Tag Archives: medical marijuana

Children with epilepsy need medical marijuana

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“Medical marijuana shouldn’t be for ‘adults only’.

My 9-year-old daughter has Aicardi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes extremely hard-to-control seizures, debilitation, disability and early mortality. She began having seizures at three months of age, and since that time has had multiple seizures every day, with rare exception — probably to the tune of nearly 200,000 seizures in her lifetime…

She is one of the 3 million Americans who have epilepsy, and one of the 40 percent whose seizures cannot be controlled by anti-seizure drugs. She has tried 10 anti-seizure medications as well as a high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet called the ketogenic diet; she takes three anti-seizure medications at once and has a vagus nerve stimulator implant that sends mild electrical pulses to the brain. These drugs help her, but she nonetheless experiences an average of three seizures every day. Moreover, the medications cause persistent side effects that negatively impact her quality of life, particularly her gastrointestinal, bone, dental, cognitive and mental health.

The Illinois Senate Executive Committee recently voted, 10-5, to move the House-passed medical marijuana legislation to the Senate for a vote. The bill is expected to pass, and though Gov. Pat Quinn has not committed to signing it, the general expectation is that the bill will become law. This should be received as great news for the many people with “debilitating” conditions that the bill is supposed to help — people for whom medical science has documented real, measurable and safe outcomes of the controlled use of cannabis or its component of chemical compounds.

It’s too bad that the legislature has ignored the medical needs of some of the most debilitated, and most vulnerable, patients in the state: children with epilepsy.

Imagine her father’s and my reaction upon learning that the legislature, in its concern not to send a “message” to kids that it is safe to smoke marijuana, decided that kids like ours, for whom medical cannabis has the potential to be as safe and effective as typical anti-seizure drugs, should be excluded from the benefits of this new law.

They have done so, I hope, only out of ignorance…

There is no likelihood that my daughter will become a drug addict from using a compound within cannabis in a medically controlled setting. There is, however, a good chance that participation in a controlled study of these compounds could open the door to new treatments for her, and the many children like her, who desperately need medical innovation to save or improve their lives.”

More: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-15/opinion/ct-oped-0515-marijuana-20130515_1_dravet-seizures-medical-cannabis

Marijuana Helps 6-Year Old Beat Severe Seizures, Replaces Pharmaceuticals

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“Marijuana Replaces 22 Different Anti-Seizures Pills, Helps Prevent Seizures

As if the medical marijuana industry wasn’t controversial enough—with opponents arguing it encourages drug addiction and crime and supporters citing years of research to the contrary—there are now children benefiting from it. While there are several cases across the country of children being given various forms of cannabis to treat disease and illness, the case of 6-year old Jayden David is getting a particularly heavy dose of attention, where marijuana helped the boy beat severe epileptic seizures.”
 
 

Father successfully treats son’s epilepsy with medical cannabis (marijuana)

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Marijuana

 
“A California father’s desperate quest to find a viable solution to his young son’s rare form of epilepsy has led him to incredible success in medicinal marijuana. The Los Angeles Times (LAT) reports that Jason David’s son Jayden now functions normally, eats solid food, and takes only four prescription medications for his condition rather than the 22 he had been takingprior to starting the cannabis protocol.Young Jayden suffers from an extremely rare, and potentially fatal, epileptic condition known as Dravet syndrome that is categorized as a “catastrophic form of intractable epilepsy.” For Jayden, symptoms of the condition have included things like intense “grand mal” seizure fits, continuous muscle twitching, inability to respond to or interact with others, difficulty chewing, and frequent screaming episodes.

According to Jayden’s father Jason, Jayden had spent most of his life either sleeping or seizing, which put incredible strain on the family as it unsuccessfully tried using prescription drug after prescription drug to at least ease Jayden’s symptoms. But Jayden’s condition only got progressively worse in response to pharmaceuticals, which led Jason to actually consider committing suicide as he says he simply could no longer bear watching his son suffer in this horrific way.

