New FDA-approved research shows that high CBD strains can significantly reduce seizures in epileptic children. Is it finally time for this non-psychoactive component of marijuana to see its day?
Cannibidiol (CBD) is a component of marijuana that doesn’t get you high. Instead, it offers what some believe to be a very wide array of health benefits. Here, we’ll share with you science-backed evidence showing that there are health benefits of smokaing high CBD strains. The sources are from mainstream, generally accepted research organizations and published in major medical journals. We are not quoting proponents of marijuana legalization here, but rather looking at the hard, scientific evidence released from traditional medical labs.
Helping to Stop Seizures in Children With Epilepsy
Since at least the 1970s, and off the record, high CBD strains of marijuana have long been used by parents to treat their kids for epileptic seizures. Now, thanks to the advancing medical marijuana movement and the legislation it’s produced, scientists are finally able to get clinical trials approved, and move forward with producing actual doctor-approved products for these families.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information Study
In 2013, The National Institutes of Health published results showing that CBD-enriched cannabis helped children with treatment-resistant epilepsy. The participants in the study were children whose epilepsy had not responded to any treatment thus far. On average, the parents of these kids had tried a dozen different treatments to try and stop their children’s seizures. Once the children were given cannabidiol-enriched cannabis, the seizures were reduced in 84% of the study participants. For some, the seizures went away altogether. There is now a dedicated team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) whose main focus is investigating the use of high-grade CBD in children with epilepsy.
Research Out This Year
More recently, GW Pharmaceuticals announced they’d successfully reduced seizures in children who had Dravet, a type of epilepsy. As reported in the New York Times, the drug is derived from cannabidiol (CBD). High CBD strains of marijuana have made the long journey from the underground to the medical lab, where they now stand at the forefront of modern medical research.
With more research, more funding, and more progressive legislation, we can look forward to even more science-backed health benefits of high-cannabidiol strains.