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Turning Pot into Medicine
Harborside Health Center has the ambience of a crunchy yet well-run bank.
Every day,thousands stream into the largest dispensary on the West Coast.
Jason David, a 35year-old single father from Modesto,showed up at Harborside in June 2011, desperately looking for a new treatment for his son. Jayden, now 5 1/2 has Dravet Syndrome, a severe, rare epilepsy sub-diagnosis that affects infants and children. When he was 4months old, he started having seizures. Anything could set them off, including laughing and playing. "When he'd see a bounce house,he'd get so happy he'd have a seizure."
Only about 800children in the world are thought to Dravet. By the age of four and a half, Jayden was having three hundred to five hundred myoclonic seizures per day. He also was taking 22 different medications, including powerful antipsychotics and anti-seizure drugs that are dangerous even for adults."When you look at the side effects... Half of them read 'committing suicide,dreams,yelling screaming, going crazy, pain, hallucinations.'
"My son would be crying and laughing at the same time, I have video of him screaming and tripping out of his mind. We had to get his liver tested every 6months. The medicine was killing him. He'd had a grand mal seizure that lasted an hour and a half. He'd been in an ambulance 45 times in the last year. Seeing your son in an ambulance, it just kills you. I lost my ex-wife, my car, my business, my family, my life."
David told his story to DeAngelo, a manager at Harborside who leads a monthly support group for seniors and families using medical marijuana. Jayden's doctors at UCSF had referred David to Harborside. "They told me ' you should try medical marijuana,' David said. He was one of many parents referred to Harborside by UCSF for treatment of serious illnesses and symptoms that don't respond to modern medicine.
Mainly, it was for appetite stimulation for kids with cancer, and pain management in paraplegic children, DeAngelo recalled.He recommended edible cannabis or tinctures, extractions of the plant in glycerin or alcohol.Kids need just a drop. Many are barely psychoactive. DeAngelo started seeing parents who had kids with epilepsy, or autism, or a combination of both.
"When I met Jason, he was the parent that was suffering the most..
Harborside gave David a tincture that was high in cannabidiol,CBD and has a multitude of medicinal properties. It's anti-inflammatory,for example. And the federal government has patented it as a neuroprotectant for strokes. But it hasn't been developed by pharmaceutical companies.
According to lab research, CBD dampens the activity of the human nervous system at the site of nerve cell receptors spread throughout the body's nervous system.
Marijuana with high levels of CBD worked for David's son calming Jayden's overactive nervous system at key receptor sites. "Jayden had a seizure every day of his life, until the first day I gave him CBD. It was the first4 days in his life that he was seizure free."
The tincture worked for 4months, but the 2nd batch didn't work. "For 2 months my son started getting bad," David said.
David had another idea. What if they tested the tincture to make sure it was the same one as before?
In fact, it was one of the few places in the world where such a thing was possible.
Oakland's Steep Hill lab is at the center of cannabis testing in California, and recognized as a world leader in medical-marijuana research.
With Steep Hill's help, Jason David discovered that the 1st tincture gave Jayden didn't have the same CBD potency as the 2nd one.
Lack of CBD explained why his son's seizures returned. From then on, DeAngelo worked with Steep Hill to find, test, and supply Jayden with a tincture not only high in CBD, but also high in its ratio to THC.
Only about 800 children in the world are thought to Dravet. By the age of 4 1/2, Jayden was having 300-500 myoclonic seizures per day. He also was taking 22 different medications, including powerful anti-psychotics and anti-seizure drugs that are dangerous for adults. "When you look at the side effects, half of them read: committing suicide, dreams, yelling, screaming, going crazy, pain, suffering,delusions, hallucinations. "
"My son would be crying and laughing at the same time," David continued. "I have video of him screaming and tripping out of his mind. We had to get his liver tested every 6 months. The medicine was killing him. He'd had a grand mal seizure that lasted an hour and a half. He'd been in an ambulance 45 times in the last year."
With a steady supply of high-CBD tincture, Jayden is almost completely seizure-free, and he has begun to normally interact with others. He can go in a bounce house w/o seizing. He can laugh w/o seizing.
David also is slowly cutting back on Jayden's daily pill intake, down from 22 pills per day to five. The prescription drugs were stunting his learning and making him a zombie, David said. Weaning Jayden off pills hasn't been easy; the boy has suffered from withdrawal. "Ever see someone on crack coming off crack?" David asked. "That's what it looks like.
Read about Topamax. They were giving my 1yearold,10 pills a day."
It's been a little more than 1 year since David came to Harborside. Jayden is now comprehending things, making eye contact, and has learned more in the last month at school than he did in two years.
David knows about 40 parents who have their kids on CBD after they saw Jason and Jayden appear on the Discovery Channel documentary Weed Wars, filmed at Harborside and aired last year One parent in Colorado said her daughter had Dravet Syndrome and that she was going to die within a week from the seizures. The mother of 3 was ready to commit suicide. "Her daughter had the most aggressive seizures I've ever seen a 4year-old have.It looked like her limbs were going to break.
