Should Doctors Prescribe Medical Marijuana for Children? If yes, should they also supply Pizza?

Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett sponsored a research mission to determine whether medical marijuana could help children that are plagued by symptoms of serious health problems, such as the most severe epilepsy. There are doctors that are skeptical of the effectiveness of cannabis substances on those who suffer from epilepsy because there is limited data to support its use (Gilbert). Although, many parents of ill children have become proponents of the use of medical marijuana extract, known as Cannibidiol, or CBD, oil. It is important to keep in mind that the parents of sick kids are not advocating for the traditional use of marijuana. Marijuana has other properties besides the THC, the psychoactive compound. The Cannibidiol oil, without having the psychoactive effect that creates a high, has positive medicinal properties. The future for CBD oil is promising since all of its medicinal benefits have not been uncovered yet.

A specific strain of marijuana has garnered a lot of attention for its potency of CBD. The strain’s name is “Charlotte’s Web” and it’s named after Charlotte Figi, 6, a young girl from Colorado who suffers from Dravet syndrome. Dravet syndrome is a crippling pediatric epilepsy that leaves Charlotte unable to eat, talk, or walk (Allen). This is a nightmare come true for the Figi family. Charlotte’s mom, Paige has been very public about Charlotte’s medical marijuana use because they have seen fantastic results. After having 300 grand mal seizures in the previous week, Charlotte miraculously went seven days without one seizure after beginning the medical marijuana treatment. After 8 months of cannabis treatment, Charlotte is showing 99% seizure reduction on top of eating and drinking on her own (“Should Marijuana Ever Be Used to Treat Children and Adolescents?”). Charlotte is a remarkable example of a child whose life was restored due to medical marijuana. Vivian Wilson, a 3-year old with severe epilepsy, has seen a very similar level of success from the medical marijuana treatments, like Charlotte (Swartz).

There is no denying the effectiveness the CBD has on some children, but is prescribing cannabis oil to minors immoral? I believe that it is no legislature’s place to deny a child the joys of life because it comes from a traditionally illegal substance. Since there is no psychoactive effect on the child, the CBD oil cannot be abused for recreational use. I’m sure as more states take on a progressive mindset and legalize medical marijuana (to minors, as well) then the snowball effect will occur and it won’t be long before the majority of U.S. states are allowing victims of awful diseases to get the treatment they deserve.

Works Cited

Allen, Greg. “Florida Bill Would Allow Medical Marijuana For Child Seizures.” NPR. NPR, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

Gilbert, Scott. “The Medical Minute: Medical Marijuana Extract for Epilepsy in Children.” PennStateNews. Pennsylvania State University, 4 June 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

“Should Marijuana Ever Be Used to Treat Children and Adolescents?”Medical Marijuana– Pros and Cons. ProCon.org, 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

Swartz, Aimee. “Medical Marijuana for Kids?” The Scientist. N.p., 17 July 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

5 thoughts on “Should Doctors Prescribe Medical Marijuana for Children? If yes, should they also supply Pizza?

  1. Casey Jordan Leuenberger

    I feel like a lot of controversy could arise from this, but I thought the little girls story was incredible. If your child is deathly ill, you would do anything to make them better. In just 8 months she completely recovered, and that’s a miracle. I did additional research on the disease she had, and the likelihood of her recovering was slim. It’s incredible what nature is capable of, and I think that the potential of cannabis oil in the medical field is endless.

  2. Taylor Michael Evcic

    I actually watched a movie on Charlottes story last year in health class and it really got me thinking. I don’t really have any opinion on marijuana use, it doesn’t bother me but I also don’t use it. After hearing Charlotte’s story it actually made me mad that people were being so critical of her parents for using this treatment. It is not like they are giving their child a joint to smoke in the backyard, they are giving her a medicine that has none of the same effects that smoking marijuana does. As the legalization of the drug is growing in our country I think that a lot of peoples perspectives need to grow as well. Here is the link to the documentary that CNN did on Charlotte’s story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyf-ffoatHg. It is honestly pretty fascinating to watch and packs a lot of information into a short time. The effects of medical marijuana have saved this girls life and changed her family forever. Although we cannot base everything off of one girl there are additional cases just like hers. I wish people would listen more and understand how this could save lives.

  3. Alexi Zacarias

    That is such an awful disease that Charolette has. The use of marijuana for medical purposes is obviously a huge controversial topic. In my opinion, if marijuana is prescribed/ used correctly and can truly help a patient then they should be able to use it. Clearly the use of medical marijuana helped Charolette if she went from intense seizures multiple times a day to not having one for an entire week.

  4. Max Cohen

    This is a very interesting topic. It’s cool to read about Charlotte and Vivian’s improvement in Colorado. THC does a great job of calming people down so I can see how it would help people who suffer from epilepsy. there are so many disease that can be helped by marijuana and I agree that legislation shouldn’t restrict anybody of feeling good and healthy.

Leave a Reply