Cannabis Australia: University of Sydney study focuses on medical marijuana's effects on childhood epilepsy

In order to investigate medicinal cannabis use in epileptic children, Australian researchers are reaching out to parents who are willing to break the law to procure marijuana for the sake of their ailing children.

Numerous families Down Under found significant health benefits in cannabis oils and marijuana liquid extracts. They have been treating children with small doses of such products going against law.

The still illegal substances are given to children over and above the conventional epileptic medicines. University of Sydney researchers along with Epilepsy Action Australia are launching the Paediatric Epilepsy Lambert Initiative Cannabinoid Analysis (PELICAN) project that will closely analyse the use of the cannabis-based extracts in treating childhood epilepsy.

The study will interview parents who are already procuring cannabis-based products illegally to treat their severely ill children. Moreover, the project will also perform chemical analysis of such products.

“This has the potential to help uncover new and more effective medications for treatment of childhood epilepsy,” Trial co-ordinator Anastasia Suraev told News.com.au.

Suarev added that all parents want is to give their children a normal and happy life and most of them are trying cannabis-based treatments after all conventional methods have failed. Professor of Psychopharmacology Iain McGregor from the university's Lambert Initiative also expressed sympathy for these parents who can go to any extent to reduce their children’s suffering.

“Cannabinoids appear to be providing extraordinary therapeutic effects in some children with paediatric epilepsy, but we lack a clear understanding of how they are achieving this. Through the PELICAN study, we will gain a better understanding of the cannabinoid components that provide these therapeutic effects, potentially leading to new medicines that could prove extremely effective,” McGregor said.

He added that only one cannabinoid, THC, gets people high but there are many others that have potential therapeutic benefits. Cannabis-based liquid extracts and oils have 100+ cannabinoid compounds but different strains can have different cannabinoid profiles.

McGregor said that the PELICAN study will have an effect on medicine development and legislative change. He added that scientific advancements have allowed researchers to understand a lot about the medicinal benefits of marijuana that has only increased the legitimacy of its use in the medical field.