CNN reports that a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee has recommended approval of plant-derived cannabidiol medicine to treat epilepsy. If it receives full approval by the FDA in June, it will be the first marijuana-derived medicine in the United States allowed under prescription use.
I've been covering the fight to allow cannabidiol use in Iowa on my radio show since the beginning of the effort. What made today's story so significant for me is that the effort in Iowa began with parents seeking CDB medicine for epilepsy.
Opponents of approving cannabidiol in the Iowa Legislature always argued the issue was not under the purview of the legislature, but should be approved by the FDA and medical boards. Cannabidiol use has been approved in Iowa and production begins in June.
The oil can be used in Iowa to treat the symptoms of such conditions as chronic pain, cancer and seizures
Today's recommendation by the FDA panel limits use of the drug to epilepsy patients. However, doctors would have the option to prescribe it "off-label" for other uses.