An increasing number of epileptic patients are using marijuana to reduce their seizures. This group includes some children who have intractable epilepsy that does not respond to standard medications. These patients have been receiving medical marijuana because currently there is no pharmaceutical preparation of cannabis isolated as a drug. but this is changing because a chemical in marijuana that may be responsible for reducing seizures has been found.
This chemical is cannabidiol a derivative of marijuana that shows promise for the treatment o epilepsy in adults and in children. It may also be responsible for some of the other health benefits attributed to medical marijuana. Cannabidiol is manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals under the name of Epidiolex. Interesting it is formulated without tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound in marijuana that gets people high.
So now we have the possibility of a derivative of marijuana that does not get the user high and still has the potential for treating medical problems. No one knows why or how this compound works but nevertheless it seems to work. A proper clinical test has been approved to determine whether it will diminish seizures in 150 children who have not been helped by standard seizure medication. If Epidiolex proves itself, a door will be opened to explore the potential of using marijuana derivatives for the treatment of other medical problems.
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