Marinol

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Marinol
Systematic (IUPAC) name
(−)-(6aR,10aR)-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydro-6H-benzo[c]chromen-1-ol
Identifiers
CAS number	1972-08-3
ATC code	A04 AD10
PubChem	16078
DrugBank	APRD00571
Chemical data
Formula	C₂₁H₃₀O₂
Mol. weight	314.462 g/mol
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	?
Protein binding	97%
Metabolism	?
Half life	?
Excretion	?
Therapeutic considerations
Pregnancy cat.	?
Legal status	Schedule III (U.S.)
Routes	Oral

Marinol is also a commercial name for an ethanol-based liquid fuel sold for use in portable stoves, sold under this name at least in Finland.

Marinol, a registered trademark of Unimed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is the commercial name for a product containing dronabinol, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is a naturally occurring component in marijuana.

Marinol is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cannabinoid and is prescribed as an appetite stimulant, primarily for AIDS and chemotherapy patients. Compare Sativex, a mouth spray for neuropathic pain of multiple sclerosis sufferers approved for use in Canada.

Although Marinol is available for free to those who can demonstrate their financial need to Roxane and Unimed Pharmaceuticals, many users complain that it costs more than marijuana and lacks beneficial properties of the whole plant, which contains hundreds of different cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), thought to be the major anti-convulsant that helps multiple sclerosis patients, and cannabichromene (CBC), an anti-inflammatory which may contribute to the pain-killing effect of marijuana.

It takes over an hour for Marinol to reach full effect, compared to about ten minutes for smoked or vaporized marijuana. It is more difficult for users to manage the effects of Marinol. Marijuana smokers can manage their doses as they smoke, inhaling just enough medicine to manage symptoms, without using so much that the side-effects become overwhelming. Because of the way the body processes ingested Marinol, the high is much more intense. The powerful psychoactive effect is medically undesirable but holds great rewards for the recreational user, as it is perhaps the closest one can get to psychedelia via prescription drugs. In addition, Marinol use is sometimes difficult for people suffering from nausea and vomiting, since they often expel the medication before it takes effect.

[edit] Regulatory history

Since at least 1986, the trend has been for THC in general, and especially the Marinol preparation, to be downgraded to less and less stringently-controlled schedules of controlled substances, in the U.S. and internationally.

On July 13, 1986, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Final Rule and Statement of Policy authorizing the "Rescheduling of Synthetic Dronabinol in Sesame Oil and Encapsulated in Soft Gelatin Capsules From Schedule I to Schedule II"(DEA 51 FR 17476-78). This permitted medical use of Marinol, albeit with the severe restrictions associated with Schedule II status. For instance, refills of Marinol prescriptions were not permitted. At its 1045th meeting, on April 29, 1991, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, in accordance with article 2, paragraphs 5 and 6, of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, decided that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (also referred to as delta-9-THC) and its stereochemical variants should be transferred from Schedule I to Schedule II of that Convention. This released Marinol from the restrictions imposed by Article 7 of the Convention[1].

An abstract published in the April-June 1998 issue of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs found that "Healthcare professionals have detected no indication of scrip-chasing or doctor-shopping among the patients for whom they have prescribed dronabinol"[2]. The authors suggested that Marinol had a low potential for abuse.

In 1999, Marinol was rescheduled from Schedule II to III of the Controlled Substances Act, reflecting a finding that THC had a potential for abuse less than that of LSD, cocaine, and heroin. This rescheduling comprised part of the argument for a 2002 petition for cannabis rescheduling in the United States, in which petitioner Jon Gettman noted, "Cannabis is a natural source of dronabinol (THC), the ingredient of Marinol™, a Schedule III drug. There are no grounds to schedule cannabis in a more restrictive schedule than Marinol™"[3].

At its 33rd meeting, the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Drug Dependence recommended transferring tetrahydrocannabinol to Schedule IV of the Convention, citing its medical uses and low abuse potential. This would put THC in the Convention's least stringently-controlled Schedule.