Pubdate: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Copyright: 2014 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/mVLAxQfA Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159 Author: Marie French, Bloomberg News Page: 14A MOMS' POT-FOR-KIDS CAMPAIGN SEEKS HELP FOR CHILDREN SUFFERING SEIZURES April Sintz is fighting to loosen marijuana laws for her 7-year-old epileptic son. She is one of hundreds of moms nationwide who have opened a new front in the drive to expand the drug's legal use. While supplying pot to a child is bound to raise eyebrows, Sintz said early evidence on the marijuana extract cannabidiol, also known as CBD, suggests it's a potent anticonvulsant with few dangerous side effects. That could help save the life of her son, Isaac, who has 30 seizures or so a day and suffers with kidney damage from his present treatments, she said. "We're probably going to lose our son to his kidneys or his seizures," said Sintz, of South Jordan, Utah, near Salt Lake City. "We can't find a medication to safely control those seizures, which is why we're so excited for this oil." So far, the oil hasn't been tested in large randomized trials that could prove its safety and efficacy. The most recent data came on June17, when researchers reported that a purified form of CBD made by GW Pharmaceuticals, a British-based developer of drugs derived from cannabis plants, reduced seizure frequency by at least 50 percent over 12 weeks in 27 patients. The average age of the participants was 10, and all had failed on other treatments. Only mild or moderate side effects, including sleepiness, were recorded. Larger trials are scheduled ahead. Utah's health department last week began issuing registration cards, and Sintz said in a telephone interview that she's planning to get one for her son within the week so the family can legally possess and treat Isaac. Initially, "we were known as the marijuana moms, which we are not obviously," Sintz said about the process of getting a bill through the state legislature. "But as soon as they sat down with us and heard about our children and what we're going through on a daily basis, they changed their tune." The parents say that the CBD extract doesn't carry pot's ability to leave users stoned, and can be a safer alternative to the 20 or so standard, U.S.-approved drugs for epilepsy that carry side effects that range from drowsiness, nausea and weight changes to dangerous brain and kidney damage. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the drug fast track status for two epilepsy diagnoses, a designation that help expedite development and the agency's review of medicines to treat serious conditions. Elizabeth Thiele, director of the pediatric epilepsy service at Massachusetts General Hospital, said it's important to get those results since no other research at this point goes to CBD's long-term safety. "My gut is that CBD is going to be pretty safe, but it would be nice to know that," Thiele said in a telephone interview. "I don't personally think that there's enough data for me to start prescribing medical marijuana to people." Maria La France of Des Moines, Iowa, whose 12- year-old son, Quincy, also has epilepsy, said drugs used to control his seizures left him with brain damage. "How ironic that the federal government is so concerned about cannabis when these FDA-approved drugs have caused so much damage to my son," France said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt