US Patent 6630507 - Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants

[Blakenzy]

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6630507.html

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.

So, am I reading this right or what? The US Government's Department of Health and Human Services(as the assignee) holds a patent that claims the discovery that cannabis has medicinal properties. Mmmhm. So whats up with the Schedule I ?

[MicroBalrog]

The problem is that most people think that medical marijuana = smoking joints to get better.

Smoking isn't really that healthy, no matter what you smoke.

As long as the public doesn't understand what is going on, you won't get an improvement.

[eyebrows]

So, am I reading this right or what? The US Government's Department of Health and Human Services(as the assignee) holds a patent that claims the discovery that cannabis has medicinal properties.

It would seem to me that this is a patent limited to administering non-psychoactive (and altered) cannabinoids to treat specific diseases. I think any patent claiming "the discovery that cannabis has medicinal properties" would never see the light of day, there is to much common knowledge and prior art for a patent that broad.

[geronimotwo]

the question is whether the gov obtained the patent to regulate the use of cannibis, or to allow free use of it by keeping others from obtaining the patent.

[Brad Johnson]

Maybe the powers that be will (possibly are?) wising up to the fact that many of the eeeeeeevvvvviiiiiiiilllllllll drugs they've banned outright actually DO have valid pharma applications.  Take 2-bromo-LSD.  It's a non-psychotropic variant of LSD with promising results for fighting cluster and migraine headaches.  The studies were very small and mostly anecdotal in nature but did show the need for further study.  Unfortunately, being related to LSD it's a Schedule I substance and can't be studied here in the states without jumping through all manner of extensive and expensive .gov hoops... presuming they can get the study approved at all.

Brad

[eyebrows]

I guess the question to me, is why the Gov holds a patent in the first place. IMO since all work is funded by taxes and the GOV is not a private entity then anything discovered by the GOV that is patentable should simply become part of the public domain. Free for any citizen to utilize in anyway.
Or patented to provide a world-wide monopoly for the citizens, who would be free to use said technology as they see fit.
The Gov should not be allowed to hold patents the same way a private company can.