“As physicians, we understand that there is really only modest evidence that cannabidiol and these cannabis products might really be helpful in epilepsy,” Filoux said in an interview following his speech. “We care for patients who are very anxious to try it. So we do feel that it is potentially promising therapy, and we at least need to take it seriously.”
Cannabidiol is one of the many cannabinoids found in the plant and is used in products known as Realm Oils, which is a cannabis extract that is low in THC and high in CBD. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive chemical in the cannabis plant and causes the side effect know as the “high.” CBD, or Cannabidiol, has around 0.3 percent and does not produce the “high” effect. CBD is what doctors are interested in utilizing for medical purposes.Filoux cited three examples of children who have chronic epilepsy, known as Dravet Syndrome, which is a rare genetic disorder that causes catastrophic seizures in infants.
One child with epilepsy in California, Jayden David, was experiencing several seizures a day. His symptoms decreased significantly after cannabidiol treatment.
“At age five, he was reported by his family to be totally disabled, with daily seizures, numbering in the hundreds — unable to feed himself, unable to walk, unable to talk, severely autistic … and very similar to many of our patients with severe Dravet epilepsy,” Filoux said in his speech.
David’s parents, Filoux said, heard of the cannabidiol treatment and wanted to see if it would help their son. They reported the first day they gave their son medical cannabis was the first day in his whole life that he did not have a seizure.
Filoux said he was pulled into the conversation regarding medical cannabis because some of his patients are interested in seeing if medical cannabis may befit them.
“Lately, I’ve been involved in families of my patients who are very anxious to get access to this cannabidiol product, so I’ve mostly been drawn into that discussion because of family interest,” Filoux said after his presentation.
Cannabis has several benefits and also potential dangers, Filoux said. The chemical in the plant sometimes help patients deal with pain, nausea and even Parkinson’s disease.
The treatment can cause negative impacts, however.
“Maybe there is a predisposition in some individuals that can be unmasked by these agents, there’s definitely evidence that there’s is a risk: increase cycling in bipolar disease, increased manic episodes, depression, addictions,” Filoux said in his speech.
Joe Munson, a junior in English, said he supports the use of medical cannabis and believes the federal government should stay out of people’s lives.
“I think medical cannabis has been demonstrated to have a lot of medical uses and I think the government doesn’t have the right to decide what people can and can’t put in their body. So even if it was totally terrible, I’d be for legalizing it,” Munson said.