Thirty-five years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for
medicinal cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael
Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was
debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was
fighting for her life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s
Syndrome, Charlotte
had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink of death. Her parents
were at their wits end and wanted to try her on medicinal cannabis. They read
somewhere that it might work
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
Thirty-five
years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for medicinal
cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was fighting for her
life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome,
Charlotte had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink
of death. Her parents were at their wits end and wanted to try her on
medicinal cannabis. They read somewhere that it might work.
- See
more at:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/#sthash.thPOcMqG.dpuf
Thirty-five
years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for medicinal
cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was fighting for her
life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome,
Charlotte had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink
of death. Her parents were at their wits end and wanted to try her on
medicinal cannabis. They read somewhere that it might work.
- See
more at:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/#sthash.thPOcMqG.dpuf
Charlotte went from 300 seizures a week to none.
. “I wasn’t intending on seeing her,” Shackelford recalls on a recent visit
to Israel.
“I had no experience with children. My oldest patient was 103 and the
treatments were working well on older patients, including some with seizures,
but I wasn’t sure it would be appropriate for a child of five.”
Shackelford then poured over a stack of Charlotte’s
medical records: “I decided that Charlotte
would surely die if we didn’t do something to help her,” he tells Green
Prophet. “As a doctor we take an oath that if we can help someone we must do
what we can –– ‘cure when possible, comfort always’.”
Charlotte’s
mother had brought to him a stack of convincing medical records. Then
Shackelford made an appointment at his office: “There I met a girl just over a
meter tall. On the way she’d had a seizure in the car, two in the waiting room
and two while I was evaluating her.
“These were grand mal seizures.
“I made extensive notes.
“Charlotte
was unresponsive to questions. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink and because
nothing was working for her, she as no longer on any medicines.”
It was worth a shot.
Now the question was how to dose and administer marijuana to a little girl.
And where to find plants with high levels of CBD (cannabidiol) , but only small
amounts of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary psychoactive compound found
in cannabis? Based on ratios presented in the study Shackelford decided on
6mg/kilo (or 3 mg/pound) of Charlotte.
But Charlotte
couldn’t smoke.
Normally growers in the Colorado
area pride themselves on plants very high in THC, or the molecule that gets you
high. This is not what the doctor wanted to give to a small child. Shackelford
found a local grower that could supply a small amount to try. The ratios were
17 molecules of CBD to one molecule of THC but it cost an extraordinary $800 an
ounce. This is 4 times the price of high-quality medical grade cannabis, which
costs about $200 an ounce.
From this precious bit of plant Charlotte’s
mom helped make an extract to give to her daughter.
Miraculously, “after the first dose the seizures stopped,” Shackelford
reports. “She went from 300 seizures a week to none. But the family was
concerned that they would have no more access to the drug.”
Cannabis strain called Charlotte’s
Web born
Then a local group of marijuana growers, the Stanley Brothers from the area
agreed to create an extract with the same high CBD content and low THC. Today
this extract is called Charlotte’s Web and
parents are moving to the Colorado
area to access this treatment for children in similar situations.
Continue reading: http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/
Thirty-five
years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for medicinal
cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was fighting for her
life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome,
Charlotte had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink
of death. Her parents were at their wits end and wanted to try her on
medicinal cannabis. They read somewhere that it might work.
- See
more at:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/#sthash.thPOcMqG.dpuf
Thirty-five
years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for medicinal
cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was fighting for her
life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome,
Charlotte had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink
of death. Her parents were at their wits end and wanted to try her on
medicinal cannabis. They read somewhere that it might work.
- See
more at:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/#sthash.thPOcMqG.dpuf
Thirty-five
years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for medicinal
cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was fighting for her
life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome,
Charlotte had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink
of death. Her parents were at their wits end and wanted to try her on
medicinal cannabis. They read somewhere that it might work.
“I wasn’t intending on seeing her,” Shackelford recalls on a recent
visit to Israel. “I had no experience with children. My oldest patient
was 103 and the treatments were working well on older patients,
including some with seizures, but I wasn’t sure it would be appropriate
for a child of five.”
Shackelford then poured over a stack of Charlotte’s medical records:
“I decided that Charlotte would surely die if we didn’t do something to
help her,” he tells Green Prophet. “As a doctor we take an oath that if
we can help someone we must do what we can –– ‘cure when possible,
comfort always’.”
Charlotte’s mother had brought to him a stack of convincing medical
records. Then Shackelford made an appointment at his office: “There I
met a girl just over a meter tall. On the way she’d had a seizure in the
car, two in the waiting room and two while I was evaluating her.
“These were grand mal seizures.
“I made extensive notes.
“Charlotte was unresponsive to questions. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t
drink and because nothing was working for her, she as no longer on any
medicines.”
- See more at:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/#sthash.H0Q6WNSn.dpuf
Thirty-five
years ago an Israeli researcher documented the case for medicinal
cannabis to treat epilepsy. It was one of these studies by a Prof.
Raphael Mechoulam that Denver-based physician Dr. Alan Shackelford read when he was debating one of the hardest questions of his career:
Should he, could he? give a 5-year-old pot?
That girl, Charlotte Figi (pictured below), was fighting for her
life. Cursed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome,
Charlotte had about 300 seizures a week, some bringing her to the brink
of death. Her parents were at their wits end and wanted to try her on
medicinal cannabis. They read somewhere that it might work.
“I wasn’t intending on seeing her,” Shackelford recalls on a recent
visit to Israel. “I had no experience with children. My oldest patient
was 103 and the treatments were working well on older patients,
including some with seizures, but I wasn’t sure it would be appropriate
for a child of five.”
Shackelford then poured over a stack of Charlotte’s medical records:
“I decided that Charlotte would surely die if we didn’t do something to
help her,” he tells Green Prophet. “As a doctor we take an oath that if
we can help someone we must do what we can –– ‘cure when possible,
comfort always’.”
Charlotte’s mother had brought to him a stack of convincing medical
records. Then Shackelford made an appointment at his office: “There I
met a girl just over a meter tall. On the way she’d had a seizure in the
car, two in the waiting room and two while I was evaluating her.
“These were grand mal seizures.
“I made extensive notes.
“Charlotte was unresponsive to questions. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t
drink and because nothing was working for her, she as no longer on any
medicines.”
- See more at:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/01/dr-cannabis-alan-shackelford-puts-medicine-into-cannabis-in-israel/#sthash.H0Q6WNSn.dpuf
