A teenager with a rare form of epilepsy has seen the frequency of seizures reduce by 90 per cent since beginning treatment using cannabis oil, according to her mother.

Abigail Weightman, 16, has a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome that was causing eight to ten seizures a month, before she entered a study at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, in March 2017.

“While this was a significant improvement from where she’d been when she was younger, we still were looking for something for better seizure control, because every time she had a seizure she would lose more cognitive and developmental skills,” Laura Weightman, Abigail’s mother, told CTV’s Your Morning.

By April 2017, Abigail was experiencing four to five seizures a month. The teenager has had just three since December 2017.

“It’s been life changing. Before the seizures would make her tired, lethargic. She wasn’t really aware of what was going on around her a lot of the time,” Weightman added. “Now she’s so engaged with the world. She’s trying to say new words and she’s interacting with her family and friends. It’s just been fantastic.”

The Weightmans had tried a number of different treatments before the cannabis oil trial. Abigail had been on 14 different medications over the years, sometimes three at a time. Weightman revealed that none were as effective as the cannabis oil and that Abigail has suffered little to no side-effects.

“The only side-effect we saw was that it initially decreased her appetite,” she explained. “But within three months she was back to eating just like she normally did. We’ve seen no long term side-effects at all. In fact she’s more awake and active than she’s ever been.”

Weightman said the effects of the cannabis oil have been fantastic for her daughter.

“I think cannabis oil is a very effective treatment, with the side effects being minimal, of what we’ve seen,” she said. “I think it’s a valid treatment for controlling these very uncontrollable seizures.”