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FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.

The first US marijuana-based prescription drug costs $32,500 a year

$32,500

GW Pharmaceuticals is pricing its Epidiolex prescription drug—the first marijuana-based medicine approved in the US by the FDA—at $32,500 a year.

Published   |  Photo by AP Photo/Kathy Young
FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.
$32,500

The price falls at the lower end of industry projections, while insurance plans should set Epidiolex’s out-of-pocket fee anywhere from $5 to $200 a month.

FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.
$32,500

GWPH says it’s in line with competing prescriptions, and claims Epidiolex has a superior ability to treat two rare epilepsy conditions in young children—Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndrome.

FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.
$32,500

Investment in US cannabis companies has ramped up in recent years

FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.
$32,500

But the potent cannabidiol (CBD) medicine faces another hurdle: Reclassification by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which has yet to approve the substance for medical use.

FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.
$32,500

The DEA has 90 days from June 25, the FDA’s approval date for Epidiolex, to recategorize CBD or delay its verdict, which could widen the scope for an already lucrative market.

FILE - This May 23, 2017 file photo shows GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, a medicine made from the marijuana plant but without THC. On Thursday, April 19, 2018, a panel of Food and Drug Administration health advisers recommended approval of the drug, moving the closely watched medication closer to the U.S. market.
$32,500

Estimated economic impact of US marijuana industry by category

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