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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN]
#7276345 - 08/08/07 10:44 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients August 8, 2007 - theglobeandmail.com
Health Canada has approved a new cannabis-based painkiller to help alleviate the suffering of cancer patients.
The drug, sold under the brand name Sativex, is administered by spraying it into the mouth. It is intended to be used by cancer patients suffering from neuropathic or nerve pain, which is excruciating and difficult to control.
"It's an adjunctive treatment, an add-on. You take it in addition to opioids (such as morphine)," Allan Gordon, director of the Wasser Pain Management Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said in an interview.
"It will be helpful as another way to reduce pain," he said.
Dr. Gordon said that 60 to 90 per cent of people with advanced cancer experience significant pain and there are far too few pain-relief options available to them.
He estimated there are at least 100,000 Canadians with cancer who are dealing with severe pain at any time.
"There's an unmet need there and finally we're seeing some attention being paid to the problem," he said.
While Sativex contains the active ingredients that give pot smokers their buzz, including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), users are unlikely to get stoned. When people are in severe pain, the drug provides relief rather than pleasure, much like opium and heroin used medicinally.
Each spray delivers a fixed dose of 2.7 milligrams of THC and 2.5 mg of CBD. Patients can control the number of doses, but it is recommended they not exceed 14 sprays daily.
"We have to reference this drug as a pain-management therapy. It's not a recreational vehicle," Dr. Gordon said.
He also noted it's an expensive and inefficient way to get high compared with smoking marijuana or hashish.
Sativex, by U.K.-based GW Pharmaceuticals, is marketed in Canada by Bayer Inc.
The drug costs roughly $125 per vial (prices vary by province and do not include dispensing fees). Each vial contains 51 sprays. The average daily dose is five sprays, which translates into an average cost of about $12.25 a day. The prescription drug is covered by most private insurance plans, but not yet by any provincial drug plans.
In 2005, Canada became the first country in the world to approve the sale of a prescription painkiller derived from cannabis. Sativex was initially allowed on the market for the treatment of severe pain associated with multiple sclerosis.
It belongs to a class of drugs known as cannabinoids. A report issued yesterday said the sale of cannabinoids has soared by 45 per cent worldwide in the past year, to $709-million (U.S.)
In addition to Sativex, the class of drugs includes Rimonabant, a high-profile anti-obesity drug from Sanofi-Aventis, along with Marinol and Cesamet, drugs used to treat nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Scientists are excited by the prospect of this class of drugs because there are about 10 times as many cannabinoid receptors in the brain as opioid receptors, meaning the drugs should be more effective at blocking pain.
Cannabis-based drugs also appear to have fewer side effects than those derived from opium. Some users of Sativex complain that the spray leaves an odd taste and can cause minor gastrointestinal problems. Drugs such as codeine and morphine, on the other hand, can cause severe constipation and drowsiness. Many physicians also hesitate to prescribe opioids because they are highly addictive.
An estimated 159,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and 72,700 will die of cancer in 2007, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
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Invisible_Woe


Registered: 05/25/07
Posts: 11,707
Loc: Mabase
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#7276472 - 08/08/07 11:37 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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well, i wonder if it works beter than smoking for pain relife...im guessing so
-------------------- These are not the answers you should be questioning.
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white_noise
below the water



Registered: 08/18/05
Posts: 141
Loc: Land of Tim Hortons and S...
Last seen: 3 years, 6 months
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#7276575 - 08/09/07 12:10 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Sigh...I don't know whether to be glad that such a product is out, or to be completely disgusted. I guess I'll feel conflicted about this one.
On one hand, now that this product is out, and endorsed by a government body, it gives further legitimacy to cannabis as a medicine, and paves the way for other governments to allow use of THC and CBD legally.
But why does the only avenue have to be through a pharmaceutical company? It shouldn't be about the money. Let people grow their own plants for medicinal use, without harassment. Make the plant illegal so the companies can profit from their patents....argh, it gets me down.
There's progress though, slowly..but it's advancing!
-------------------- Who Dares, WINS
 Support Free Spore Ring Canada! 
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RobMarley420
LSD Enthusiast