David tried contacting a Colorado dispensary, but the woman lacked a mandatory state ID card for medical cannabis, the dispensary refused to help her. David contacted the dispensary's tincture vendor directly, who agreed to help. The next day, David received an email.
"She wrote, It's the first time I've slept in 40 days," David said.
The woman's daughter is now on CBD,is part of a growing support group in Colorado that mirrors one in California. David has seen CBD help kids with autism, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. David gets calls from parents in non-medical marijuana states and in foreign countries. Some are moving to California.
Federal marijuana policy, as well as the policies of some states and counties, even in California is depriving kids and parents of treatment that works.. "Parents are going crazy," he said of those who have children with illnesses that don't respond to prescription drugs.
Earlier this year, cops arrested Jayden's tincture-maker and confiscated his supplies."My main guy that makes my son's CBD got pulled over with it in a jar. The police thought it was hash oil and took it away from him. That was Jayden's CBD. That was $2,000 worth.
"If I don't have CBD, my son is going to be a zombie again," he continued. "Not just a zombie, but in pain all the time. I used to see my son cry for 12-14 hrs a day. He's already lost 4 years of his childhood."
Federal policy is closing clubs,harming the professionalization of the lab industry and dispensaries. At the same time, kids are increasingly given prescription drugs that not don't work, but often prove to be fatal.
"We live in a country that gives methadone to children," David said. "I know parents that have kids on methadone, 4, 5,6, 7-year-olds. They're on Oxycontin. . .
About 106,000 Americans died last year from pharmaceuticals. Zero died from marijuana.
But the federal crackdown has shut down many clubs that sent their cannabis to labs for testing
Every day,thousands stream into the largest dispensary on the West Coast.
Jason David, a 35year-old single father from Modesto,showed up at Harborside in June 2011, desperately looking for a new treatment for his son. Jayden, now 5 1/2 has Dravet Syndrome, a severe, rare epilepsy sub-diagnosis that affects infants and children. When he was 4months old, he started having seizures. Anything could set them off, including laughing and playing. "When he'd see a bounce house,he'd get so happy he'd have a seizure."
Only about 800children in the world are thought to Dravet. By the age of four and a half, Jayden was having three hundred to five hundred myoclonic seizures per day. He also was taking 22 different medications, including powerful antipsychotics and anti-seizure drugs that are dangerous even for adults."When you look at the side effects... Half of them read 'committing suicide,dreams,yelling screaming, going crazy, pain, hallucinations.'
"My son would be crying and laughing at the same time, I have video of him screaming and tripping out of his mind. We had to get his liver tested every 6months. The medicine was killing him. He'd had a grand mal seizure that lasted an hour and a half. He'd been in an ambulance 45 times in the last year. Seeing your son in an ambulance, it just kills you. I lost my ex-wife, my car, my business, my family, my life."
David told his story to DeAngelo, a manager at Harborside who leads a monthly support group for seniors and families using medical marijuana. Jayden's doctors at UCSF had referred David to Harborside. "They told me ' you should try medical marijuana,' David said. He was one of many parents referred to Harborside by UCSF for treatment of serious illnesses and symptoms that don't respond to modern medicine.
Mainly, it was for appetite stimulation for kids with cancer, and pain management in paraplegic children, DeAngelo recalled.He recommended edible cannabis or tinctures, extractions of the plant in glycerin or alcohol.Kids need just a drop. Many are barely psychoactive. DeAngelo started seeing parents who had kids with epilepsy, or autism, or a combination of both.
"When I met Jason, he was the parent that was suffering the most..
Harborside gave David a tincture that was high in cannabidiol,CBD and has a multitude of medicinal properties. It's anti-inflammatory,for example. And the federal government has patented it as a neuroprotectant for strokes. But it hasn't been developed by pharmaceutical companies.
According to lab research, CBD dampens the activity of the human nervous system at the site of nerve cell receptors spread throughout the body's nervous system.
Marijuana with high levels of CBD worked for David's son calming Jayden's overactive nervous system at key receptor sites. "Jayden had a seizure every day of his life, until the first day I gave him CBD. It was the first4 days in his life that he was seizure free."
The tincture worked for 4months, but the 2nd batch didn't work. "For 2 months my son started getting bad," David said.
David had another idea. What if they tested the tincture to make sure it was the same one as before?
In fact, it was one of the few places in the world where such a thing was possible.
Oakland's Steep Hill lab is at the center of cannabis testing in California, and recognized as a world leader in medical-marijuana research.
With Steep Hill's help, Jason David discovered that the 1st tincture gave Jayden didn't have the same CBD potency as the 2nd one.
Lack of CBD explained why his son's seizures returned. From then on, DeAngelo worked with Steep Hill to find, test, and supply Jayden with a tincture not only high in CBD, but also high in its ratio to THC.
Only about 800 children in the world are thought to Dravet. By the age of 4 1/2, Jayden was having 300-500 myoclonic seizures per day. He also was taking 22 different medications, including powerful anti-psychotics and anti-seizure drugs that are dangerous for adults. "When you look at the side effects, half of them read: committing suicide, dreams, yelling, screaming, going crazy, pain, suffering,delusions, hallucinations. "
"My son would be crying and laughing at the same time," David continued. "I have video of him screaming and tripping out of his mind. We had to get his liver tested every 6 months. The medicine was killing him. He'd had a grand mal seizure that lasted an hour and a half. He'd been in an ambulance 45 times in the last year."