After praying intensely about the situation and meeting with their local religious congregation for guidance; however, the Davids stumbled upon medical marijuana, and particularly cannabidiol (CBD), one of the many cannabinoid compounds naturally found in certain varieties of marijuana. Following a period of heavy research into the history and effectiveness of CBD, Jason decided it was worth giving the treatment a try with his son — and upon doing so, the Davids observed an almost immediate improvement in Jayden’s condition.” 

 

Medicinal marijuana stops seizures, brings hope to a little Black Forest girl

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“Six-year-old Charlotte Figi, a picture of precious in her “Gatsby”-style bob and blue toenails, stands patiently as her mother reaches up her dress to change her out of her soiled Pull-Ups. – Charlotte never says a word. She hasn’t in the past hour, and won’t for at least another 30 minutes, when she finally whispers the name of a visitor who is about to leave.

In the Figi household, these are signs of progress: Charlotte saying something. Charlotte eating and drinking. Charlotte standing and walking.

Charlotte breathing.

About 18 months ago, in the winter of 2011, Paige and Matt Figi signed a “do not resuscitate” order telling medical personnel to forgo life-saving measures for their daughter and let fate take its course.

They’d done all they could to control the seemingly endless, violent seizures that hit Charlotte 20, 40, 60 times a day. They put her on an extreme diet. They tried at least a dozen medications, many with harmful side effects. Despite some promising starts, nothing worked. And the rescue medications they were giving her to stop the seizures in fact stopped her breathing. CPR brought her back to life more than once.

After years of watching a cruel, incurable genetic disorder called Dravet Syndome rob their daughter of her basic bodily functions and send her into convulsions that caused head injuries and broken teeth, they had reached the end.

“We really thought, this is a horrible existence; she’s not going to live much longer.” Paige says. “This is not a life for her. This is torture. She is suffering all day. I’m not OK with this. She wasn’t even human anymore. She’d lie in my arms drooling, seizing, screaming and crying.”

Then, in an act of desperation, or inspiration – or maybe both – Matt called Paige from overseas, where he was working, and suggested a radical approach to Charlotte’s treatment.

“We need to try cannabis for Charlotte,” he told Paige. “We live in a compassionate state.”

Fifteen months later, the little girl with the DNR order is standing in the kitchen of their Black Forest home with her mother getting her Pull-Ups changed, cuddling in the arms of a visitor, playing with toys and strategically pushing the buttons on her “talker,” an electronic device that communicates when Charlotte can’t.

Her seizures have dropped from 1,200 a month to three, and the ones she has are shorter in duration and less severe. She’s off all the other medications with their troubling side effects. And, as one of the youngest medical marijuana patients in Colorado, her dramatic turnaround is starting to draw national attention, with a CNN report on the horizon.”

More: http://gazette.com/medicinal-marijuana-stops-seizures-brings-hope-to-a-little-girl/article/1502070

Medical Marijuana Looked Like This In The 19th Century

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“Well before the start of Marijuana’s official prohibition (1937!), the bountiful health benefits of Cannabis were apparent to those with any sense. Especially Doctors and Indians and Indian Doctors. Doctors and Indians in the 19th century loved to use weed–and all drugs–as part of their magical cures.”

Weed - Medical Marijuana Looked Like This In The 19th Century

“Based on the images shared by io9, the buds powers has deep roots, it’s one of an assortment of hazardous drugs used as medicine in the pre-Dabistoric days. These ones of “weed” in medical, liquid form stood out as just more, ancient proof that Marijuana is simply Medicine.”

More: http://www.marijuana.com/news/2013/05/medical-marijuana-looked-like-this-in-the-19th-century/

New study suggests marijuana prevents diabetes

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“A provocative study comes right as Massachusetts begins a new medical marijuana law. The theory? Using pot could lower your risk of diabetes.

We’ve all heard about “the munchies,” that urge to eat more when under the influence of marijuana.

But a new study published by the American Journal of Medicine finds despite the habit among recreational pot users to take in more calories, it doesn’t lead to weight gain. And the benefits of marijuana don’t end there.

