Medical Marijuana & Epilepsy

Seizure disorders of all kinds come from the misfiring of neurons in the brain, and can manifest in numerous ways, from periodic blackouts all the way up to full body convulsions. Epilepsy, the most common of the seizure disorders, has long been thought of as a condition potentially treatable by medical cannabis.

This is because the endocannabinoid system is chiefly responsible for feedback regulation at the point where one neuron communicates with another, making it a critical part of normal signal transmission in the brain. Growing evidence suggests that the major non-psychoactive component of medical marijuana, CBD, promotes the activity of the endocannabinoid system, which in turn reduces the excitability of neurons in the brain.

Among patients with seizure disorders that were not responsive to currently available treatments, pure CBD reduced seizure activity to a much greater extent than those taking a placebo.