Can I Use My Mississippi Marijuana Card to Treat Epilepsy?
Will Epilepsy and Seizure Conditions in Mississippi be Qualifying Conditions to Use Medical Marijuana in Mississippi?
When the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned Initiative 65, the law that would have created a medical marijuana market here, it created a lot of questions.
We know that the State Legislature and Governor Reeves are working on creating a new medical marijuana law, but we don’t know what that’s going to look like.
We do know that a majority of Magnolia State residents have said they’d favor a medical marijuana program that resembles Initiative 65, and that Initiative 65 would have considered epilepsy and other seizure conditions qualifying conditions to use medical marijuana.
So our best guess is yes, Mississippi’s medical marijuana law will allow people with epilepsy and other seizure conditions to use cannabis to treat their condition.
And that’s good news, given that epilepsy is fairly common and difficult to treat, and that research indicates that medical marijuana can be a safe and effective treatment for this often debilitating disease.
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a spectrum disorder that includes more than 25 syndromes that are marked by seizures of varying severity.
Combined, epilepsy and seizure conditions are the fourth most common neurological disease in the U.S. At some point in their lives, nearly 4% of people will develop epilepsy, and nearly 40,000 Mississippians are believed to have the condition.
Epilepsy is not only fairly common, but it can seriously diminish the quality of life of those who have it. Epilepsy patients are more likely to experience falls, pregnancy complications, car accidents, and mental health issues than the general population. Fortunately, while there are more serious and even fatal outcomes people with epilepsy are more likely to experience, these are far less common.
There is no cure for epilepsy, but for most people its symptoms can be managed with medication and, in rarer cases, surgery.
Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that one medication that can safely and effectively treat epilepsy and seizure disorders is medical marijuana.
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Traditional Epilepsy Medications and Their Shortcomings
Epilepsy has usually been treated with pharmaceutical medications, but these traditional medications are ineffective for many epilepsy sufferers.
About 30-40% of epilepsy patients suffer from treatment-resistant forms of the disease. For this sizable portion of people with epilepsy, traditional medications are ineffective.
But even for the 60-70% of people with epilepsy that does respond well to traditional medication, there are often negative side effects, including: fatigue; dizziness; stomach pain and discomfort; and blurred vision. These issues can often be managed through adjustments in dosages.
Unfortunately, there are also “idiosyncratic” side effects, and although less common, these side effects are more serious and cannot be alleviated by changing dosages. These idiosyncratic effects can include: sharp declines in white blood cells, which are vital for infection fighting; liver issues; severe loss of the blood platelets needed to control bleeding, pancreas complications, and even death.
There is no way to predict which patients will and will not develop idiosyncratic side effects. Some patients will need to take routine blood tests in order to monitor the possibility of these effects developing, but for others even these tests can be unhelpful in determining the likelihood of developing these more severe side effects.
Epilepsy and Medical Marijuana
There is already abundant research indicating that medical marijuana is a safe and effective treatment for epilepsy and other seizure disorders, and it's growing all the time.
One ingredient of medical marijuana, Cannabidiol, also known as CBS, alleviates the pain, inflammation, and anxiety, often associated with epilepsy. CBD can also act as an anticonvulsant.
In one 2015 study, people with treatment-resistant epilepsy experienced saw the frequency of their seizures drop an average of 37% over three months. CBD was highly tolerable among the study participants, with only 5 of the 214 participants choosing to withdraw because of possible side effects possibly caused by CBD.
A 2018 study conducted at the University of Alabama generated similar results, as people with treatment-resistant epilepsy saw a significant reduction in the amount and severity of their seizures over the twelve weeks of the study. Even study participants who reduced their use of traditional epilepsy medications during the study saw a decline in seizure occurrence and intensity. Of the 132 participants, only 4 because of side effects. Another exciting aspect of this study was that 72 of the participants were children, and the treatment proved safe and effective for them as well.
That year also saw the publication of two peer-reviewed articles that analyzed multiple studies looking at multiple studies of medical marijuana as an epilepsy treatment.
The first of these articles examined several studies and concluded that together they indicated that CBD was an effective epilepsy medication. Furthermore, they also concluded that using more complete marijuana ingredients, such as a combination of CBD and THC, might be even more effective at treating epilepsy.
The second article reviewed studies from five different decades and found that “cannabis preparations for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy… are observed to be more efficacious with less side effect profile.”
Thinking About Medical Marijuana for Your Epilepsy? You Don’t Have to Go It Alone.
Weighing your treatment options for epilepsy is no small task, but fortunately we’re here to help.
Contact a member of our friendly support staff at (833) 781-6635, and they’ll answer your questions and guide you through the process of getting a Mississippi Marijuana Card.
Or you can reserve an evaluation today. We’ll set you up with an appointment with one of our compassionate and knowledgeable doctors just as soon as Mississippi’s medical marijuana program is up and running. Together, you and your doctor will discuss your specific situation and options to decide if medical marijuana is the right choice for you. And you’ll also receive $25 of the cost of the appointment!