GW Pharmaceuticals CEO Believes only FDA-Approved Cannabis Products are Medicine
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he CEO of a company with the first federally legal cannabis-derived medication available in the United States has a firm opinion on who has the last word on the efficacy of cannabis-derived treatments.
“We think it’s really important to distinguish between what is medicine and what is not,” said GW Pharmaceuticals CEO Justin Gover during an appearance on the show Mad Money, responding to a question on whether Canadian cannabis producers should label themselves as medical companies. GW Pharmaceuticals recently had its CBD-based medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce seizures in two specific childhood epilepsy conditions.
Gover believes the FDA is the last word on approval of options as approved medications even as it restricts research on cannabis’ medical properties. The FDA reclassified the CBD-based drug to Schedule V in September, the least restrictive category.
Cannabis and the cannabinoid CBD that Epilodex is derived from remain classified under Schedule 1 even though cannabis reclassification has been proposed since the 1970’s.
“What this reflects is an understanding within the DEA and FDA and other circles of federal government that when you do real science, you produce data that provides evidence of safety and efficacy, and you manufacture product in a consistent way where you know exactly what is in it day in, day out,” Gover said.
“They know exactly what is in it, they understand the dosing, they understand its interactions, its safety profile and which patients to use it,” he told Cramer. “So we believe that the Epidiolex responds absolutely to that need and that our future products can similarly respond to needs in other parts of the medical community.”
The irony of a drug executive decrying cannabis as an option for medical treatment is only overshadowed in the fight against the opioid crisis, where medical cannabis has been a powerful weapon in states where it is legal. Right on the news of Epilodex becoming available, the FDA approved Dsuvia, a tablet opioid that is ten times more powerful than Fentanyl, the highly addictive opioid that is responsible for 60 percent of opioid-related deaths. The medicine uses a single-use applicator and, according to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, those features are well-suited for military use and was a Pentagon priority.
