Bedrocan (strain)

Bedrocan is a Dutch medical marijuana strain having a standardized content of THC (18 %) and CBD (0.8 %). It is produced by the company of the same name. It was first introduced in 2003 and is dispensed through pharmacies after prescription from a physician.

Production

The Dutch Office of Medicinal Cannabis (OMC) was founded in 2001. A single cultivator, selected by the OMC, cultivates the cannabis. The quality of each batch is analysed according to an analytical monograph formulated by the National Institute for Public Health and Environment. Specifications to be complied with, besides THC and CBD content, include the absence of pesticides and heavy metals and adequate microbiological purity.^[1] The product is sterilized shortly after harvest by gamma radiation (dose < 10 kGy) and subsequently packaged under aseptic conditions.^[2]

Indications

Bedrocan is dispensed only through pharmacies after prescription from a physician. Indications are:

• spasticity and pain from multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury,
• nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and treatment with HIV-medication,
• chronic neuralgic pain,
• Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, and
• palliative treatment of cancer and HIV/AIDS.

Reception

The number of patients prescribed legal medicinal cannabis is much lower than anticipated, and the majority of patients still frequented the illegal circuit.^[1] Probable reasons for the reluctant reception are:

× tolerance levels for the thc and cbd varies from patient to patient.

• the potential number of patients has probably been overestimated,
• the high pharmacy price compared to illegally produced cannabis sold in coffee-shops,
• the Dutch health care insurance does not reimburse medical cannabis,
• physicians are unwilling or hesitating to prescribe medicinal cannabis,
• negative publicity in the lay press,
• complaints, particularly from MS patients, of decreased effectiveness compared with illegal products available from coffee-shops,
• no marketing strategy.

References

1. Frederike K. Engels; Floris A. de Jong; Ron H.J. Mathijssen; Joëlle A. Erkens; Ron M. Herings; Jaap Verweij (2007), "Medicinal cannabis in oncology", European Journal of Cancer 43: 2638–2644, doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2007.09.010
2. Arno Hazekamp (2006), "An evaluation of the quality of medicinal grade cannabis in the Netherlands" (PDF), Cannabinoids 1 (1): 1–9

External links

• http://www.cannabisbureau.nl/