Parents and carers of children with epilepsy interested in learning more about medical cannabis have been invited to a forum in Townsville, Queensland.
The forum, to occur on November 14, is being coordingated by the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics (The University of Sydney) and Epilepsy Action Australia.
Researchers at the Lambert Initiative have been undertaking a study relating to the treatment of children with severe epilepsy with cannabis based medications. The Paediatric Epilepsy Lambert Initiative Cannabinoid Analysis (PELICAN) study is being carried out in partnership with Epilepsy Action Australia.
The upcoming forum will provide an overview of medicinal cannabis for childhood epilepsy, including current research and how medicinal cannabis products can be accessed in Queensland. Those attending will be able to ask questions and expressions of interest for the PELICAN study are also invited.
“All parents and families are welcome to participate, whether or not they are using medicinal cannabis to treat their child’s epilepsy,” says an event description. “Parents can also discover how they can receive feedback on the cannabinoid content of a product they are using, or have used in the past, through participating in the study.”
It costs nothing to attend the forum, but registration for the event is required and you’ll need to be quick – as the deadline is today.
An Epilepsy Action Australia survey was carried out earlier this year, and of the 976 Australians who responded, 14 percent of people with epilepsy stated they had used cannabis products in an effort to manage seizures.
The results were very encouraging – 90 percent of adults with epilepsy and 71 percent of parents or guardians of children with epilepsy reported success in seizure management.
You can read more about the survey results here, or the full survey report in the journal Epilepsy & Behaviour.
In related news, Epilepsy Action Australia recently reportedly took the Australian Medical Association to task over a TV report whereby a comment was made that children have presented to hospitals in comas and died from cannabis oil.
“If there had been a child death in Australia related to cannabinoid intoxication a Coroner’s inquest would have been required to investigate the death. We cannot find any such listing,” wrote Epilepsy Action Australia CEO, Carol Ireland.
Even in the USA, to the best of our knowledge, the number deaths from cannabis overdoses is zero.
