Cannabis-Containing Drugs Receive Approval for Use in the U.S.

According to regulations proposed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, for the first time in the country, drugs containing "Delta-9 THC" derived from the cannabis plant can receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration. If these regulations are approved and implemented, the status of the cannabis plant in federal laws will change from "a drug with no legitimate medical use" to a regulated and legal drug. "Delta-9 THC," fully known as "tetrahydrocannabinol," is the main psychoactive component in the cannabis plant. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, about four million Americans in states where medical cannabis is legal, in contradiction to federal laws, use this substance. Given that a large number of Americans currently have access to various forms of medical cannabis, it is unclear how much pharmaceutical companies will benefit from this potential change in U.S. laws and the request for approval from the FDA. Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medical Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego, believes that the method of legalizing this substance may discourage large pharmaceutical companies from investing in the production of medical cannabis. America is seeking to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous substance. Yahan Marco, author of the book "Cannabis Innovations," which examines cannabis consumption legislation, agrees with this assessment and doubts that this change in federal laws will suddenly spark a wave of cannabis-containing drug production. In states where cannabis use is legal, derivatives of this substance, such as hashish, have been available to the public in various forms for years, outside the constraints set by federal laws, and therefore obtaining approval from the FDA is not particularly necessary. Yahan Marco estimates that millions of cannabis-containing products and their derivatives are currently available in regulated markets. Igor Grant also believes that due to the existence of a wide and diverse market for these products, investment by large pharmaceutical companies in the production of cannabis-containing drugs will not be very profitable. The Guardian adds that several large pharmaceutical companies have invested in medical cannabis research in recent years. For example, Pfizer acquired a smaller company called Arena in 2022, whose main activity was research on medical cannabis. Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a medical professor at Harvard University and author of a book on the history of medical cannabis in America, reminds that pharmaceutical companies have been somewhat tightrope walking in dealing with these products. He added: "They resisted all state decisions to legalize cannabis use. Home cultivation and production of cannabis and its derivatives by small producers is detrimental to large pharmaceutical companies because if people have another way to access medical cannabis, their expensive drugs will not have customers." Recent research estimates that large pharmaceutical companies have lost billions of dollars in profit opportunities due to the decriminalization and legalization of cannabis use. A recent survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that more than half of adults in the country who use cannabis for chronic pain relief have gradually reduced their use of opioids and other painkillers. Dr. Peter Grinspoon predicts that large pharmaceutical companies will try to acquire small cannabis producers and their derivatives to keep up with this growing market, just as happened after the decriminalization of alcohol production. He added: "They do not want to miss out on this market. In other words: if you do not want to be disgraced, blend in with the crowd."