Breaking News

Cannabidiol slashes seizures in kids with rare epilepsy, study finds

By Susan Scutti, CNN

Updated 2123 GMT (0523 HKT) May 24, 2017

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Between its outlaw image, controversial legal status and complex makeup -- the cannabis plant contains more than 400 individual chemicals -- marijuana's action in the brain and body is in many ways a mystery. The vast majority of studies on the drug have examined potential harm, as opposed to potential benefits. Even so, some medical uses are widely accepted and others are the subject of serious research. Here's a look at some potential uses of marijuana as medicine.
Photos: 7 uses for medical marijuana
Between its outlaw image, controversial legal status and complex makeup -- the cannabis plant contains more than 400 individual chemicals -- marijuana's action in the brain and body is in many ways a mystery. The vast majority of studies on the drug have examined potential harm, as opposed to potential benefits. Even so, some medical uses are widely accepted and others are the subject of serious research. Here's a look at some potential uses of marijuana as medicine.
Hide Caption
1 of 8
In the United States, pain is the most common condition for which medical cannabis is taken. Studies show the drug is especially effective against neuropathic pain, a type of pain involving nerve damage. Marijuana is less habit-forming than opiate drugs and carries virtually no risk of a fatal overdose.
Photos: 7 uses for medical marijuana
Pain – In the United States, pain is the most common condition for which medical cannabis is taken. Studies show the drug is especially effective against neuropathic pain, a type of pain involving nerve damage. Marijuana is less habit-forming than opiate drugs and carries virtually no risk of a fatal overdose.
Hide Caption
2 of 8
Sativex, a pharmaceutical version of cannabis, is approved in 25 countries as a treatment for painful muscle spasms arising from multiple sclerosis.
Photos: 7 uses for medical marijuana
Multiple sclerosis – Sativex, a pharmaceutical version of cannabis, is approved in 25 countries as a treatment for painful muscle spasms arising from multiple sclerosis.
Hide Caption
3 of 8
The munchies are no joke. Marijuana is sometimes prescribed to stop nausea or induce appetite in people who have trouble eating, including patients suffering from AIDS or going through chemotherapy for cancer.
Photos: 7 uses for medical marijuana
Nausea – The munchies are no joke. Marijuana is sometimes prescribed to stop nausea or induce appetite in people who have trouble eating, including patients suffering from AIDS or going through chemotherapy for cancer.
Hide Caption
4 of 8
More than 100 families have moved to Colorado to access "Charlotte's Web," a cannabis strain that in some <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/">epileptic children seems to dramatically reduce seizures</a>. Taken as an oil, the medicine is high in a chemical called CBD and low in THC, the component that makes people "high."
Photos: 7 uses for medical marijuana
Epilepsy – More than 100 families have moved to Colorado to access "Charlotte's Web," a cannabis strain that in some epileptic children seems to dramatically reduce seizures. Taken as an oil, the medicine is high in a chemical called CBD and low in THC, the component that makes people "high."
Hide Caption
5 of 8
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is following the work of Israeli researchers who are exploring cannabis as a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury. In 2003, along with two colleagues, Nobel laureate Julius Axelrod, an American, obtained <a href="http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507" target="_blank">a patent </a>on the drug for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.
Photos: 7 uses for medical marijuana
Concussion – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is following the work of Israeli researchers who are exploring cannabis as a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury. In 2003, along with two colleagues, Nobel laureate Julius Axelrod, an American, obtained a patent on the drug for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.