Registered: 05/01/05
Posts: 12,554
Loc: Mushroom Mountain
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: white_noise]
#7276752 - 08/09/07 01:27 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
"It's an adjunctive treatment, an add-on. You take it in addition to opioids (such as morphine),"
Damn, almost makes me want to have cancer.
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THEBats
FuturePsychopharmacologist


Registered: 03/18/05
Posts: 1,268
Loc: Florida
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: RobMarley420]
#7276782 - 08/09/07 01:52 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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This is also the only marijuana related drug that has resulted in a death. These drugs generally aren't as effective as the drug it tries to mimic. Marijuana is made up of a few hundred active cannabinoids. This drug has two which is better than marinol however the pharmacological effects of all the cannabinoids has not been reviewed completely.
http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=6382
Edited by THEBats (08/09/07 01:55 AM)
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Malkoth
Stalking Butler


Registered: 03/19/01
Posts: 85
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#7277076 - 08/09/07 05:35 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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It's funny that marijuana is a scheduled 1 controled substance because it has no medicinal value yet they keep making drugs based off of its pain-relieving effects....
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ChristianTaylor5
Mammal


Registered: 06/28/07
Posts: 195
Last seen: 16 years, 2 months
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: Malkoth]
#7277202 - 08/09/07 07:35 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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yea, and apparently a drug needs to result in at least one death for it to be legal. Thats why alcohol is available without a prescription, to many deaths to even require a script.
Marijuana just cant make the cut, no matter how potent we make it, its still just to damn safe to be legal.
-CT
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biggysmall
Stranger



Registered: 04/27/07
Posts: 1,694
Loc: your moms bedroom
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: ChristianTaylor5]
#7277601 - 08/09/07 11:06 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Damn, almost makes me want to have cancer.
sounds like lots of fun get pumped up with drugs to ease the pain.....
and i would think that for the full painrelief you have to get high....... why dont they just let the people smoke the pot.... not use all these shitty cannagbis based painkillers that probably dont work half as well as just pure cannabis
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daytripper05
Psychonaut




Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 6,962
Loc: In my garden
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: white_noise]
#7277759 - 08/09/07 12:11 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
white_noise said: Sigh...I don't know whether to be glad that such a product is out, or to be completely disgusted. I guess I'll feel conflicted about this one.
On one hand, now that this product is out, and endorsed by a government body, it gives further legitimacy to cannabis as a medicine, and paves the way for other governments to allow use of THC and CBD legally.
But why does the only avenue have to be through a pharmaceutical company? It shouldn't be about the money. Let people grow their own plants for medicinal use, without harassment. Make the plant illegal so the companies can profit from their patents....argh, it gets me down.
There's progress though, slowly..but it's advancing!
I agree 100%....but really, fuck big pharma. They clearly have no interest in curing cancer or any other illness. Their goal is to provide to a mediocre, synthetic treatment option, at the cost of thousands of dollars a month. We honestly, you can grow medicinal grade cannabis for free outside or atleast at the cost of less than one month of this spray. It frustrates me to hear everytime the word cannabis comes up, you always here about getting high.
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Invisible_Woe


Registered: 05/25/07
Posts: 11,707
Loc: Mabase
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: Malkoth]
#7278160 - 08/09/07 02:48 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Malkoth said: It's funny that marijuana is a scheduled 1 controled substance because it has no medicinal value yet they keep making drugs based off of its pain-relieving effects....
wow.....what a good point...rly tho
-------------------- These are not the answers you should be questioning.
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freetree77
king louie



Registered: 12/09/06
Posts: 265
Loc: all across the universe
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Re: Cannabis-based spray painkiller approved for cancer patients [CAN] [Re: RobMarley420]
#7278184 - 08/09/07 03:00 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
dingleberrysalad said: Damn, almost makes me want to have cancer.
no shit, or at least glaucoma or somethin. id pack a bowl and spray it once or twice. then toke up. i wonder how well that would work. if nothin else, it'll make your weed burn slower.
-------------------- Sinister Minister
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