It's insane that these kids can't have access to a drug that would help them. (It might get them high)
Meet The Children Who Rely On Marijuana To Survive
Since he was just a few months old, 10-year-old Zaki Jackson has suffered from a rare form of epilepsy that, at its worst, causes him to have thousands of seizures a day. The seizures, which his mother describes as a "full body electrocution," render him unable to talk or walk, and sometimes cause him to stop breathing.
Over the past decade, his family has tried to combat his syndrome with 17 different pharmaceutical medications, a specialized diet and alternative forms of therapy like acupuncture. The various medications have caused him to gain weight, become incoherent, experience extreme cramping and lose his ability to sleep, but they've never stopped the seizures.
"His brain could never function well," Dr. Margaret Gedde, one of Zaki's doctors, told The Huffington Post. "He could never be present."
Gedde recommended Zaki start taking a strain of medical marijuana that's high in cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive ingredient known for treating seizures, and low in THC, which causes pot smokers to feel "high." Since Zaki began the treatment more than a year ago, he has been seizure-free.
"He had 10 years of nonstop seizures and sedating medication," Gedde said. "He's now able to start developing as a normal child. He's a delightful, charming kid. Before that he couldn't even be in contact with people. It was a dramatic, complete change."
Zaki is one of more than 180 Colorado children currently being treated with a special strain of medical cannabis that's helping to combat their extreme seizures and other debilitating conditions. The strain, known as "Charlotte's Web," was
developed by a group of brothers who run the Realm of Caring Foundation in Colorado Springs. It is named for 7-year-old Charlotte Figi, whose
successful treatment was featured in Dr. Sanjay Gupta's CNN documentary "Weed" last year.
Charlotte's Web and similar strains are administered in liquid or capsule form and, Gedde says, produce little to no side effects. Because of the low THC count, users don't experience a traditional marijuana high.
"It's amazing; it's completely remarkable," Gedde said. "It does stop seizures. It doesn't hurt them."
Marijuana has a long history of effectively treating seizures. In 1843, British Army doctor William O'Shaughnessy
published an article documenting his use of cannabis oil to stop an infant's near-constant convulsions. But because marijuana remains illegal on a federal level, modern research scarcely focuses on the plant's medical benefits.
The use of cannabis treatment in cases like Zaki's is "groundbreaking, in that we haven't had the chance to document this," Gedde explained. "We're trying to pull the experiences of these parents into publishable work. Animal and laboratory studies help support and explain what we see."
Gedde, who holds a doctorate in biophysical chemistry from Stanford University, spent years in the pharmaceutical industry before switching to a focus on alternative medicine. She recently decided to dedicate her Colorado-based clinic solely to medical cannabis.
