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Do People with Epilepsy Have Fewer Seizures on Cannabidiol?

Researchers are testing cannabidiol, a compound derived from marijuana, to see if it is useful in calming hard-to-treat seizures.

A compound derived from marijuana plants, cannabidiol oil, is showing promise for treating intractable seizures.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are presenting preliminary results from their research. So far, 51 subjects have participated in the trials. Approximately half had significantly fewer seizures over the span of six months. Two patients had no seizures while taking cannabidiol oil, but nine people dropped out of the study because of side effects.

Is Cannabidiol Safe Enough to Use as Medicine?

One of the goals for this early research was to determine if cannabidiol was safe enough to use therapeutically, and the results on that score are encouraging. Cannabidiol is not a psychoactive substance, so research volunteers do not get high after taking it. It is also not a cure for epilepsy.

Nevertheless, these preliminary finding suggest that cannabidiol oil may have a therapeutic role in some cases of hard-to-treat epilepsy. The research findings were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, March 3, 2016

The topic of marijuana and whether the plant or its constituents have medicinal value is complicated. To learn more, you may wish to listen to our one-hour interview with Dr. David Casarett, author of Stoned: A Doctor’s Case for Medical Marijuana.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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