Pubdate: Sat, 31 Aug 2002
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Tracey Tyler

BRITISH FIRM TESTS AEROSOL POT

Will Anne McLellan opt for sprayed instead of smoked?

The federal health minister told doctors recently she is uncomfortable with 
the idea of Canadians smoking marijuana to relieve pain. But England is 
offering an alternative.

A British pharmaceutical company is producing a cannabis aerosol spray 
under licence to the U.K. government.

Similar to a breath spray, it seems to offer the medical benefits of 
marijuana without the harmful side effects of smoking, said Justin Gover, 
managing director of GW Pharmaceuticals Inc.

It has been testing the spray in clinical trials over the past five years 
in Britain and Europe with 400 people who have multiple sclerosis, cancer, 
rheumatoid arthritis and spinal-cord injuries.

The company offered the spray to Health Canada for use in clinical trials, 
but the federal government turned it down, Gover confirmed when contacted 
this week.

"We've had discussions with Heath Canada for a number of years," he said 
from Salisbury, England.

"The discussions really centred on GW establishing a clinical trials 
program in Canada of sufficient size to allow Canadians to take part."

But McLellan's predecessor, Allan Rock, who was minister when Ottawa was 
first approached, chose instead to have a supply of marijuana cultivated 
domestically for use in clinical trials.

The result was a 200-kilogram harvest that was grown under contract to the 
government in an abandoned Manitoba mine.

McLellan, however, has announced that the crop will not be used in clinical 
trials after all because it contains too many different strains. The plants 
were grown from seedlings seized in police drug raids.

A group of seven Canadian medical marijuana users and suppliers are suing 
for access to that crop, but one of their lawyers says a cannabis spray 
would be the first choice.

"I'm quite certain the spray is the way to go," Alan Young said. "I've 
never had a client extol the virtues of smoking."

The legal problems faced by medical marijuana users in Canada are the same 
in many parts of the world, Gover said.

His company's solution is to convert marijuana into a form that can be 
approved under existing laws, as was done with morphine.

Although opium is a banned substance in most countries, morphine, which is 
one of its derivatives, can be prescribed to control pain.

The firm is on track to apply early next year to have use of the spray 
approved under Britain's regulatory regime for prescription drugs, Gover 
said. Its target is to have the spray on the market in early 2004.

"If our program is successful in the U.K., we have every intention of 
applying to Health Canada for approval of our product in Canada," he said, 
adding if that happens, the spray could conceivably be available here at 
about the same time as in Britain.

A Health Canada spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
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MAP posted-by: Beth