The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the top drug regulator in the nation, has done something it hasn’t done in almost fifty years.
The agency has changed its position on cannabis for the first time in 46 years and announced the change to its classification of FDA-approved drugs containing CBD on Thursday.
The rescheduling applies to cannabidiol (CBD), containing no than 0.1 percent THC, in FDA-approved drug products. Though this allows GW Pharma to sell Epidiolex.
The move came almost 90 days since Epidiolex, a drug designed to treat childhood epilepsy with cannabidiol (CBD) was granted approval from the FDA.
This latest move by the DEA allows patients to now access the drug with a doctor’s prescription.
GW Pharma, the company behind the drug, said it would “work hard” to make Epidiolex available within the next six weeks. Shares of the company’s stock also saw gains upon the news.
“We are pleased that the DEA has placed EPIDIOLEX in the lowest restriction Schedule, because it will help ensure that patients with LGS and Dravet syndrome, two of the most debilitating forms of epilepsy, can access this important new treatment option through their physicians,” GW CEO Justin Gover said in a statement.
