How marijuana helps with epilepsy
To block epilepsy attacks, pharmacology offers a whole list of drugs and their problem is that they are quite toxic and do not always work. Even if taking these drugs works, it is accompanied by the consumption of even more pills to minimize the damage to the body.
Everything takes an even worse turn when children are forced to stop epileptic seizures in this way. Neither parents nor doctors like this situation. The latter, along with the researchers, began to look for an alternative and, oddly enough, it was found in the least expected place - marijuana.
How the potential of cannabis was discovered
The discovery of the anticonvulsant potential of cannabis has led scientists to conclude that the substances it contains may be useful in relieving epileptic seizures. It should be noted right away that, although there is no full-fledged picture of the effect of marijuana on the body, the positive results of many years of research suggest a high level of cannabis safety. Medical marijuana is being taken seriously as a safer alternative to medical treatment.
The greatest value in cannabis for the treatment of epilepsy is its CBD component. It does not have a psychoactive effect, but it helps to stop convulsions. In subsequent studies that examined the medical value of CBD and the psychoactive THC, the latter was also found to have therapeutic effects. Therefore, not just hemp with a high level of CBD is considered medical, but also an optimal ratio of THC.
There is a lot of "folk" evidence of the effectiveness of cannabis in stopping seizures, including in children. One case received wide publicity - the story of nine-year-old Charlotte from Canada. Conventional therapy stopped working for her and then her parents decided to give her hemp oil containing CBD with THC. The result was impressive - the number of seizures from fifty per day dropped to a few per month. A similar effect was achieved when using the oil for several weeks, while the effect of it lasted for twenty months.
What the researchers were able to prove
Research is progressing gradually, but the words of ordinary users are confirmed - cannabis has a positive effect on patients with epilepsy. Recently, CBD has been shown to be effective in relieving seizures in patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, the most severe form of epilepsy. The study involved 86 people and the total average number of seizure episodes was 144 per month. After a two-week experiment, this it decreased by 44%.