equal (in THC levels) to eating 0.2g of cannabis a day.

skillet said:

So 12 squirts a day would be equal (in THC levels) to eating 0.2g of cannabis a day.

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Which leaves me asking: how does it work? That's a very low dose.

Where does the 0.2g figure come from?

^^^^The sentence preceding the First sentence ending with ".2g of cannabis a day" has the information you are seeking, dudeseph. It's called "math".

23536 said:

Which leaves me asking: how does it work? That's a very low dose.

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Looking at some experiences, it seems a lot of people do get high from just a couple of sprays. And it doesn't seem that unlikely that you could get some benefit even from sub-threshold (for mental effects) doses of cannabis/sativex, which is how they seem to encourage using it.

skillet said:

Then how does it work? I don't believe that for a second.

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Tylenol is a cannabinoid bro...

It says like 30% of patients have "dizziness" which is a misinterpreted stoned. And I'd be willing to bet a significant sum of moneis that the other 70% get it too, they just know what it is and don't bother reporting it.

Id rather have a MM card.

amanitadine said:

^^^^The sentence preceding the First sentence ending with ".2g of cannabis a day" has the information you are seeking, dudeseph. It's called "math".

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I don't see this in either article... ? What is the math? Just copy and paste it if you want-- I really don't see it.

It was my math from post 5.

You probably don't get high off it because the thc isn't activated just like when you eat raw weed without adding it to fat etc.

No, that's decarboxylation of THC-COOH to THC, this is already THC so there's no need to heat it.

Just an excuse to profit from something that shouldn't be profitable. Make it pharmaceutical, remove the plant, make it into a legal alternative that only pharma companys can sell = profit

skillet said:

It was my math from post 5.

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Note that the study gave some people 6 sprays at once. Using the absorption figure for smoked cannabis vs oral cannabis given in the study, we can say that six sprays at once should deliver about as much THC as 50mg cannabis @ 7.5% THC would if smoked, which while small, is certainly enough to feel. I just weighed out 50mg of cannabis and it was enough to fill a one-hitter.