The Huffington Post just posted a fascinating story about medical marijuana being used to help children with conditions like epilepsy. The treatment is a groundbreaking, albeit controversial treatment, using a very specific strain of medical cannabis called "Charlotte's Web," named after 7-year-old Charlotte Figi, who was successfully treated for a rare form of epilepsy using cannabis oil. The strain, developed by the Realm of Caring Foundation in Colorado Springs, is unlike the kind of pot you might enjoy smoking, ingesting, or vaporizing for recreational use because it is low in THC (the stuff that makes you feel stoned). Instead, it's high in cannabidol, or CBD. Charlotte and about 180 other children using Charlotte's Web have reported very high success rates with preventing seizures since treatments began in the winter of 2012.
Dr. Margaret Gedde, a doctor who has been treating children with Charlotte's Web explained to Huffington Post that the marijuana being used is "not toxic or harmful." Gedde has a doctorate in biophysical chemistry from Stanford and used to work in the pharmaceutical industry before she switched gears to alternative medicine. She now only works with medical cannabis.
We all probably know someone with a pot card who probably doesn't actually have any real problems (and personally, I think that's fine as long as they use it responsibly), but this story is a reminder that there are people with actual conditions who are being helped by medical cannabis. It makes me hopeful that more research will be done to get the most out of this plant that has so much good (and bad) potential.
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