FDA May Soon Approve First Weed-Derived Drug On Thursday, an advisory committee for the US Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended the approval for Epidiolex, which treats forms of epilepsy. The medicine, taken orally, would be the first plant-derived cannabidiol medicine available as a prescription in the U.S. The drugmaker behind Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, said the drug showed “significantly greater reductions” in certain seizure types. Cannabidiol does not produce a high like THC. Epidiolex was designed especially for severe, early-onset epilepsy syndromes like Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The FDA is set to vote in June to officially approve the drug.