Title: Patent No. 6,630,507: Why the U.S. government holds a patent on cannabis plant compounds Source:
The Denver Post URL Source:http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/2 ... t-is-marijuana-patent-6630507/ Published:Aug 28, 2016 Author:Alicia Wallace Post Date:2016-08-28 19:58:04 by Operation 40 Keywords:cannabis, marijuana, patent Views:1032 Comments:3
Photo courtesy of Willie's Reserve -Willie Nelson holds up a container of his branded marijuana with 6630507 written on it. Following the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations inaction on rescheduling marijuana, legalization proponents have responded by taking to the internet to highlight Patent No. 6,630,507, which covers the potential use of non-psychoactive cannabinoids.
Patent No. 6,630,507: Why the U.S. government holds a patent on cannabis plant compounds
The Denver Post By ALICIA WALLACE | awallace@denverpost.com PUBLISHED: August 28, 2016
Its about technology transfer, not legalization
It may not have quite the same ring to it as a certain seven-digit phone number made famous by a 1980s pop hit, but 6,630,507 has become internet-famous since the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration opted not to reschedule marijuana, leaving it in the category of drugs with no legitimate medical uses.
Since then, proponents of legalization have responded with a storm of social-media posts highlighting U.S. Patent No. 6,630,507, granted in 2003 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and covering the potential use of non-psychoactive cannabinoids to protect the brain from damage or degeneration caused by certain diseases, such as cirrhosis. Theyre telling the DEA to talk to the hand, writing 6,630,507 on their palms, hashtagging the number and linking to past articles on the topic.
The intent of the posts is symbolic, said Sam Mendez, an intellectual property and public policy lawyer who serves as the executive director of the University of Washingtons Cannabis Law & Policy Project.
Naturally, it shows that there is a certain amount of hypocrisy that there is no accepted medical use for cannabis according to federal law, Mendez said. And yet here you have the very same government owning a patent for, ostensibly, a medical use for marijuana.
SNIPPED-------------------
...In the case of No. 6,630,507, the researchers discovered that non-psychoactive compounds in cannabis may have antioxidant properties that could be beneficial in the treatment of certain neurological diseases, she said...snip
...Five years ago, the NIH granted New York-based Kannalife Sciences Inc. an exclusive license for the part of the technology outlined in the patent to develop cannabinoid- and cannabidiol-based drugs for the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy brain damage that could result from conditions such as cirrhosis. Kannalife also has a non-exclusive license to develop drugs to treat chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a rare and progressive degenerative brain condition likely caused by repeated head trauma, Myles said...snip
Patent No. 6,630,507: Why the U.S. government holds a patent on cannabis plant compounds
Duhhh... because cannabidioils are legal and can be extracted from hemp?
The exicting news is "The United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA, recently eased some of the regulatory requirements for those who are conducting FDA-approved clinical trials on cannabidiol (CBD)." Clinical trials to provide the medicine so many desire are being performed.
Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention.
[...]
Cannabidiol is not on the list of psychotropic substances. It is a legal. Unfortunately for dopers, it is "substantially free of psychoactive or psychotoxic effects" (it won't get you high). It can be extracted from hemp.
Cannabidiol is not scheduled by the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. CBD does not cause the "high" associated with the Delta 9-THC in marijuana. As the legal landscape and understanding about the differences in medical cannabinoids unfolds, it will be increasingly important to distinguish medical marijuana (with noted varying degrees of psychotropic effects and deficits in executive function) - from medical CBD (in which the high CBD and low THC content may mitigate psychosis).
Various breeds/strains of "medical marijuana" are found to have a significant variety in the ratios of CBD-to-THC and are known to contain other non-psychotropic cannabinoids. However it is only the amount of Delta 9-THC that chemically gives a legal determination as to whether the plant material(s) used for the purposes of extracting CBD are considered hemp, or considered marijuana.
Any psychoactive marijuana, regardless of its CBD content, is derived from the flower (or bud) of the genus cannabis. Non-psychoactive hemp (also commonly-termed industrial hemp), regardless of its CBD content, is any part of the genus cannabis plant, whether growing or not, containing a Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis. Certain standards are required for the legal growth and production of hemp. The Colorado Industrial Hemp Program registers growers of industrial hemp and samples crops to verify that the THC concentration does not exceed 0.3% on dry weight basis.
With Charlotte's Web bringing about increased demand for CBD-dominant cannabis, cultivating hemp has captured the attention of U.S. farmers looking to replace dwindling tobacco-growing revenues with renewed hemp "cash crops." In Kentucky, farmers are spurred on by the Industrial Hemp Research Program, established by James Comer, commissioner of agriculture. With backing from Senator Rand Paul, Comers legislation created regulations for farmers to legally grow hemp.
Joel Stanley, CEO of Stanley Brothers Social Enterprises, said they plan to invest at least $500,000 to grow therapeutic hemp in Kentucky for their Charlotte's Web cannabidiol oil, saying, "We want to make Charlotte's Web a Kentucky Proud product." In addition, Paul and Comer were able to get a provision added to the federal Farm Bill that legalized hemp production in states like Kentucky to grow the crop. The Agricultural Act of 2014 was signed by President Obama.
During recent years, there has been considerable legislative activity throughout the United States with respect to legalizing the agricultural production of industrial hemp. To date, approximately 11 states have legalized industrial hemp production, including: California, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Many other states have passed legislation authorizing the cultivation of industrial hemp for pilot projects or studies, including: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Utah. Additionally, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Conference of State Legislatures have both adopted resolutions supporting revisions to the federal rules and regulations authorizing commercial production of industrial hemp.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA, recently eased some of the regulatory requirements for those who are conducting FDA-approved clinical trials on cannabidiol (CBD).
Several industrial hemp varieties can be legally cultivated in western Europe. A variety such as "Fedora 17" has a cannabinoid profile consistently around 1% cannabidiol (CBD) with THC less than 0.1%.
Naturally, it shows that there is a certain amount of hypocrisy that there is no accepted medical use for cannabis according to federal law, Mendez said. And yet here you have the very same government owning a patent for, ostensibly, a medical use for marijuana.
The patent is for the cannabinoid chemical compounds contained in marijuana. Just as the patent is on digitalis, not the deadly foxglove plant it comes from.