Sativex Threatens Medi-pot Scam
Sativex, approved in the UK this week for treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, is an oral liquid spray that contains two of the cannabinoids found in marijuana - CBD and THC. CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that has therapeutic properties and is believed to reduce the intoxicating and impairing effects of THC. As a result, it has been bred out of modern marijuana. The crude marijuana grown or purchased under the guise of medical marijuana contains significant portions of THC which provides intoxication and only trace amounts of CBD and other cannabinoids. Unlike crude smoked marijuana, this spray is a safe way to administer the drug and is free of harmful contaminants found in marijuana.
This pharmaceutical drug appears to be showing medicinal promise in other countries and will be up for scrutiny by the United States Food and Drug Administration in the coming years. The fact is that marijuana has very different effects, depending on how it is administered. Smoking or vaporizing marijuana, while delivering many other harmful compounds, pushes too much THC into the blood and brain too quickly, which results in intoxication. It also is particularly harmful to the lungs. Even dronabinol or Marinol, the FDA’s approved pill form of marijuana, although not harmful to the lungs, only includes the THC compound in marijuana.
Will Sativex be the breakthrough needed to put an end to harmful and scientifically unproven pot being sold under the guise of medicine?
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The UK's Daily Finance
The UK's Daily Finance examined the effects of the country approving prescription THC spray Sativex this week. They found the actual market value of marijuana could be anywhere from $1.50 to $10 per gram, as opposed to $20 in the US under prohibition. They based their numbers on various quasi-legal markets like Amsterdam ($1.50-$10 a gram) and Canada ($4.91). "In Canada, the standard daily dose of medical marijuana ranges between 0.5 and 1.5 grams, which would cost roughly $2.50 to $7.50 for most patients. By comparison, a basic daily dose of Sativex costs roughly $16 per day. And a daily dose of Marinol, a drug containing synthetic THC that's prescribed for AIDS and cancer patients in the US, runs between $9 and $13.50 per day. This translates into a monthly price of $150 for marijuana, $337 for Marinol, and $480 for Sativex. Do the math!!