Epilepsy & Cannabis

Summary of key points:

  • UK Medical cannabis status changed due to epileptic children demanding access.
  • Epidolex is a market authorised medication for variants of epilepsy.
  • Currently in 2022 no peadiatric UK consultant is prescribing medical cannabis for epilepsy.
  • The BPNS prefer brain surgery to trying medical cannabis.
  • Sodium valproate a preferred epilepsy medication causes birth defects.
  • Medical Cannabis is only available as an option of last resort.

The very reason medical cannabis is legal in the UK is down to the parents of epileptic children, who would not take no for an answer and fought the government to submission in the media. The sheer force of argument made by so many eventually led to Sajid Javid the then home office minister making medical cannabis legal on the 1st November 2018. The real-life situation in 2022 is that the very children that medical cannabis has proved so effective for and who got the law changed are least likely to be prescribed medical cannabis.

The situation is even more perplexing as we see a drug commonly prescribed for epilepsy featured in so many news paper articles calling into question its safety and impact on unborn children.

Yet this drug is still being prescribed. The argument against prescribing cannabis for epilepsy is that there is not enough research. But we have to look at the definition of research the agencies charged with protecting us are using.

If you watch the Sunday Times video here you will see that back in the 1970’s the authorities new about the impact Sodium valproate had on unborn children but they suppressed the information. We see this in so many instances of medical regulation.

The problem is further highlighted by the British Pediatric neurology society still stating that epilepsy surgery should be considered before trying a cannabis medication. The fact that the Royal Doctor, William O′Shaughnessy documented cases of using Indian Hemp (cannabis) in 1870 for patients who were epileptic and showed how effective it was even then seemed lost on the BPNS.

Let’s just unpack that, epilepsy surgery normally involves removing part of the temporal lobe an invasive operation of the brain!

Just think about the inherent risks any surgery has, let alone brain surgery! The fact is the BPNS consider brain surgery safer than a centuries old plant based medicine! Thats has been used for centuries is astounding.

This is the current state of bias that the established pharmaceutical/medical complex has against cannabis.

The fact that Epidiolex, a medical extract of cannabidiol (CBD) has spent the hundreds of millions of dollars required to get market authoristion for treatments in some particular variants of epilepsy is not enough to convince the establishment. The level of confirmation of bias is astounding.

Epidolex will soon face a patent challenge in North America and prices will come down when generic formulations exist. The issue is cannabis already contains those market authorised active ingredients and cannabis medications have a lot to offer now.

To highlight the situation even more it is 30 years since the endocannabinoid system was understood, yet most medical schools still do not teach in any detail about the endocannabinoid system. The Bodies own engine management system is just not taught and this highlights how the medical establishment has a complete confirmation of bias against cannabis.

They would rather prescribe a potentially life changing drug that has been through the testing regime and passed but widespread use in the populations has provide it has damaging life changing effects but is still used!

Yet one of safest medications, used throughout history that has been safety tested on Billions of people through out time is still not prescribed regularly for people. This is due to confirmation of bias.

Here at AccessKaneh we stand and work with the growing number of medical professionals around the world highlighting the hypocrisy of the situation. The travesty around cannabis is one of the reasons that so many are losing faith in the establishment.

BPNA Guidance for CBPM Prescriptions