France Approves Sativex For Multiple Sclerosis

[trix]

On Thursday, France’s ministry of health announced that it has approved a cannabis-based oral spray, Sativex, which will be used to treat Multiple Sclerosis.  According to the French Health Ministry, the Sativex will be prescribed to patients with MS who suffer from severe muscle spasms.

 

While Sativex can already be purchased in other European countries, such as Spain and Italy, it is expected to be available for sale in France in 2015.  It is very strictly controlled and only prescribed by a specific set of physicians.  Patients are only allowed one month’s supply at a time and must have their prescription renewed by their doctor every six months.

 

“It’s good news for French patients who are nearly the last in Europe to have access to Sativex. The approval to sell Sativex in France represents the successful end of three years of talks. It was a delicate case in an explosive environment,” Chrstophe Vandeputte, the head of Almiral Laboratories, which distributes Sativex, told the French daily Le Monde.

 

While the ruling comes as a relief for many French MS patients, it does not seem to signify a shift in marijuana policy for the country.  French lawmakers are continually opposed to medical and recreational marijuana, although weed is readily available in the country.

 

[Source]

[t-pain]

it'd be interesting to hear more peoples' anecdotal evidence on how smoked or edible marijuana still does better than sativex spray.

 

still, at least sativex does better than placebo and probably a lot of other MS drugs out there on the market.