In current drug news, the pharmaceutical industry may be seeing an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for cannibis-derived drugs quite soon. The first FDA-approved drugs containing marijuana components were actually approved about 25 years ago, but it’s the newer variation that may line the shelves of pharmacies across the country.

The research of GW Pharma (based in the UK) played a pivotal role in the initiative. They are currently completing the first advanced trials for a marijuana-drug developed as a mouth spray that alleviates pain for cancer sufferers. The release year for the drug is tentatively slated for 2014. Their exemption from the British government to harvest cannibis for the company’s marijuana and health research made development of the drug possible.

Another of their pot derivatives developed to relieve MS-related muscle spams, Sativex, has received the approval of at least ten countries. The National MS Society is sponsoring a neurologist at UC Davis’ comparison study trials on the effect of Marinol to reduce spasms in medical marijuana smokers.

Already legal in 16 of the 50 states, cannibis usage still faces controversial classification by drug enforcement agencies. It will be interesting to see how the federal levels of government approach the contradictions of their inter-departmental definitions.