Syndros is a Synthetic Version of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has approved the synthetic drug dronabinol. The brand name for the drug is Syndros and is a synthetic version of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that comes in liquid form. The drug will be classified as a
Schedule II controlled substance along with hydrocodone. Actual, natural THC, is still classified as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and Fentanyl. Syndros is made by the same pharmaceutical company that opposed legalizing marijuana, Insys Therapeutics. Incidentally, the pharmaceutical company also makes Fentanyl.
Dronabinol helps cancer patients going through chemotherapy by helping to reduce nausea and vomiting. It has also been prescribed to patients suffering from AIDS to increase appetites in people that can’t eat. The announcement was made public when it was quietly published on Nov. 22 in the government daily journal Federal Register. The DEA said in the announcement that the oral liquid Syndros would be in the Schedule II drug class, raising eyebrows because natural marijuana is still classified with heroin.
Questions were immediately raised about why natural cannabis is illegal federally and classified as a Schedule I drug when there has never been an overdose of marijuana, while synthetic marijuana, which is responsible for rapid increases of overdoses, is now considered safer by the DEA. Medical marijuana is legal in Washington D.C. and 29 states, but it is still illegal on the federal level.
The DEA response to questions raised was to blame the FDA, saying that “two commenters expressed concern that pharmaceutical companies are making a profit from approved drugs containing marijuana constituents. The DEA notes that FDA-approved products of oral solutions containing dronabinol (THC) have an approved medical use, whereas marijuana does not have an approved medical use and therefore remains in Schedule I.” The Food and Drug Administration granted approval for the drug’s application last summer.
