Mom Finds Pot Reduces Her Son's Dravet Syndrome Seizures By 90 Percent

[Jacob Redmond]

Mandy McKnight had tried more than 10 medications to control the seizures of her seven-year-old son, who suffers from Dravet syndrome.

Two years ago, she decided to try medical marijuana. It reduced her son Liam's seizures by 90%, she said.

But obtaining Liam's medical marijuana, which he consumes in an oil form, wasn't easy.

McKnight didn't want Liam, who was five years old at the time, to smoke his medical marijuana, but that was the only legal way to consume it.

McKnight was illegally turning Liam's marijuana into oil at home.

Eventually, the issue went to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled in June that he could consume his medical marijuana in an edible form.

McKnight recalls the first day she decided to try medical marijuana. That was two years ago, when Liam was having 70 seizures, lasting average of three minutes, in one day.

"All he was doing was lying on the couch, seizing ... he was basically just catatonic on the couch," McKnight said.

Now, with medical marijuana, Liam has days where he's seizure-free. When he does have a seizure, it would be once a day, only lasting about 10 seconds, McKnight said.

"I've gotten accustomed to things being good," she said. "It's not perfect ... but he (Liam) is doing amazing."

Liam is off the other medications he took before marijuana, a cocktail of Valproic Acid, Clonazepam and Stiripentol, which comes with a handful of side effects including aggression, anxiety, drooling and loss of appetite, according to McKnight.

While it's now legal for Liam to take his medication in oil form, there's currently no medical marijuana producer in Canada distributing marijuana oil.

For now, McKnight is still making marijuana oil at home, though legally. She makes the oil at home, sends the content to a lab in British Columbia to ensure it's the right dosage of chemicals for Liam.

Since getting the go-ahead to produce marijuana in oil form, licensed producers are in the process of launching new products and waiting for Health Canada inspection.

Canopy Growth Corp., based in Smiths Falls, got the green light to launch an oil-based product in August, according to company president Mark Zekulin.

The company is hoping to start selling oil products by the end of year, but that depends on how soon they can launch a new product and get inspected by Health Canada.

Meanwhile, McKnight said she gets tons of emails from other parents asking about medical marijuana for children.

"Compared to where we were two years ago ... it's been leaps and bounds," McKnight said. "I don't think cannabis is a cure but it's a viable treatment."

News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Mom Finds Pot Reduces Her Son's Dravet Syndrome Seizures By 90 Percent
Author: Julienne Bay
Photo Credit: Dani-elle Dube
Website: Ottawa Sun

 

[OlderGrower]

Great story, with a great ending. Now if we could only get people like this elected into our congress and senate, imagine how fast this schedule 1 drug would be legalized. Always easier to be compassionate when you have a personal interest in something.

 

[DrRootswell]

We can get this done. Participate. We just want to sit home, get high, play video games, and just chill. I guarantee you the ideologues vote every election. It is US who are silent. Ask the difficult questions, participate. What you got is what you will get if you continue to fail to participate. It is this apathy and hopelessness that gives the ideologically driven such an advantage. They participate. There are many more of us than them, so if you want positive change, get out there, be engaged, and make the change happen. It won't happen without you, that much is certain. The ideologues won't change, that is for sure. It is US that have to be responsible for change. Forget engaging the ideologues, their minds are made up and whether ISIS or Pentacostals or Jehovah's Witnesses, you can argue with an ideologue until you are blue in the face, and in fact your opinions are never even considered by ideologues. I know, my mother was such a brain washed ideologue, (JW) that there was no discussing anything of importance or value with her. Might as well been discussing with a dog or a bird as to attempt to discuss anything with her. She was right, her preacher told her so, and that was that. There is no room in an ideologues world view for change or evolution in our society. They in fact pray for the total destruction of our society, which would prove the rightness of their position, sinners that we are. Confrontation with ideologues is never productive, a total waste of time and effort. Look to ISIS as a stark example of the reality of my thinking. The more you resist or try to interject reasoning and logic and compassion into the argument, the more they win. You can never win an argument with an ideologue, so why bother trying? Get energised, get involved, and participate. If we think there will be no changes, that disenergising thought makes us unable to participate and if we look at it as if participation is futile, we will continue to devolve. Light a fire under your asses, realize this movement is about much more than marijuana, it is about inclusiveness and our god given right to participate in our society, and basic human rights. Do not think you can change an ideologues mind as their whole conception of themselves is tightly tied into their unalterable ideology, so it is impossible for them to change their minds on anything. They have answers for everything. Most based on ignorance, and let me tell you, ignorance is NOT bliss!