Cannabis oil may be popular among medical marijuana users and patients suffering, but it’s yet to make its way into conventional health clinics and hospitals.
However, earlier this year, a Colorado family convinced a Colorado hospital to incorporate Cannabis oil in their daughter’s treatment.
Amylea Nunez, who was only two months old when she began the treatment, was born with a rare form of epilepsy that caused her to have up to 15 seizures a day (1).
“She has a rare form of epilepsy,” Nicole Nunez, Amylea’s mom, told KRQE. “They don’t know exactly the type.” (2)
“About a day after we went home from delivery is when she had her first seizure.”
Doctors in New Mexico were stumped, unable to find answers as to why Amylea was experiencing so many seizures and how to control them.
Concerned for the health of their third child, Nicole and Ernie Nunez traveled from their home of Albuquerque, New Mexico to seek treatment in Colorado, where medical marijuana is legal.
While Children’s Hospital Colorado could not administer the CBD oil themselves, Amylea’s doctors did give Nicole the green light to treat her child.
“It’s been a drastic change,” Ernie said. “It’s been so hard for all of us.”
“The medication she’s on is hard for her liver and so we’re trying to do something different that’s not so bad on her body,”
Although Colorado is open minded, the Nunez family had to fight to get their daughter treated.
“I sat for a good three weeks fighting with the doctors and trying to talk them into giving me the okay” Nicole said.”I’ve been working with the case study team and the neurology team here at children’s and I’m hopeful this will work.”
“For us to get the approval for us to administer it while she in the NICU while she’s a patient…it’s kind of like a miracle. Because they were completely against it saying, ‘No you can’t do it, you have to wait until she’s an out-patient.”
After extensive research, Nicole started her daughter on Charlotte’s Web, a strain of marijuana typically used on sick children for its incredibly low (less than 1%) level of THC. This means that kids have no risk of experiencing a “high”. So far, Amylea is the youngest child to be treated with the oil.
After just two doses, Amylea began showing major improvement. The nurses who were treating her even found her to be more alert than usual after treatment.
“She’s interacting with us and she’s looking us in the eye. CBD oil did make a big difference on her,” Nicole said.
The Nunez family is now participating in a case study with the hospital.
Despite this, the Children’s Hospital Colorado released a statement saying the hospital does not prescribe or recommend medical marijuana:
“We don’t yet have the science to fully understand medical marijuana and how it impacts children, which is why Children’s Colorado supports research to determine the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana.
Children’s Colorado has a CDPHE-funded medical marijuana study that is strictly observational to assess response rates, changes in behavior and side effects of artisanal marijuana products on children with severe epilepsy. Enrollment starts at one-month of age. This study is for families who choose to provide artisanal marijuana to their children for epilepsy, and Children’s Colorado providers do NOT administer the marijuana.
Medical providers do not know the long-term effects that marijuana will have on learning, memory, and behavior, especially in infants and young children. We have more questions than answers. This is a tough issue, especially in Colorado where families have easier access to medical marijuana.
If a family makes the tough decision to explore the use of medical marijuana, Children’s Colorado will continue to provide care to these children. Most of these families have children with very complex medical needs, and Children’s Colorado wants to continue to see them, help to monitor them and be on the lookout for potential adverse side effects.”