Max Robertson, 12, has epilepsy which current drugs have not controlled He will be the first patient in the UK to undergo treatment with Epidiolex This is an experimental drug derived from cannabidinol (CBD) marijuana CBD is a compound found in cannabis that does not give a 'high' By Madlen Davies for MailOnline Published: 19:01 EST, 16 December 2014 | Updated: 19:03 EST, 16 December 2014 1.7k shares 24 View comments A 12-year-old boy will be one of the first patients in the UK to undergo an experimental epilepsy treatment using drugs derived from cannabis. The trial comes after a series of US-led studies found cannabidiol (CBD) could reduce the frequency and severity of seizures in children with acute epilepsy. Patients will receive the medication, Epidiolex, which is chemically based on CBD, a compound found in marijuana that is not psychoactive, therefore does not give a 'high'. Now, the study is to be extended into the UK, and patients are being selected for a randomised and controlled trial of the treatment. Here is the original post: Could CANNABIS treat epilepsy? Haddington boy is one of first to trial new treatment … Continue reading →

Doctors in the UK have been given the go-ahead to test the medicine, which does not contain the ingredient that produces the high associated with recreational cannabis use. The treatment - called Epidiolex - is based on one of the non-psychoactive components of the cannabis plant, called CBD. Early studies in the US have shown that treatment with CBD may reduce the frequency and severity of seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy. The new trial marks the first time the treatment has been tested in the UK. Patients are being enrolled for a randomised controlled trial of the treatment at The University of Edinburgh's Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre, based at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Dr Richard Chin, Director of the Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre, said: "Many children with serious forms of epilepsy do not respond to the medications that we currently have available. We need new means of treating these conditions so that we can give back some quality of life to these children and their families." The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool are also driving the study while there … Continue reading →

Colorado awarded more than $8 million for medical marijuana research Wednesday, a step toward addressing complaints that little is known about pot's medical potential. The grants awarded by the Colorado Board of Health will go to studies on whether marijuana helps treat epilepsy, brain tumors, Parkinson's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of the studies still need federal approval. Though the awards are relatively small, they represent a new frontier for marijuana research. That's because the Colorado grants will be spent to explore the drug's medical potential, not the health downsides of marijuana. "This is the first time we've had government money to look at the efficacy of marijuana, not the harms of marijuana," said Dr. Suzanne Sisley, a Scottsdale, Arizona, psychiatrist who will help run a study on marijuana for veterans with PTSD. Sisley plans to do her research in private practice after previously working for the University of Arizona. Federal approval to study marijuana's medical potential requires permission of the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And there's only one legal source of the weed, the Marijuana Research Project at the University of Mississippi. Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., … Continue reading →