WASHINGTON - Even as some states are allowing use of certain marijuana extracts to treat severe epilepsy, the rigorous research needed to prove if one of these compounds really works is just getting under way.
Monday, researchers said new findings from a small safety study suggest the extract cannabidiol should be put to the real test. That next-step experiment began enrolling patients earlier this month, and will compare a highly purified version named Epidiolex to a dummy drug, said lead researcher Dr. Orrin Devinsky, who will discuss the safety study at an American Academy of Neurology meeting next week.
"There's a dire need" for better epilepsy medications, said Devinsky, who directs New York University Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. "We may start to get some answers within a year."
