The Patent 507: What does it Mean for the CBD Battalion?

The traditional definition of a patent is an exclusive right granted by the government for an invention, which is a product, or process that provides a new way to do something or offers a new solution to a problem. The key point is to exclude others from whatever financial benefits that may arise from the invention. The holder of the patent is then allowed to give licenses to other people to develop the invention and share royalties. 

Patent for a Plant?

In light of that definition, the patent 507 might not make much sense seeing as marijuana is not an invention but a naturally occurring substance. You would be right to be confused. A ruling way back barred the patent office from giving exclusive rights to naturally occurring substances unless human intervention has made it different somehow. Thus, the patent no. 6630507 is not about marijuana abut about non-psychotropic cannabinoids. The official patent title reads- cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. 

NIH Reason for Filing

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health came together and saw the potential of CBD and other non-psychotropic cannabinoids in the treatment of oxidation illnesses and protection to the brain from degeneration. The patent literature is required to be made public and it describes CBD as very non-toxic. It says that CBD does not induce damage even in a dosage 100 times higher than one would require to ingest. It cites that there is no chance whatsoever of fatal over dosage. 

The aim of the NIH in seeking exclusive rights to the development of cannabinoid-based drugs is thought to be purely defensive. It is said that the government would like to be able to develop pharmaceutical drugs in the future without incurring the cost of royalties. It aims to keep the technologies available to whoever might be interested in joining the bandwagon through the licensing option. So far, one pharmaceutical company has the license to conduct research and clinical trials particularly for the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. The company also received a waiver from the DEA to import synthetic cannabinoids for the purpose of clinical trials. The same would be applicable to any other applicant. 

But Marijuana is Illegal According to the Federal Law?

This talk about patent 507 brings up the question of scheduling. Marijuana is still considered a schedule 1 drug. It was put up there during President Nixon’s time. There have been fights to get it descheduled. The marijuana battalion was hopeful when the DEA finally broached the subject in 2016 only for the ruling to maintain the position. In fact, this is how #patent507 started. 

There are five schedules of drugs according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. The last one being schedule 5 is only slightly frowned upon, barely attracting a slap on the wrist. As one goes up the list, punishments and repercussions for possession become direr. Now you understand the exact magnitude of marijuana being a schedule 1 drug. 

Why Marijuana Remains Schedule 1

The first reason is that marijuana has a high potential for abuse. This is not to be refuted. The DEA has ignored the possibility of strains that are higher in the non-psychotropic compounds than the alternative therefore being strictly medical with little to no addiction prevalence. The second reason for scheduling is that there is no current accepted medical use. Even though there are more than 20,000 studies available with the contrary conclusion, the DEA remains adamant on this stance. The third reason is that there is lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. To get marijuana descheduled, there is need for better scientific understanding. However, and this is funny, scientific research is virtually impossible due to the scheduling.

2016 Descheduling Failure

After failure by the DEA to deschedule marijuana in 2016, they made a promise to encourage the expansion of research. There was need to understand the long-term effects of cannabinoids, proper and specific dosage, and individual effects on diseases. They invited applications for cultivators to grow marijuana for research. This was meant to go a long way as researchers could get the strains needed easier as opposed to before when there was only one facility under the National Institute of Drug Abuse providing research marijuana. However, it has been reported that DEA is blocking action on the said applications. They have even gone ahead and put a more restrictive cap on marijuana production by NIDA. This move is contrary to their promise after the ruling in 2016. 

Hopeful of the Future

There has been an upsurge of patents on cannabis related inventions from processes to products. This is due to the expected legalization of marijuana and what could be a 2 Billion dollar industry by 2020. There is no hope for the Trump administration as the President has claimed to never have used marijuana. It has been found that people are more open to having the conversation after experiencing the effects. A poll was done and it was found that 60% of doctors and physicians recommended use of medical marijuana upon use. However, rumor has it that post-Trump legalization is a foregone conclusion. 

Other Cannabis Patents

Patent no. 9,587,212 for example, was granted for the apparatus and methods for biosynthetic production of cannabinoids. Another patent no. US2013005018 was given to a UK based company for phytocannabinoids in the treatment of cancer. The latter authority has been under scrutiny as it was complained that the company did not invent the use of phytocannabinoids in the treatment of cancer. Since then, they have amended their patent literature to a less controversial one. 

A pertinent question arises, who give patents involving an illegal substance? In fact, there has already been a problem when one person in a legalize state grew a patented strain. One side argued that the patent law did not apply since the substance is illegal according to federal law and the state allowed it. The other side argued that as a holder of patent, there was authority to stop the activity. The general consensus on the patent 507 is that it is restrictive to other members of the CBD army who might have the capacity to develop life saving pharmaceutical drugs. This is the chief reason for all the palms you have seen around with the number 6630507 written on them. All the more reason to look forward to April 21 2019. 

Possibilities upon Expiry

Patent 507 was filed in 1998 and granted in 2003. It stands to expire n April 21 2019. After then, anyone with the capacity to develop a pharmaceutical drug will be free to do so without worrying about the NIH and their patent. The only hurdle to jump through will be the FDA who is tasked with the mandate to inspect safety of pharmaceutical drugs. The FDA has already approved some cannabinoid-based drugs for treatment of various illnesses. The National Cancer Institute has come out saying that cannabinoids are an effective and viable treatment for side effects of cancer therapies in addition to induction of cancer cell suicide. 

In the Interest of the Masses

It is clear that the effectiveness and medical properties of CBD are not the problem. The problem is lack of understanding and politics for the most part. These bodies are in place to protect the interests of the public. Releasing CBD to the masses for use devoid of possible legal consequences is a form of protecting those interests. There has been speculation that pharmaceuticals are against legalization due to the financial benefits that come with only having a few approved producers. The fight continues. For sake of everyone, it is hoped that expiry of the patent 507 will bring some well needed change in the CBD landscape in terms of availability and better scientific understanding.