“What we saw was that people who were current users of marijuana had improved sensitivity to insulin compared to non-users, they had better good cholesterol, and reduced waist circumference,” said Dr. Murray Mittleman, lead author and researcher at Harvard Medical School.

The research included more than 4,600 men and women participating in a national nutrition survey in the last decade. Marijuana users maintained more normal blood sugar levels compared to non-users, which meant their bodies were regulating insulin well. That puts them at a lower diabetes risk.

“When somebody smokes marijuana there are a variety of compounds that are present in marijuana, some of which may partially block some of the receptors as well as stimulate others, which is why people use it presumably,” said Mittleman.

Blocking certain receptors could be what’s behind the health benefits found in the study. Researchers say the findings point to the importance of more marijuana research.

“We just had the medical marijuana passed here in Massachusetts. But two states now have recreational use approved and we really are opening up the doors to the use of this drug. Yet we don’t have the information that we need to make sensible recommendations,” said Mittleman.

As for the latest findings, could marijuana be the next diabetes drug?”

http://www.wcvb.com/news/investigative/new-study-suggests-marijuana-prevents-diabetes/-/12520878/20364894/-/bu6cmu/-/index.html

Medicinal Use of Marijuana — Polling Results – The New England Journal of Medicine

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“Readers recently joined in a lively debate about the use of medicinal marijuana. In Clinical Decisions,1 an interactive feature in which experts discuss a controversial topic and readers vote and post comments, we presented the case of Marilyn, a 68-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer. We asked whether she should be prescribed marijuana to help alleviate her symptoms. To frame this issue, we invited experts to present opposing viewpoints about the medicinal use of marijuana. J. Michael Bostwick, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Mayo Clinic, proposed the use of marijuana “only when conservative options have failed for fully informed patients treated in ongoing therapeutic relationships.” Gary M. Reisfield, M.D., from the University of Florida, certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine, and Robert L. DuPont, M.D., a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School, provide a counterpoint, concluding that “there is little scientific basis” for physicians to endorse smoked marijuana as a medical therapy.

We were surprised by the outcome of polling and comments, with 76% of all votes in favor of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes — even though marijuana use is illegal in most countries. A total of 1446 votes were cast from 72 countries and 56 states and provinces in North America, and 118 comments were posted. However, despite the global participation, the vast majority of votes (1063) came from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Given that North America represents only a minority of the general online readership of the Journal, this skew in voting suggests that the subject of this particular Clinical Decisions stirs more passion among readers from North America than among those residing elsewhere. Analysis of voting across all regions of North America showed that 76% of voters supported medicinal marijuana. Each state and province with at least 10 participants casting votes had more than 50% support for medicinal marijuana except Utah. In Utah, only 1% of 76 voters supported medicinal marijuana. Pennsylvania represented the opposite extreme, with 96% of 107 votes in support of medicinal marijuana.

Outside North America, we received the greatest participation from countries in Latin America and Europe, and overall results were similar to those of North America, with 78% of voters supporting the use of medicinal marijuana. All countries with 10 or more voters worldwide were at or above 50% in favor. There were only 43 votes from Asia and 7 votes from Africa, suggesting that in those continents, this topic does not resonate as much as other issues.

Where does this strong support for medicinal marijuana come from? Your comments show that individual perspectives were as polarized as the experts’ opinions. Physicians in favor of medicinal marijuana often focused on our responsibility as caregivers to alleviate suffering. Many pointed out the known dangers of prescription narcotics, supported patient choice, or described personal experience with patients who benefited from the use of marijuana. Those who opposed the use of medicinal marijuana targeted the lack of evidence, the lack of provenance, inconsistency of dosage, and concern about side effects, including psychosis. Common in this debate was the question of whether marijuana even belongs within the purview of physicians or whether the substance should be legalized and patients allowed to decide for themselves whether to make use of it.

In sum, the majority of clinicians would recommend the use of medicinal marijuana in certain circumstances. Large numbers of voices from all camps called for more research to move the discussion toward a stronger basis of evidence.”

