FDA Approves First Drug Derived From Marijuana Plant

Prescription drug will treat rare forms of epilepsy, mostly affecting children, without producing the high of cannabis

Peter Loftus

June 25, 2018 3:26 p.m. ET

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription drug derived from the marijuana plant, as a treatment for rare forms of epilepsy that primarily afflict children.

The FDA said Monday that it cleared GW Pharmaceuticals PLC’s Epidiolex, also known as cannabidiol, to reduce seizures associated with forms of epilepsy known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, in patients 2 years of age and older.

Cannabidiol...