how effective is cannabis for kids illnesss

Is Cannabis Treatment Effective for Childhood Illnesses?

Most parents would go the extra mile and beyond to find solutions to cure their children´s qualms. And this just when it is an ordinary problem. Imagine what they would do if their child has a life-threatening disease. It often happens that conventional methods and medicine just can´t bring healing. That is when a parent would even cross lines to save his or her child. When parents come to that point that alternative methods need to be looked into, they are open to any new possibility out there. One of the fields being tread on is cannabis and the therapeutic value it adds.

Misconceptions about Cannabis

When it comes to treating children, people tend to take it with precaution. But any misconception in the pediatric world mostly likely comes from the negative connotation to marijuana. Most of this probably due to the idea that when you use marijuana, you surely will get intoxicated. But it is important to clarify that cannabis is more than just something to be used for recreational benefit. There are cannabinoids, a chemical compound, in the plant that interact with the cannabinoid receptors in the endocannabinoid system. The human body is saturated with cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids.

The two most studied cannabinoids are THC and CBD. THC interacts with both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. The psychoactive properties of THC are due to a modulation of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and glutamine. THC has antiseizure properties.

CBD does not bind to either of the receptors and has neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. CBD is very effective in the treatment of epilepsy because it modulates the endocannabinoid system. This also acts as an antiseizure component. Both CBD and THC are lipophilic (bind with fat cells) and they have long half-lives. CBD is also highly protein-bound and could interact with other medications.

How safe is cannabis for children?

There are many trials out there that demonstrate that cannabis is safe for children for medicinal reasons. Especially when it comes to the quality of life of children suffering from epilepsy. At first, there was some skepticism, but too many positive testimonies came flooding in. One was about a girl, 5 years of age, Charlotte Figi, that struggled with about 300 seizures per week. She is diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome. Her parents decided to experiment with a high-CBD strain. Beyond expectation, her seizures basically came to a dead stop. The strain is even named after her and today is known and Charlotte’s Web.

There are more testimonials about how children benefit from CBD when it comes to the treatment of epilepsy. In most cases, CBD reduces the frequency of seizures significantly and also improves behavior, language, alertness and motor skills, communication, and sleep patterns.

More reasons why cannabis is safe for children

Autism is another disorder that is very hard to deal with. Conventional medicine is just not cutting it and many parents are looking for alternative methods to deal with autism. In one such case, an American mother gave her severely afflicted son, Joey, at the age of 9 a high-THC strain to increase his appetite. It helped to gain his appetite back but also changed his behavior. He started to interact with people and even smile. Something he never did before.

In a similar case, an Israeli mom started to treat her son that showed violent behavior with medical cannabis. His prescribed anti-psychotic drugs could not reduce his violent behavior. Medical cannabis changed his behavior from overnight. He is now a calm person, smiling all the time, and with no self-injury.

CBD is found to have very positive effects on children suffering from autism. In most cases, there is a significant behavioral change and levels of anxiety also reduce greatly.

Cancer in children

Anyone who hears the cancer word acts in fear. Children’s cancers are somewhat always more aggressive. One of the hardest things a child has to go through is dealing with the side-effects of chemotherapy. In Israel, already in 1994, a researcher administrated 18 mg of CBD oil two hours before chemo. The side-effects were significantly reduced, and vomiting was completely prevented. Both THC and CBD are effective in the treatment of cancer, but THC is still a bit controversial because of its psychoactive abilities. There are cases though, where both THC and CBD are used with great success to treat cancer in children.

What about Cerebral and Brain Damage?

It is already proven that spasticity in adults suffering from multiple sclerosis is improved. To see if the effect would be positive on children cerebral palsy, a study in Israel on children between 1 and 17 were treated with different ratios of THC and CBD. The results were amazing, and spasticity and dystonia were greatly improved. Sleep difficulties and pain were also improved.

In a new study on piglets starved of oxygen by birth, intravenous CBD reduced the effects of brain damage almost 100%. The results are very promising and hopefully would soon be approved for treating newborn babies.

Closing Thought

Too many positive testimonies prove that medical cannabis is beneficial for treating children’s diseases.

KIDS AND CANNABIS, READ MORE...

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