Pot therapy for kids with epilepsy to be studied

SASK ATOON Thirty children from across Canada are being recruited to take part in a new pilot study at the University of Saskatchewan looking at the safety and tolerability of cannabis treatment for childhood epilepsy.

Health Canada recently approved the study, which will include children between the ages of one to 10 years and involve the University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, McGill University and Universite de Montreal. It is scheduled to start in June. University of Saskatchewan pediatric neurologist Richard Huntsman says he’s already seen quite a few children whose parents have already placed their children on cannabis oil. He says he’s hearing the children are brighter, more interactive and sleeping better, but scientists don’t yet know why.

Doctors will slowly introduce cannabis oil to the children with dosage increments each month, while monitoring for potential side effects of the medication.

They will also look at seizure frequency and severity.

Huntsman admits his cannabis research has been met with pushback, but he says the trials are necessary as parents become desperate for answers.

“We had feedback from scientists saying we shouldn’t be doing this. We shouldn’t be studying this in children, which I disagree with completely,” Huntsman says.

“Parents are seeing this, they’re reading about this. It’s all over social media — and a lot of them are trying it. And in some situations, possibly in a dangerous manner.”

The study is entirely funded with support from several organizations, including a sizable grant from the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan.

“We felt it would be best if this wasn’t funded by any drug company, so that removes any potential bias,” Huntsman says.