Lauren Moss
Nance
Emerging tech
9/18/14
Medical Marijuana and Epilepsy. When Charlotte Figi and her twin brother Chase were born on fOctober 18th 2006 they were healthy, happy full term babies. Charlotte was 7lbs 12oz, and everything was normal. But when Charlotte was three months old the horror began. It started while Charlotte was taking a bath her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body began to convulse. Her seizures lasted for about thirty minutes or more. They brought her to the hospital but they weren’t calling it epilepsy yet. The doctors performed MRI’s, EEG’s, and spinal taps. Still no results, weeks passed and her seizures started becoming longer and more frequent lasting up to four hours. All of her doctors became more confused when all of her tests came back normal, they claimed she would grow out of it. But her seizures continued and hospital stays became longer. When Charlotte was two the Figi’s took her to Children's Hospital Colorado. The neurologist tested her for Dravet syndrome, the very rare form of intractable epilepsy, intractable meaning not controlled by medicine. Doctors put her on a course of seven medications, some of them very intense barbiturates and benzodiazepines. They worked for a short time but her seizures came back with a vengeance. The Figi’s were running out of time. Epilepsy controls the lives of about 50 million people. People with epilepsy tend to have recurring seizures known as fits. The seizures are caused by surges of electrical activity in the brain causing an overload of activity. Epilepsy is defined as two or more unprovoked seizures, one random seizure is not considered epilepsy. The most common type of epilepsy called idiopathic epilepsy affects six out of ten people and its cause is unknown. Other types of epilepsy can be brought on by a severe blow to the head, or a stroke that cuts off air support to the brain. Treatment for epilepsy include anti seizure drugs, barbiturates and benzodiazepines, and a strict high fat low carb diet. It helps release special ketones in the body that suppress seizures. Most of the treatments take a harsh toll on the human body. Benzodiazepines can cause dependency and cause the user to go into withdrawal syndromes which include violent fits, anxiety attacks, high blood pressure, and even death. But recently doctors are finding a new safer way to help epilepsy. Medical marijuana and specifically the natural chemical CBD which stands for cannabidiol. Cannabidiol is the non psychoactive chemical found in cannabis, it helps de-stimulate the brain's electrical patterns and transient receptors. Marijuana could be the answer doctors were searching for. Marijuana or cannabis, a plant from the sativa family, has been used in medical practices for thousands of years. Reasons for medical purposes is for containing the psychoactive chemical THC and non psychoactive chemical CBD which help curb pain, stimulate appetite, and help de-stimulate high electrical activity in the brain. Diseases and disorders marijuana can be used for include epilepsy, cancer, schizophrenia, scoliosis, pms, chronic migraines, chronic pain, anxiety, along with hundreds of other uses. But for some people marijuana isn’t the magical answer to their disorders. Marijuana can make peoples perceptions very clouded, and cause fatigue. Also with the way marijuana is scheduled as a schedule one controlled substance there is little to no allowance for medical research. And the problems include finding a way to regulate the plant and proper marketing tool to use. On the whole marijuana could potentially become the all natural way to help thousands of people who would like to take the natural route to helping different diseases and disorders.
In the case of Charlotte Figi, the family was lucky to be living in Colorado where in 2000 they approved amendment 20 which required a marijuana registry with eight medical conditions to qualify for medical marijuana including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms, seizures, severe pain, severe nausea, dramatic weight loss, and muscle atrophy. Charlotte’s father Matt spent many days of his life searching for strains to use for his daughter. He found a video of a boy in California controlling Dravet’s syndrome with a strain that was low in THC and high in CBD. By this time Charlotte was having 300 grand mal seizures a week, she had lost the ability to walk talk and eat and her heart had stopped a number of times. Paige her mother found two men called the Stanley brothers, one of the state's largest marijuana growers and dispensary owners. They helped her create a strain called Charlotte’s web. Low in THC and high in CBD that was then turned into a tincture to place on her tongue made with glycerin to help sweeten it. Within hours the Figi’s watched Charlotte make connections that she hadn’t made in months. They heard Charlotte’s voice and laugh that they hadn’t heard in month, an all around improvement. Charlotte went from having 300-400 seizures a week to maybe once a month. Medical Marijuana was the answer for the Figi’s that was heaven sent. In the end marijuana saved a four year old girls life. Marijuana is something America needs to open up to. It could potentially save america’s health with all of its benefits. But only if and when the FDA learns how to properly regulate the strains and dosage of the miracle strain. Bibliography
(Young)
Young, Saundra. "Marijuana Stops Childs Severe Seizure ." 7 August 2013. CNN. internet. 24 September 2014.
World Health Organization. "Epilepsy Fact sheet ." October 2012. WHO. website. September 2014. Anderson, Leigh. "Marijuana ." 20 july 2014. drugs. website. 24 september 2014.