GWPH - The DEA Has Descheduled Prescription CBD for Severe Epilepsy
Parents of children with early-onset epilepsy and their physicians will find it easier to fill their next Epidiolex prescriptions. That's because the CBD tincture from GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH) is no longer under the thumb of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Epidiolex launched in 2018 after earning FDA approval as a treatment to reduce seizure frequency for patients with Lennox-Gastout syndrome and Dravet syndrome -- a small population. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp-derived CBD from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but that didn't do much to help GW Pharmaceuticals. Epidiolex's active ingredient is CBD derived from marijuana, not hemp.
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