An experimental drug derived from cannabis to treat epilepsy is on the brink of becoming the first of its kind to win US government approval.
The drug’s active ingredient is cannabidiol, the compound in marijuana thought to be responsible for many of its therapeutic effects. Cannabidioldoesn’t contain THC, marijuana’s main psychoactive ingredient, so it doesn’t get users high.
According to results from two large clinical trials released over the past two months, however, cannabidiol does appear to help reduce seizures in two of the hardest-to-treat forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet Syndrome.
If approved, the new drug would be sold under the name Epidiolex as a syrup.
WATCH: Senator Jeff Sessions and the Future of Legal Marijuana
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