By Paul Armentano, norml.org
Cannabis inhalation is associated with significantly reduced incidences of convulsions in a pair of epileptic patients, according to an upcoming case report in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.*
Investigators at University of California Epilepsy Center summarized the case histories of a 43-year-old subject and a 60-year-old subject, both of whom suffered from severe epileptic seizures. Neither had responded favorably to conventional anticonvulsant treatments.
In the first subject, cannabis inhalation reportedly reduced the frequency of nighttime seizures from an average of five to six per evening to an average of one to two. After stopping cannabis use, the subject experienced 10 evening seizures. After dosing with oral cannabis, the subject subsequently reported only a single nighttime seizure.
The second subject reported inhaling six to eight cigarettes daily. Upon cessation of his cannabis use, the subject experienced five seizures in a 12-hour period.
Authors concluded, “These cases … suggest that, for at least a subset of patients with focal epilepsy, marijuana use may provide an anticonvulsant effect. We believe this possibility warrants further study.”
To date, only two small double-blinded placebo-controlled studies on the use of cannabinoids in patients with epilepsy are available in the scientific literature. In both, subjects received daily doses of oral cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound of cannabis. In one study, CBD administration over a 30-day period was associated with a significant reduction in convulsions in 7 out of 8 patients, but the other reported no significant change in seizure frequency among epileptic subjects.
* “Seizure exacerbation in two patients with focal epilepsy following marijuana cessation,” Epilepsy & Behavior (2013).