United Greeneries plans to launch online retail sales of medical cannabis in February for Canadians covered by the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations — a program for which certain multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may be eligible.

United Greeneries, a unit of Harvest One Cannabis, an umbrella company that also owns Switzerland’s Satipharm, has a medicinal cannabis cultivation and sales license. That allows Harvest One to not only sell but also commercially cultivate cannabis in a federally regulated environment.

The company currently has more than 325 kilograms of dried cannabis in stock for immediate sale. According to a press release, the online platform will start by selling two cannabis brands — Captain’s Choice and Royal High — with plans to add Satipharm’s Gelpell Microgel capsules later on.

Studies have shown that cannabis-derived therapeutic products can benefit MS patients. For example, researchers at the Washington-based National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded that certain cannabinoids can reduce spasticity symptoms in MS patients.

United Greeneries will offer blended, high-quality ground flowers available in the Indica, Sativa and High-CBD varieties under its signature product line, Captain’s Choice. Royal High varieties will include Serious Kush, Great White Shark, Super Skunk, 8 Ball Kush and Chocolope. Other varieties are currently under development.

Satipharm also has a Canadian license to import its Gelpell Microgel capsules in 10 mg and 50 mg doses. These capsules contain CBD [cannabidiol] with no detectable levels of other cannabinoids, such as the hallucinogenic THC. Once the capsules pass required safety controls, they will be added to United Greeneries’ online retail platform.

The capsules are already available in the European Union as a dietary supplement, and by prescription in Australia. Canadian consumers should have access to this new product in the first half of 2018, said Harvest One.

Satipharm’s products have passed Phase 1 studies for safety and bioavailability, and are now undergoing Phase 2 studies to test their therapeutic potential in treating MS pain and spasticity, as well as refractory pediatric epilepsy.

• Author Details

Patricia Silva, PhD

Patrícia holds her PhD in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, The Netherlands. She has studied Applied Biology at Universidade do Minho and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal. Her work has been focused on molecular genetic traits of infectious agents such as viruses and parasites.

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Patricia Silva, PhD

Patrícia holds her PhD in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, The Netherlands. She has studied Applied Biology at Universidade do Minho and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal. Her work has been focused on molecular genetic traits of infectious agents such as viruses and parasites.