AUSTRALIA
Title: University of Sydney – Pelican Study Cannabis & Epilepsy
Author:
Date: July 2018
URL: https://sydney.edu.au/lambert/our-research/epilepsy/the-pelican-study.html
Extract: The PELICAN (Paediatric Epilepsy Lambert Initiative Cannabinoid ANalysis) study is interviewing parents of children with epilepsy about their views of, and experience with, medicinal cannabis.
The Sydney Morning Herald creates a tabloid story out of the report
Something more sensible from the ABC ( Australian Broadcasting Corp)
Cannabis chemical THC could be missing ‘piece to the puzzle’ in treating kids with epilepsy
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-05/epilepsy-treatment-cannabis-chemical-thc/9944878
Title: Medical Cannabis Favored to Treat MS Spasticity and Other Ills by Doctors in Australia, Survey Finds
Author: MS News Today
Date: 6 July 2018
Extract:
Most general practitioners in Australia favor prescribing medical cannabis to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) or pain in select other diseases, but are not allowed to under current laws and say they know little about its use, according to results of a national survey.
A study based on its findings, “Knowledge and attitudes of Australian general practitioners towards medicinal cannabis: a cross-sectional survey,” was published in British Medical Journal Open.
Public interest in cannabis for medical purposes is growing across Australia — as it is elsewhere — and policies allow companies to grown the cannabis plant although patient access remains restricted.
.
The survey looked at doctors’ perceptions of the therapeutic benefits and potential harms of medical cannabis, asked of their willingness to prescribe it, and of patient demands for its use.
MARKETS
Title: Medicinal Marijuana’s $500m Economic ‘Blow’ For The Bahamas
Author: Tribune 242
Date: July 2018
URL: http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/jul/06/medicinal-marijuanas-500m-economic-blow/
Extract:
A MARIJUANA advocate yesterday estimated the sector could be worth “more than half a billion dollars” to The Bahamas by 2025, its chairman urging: “Either run to it or be dragged kicking and screaming”.
Terry Miller, chairman of the Bahamas Cannabis Research Institute (BACARI), told Tribune Business that a legal medical marijuana industry could generate more than $100m for the Bahamian economy “within the first few years”.
Although no supporting research or economic impact studies were produced, he said BACARI was seeking to lead an awareness campaign on the drug’s medicinal benefits, arguing that its decriminalisation and industrialisation throughout the Caribbean was inevitable.
“Some may argue that a marijuana industry in The Bahamas would not reap significant rewards due to our size, but that is not true,” said Mr Miller.
INTERVIEW – GW PHARMA
Title: GW Pharma’s Justin Gover on marketing the first cannabis-based drug
Author: MMM – Online
Date: 5 July 2018
Extract:
Last week, GW Pharmaceuticals made history. Epidiolex, an orphan drug developed by the company that treats two rare forms of epilepsy, became the first marijuana-derived medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
For the general public, this was perhaps less momentous than it initially seemed. Epidiolex is derived from cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical found in the cannabis plant that does not have psychoactive effects, and its approval does not mean that marijuana itself will be rescheduled.
But for the medical community, particularly those intrigued by the potential of cannabinoid science, it was a watershed moment. Following the FDA’s ruling, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will almost certainly reschedule CBD, which opens the door for additional drugs derived from the component to be studied and reviewed by the agency.
“This approval is historic in that it allows us, as a pharmaceutical company. to talk about this product in the way that pharmaceutical companies normally talk about their drugs,” says GW Pharmaceuticals CEO Justin Gover.
MM&M spoke to Gover about specific next steps, including pricing and marketing, as well as what he thinks Epidiolex’s approval means for the research of cannabinoids more generally.
