Marijuana treatment helps cure kids with epilepsy

A study published on Wednesday proved that a chemical found in marijuana plants diminished severe seizures in children with epilepsy. The New England Journal of Medicine wrote that Cannabidiol (CBD) helped decrease convulsive seizures by 39 percent for those with Dravet syndrome. Lead author of the study, Dr. Orrin Devinsky, said up to 20 percent of children with Dravet can die from seizures before the age of 20. The study tested 120 children over a 14-week period and saw the seizures decrease from an average of 12.4 to 5.9 per month. Five percent of the children were completely seizure-free after the study. "After 3,800 years of cannabis use for epilepsy ... we finally have solid evidence," Dr. Orrin Devinsky said.