FDA-approved epilepsy drug has medical marijuana patients concerned

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could soon approve the first prescription drug derived from cannabis, reports CBS News.

The FDA is expected to make a decision by the end of June on on Epidiolex, a marijuana-derived drug made to treat rare forms of pediatric epilepsy.

The efficacy of Epidiolex has been tested in several trials throughout the past five years, which has proven to successfully treat children suffering from epileptic seizures caused by Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes.

But the impending decision has a number of medical marijuana patients concerned over the possibility that the release of this drug would restrict access to treatments readily available throughout state legal marijuana programs.

GW Pharmaceuticals, the company that designed Epidiolex, has lobbied to change states’ legal definition of marijuana in states like Nebraska and South Dakota since 2017, according to an AP report.

The AP has confirmed that lobbyists representing the creators of Epidiolex has backed legislation in California and Colorado this year.

Denver-based attorney…