Robert Celt
New Member
The state legislature's Public Health Committee approved what might be considered one of the most controversial proposals put before them in decades: medical marijuana for children.
The bill, which now moves to the House for a vote, would give minors with severe epilepsy and terminal illnesses access to non-smokable marijuana, but only with parental consent and the approval of two doctors. It would be prescribed in pill or liquid form. The other conditions included in the bill include cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, uncontrolled intractable seizure disorders, or irreversible spinal cord injury with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity.
Only two other states - California and Colorado - have approved the treatment for children. Anecdotal evidence suggests that marijuana is effective in treating cancer and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, controls self-destructive rages in autistic children and stops epileptic seizures – a claim that is backed up by parents who are flocking to the two states to get treatment they believe will save their children's lives. As many as 30 percent of people with epilepsy - or about 1 million Americans - still have seizures while on Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments.
The Epilepsy Foundation is urging access to medical marijuana and a study performed by the American Academy of Neurology shows a drug derived from cannabidiol - a component in marijuana plants - produced a 50 percent reduction in seizures in children who were part of a study.
The game-changer might be Epidiolex, a non-psychoactive oil derived from cannabidiol. Cannabidiol provides the benefits of marijuana without producing the "high" people associate with it. Epidiolex is the first FDA-sanctioned drug to undergo scientific trials for this purpose. Legislatures in at least a dozen states including Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and Wisconsin have or will consider bills about the marijuana oil. Utah has signed it into law and Alabama has passed the legislation and is awaiting the governor's signature.
Here in Connecticut, the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is behind the bill and Dr. William Zempsky at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center says it has "become clear to me that there are some of our most vulnerable patients who would truly benefit from the use of medical marijuana."
Lawmakers here are split - and with good reason, as children are involved.
State Sen. William Tong, D-Stamford, originally was against the idea. He said his position changed after listening to emotional appeals from children who suffer from debilitating conditions and their families, who argued during a March 13 public hearing that the treatment can help their children's illnesses. He now says the legislature should do everything it can to "give the kids whatever they need to get better."
But some Republicans on the committee are concerned with the method by which the marijuana would be ingested, how easily children would gain access to the prescription, and whether there is scientific proof the treatment would help each condition listed in the bill. State Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Canterbury, argues the bill leaves an open path for children to be prescribed medical marijuana needlessly.
Marijuana is widespread among millions of people who use it to get high. But it also is a drug around which the stigma is quickly dissolving as its use has been decriminalized in most states and it has been approved for medical and even recreational use in some.
Advocates believe drugs like Epidiolex are quickly changing the debate surrounding marijuana as a medicine for children, which soared into the national spotlight after the death of 9-year-old Anna Conte from New York, who had a form of epilepsy that caused her to have hundreds of crippling seizures a day.
Medical marijuana was approved to treat children in New York but Anna died waiting for the law to go into effect. Two other children with similar disorders also died waiting.
We should not let that happen here. Given the controversy that has always swirled around marijuana, approving its use for children is not an easy step for lawmakers to take. But, with medical evidence and sufficient regulations regarding its use in place, it is a step worth taking to help keep children pain-free and in some cases, alive.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Connecticut Legislature Should Approve Medical Marijuana For Kids - With Caution
Author: Editorial
Contact: New Haven Register
Photo Credit: None found
Website: New Haven Register
The bill, which now moves to the House for a vote, would give minors with severe epilepsy and terminal illnesses access to non-smokable marijuana, but only with parental consent and the approval of two doctors. It would be prescribed in pill or liquid form. The other conditions included in the bill include cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, uncontrolled intractable seizure disorders, or irreversible spinal cord injury with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity.
Only two other states - California and Colorado - have approved the treatment for children. Anecdotal evidence suggests that marijuana is effective in treating cancer and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, controls self-destructive rages in autistic children and stops epileptic seizures – a claim that is backed up by parents who are flocking to the two states to get treatment they believe will save their children's lives. As many as 30 percent of people with epilepsy - or about 1 million Americans - still have seizures while on Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments.
The Epilepsy Foundation is urging access to medical marijuana and a study performed by the American Academy of Neurology shows a drug derived from cannabidiol - a component in marijuana plants - produced a 50 percent reduction in seizures in children who were part of a study.
The game-changer might be Epidiolex, a non-psychoactive oil derived from cannabidiol. Cannabidiol provides the benefits of marijuana without producing the "high" people associate with it. Epidiolex is the first FDA-sanctioned drug to undergo scientific trials for this purpose. Legislatures in at least a dozen states including Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and Wisconsin have or will consider bills about the marijuana oil. Utah has signed it into law and Alabama has passed the legislation and is awaiting the governor's signature.
Here in Connecticut, the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is behind the bill and Dr. William Zempsky at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center says it has "become clear to me that there are some of our most vulnerable patients who would truly benefit from the use of medical marijuana."
Lawmakers here are split - and with good reason, as children are involved.
State Sen. William Tong, D-Stamford, originally was against the idea. He said his position changed after listening to emotional appeals from children who suffer from debilitating conditions and their families, who argued during a March 13 public hearing that the treatment can help their children's illnesses. He now says the legislature should do everything it can to "give the kids whatever they need to get better."
But some Republicans on the committee are concerned with the method by which the marijuana would be ingested, how easily children would gain access to the prescription, and whether there is scientific proof the treatment would help each condition listed in the bill. State Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Canterbury, argues the bill leaves an open path for children to be prescribed medical marijuana needlessly.
Marijuana is widespread among millions of people who use it to get high. But it also is a drug around which the stigma is quickly dissolving as its use has been decriminalized in most states and it has been approved for medical and even recreational use in some.
Advocates believe drugs like Epidiolex are quickly changing the debate surrounding marijuana as a medicine for children, which soared into the national spotlight after the death of 9-year-old Anna Conte from New York, who had a form of epilepsy that caused her to have hundreds of crippling seizures a day.
Medical marijuana was approved to treat children in New York but Anna died waiting for the law to go into effect. Two other children with similar disorders also died waiting.
We should not let that happen here. Given the controversy that has always swirled around marijuana, approving its use for children is not an easy step for lawmakers to take. But, with medical evidence and sufficient regulations regarding its use in place, it is a step worth taking to help keep children pain-free and in some cases, alive.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Connecticut Legislature Should Approve Medical Marijuana For Kids - With Caution
Author: Editorial
Contact: New Haven Register
Photo Credit: None found
Website: New Haven Register
