Quote from piezoe:
Quote from rateesquad:
PS.....there is no medical benefits to it. Yes, tax revenue would go up.
The active component in the prescription drug "Marinol" is identical to the active component in marijuana, viz., tetrahydrocanabinol. Anorexia and nausea are two approved indications. I believe refractive asthma was once an accepted indication but is now deleted (apparently THC is a bronchodilator).
The following is a quote from the 15th Edition of the USP DI page 1185:
"In an open-label study in patients with AIDS who received [THC] for up to 5 months, no abuse, diversion, or systemic change in personality or social functioning was observed, even in those patients with a hustory of drug abuse."
The new Sanofi-Aventis appetite suppressant, which is approved in Europe and currently under review at the US FDA , apparently functions by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain, or by binding to the receptor's messenger molecule. This has the potential to be a real blockbuster is the US and is the main reason i am currently interested in Sanofi-Aventis stock. It would seem likely that study of the mechanism by which marijuana stimulates appetite led to synthesis of this new class of appetite suppressants. They reportedly have very few side effects, if any. Sanofi is also seeking approval for the same drug as an aid to smoking sessation. As nicotine decreases appetite, it may be that the new Sanofi drug shares some molecular structural elements with the nicotene molecule.