BOISE, Idaho - Four Idaho children are receiving treatment for severe forms of epilepsy with an experimental, non-psychoactive drug derived from marijuana plants, state health officials announced Monday.
Elke Shaw-Tulloch of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare told state budget writers that Idaho has filled four of the 25 slots in the newly created Expanded Access Program, which Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter established last year through executive order. It treats children suffering from severe epileptic seizures with the new drug known as Epidiolex.
The program officially launched earlier this month.
Shaw-Tulloch said another 18 children are scheduled to be screened for the program, and if more families are interested in participating, the department will consult with the Federal Drug Administration and the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug, GW Pharmaceuticals.
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