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMclde1305159

“New England Journal of Medicine Endorses Medical Marijuana; San Francisco Medical Society Releases Study; New York Times Editorial Welcomes Debate” http://ndsn.org/feb97/nejm.html

Three out of four doctors recommend marijuana in New England Journal of Medicine poll

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More than three out of four doctors support medical cannabis for a hypothetical breast cancer patient, New England Journal of Medicine reports“More than three out of four doctors support medical cannabis for a hypothetical breast cancer patient, New England Journal of Medicine reports

In a poll by the well-respected New England Journal of Medicine released today, more than three out of four doctors recommended medical cannabis for a hypothetical late-stage breast cancer patient.

“We were surprised by the outcome of polling and comments, with 76% of all votes in favor of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes — even though marijuana use is illegal in most countries,” Jonathan N. Adler, M.D., and James A. Colbert, M.D. wrote for the NEJOM May 30th.

Marijuana is a federally illegal – schedule one drug – that the U.S. government claims has no medical value and is more dangerous than heroin or LSD. Yet 19 states have legalized cannabis for medical use, given its 10,000 year history as a safe herbal remedy for nausea, pain and insomnia among other conditions.”

More: http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/30/three-out-of-four-doctors-recommend-marijuana-in-new-england-journal-of-medicine-poll/

Majority Support Medical Pot in New NEJM Poll

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“To recommend, or not to recommend, medicinal marijuana? That’s the question recently posed in a New England Journal of Medicine interactive online poll. To get a feel for physicians’ opinions, NEJM presented readers with a fictional clinical situation. Here’s the scenario:

“Marilyn is a 68-year-old woman with breast cancer metastatic to the lungs and the thoracic and lumbar spine. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy with doxorubicin. She reports having very low energy, minimal appetite, and substantial pain in her thoracic and lumbar spine. For relief of nausea, she has taken ondansetron and prochlorperazine, with minimal success. She has been taking 1000 mg of acetaminophen every 8 hours for the pain. Sometimes at night she takes 5 mg or 10 mg of oxycodone to help provide pain relief. During a visit with her primary care physician she asks about the possibility of using marijuana to help alleviate the nausea, pain, and fatigue. She lives in a state that allows marijuana for personal medicinal use, and she says her family could grow the plants. As her physician, what advice would you offer with regard to the use of marijuana to alleviate her current symptoms? Do you believe that the overall medicinal benefits of marijuana outweigh the risks and potential harms?”

Readers weighed in with a variety of impassioned opinions. And the results, the authors said, were  surprising: 76% of respondents said they would recommend medicinal marijuana. Here’s part of the discussion:

“Physicians in favor of medicinal marijuana often focused on our responsibility as caregivers to alleviate suffering. Many pointed out the known dangers of prescription narcotics, supported patient choice, or described personal experience with patients who benefited from the use of marijuana. Those who opposed the use of medicinal marijuana targeted the lack of evidence, the lack of provenance, inconsistency of dosage, and concern about side effects, including psychosis. Common in this debate was the question of whether marijuana even belongs within the purview of physicians or whether the substance should be legalized and patients allowed to decide for themselves whether to make use of it.”” 

More: http://ripr.org/post/majority-support-medical-pot-new-nejm-poll 

Majority of Clinicians Support Medicinal Marijuana Use

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“A majority of clinicians appears to support the use of medicinal marijuana, according to research published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.”

Majority of Clinicians Support Medicinal Marijuana Use 
“(HealthDay News) – A majority of clinicians appears to support the use of medicinal marijuana, according to research published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
 

Jonathan N. Adler, MD, and James A. Colbert, MD, associate editors for the New England Journal of Medicine, describe the results of polling and comments in an interactive feature in which experts discussed the use of medicinal marijuana for a 68-year old woman with metastatic breast cancer.”

More: http://www.empr.com/majority-of-clinicians-support-medicinal-marijuana-use/article/295539/#