All over the country families have started turning to cannabis as a treatment option for many severe conditions – one of the most frequently talked about being epilepsy. There are many different forms of epilepsy and so far, everything from parents illegally obtaining oil and treating their children successfully to a full blown government funded study done on a CBD based medication is proving that it is a safe and effective treatment.
Children of many ages have already been treated with different forms of cannabis in attempt to control seizure conditions and the most effective strain (and most well-known) is Charlotte’s Web, which was named after a child who once suffered 300 seizures a week and with the low-THC strain has fewer than that in a month, nearly eliminating them all together.
However, the younger parents start their children on this course of treatment, the more controversial it becomes. People are all worried about the long-term effects, even though there have been no long-term side effects of cannabis that prove harmful or fatal – unlike many FDA approved medicines.
The youngest ever medical marijuana patient was accepted into the program in Colorado – and she’s only two months old. Little Amylea Nunez was born in December of 2015 and not even days later she had her first seizure. Her parents found her unresponsive and rushed her to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy.
Having around 15 seizures a day Amylea was put on medication to control the seizures – which was working but her parents were warned the medicine could be damaging to her liver. Knowing that they had to find a way to eliminate the seizures while also ensuring their baby’s life long health as best as possible, they started researching the possibility of cannabis oil.
“We’re trying to use something different that’s not so bad on her body,” Amylea’s father Ernie Nunez said. “After researching and month after month reading on it we’re hoping it works because it’s a natural way and it’ll help her out.”
Children’s Hospital Colorado does not administer the cannabis oil themselves, however they do provide proper monitoring and care for Amylea while undergoing treatment. At this time they are weaning her off of the original medication – but her reaction to cannabis oil was an immediate improvement.
“She is a lot more alert today, she is looking around today and following our faces when we talk to her and whereas before when we talked to her she did not react at all,” Nicole Nunez said.
A statement from Children’s Hospital Colorado makes it aware that they do not prescribe or recommend medical marijuana to their patients – however they are working on a strictly observational study to assess the long-term effects and efficiency of cannabis as a treatment option for children.
Hopefully baby Amylea will continue to see improvement as she is weaned off the original medication and continues her treatment with the Charlotte’s Web oil. I love that Children’s Hospital in Colorado is still offering a safe place for these children to get the treatment they deserve in a safe, monitored environment.
Plus, the observational research they gather will hopefully lead to a better understanding of the effects of cannabis on epilepsy patients and the long-term effects of treatment on a child’s development – helping to comfort other parents in knowing this is indeed a safe alternative for their children.