With a steady supply of high-CBD tincture, Jayden is almost completely seizure-free, and he has begun to normally interact with others. He can go in a bounce house w/o seizing. He can laugh w/o seizing.
David also is slowly cutting back on Jayden's daily pill intake, down from 22 pills per day to five. The prescription drugs were stunting his learning and making him a zombie, David said. Weaning Jayden off pills hasn't been easy; the boy has suffered from withdrawal. "Ever see someone on crack coming off crack?" David asked. "That's what it looks like.
Read about Topamax. They were giving my 1yearold,10 pills a day."
It's been a little more than 1 year since David came to Harborside. Jayden is now comprehending things, making eye contact, and has learned more in the last month at school than he did in two years.
David knows about 40 parents who have their kids on CBD after they saw Jason and Jayden appear on the Discovery Channel documentary Weed Wars, filmed at Harborside and aired last year One parent in Colorado said her daughter had Dravet Syndrome and that she was going to die within a week from the seizures. The mother of 3 was ready to commit suicide. "Her daughter had the most aggressive seizures I've ever seen a 4year-old have.It looked like her limbs were going to break.
David tried contacting a Colorado dispensary, but the woman lacked a mandatory state ID card for medical cannabis, the dispensary refused to help her. David contacted the dispensary's tincture vendor directly, who agreed to help. The next day, David received an email.
"She wrote, It's the first time I've slept in 40 days," David said.
The woman's daughter is now on CBD,is part of a growing support group in Colorado that mirrors one in California. David has seen CBD help kids with autism, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. David gets calls from parents in non-medical marijuana states and in foreign countries. Some are moving to California.
Federal marijuana policy, as well as the policies of some states and counties, even in California is depriving kids and parents of treatment that works.. "Parents are going crazy," he said of those who have children with illnesses that don't respond to prescription drugs.
Earlier this year, cops arrested Jayden's tincture-maker and confiscated his supplies."My main guy that makes my son's CBD got pulled over with it in a jar. The police thought it was hash oil and took it away from him. That was Jayden's CBD. That was $2,000 worth.
"If I don't have CBD, my son is going to be a zombie again," he continued. "Not just a zombie, but in pain all the time. I used to see my son cry for 12-14 hrs a day. He's already lost 4 years of his childhood."
Federal policy is closing clubs,harming the professionalization of the lab industry and dispensaries. At the same time, kids are increasingly given prescription drugs that not don't work, but often prove to be fatal.
"We live in a country that gives methadone to children," David said. "I know parents that have kids on methadone, 4, 5,6, 7-year-olds. They're on Oxycontin. . .
About 106,000 Americans died last year from pharmaceuticals. Zero died from marijuana.
But the federal crackdown has shut down many clubs that sent their cannabis to labs for testing
If it works in any way, shape or form, it should be legalized. Pain management, appetite booster, nerve calming.... just legalize it, regulate it and get people feeling better.
They administered medical pot in the form of a pill to my son back in 94 because the cocktails that he was on for aids were so destructive to his body and made him so so sick. So it has been around for awhile in pill form but only used in severe cases I guess. It worked for him as it calmed his stomach and allowed him to eat and gain weight. If I were very sick I would like to think it is available as an option. I have seen it help cancer patients with nausea as well.
Whenever you have something that won't fit into a single post, feel free to copy/paste it into multiple posts, in order to get it all in accurately. I often copy them into my word processing program to get an accurate character count.... Even MH's limits can be gotten around. :-)
That said -- the story is sad, but really an eye opener, I've never done pot, or other illegal drugs (I wouldn't be here now if I had, because my parents would have killed me.. lol), and don't condone them for recreational use, but I wouldn't be against someone (even myself) using pot to live a normal life (as in the case of these children), when other possibilities have been exhausted.
I've heard of people buying pot on the street (with the blessing of their doctor) in order to be pain free. Better to be able to get consistent, medicinal quality from a regulated lab, than from "Joe Blow", on the street.
That said -- the story is sad, but really an eye opener, I've never done pot, or other illegal drugs (I wouldn't be here now if I had, because my parents would have killed me.. lol), and don't condone them for recreational use, but I wouldn't be against someone (even myself) using pot to live a normal life (as in the case of these children), when other possibilities have been exhausted.
I've heard of people buying pot on the street (with the blessing of their doctor) in order to be pain free. Better to be able to get consistent, medicinal quality from a regulated lab, than from "Joe Blow", on the street.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/turning-pot-into-medicine/Content?oid=3245064&showFullText=true
The post was severely edited by me, so it would fit the space allowed by medhelp.
I had no idea of the extent of pots medicinal properties before reading this article and wanted to share it.
The post was severely edited by me, so it would fit the space allowed by medhelp.
I had no idea of the extent of pots medicinal properties before reading this article and wanted to share it.
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