Gottlieb: Epidiolex Approval Covers One Specific Cannabidiol Medication, Not Marijuana

The approval for the GW Pharmaceuticals drug covers the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, two forms of rare and severe childhood epilepsy – the US agency was quick to clarify what the approval did not cover, chiefly marijuana.

The buzz has been high around the US FDA's approval of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC's Epidiolex (cannabidiol) for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome (DS), in what the agency is calling "the first FDA-approved drug that contains a purified drug substance derived from marijuana."

But in a response geared toward the broader public perception that is bound to take place, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb did his best to tamp down any hype

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