It may sound odd to a lot of people, but cannabis has been known to man for a long time for Cannabis Derived Medicines. The use of cannabis products dates back to 2737 BC and even before in some studies. The plant was used as a medicinal herb. Other uses of the plant included making fabrics and ropes from its fibers. And it was also used as food and even as a psychoactive drug.
Cannabis Derived Medicines
In the last two centuries, research were done on the effects of the drug, which provided the scientific basis for the medical aspects of this plant. However, this research was hindered a lot of times because of political and racial problems. In the last twenty years, things have changed, and now more research is possible for Cannabis Derived Medicines.
Because of this research, some of the Cannabis Derived Medicines have entered the mainstream pharmaceutical industry. Some of the famous ones are the following:
Epidiolex
Epidiolex is the only CBD-based medication that falls under the FDA’s regulations. This drug became the first(and only as of yet) Cannabis Derived Medicines available in the market. It is a prescription drug that was found effective against two complex types of epilepsy among children. These are Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet Syndrome. These two types of epilepsies are very uncommon, and traditional placebo(medical treatment) is not very effective against them. Yet, CBD has shown great results for both of these conditions. The case of Charlotte Figi is a great example of how CBD can help against epilepsy.
Charlotte Figi was a patient of Dravet syndrome and was having around three hundred seizures per week. After treatment through CBD oil from a low THC plant, her condition became better than before. From three hundred seizures a week, the number of seizures decreased to two or three a month.
Sativex
Sativex is another cannabis-based medicine. It is older than Epidiolex and has been in use since the 90s. This medicine is an oral spray with 1:1 of CBD and THC in it. It is used for multiple health-related conditions, including spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis. Also, it is used to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. Orally spraying this medicine helps with the prevention of nausea and vomiting which are common effects of chemotherapy. As for its legality, it is available in the UK and 25 other countries. But, the medicine is not approved by the FDA in the United States.
The advantage of taking this spray is that it is consistent with the amounts of CBD and THC. With cannabis plants, the amounts of these cannabinoids can greatly vary. Therefore, taking this spray may be a better solution.
Marinol
Marinol is another medicine that is not directly associated with the marijuana plant but has a similar composition. The thing with this drug is the active ingredient in this plant is dronabinol, which is a synthetic form of THC. However, it is not derived from the marijuana plant but is made synthetically. It is an FDA-approved drug. Marinol comes in the form of capsules with 2.5, 5, and 10 milligrams of the active ingredient. The uses are for anorexia in AIDS patients and nausea and vomiting in cancer patients generally caused due to chemotherapy.
These are the common medicines that are either based on the cannabis plant or on similar chemicals.
