A study in the journal Frontiers in Neurology has reinforced the contention that cannabis oil significantly reduces the rate of seizures in children with severe epilepsy – with the convulsions of three of the seven children participating in the experiment clearing up altogether.
Using a cannabis extract that contained 95% cannabidiol (CBD) and 5% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), researchers administered it to seven children with severe epilepsy, all of whom had experienced no benefits from pharmaceutical medications.
The children were all given an initial dose of 5 to 6 milligrams of cannabis extract per kilogram of body weight each day. At this dosage, four of the seven participants experienced a reduction of more than 50% in the number of daily seizures.
When the dose was doubled, all seven noticed a considerable improvement, and seizures stopped altogether in three of the children.
Study author Richard Huntsman said: “Some of the improvements in quality of life were really dramatic with some of the children having huge improvements in their ability to communicate with their families. Some of these children started to talk or crawl for the first time. They became more interactive with their families and loved ones.”
The researchers also found that blood plasma levels of THC remained below the threshold for intoxication, and that none of the children exhibited any signs of being stoned.
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