Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 09 Feb 2016 04:20:21 PST
Study: CBD Oil 'Highly Promising' In Pediatric Epilepsy Treatment
Tel Aviv, Israel: The administration of cannabis oil extracts high in cannabidiol reduces seizure frequency in children with intractable epilepsy, according to clinical data published online ahead of print in the journal Seizure.
Israeli researchers retrospectively evaluated the effects of CBD oil in a multicenter cohort of 74 patients with intractable epilepsy. Participants in the trial were resistant to conventional epilepsy treatment and were treated with CBD extracts for a period of at least three months. Extracts in the study were provided by a pair of Israeli-licensed growers and were standardized to possess a CBD to THC ratio of 20 to 1.
Investigators reported: "CBD treatment yielded a significant positive effect on seizure load. Most of the children (89 percent) reported reduction in seizure frequency. ... In addition, we observed improvement in behavior and alertness, language, communication, motor skills and sleep."
They concluded, "The results of this multicenter study on CBD treatment for intractable epilepsy in a population of children and adolescents are highly promising. Further prospective, well-designed clinical trials using enriched CBD medical cannabis are warranted."
Other retrospective studies and surveys have previously reported CBD administration to be efficacious in reducing seizure frequency.
In 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug status to imported, pharmaceutically standardized CBD extracts for use in experimental pediatric treatment. Open-label safety trial data published online in December in the journal Lancet Neurology reported a median reduction in seizures in adolescent patients treated with CBD that approached 40 percent. Authors concluded, "Our findings suggest that cannabidiol might reduce seizure frequency and might have an adequate safety profile in children and young adults with highly treatment-resistant epilepsy."
Full text of the study, "CBD-enriched medical cannabis for intractable pediatric epilepsy: The current Israeli experience," appears in Seizure.
$6.7 Billion In Legal Marijuana Sales Projected For 2016
San Francisco, CA: Legal retail sales of marijuana to adults are anticipated to total $6.7 billion by year's end, according to projections reported this week by ArcView Market Research.
Sales in 2015 totaled $998 million, the report found, an increase of 184 percent over 2014 figures.
As additional states enact regulations legalizing adult cannabis sales, ArcView estimates that retail sales could total as high as $21.8 billion annually by the year 2020.
Florida: Medical Marijuana Measure Qualifies For 2016 Ballot
Orlando, FL: Floridians will decide on a proposed constitutional amendment this November that seeks to permit the physician-authorized use and distribution of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
Proponents of the measure, United for Care, collected more than the 683,000 signatures required to place the measure on the November ballot, the Florida Division of Elections confirmed last week.
The ballot measure, entitled the "Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Conditions," will appear before voters as Amendment 2.
Passage of the amendment would permit qualified patients to possess and obtain cannabis from state-licensed facilities. According to a November poll, 62 percent of Florida voters say that they support the passage of the amendment.
According to Florida law, 60 percent of voters must approve a constitutional amendment in order for it to become law.
In November 2014, Floridians narrowly rejected a similar amendment, which received 58 percent of the vote.
Puerto Rico: Rules Adopted For Medical Cannabis Distribution Program
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Health Department officials have signed off on regulations overseeing the licensed production and distribution of medical cannabis within the US territory. The new program is anticipated to be operational by year's end.
Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro J. Garcia Padilla signed an executive order in May calling on health officials to adopt regulations permitting medical cannabis production and access. Under the new plan, patients who possess a physician's authorization will be able to obtain cannabis-infused products, such as oils and pills, from state-licensed facilities.
Patients will not be permitted to cultivate their own marijuana and herbal formulations of medical cannabis will not be permitted.
Under Puerto Rico law, cannabis possession is classified as a felony, punishable by two to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
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