Ask the parent of a child with epilepsy who’s had success using marijuana and they will tell you about its incredible benefits; for them, the proof is in the reduction of seizures or total healing from them.

However, most doctors still feel any success with medical marijuana is anecdotal, at best. But, they may have to change their minds. At the end of May, “a rigorous clinical trial” found that for children and teenagers with Dravet syndrome, a devastating form of the seizure disorder, an oral solution of cannabidiol (a component of marijuana) can and does reduce seizures. ¹

Researchers reported their findings in The New England Journal of Medicine. ²

The trial enrolled 120 children from 2 to 18 years old with Dravet syndrome:

“During the study, the patients stayed on their normal treatment regimen, and half of them also received cannabidiol while the remainder were given a placebo. Over a 14-week treatment period, the median number of convulsive seizures in the cannabidiol group decreased from 12.4 to 5.9 per month; for the placebo group, the number went from 14.9 to 14.1.” ³

The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Though some children withdrew from the trial because of side effects, which included vomiting, fatigue, fever, drowsiness, and diarrhea, 43 percent of those in the cannabidiol group had their number of seizures cut in half OR MORE and 5 percent of patients taking cannabidiol saw their seizures totally disappear. 4

Researchers are still testing and hope to soon understand both the drug’s long-term effects and why it helps some children more than others.