Health Highlights: May 10, 2008

"Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years. This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past," John Walters, director of the drug control policy office, told theAP.

Since 2001, marijuana use among American teens has decreased 25 percent. Currently, about 2.3 million children use marijuana at least once a month, according to the drug control office.

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New Formulation of Coagulation Factor Approved by FDA

A new formulation (NovoSeven RT) of the genetically engineered version of Factor VIIA -- a plasma protein essential for the clotting of blood -- has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With the new formulation, the product can be stored at room temperature (up to 81 degrees F) for up to two years.

NovoSeven RT shares the same uses as the earlier NovoSeven including: treatment of bleeding and the prevention of surgical bleeding in patients with hemophilia A or B who have antibodies that neutralize the action of clotting Factors VIII or IX; treatment of bleeding and the prevention of surgical bleeding in patients with congenital Factor VII deficiency; and prevention of surgical bleeding in patients with acquired hemophilia, the FDA said.

Approval of NovoSeven RT will benefit health-care facilities with limited refrigeration space. The original formula could be stored for three years at temperatures between 36 and 46 degrees F, the FDA said.

Fever, bleeding, injection site reaction, joint discomfort, headache, increases or decreases in blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, pain, swelling and rash are among the most common side effects associated with NovoSeven RT.

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FDA Approves Generic Versions of Restless Legs Drug

The first generic versions of the restless leg syndrome drug Requip have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The agency said it approved generic ropinirole hydrochloride tablets in the following dosages: 0.25 milligram, 0.5 milligram, 1 milligram, 2 milligrams, 3 milligrams, and 4 milligrams. The companies approved to market the generic tablets are: Roxane Laboratories Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Par Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.