WE ARE A COMPANY OF FIRSTS®
THE FIRST TO DELIVER PRESCRIPTION CBD PRODUCTS TO EPILEPSY, ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, PARKINSON’S DISEASE, CHRONIC PAIN, AND MIGRAINE SUFFERERS
HempMeds® Brasil, a subsidiary of Medical Marijuana, Inc., became the first company to have a cannabis product, Real Scientific Hemp Oil™(RSHO™), prescribed for a number of indications when it was exported to Brazil for all forms of epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain and migraines. Real Scientific Hemp Oil™ continues to be prescribed for more indications, as the Brazilian medical community becomes more educated about the benefits of cannabinoids. While providing access to CBD medications for patients now, Medical Marijuana, Inc. is working with health authorities in Brazil to further develop the market for cannabidiol in the country.
“The government of Brazil with their 1988 Constitutional right of free healthcare to all citizens is again leading the way by putting the wellbeing of their people first,” states Dr. Stuart Titus, CEO of Medical Marijuana, Inc. “RSHO™ products have been provisionally approved and are being reviewed for potentially five other medical indications, which are subject to future clinical trials.”In 1999, a group of researchers, including Nobel Laureate Julius Axelrod, filed a patent application on behalf of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) declaring that cannabis has medicinal value. Patent 6,630,507, “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants”, was awarded 4 years later in 2003 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The ‘507 patent covers the use of cannabinoids for the development of treatments for oxidative associated and neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and HIV related dementia. Although the patent specifically mentions cannabidiol (CBD) by name for its low toxicity and beneficial effects on the human endocannabinoid system, the patent covers all cannabinoids, natural and synthetic, that can be applied as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.
The story of cannabis reform in Brazil began with a little girl, Anny, whose parents fought the Brazilian government for the right to import RSHO™ for their daughter. Anny suffered from an intractable form of epilepsy that proved resistant to traditional treatments.
After just three days hearing the family’s case, the Brazilian courts ruled it “inhumane” to keep our RSHO™ from Anny. The approval of our products eventually led to cannabidiol (CBD) being removed from Brazil’s controlled substances list and the approval of RSHO™’s first indication for use – all forms of epilepsy. HempMeds® Brasil was there from the start to help organize patients and in acting to assist in their navigation of the difficult approval process to start importing RSHO™.
HEMPMEDS® BRASIL WAS THERE FROM THE START TO ORGANIZE PATIENTS AND ASSIST IN THE APPROVAL PROCESS TO IMPORT RSHO™.
Brazil went on to approve RSHO™ for a pair of neurological diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Treatment solutions for these types neurological diseases are desperately needed because of the difficulty in developing pharmaceuticals that can pass the blood-brain barrier, a specialized system of cells that allow nutrients into the brain while preventing harmful substances from passing through. In the case of most neurological medications, this prevents the therapeutic agents from doing their job. Cannabinoids like CBD, however, are able to pass through the blood-brain barrier and affect cannabinoid receptors in the brain.
Then, late in 2015, Brazil added chronic pain to the list of approved indications for the use of RSHO™. The U.S. National Institutes of Health defines chronic pain as pain lasting more than three months. A pervasive condition, chronic pain affects 1.5 billion people worldwide. Although there are already a number of pain medications on the market, the use of painkillers like opioids to treat chronic pain increases the danger of abuse and addiction to these dangerous drugs. Adding chronic pain to the list of approved indications in Brazil is a positive step towards securing a higher quality of life for pain sufferers in the country while taking steps to reduce the effects of long-term use of prescription painkillers.
“As more Brazilians gain access to cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil, and see efficacy with these indications that affect billions of people worldwide, the world can’t help but take notice,” says Dr. Titus. “This is an important step for the U.S. economy exporting cannabis; hemp is on its way to exploding onto the global market. These approvals are what the company has been and will continue to push for. The approval of HempMeds Brasil’s™ products take the conversation from – if cannabis can become a drug and regulated appropriately – to that it has been and is now working in the healthcare system.”
AS MORE BRAZILIANS GAIN ACCESS TO CANNABIDIOL (CBD) HEMP OIL, AND SEE EFFICACY WITH THESE INDICATIONS THAT AFFECT BILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, THE WORLD CAN’T HELP BUT TAKE NOTICE
Medical Marijuana, Inc. is looking towards additional indications to be approved in Brazil for RSHO™ in the future. Adding to the list of conditions for which RSHO™ is prescribed furthers the acceptance of cannabis as medicine and helps us fulfill our mission of “access for all”.