Cannabis for Epilepsy Treatment - Dr. Green Relief Marijuana Doctors

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Can cannabis help epilepsy? For a few rare forms, yes: in randomized trials, prescription CBD reduced seizures in Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, but NIH says there is not enough research on more common forms.

The oldest detailed account of epilepsy is on a Babylonian tablet dating back to as early as 2000 B.C.E. Back then, we did not know the brain’s role in epilepsy and it was largely believed to be caused by the supernatural. It wasn’t until Hippocrates’ treatise, The Sacred Disease, that epilepsy was considered to be a brain disease.
Medicinal use of cannabis goes back at least 3,000 years, and Western medicine has tried it for convulsions since 1839, according to the National Cancer Institute.

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is known as a seizure disorder, a neurological condition which affects the central nervous system. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had two or more seizures or after having one seizure with a high probability of more.
They are not caused by a known medical condition, like low blood sugar, but instead by electrical disturbances in the brain. They can sometimes be the result of a traumatic brain injury or genetics, but most of the time the cause of epilepsy is unknown.

About 2.9 million U.S. adults and 456,000 children had active epilepsy in 2021 and 2022, according to CDC. Almost a third of people with epilepsy have seizures that medicines do not control.
The severity and type of seizures associated with epilepsy can vary. The most dangerous are grand mal or tonic-clonic seizures. These cause unconsciousness and violent twitching. The episode can last minutes while the electrical storm works its way through the brain. There are also less severe forms of seizures associated with the disease.

Cannabis for the Treatment of Epilepsy

Randomized placebo-controlled trials in Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome now show that prescription cannabidiol (CBD) reduces seizures in these rare epilepsies. Epidiolex, a purified CBD medicine, is FDA-approved for seizures from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex in patients 1 year and older. Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes are rare forms of epilepsy that often result in uncontrolled seizures.

An earlier open-label study, published in 2016, gave purified CBD to people with treatment-resistant epilepsy at 11 U.S. epilepsy centers. In the study, 162 patients were treated with an extract of 99% cannabidiol. They were monitored for 12 weeks and took CBD alongside their usual seizure medicines.
The median drop in monthly motor seizures was 36.5%, but with no placebo group the study could not prove CBD caused it.

The journal Epilepsy and Behavior published a study looking at the efficacy of artisanal cannabis in treating epilepsy. Of 272 combined patients from Washington and California, 14% found that artisanal cannabis extracts had no effect. 15% experienced a 1-25% reduction in seizures. 18% experienced a 26-50% reduction in seizures. 17% experienced a 51-75% reduction in seizures. 28% experienced a 76-99% reduction in seizures, and 10% experienced a complete clinical response.
That study was a retrospective review with no comparison group, so it cannot show that artisanal extracts work where approved medicines failed.

Side Effects of Cannabis in Epilepsy Patients

In trials, the most common side effects of prescription CBD were sleepiness, decreased appetite, diarrhea and fatigue, and the FDA warns CBD can harm the liver and interact with other drugs. In the 2016 open-label study, 3% of patients stopped because of side effects.

Cannabis Strains for Epilepsy

No strain has been proven to treat seizures. The products below are known by name among families, but none is FDA-approved, and their content can differ from the label.

Charlotte’s Web: This Sativa plant with less than 0.3% THC was specifically cultivated by Colorado breeders for a young patient named Charlotte who had Dravet syndrome. As a hemp product, it must contain no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight under federal law today. From November 12, 2026, the federal hemp definition leaves out products with cannabinoids the cannabis plant cannot produce naturally, and a 2026 law delays its 0.4 mg total THC per container limit until December 11, 2026.
Haleigh’s Hope: Another strain that was developed with its namesake in mind. Haleigh suffered from both cerebral palsy and epilepsy. This hybrid has a CBD to THC ratio of 24:1. That is one family’s account, not a clinical result.
Valentine X: Named for St. Valentine, the patron saint of epilepsy. This is another hybrid which has a 50/50 ratio of THC and CBD. There are no published trials of this strain for seizures.

The Takeaway

As with many of the medicinal applications of cannabis, the efficacy, and safety of using it to treat epilepsy requires further study. Trials support prescription CBD for a few rare epilepsies, but NIH says there is not enough research to know whether cannabinoids help more common forms of epilepsy. People with hard-to-control seizures should ask their neurologist about prescription CBD and other options before trying store-bought cannabis products. Always speak with a physician before adding cannabis to your current medications.