Sativex was the first cannabis-based medicine to be licensed in the UK. It is licensed for use as an add-on treatment for MS-related spasticity (muscle stiffness) when people have found that other medicines have not worked well or found their side effects intolerable.
Sativex is a mouth (oromucosal) spray formulated from two chemical extracts derived from the cannabis plant and contains delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis plants are thought to contain more than 60 such chemicals - known as cannabinoids - but these two specific cannabinoids have been studied for their effects in MS.