Big Pharma Aiming For "Joint" Venture

The legalization of state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries has caused a whole lot of confusion, controversy and questions since its implementation. Few people know exactly what the law is calling legal, and the grey areas and loop holes seem to make a mockery of the whole thing anyway. The federal government has been attempting to address matters by clamping down on the dispensaries in the heavy-handed manner that it practically has a copyright on. Now the FDA looks set to give Big Pharma

. Back in 2007, “Sativex”, or liquefied marijuana, was introduced by GW Pharmaceuticals in partnership with Otsuka. Phase III FDA testing is about to begin, before the company can market the drug in the U.S. But the real warning came in February, when marijuana advocacy group NORML warned that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was only intending on legalizing marijuana for Big Pharma. "The DEA's intent is to expand the federal government's schedule III listing to include pharmaceutical products containing naturally derived formations of THC while simultaneously maintain existing criminal prohibitions on the plant itself," Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said at the time.