GW Pharma hit by double blow
THE US Supreme Court has dealt a blow to GW Pharma's hopes of selling its medicinal marijuana spray, Sativex, in the country, by throwing out an appeal by two sick Californian women who say they use the drug to relieve their pain.
The setback comes on the same day as it was reported that the company has also lost an appeal in Britain and will not be able to market Sativex without more clinical trials.
In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that federal narcotics laws ban the drug even when it never crosses state lines and is used only to relieve pain or nausea.
A lower court decision allowed the two women to use it after they had tried and failed to treat their symptoms.
The case turned into a state-federal battle after California and nine other states exempted seriously ill people from laws banning cultivation and use of marijuana. However, the Bush administration claims this undermines its war on drugs.
The US Constitution makes the laws of the United States the 'supreme law of the land' and 'if there is any conflict between federal and state law, federal law shall prevail', Justice John Paul Stevens said. It is up to Congress to change the law, he said.
