Twenty-eight patients completed the two-year, open-label extension trial. Investigators reported that patients required fewer daily doses of Sativex and reported lower median pain scores the longer they took the drug.

Authors also reported that drug’s administration was not associated with an increase in patients’ use of other analgesics – noting that several of the study’s participants reduced or ceased their use of pharmaceutical pain medications while taking Sativex. It has been estimated that more than one out of four MS patients suffer from neuropathic pain.

"[Sativex] was effective, with no evidence of tolerance, in … patients with central neuropathic pain and MS who completed two years of treatment," investigators concluded. "The use of [Sativex], per se, did not lead to a … major increase … in the use of new analgesics, which over at least two years is … a further indirect measure of sustained effectiveness in [this] population."

Previously reported data on the long-term efficacy of Sativex has shown the drug to decrease spasticity and bladder dysfunction in patients with MS.

NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano called the extension trial results significant. "Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, degenerative disease; its symptoms become more severe over time," he said. "Therefore, one would assume that patients would be increasing their daily drug administration in order to maintain their initial levels of pain relief. That they are not doing so indicates that patients are not becoming tolerant to the drug’s therapeutic effects. More importantly, this result may also be evidence that cannabinoids are, in fact, moderating the progression of this debilitating disease. "

In August, Canadian health officials granted regulatory approval to Sativex as an adjunctive treatment in adult patients with cancer pain. Canadian officials had previously approved the drug’s prescription use to treat MS-associated neuropathy.

Makers of the drug are seeking regulatory approval for Sativex in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and in the United States.

US Marijuana Market “Saturated,” Pot Prices To Fall, Federal Report Says

"[R]ecent increases in cannabis cultivation and marijuana production within the United States coincide with the continued flow of marijuana from foreign sources," the report finds. "[This] may lead to market saturation in major markets, [which] could reduce the price of the drug significantly."

Since 2000, the total number of domestic marijuana plants seized by US law enforcement has increased from 2.8 million to over 5.2 million, the report finds. Authors speculate that a significant portion of the increase in pot production is due to commercial growers relocating their operations indoors, which allows them to increase their total number of harvests per year and produce higher-quality cannabis.

"[Though] the demand for marijuana appears to be relatively stable, … many users now prefer … higher-potency marijuana over commercial-grade marijuana," authors state. Nevertheless, the report concludes that "most" of the marijuana available in the United States continues to be "lower-potency, commercial-grade marijuana produced in Mexico."

In 2006, law enforcement seized more than 1.1 million kilograms of pot along the US/southwest border, according to the study. By contrast, law enforcement seized fewer than 4,200 kilograms of pot along the US/Canadian border.

Domestically, California continues to lead all US states in pot production, with an estimated 2.9 million plants having been eradicated by law enforcement so far this year. This record total is more than four times the total number of plants seized in 2005.

Among California’s counties, Lake County, Humboldt County, and Shasta County report the largest numbers of pot seizures.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the NDIC report, "National Drug Threat Assessment 2008" is available online at: http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/.

Join NORML This Month For The 24th Annual Key West Legal Seminar

Topics to be covered at this year's conference include: constitutional limits on roadside police encounters; special jury instructions in drug cases; current efforts to provide for the legal distribution of medical marijuana; and many more.  The conference agenda and speaker bios are available online.

NORML's annual legal seminar is fully accredited in every state that requires continuing legal education (CLE) for attorneys.

For more details, or to register for the conference online, please visit: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5341.