Philadelphia Medicine Fall/Winter 2019 - 26

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FEATURE

CURE and EPILEPSY
By: Sabrina Andrews, Director of Operations, Cure Pennsylvania

n May the Epilepsy Foundation of Eastern
Pennsylvania hosted its annual Lancaster
Epilepsy Education Exchange, which included information about medical cannabis.
In attendance was Paul Gockley, Registered
Pharmacist and Compliance Director at Cure
dispensary in Lancaster, who shared some
highlights from the event. "Dr. Heather D.
Harle (MD, Neurologist at Penn Medicine
at Lancaster General Health Physicians) presented on the history of cannabis in medicine,
the lack of access to quality research at this
time, and how important patient-physician
communication is when considering, or continuing, to use medical
cannabis." Attendees also got to learn from Dr. Claire Flaherty,
PhD, Neuropsychologist of Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
"Dr. Flaherty researches epilepsy and highlighted stress reduction
as a tool to decrease the frequency and severity of seizures which
medical cannabis may offer with benefits like improved sleep or
lowered anxiety," explained Gockley. Since the conference, Gockley
and some of his fellow pharmacists at Cure provided information
that prospective and new medical cannabis patients with epileptic
conditions may find helpful.
Common questions patients and caregivers ask about using medical cannabis for treating epileptic conditions include:
1. What are the starting doses and what forms are best?
2. Does cannabis affect cognitive development or learning?
3. Does it have addictive properties?
4. Will it have negative impacts on memory?
5. Can medical cannabis interact with prescription medications?
6. What are the side effects of medical cannabis?
7. How much do medical cannabis products cost?
All of the above are valid questions. Therefore, patients and
caregivers need to advocate for themselves (or for their patients)

26 Philadelphia Medicine : Fall/Winter 2019

and review quality research, communicate
with their physicians, and consult the medical
professionals available, by law, at Pennsylvania
(PA) medical cannabis dispensaries.
The long-term effects of medical cannabis
are unknown and there is a paucity of high
quality clinical trials proving its therapeutic
value. Medical cannabis may worsen symptoms in some patients. Brain development
for adolescent users may be affected. There is
potential for addiction or abuse by patients.
Patients should use extreme caution administering medical cannabis products to terminate acute episodes
of seizures; an often overlooked risk of using medical cannabis to
treat seizures is lack of consistent access or supply. If hospitalized, a
patient may not have access to medical cannabis.
If there are such potential risks and perhaps no benefit in certain
patients, why would anyone try medical cannabis for epileptic conditions? Despite the lack of evidence-based science, success stories
shared by medical cannabis patients at Cure and in literature have
included reports of reduced number of monthly seizure activity. One
Cure caregiver has reported that RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) has been
beneficial as a rescue therapy for their pediatric patient with epileptic
conditions. Patients may use medical cannabis for a variety of reasons,
but the most common goals of those with epileptic conditions are
to decrease the frequency and severity of seizures, reduce the need
for traditional anti-epileptic medications, shorten recovery time and
improve mood and sleep.
To establish the utility of medical cannabis for prevention or
treatment of seizures in any patient population, especially children,
more data and research is needed. Cannabis remains a Schedule I
substance federally, therefore patients and caregivers should utilize
state programs, such as the PA Medical Marijuana Program, which
has regulatory standards in place for production and testing. Only
registered patients and caretakers with a certified physician's recommendation may purchase medical cannabis in the state of PA. For
information on how to get a patient card or become a caregiver of
a patient, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health's website. *

Philadelphia Medicine Fall/Winter 2019

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