Medical marijuana for children?

Where do you stand?

Brian's 2-year-old daughter Vivian has Druvet Syndrome; a rare genetic condition that causes seizures untreatable by most FDA approved medications.

"Vivian tried six different drugs for epilepsy and was still having seizures that were lasting up to an hour," said Meghan Wilson, Vivian's mother.

The family made headlines fighting for the new bill that would make the marijuana rules for kids similar to adults, requiring only one doctor's signature instead of three.

It would allow for edible forms of marijuana and more strains to be grown.

It's thought that marijuana strains with higher levels of a chemical called CBD are more beneficial for epilepsy.

A father in Colorado says it helped his daughter who is battling the same genetic condition and had up to 300 seizures a week.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/politics&id=9207081

http://www.wfmz.com/news/NJ-governo...ids/-/121458/21488524/-/115t7sxz/-/index.html

But sometimes the area of a person's brain where the seizure is coming from isn't really used, so it can be taken out. I wonder which region of her brain the seizures are stemming from.

But to the question of Mary-J... I watched a special on CNN that Dr Sanjay Gupta took back his original stance on it - now he says there's benefits to it.

http://www.bradenton.com/2013/08/16/4663379/cnns-dr-sanjay-gupta-finds-ample.html

I'm for it but do think there should be at least 2 doctors' signatures required and strict regulations on the type of strains used for the pills. There should also be follow up to be sure it is administered correctly with physician reports periodically.

I think if its proven effective, like any other drug, it should be available. If the benefit outweighs the risks.

If it were my child and If the medical evidence supports its effectiveness & I had doctors on board to instruct on dosage, I'd make sure my kid got it, regardless of the laws!

Linda7NJ said:

Where do you stand?

Brian's 2-year-old daughter Vivian has Druvet Syndrome; a rare genetic condition that causes seizures untreatable by most FDA approved medications.

"Vivian tried six different drugs for epilepsy and was still having seizures that were lasting up to an hour," said Meghan Wilson, Vivian's mother.

The family made headlines fighting for the new bill that would make the marijuana rules for kids similar to adults, requiring only one doctor's signature instead of three.

It would allow for edible forms of marijuana and more strains to be grown.

It's thought that marijuana strains with higher levels of a chemical called CBD are more beneficial for epilepsy.

A father in Colorado says it helped his daughter who is battling the same genetic condition and had up to 300 seizures a week.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/politics&id=9207081

http://www.wfmz.com/news/NJ-governo...ids/-/121458/21488524/-/115t7sxz/-/index.html

Click to expand...

I'm all for the use of medicinal cannabis; in fact, I'm all for the legalization of cannabis in general, because I would rather that those who use cannabis do so at the hands of licensed growers under regulation from the government- instead of at the hands of the guy down the street who gleefully spikes his weed baggies with PCP and LSD without telling his customers. That same "guy down the street" sells to minors because he doesn't have to check their ID. He doesn't have to follow safety measures. However, a responsible business regulated by the government would have to do all of these things.

With that being said, recreational cannabis for responsible adults and medical marijuana for children are two VERY different topics. I don't want to give anyone the impression that I'm advocating for 13 year olds to light up behind their school when they get a headache. :crazy: Vivian's case in particular is a great example of the proper use of medicinal marijuana. CBD (cannabidiol- it has fantastic healing properties without the psychoactive "high" caused by THC. If you have not yet researched this compound, I urge you to do so ) has been extremely useful in other cases of children suffering from Dravet Syndrome. They are not "smoking pot" or anything like that (a surprisingly common misconception for medicinal marijuana, lol). They receive their medicine in the form of oils, flavored tinctures, or baked edibles.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...on-gives-epileptic-son-Jayden-5-cannabis.html

Above is a Daily Mail link for an article/video on a father who tried CBD for his son, Jayden, whom also suffers from Dravet Syndrome. Check it out and see what you think! :seeya:

CNN has been discussing this for a couple of days now, and Sanjay has been emphasizing the use of a strain that is high in CBD and low in THC.

I'm all for it!

This is a very interesting article on the same subject...

Titled Charlotte's Web

http://imgur.com/a/ZLQ6k

If it helps with seizures for this child the that is freaking awesome. I've dealt with seizures, had them appear suddenly in my 30's after a long period of many major surgeries and such. Seizures suck. I wen from being someone who could work and make $35 an hour teaching to someone who couldn't even hold a min wage job because I passed out there AND had to pay OVER 150 a week for taxis to get to work. That was stupendously ridiculous.

If you have never had seizures you have no idea what a nightmare it is. It can be painful, dangerous, embarrassing and very limiting. You usually have no warning so it can happen in public, while bathing (dangerous), while you are driving, working etc. Think about it, you can't even bath, ride a bike, swim or so many things without worrying about seizing and dying. I had multiple injuries from falling off the top of our concrete stairs, severe bruising, muscle aches from them, not to mention the fact that it can feel like your brain just short circuited and it takes time to recover from them.

So if it helps this poor child then they need to do more studies and get this out there for other people. I know another poster mentioned a brain surgery that can have some success but honestly who would want to have brain surgery. the risks are so great. Especially if a plant can offer better treatment and if it doean't, well no harm done.

C'mon Gov't LEGALIZE!!!!!!

Christie gives conditional OK to broader medicinal marijuana use

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_new...al-ok-to-broader-medicinal-marijuana-use?lite

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a potential 2016 presidential contender, gave conditional approval to legislation that would allow wider use of medicinal marijuana in his state Friday, including making it available to children in edible form.

But Christie first sent the bill back to the state legislature to seek more protections against abuse.

More at link.....

Yay for Christie!

I don't see anything wrong with it. If it works then why not. I know that the side effects are minimal. I can imagine a parents desperation watching their child having seizures a few hundred times a week, it has to be absolutely horrifying. Maybe people will come around when they find out this herb is just not a drug to get high on, it can help several diseases. It's been illegal for approx. 76 years, and they can't find any real legit reason for keeping it out of the public's hands. IMO I have always thought it was better than alcohol.

I would like for there to be continued research, but I'm of the belief that this is exactly what drugs are for... to cure ailments, not for recreational use.

There are probably far worse side effects from "mainstream" drug therapies.

I think so much is wrapped up in the name. If they didn't call it marijuana, no one would care. I take ADHD meds that are pretty much legal speed and I know that people give those to their kids all the time. Seems more dangerous than medical marijuana.

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I'm all for it! Even for recreational use. (I don't smoke it) I'd much rather be around someone high than drunk any day! I hate alcohol and think it just destroys lives and families. I talked to the cops recently and they said 99% of their calls are alcohol related!

The main reason they haven't legalized it is because they can't come up with a good roadside test to determine if a driver has been using it.

I don't have a problem with medical usage in either kids or adults. As a matter of fact if I had a kid getting cancer treatments, I would be looking for a dealer and start regularly making brownies. (MJ isn't legal here, even for medical treatment)

There are many uses for marijuana, and yes I think it is about time that there is more research done on it as well as allowing it to ease treatment difficulties and to treat medical conditions.

I do need to bring up one issue though. Growing up MJ was around. It was around a lot. And I do have to admit that regular prolific users did seem to have mental issues, cognitive difficulties and such. So I will admit there may be some side effects. But IMO many many times the benefits will outweigh the side effects.