Medical marijuana, for babies and their desperate parents
By Oren Liebermann, CNN
Updated 9:06 AM ET, Mon May 16, 2016
Israel's next export: Kosher cannabis?
Israel's next export: Kosher cannabis? 02:21
Story highlights
In Israel, a medical cannabis license allows patients between 20 and 200 grams per month, even kids
Outside personal anecdotes, research has shown the potential for medical cannabis to aid children
Haifa, Israel (CNN)Moments of joy are all too brief for Lavie Parush. They have been since the 2-year-old was born. "Gray" was the word his father used to describe his son, born unconscious. That night, Lavie had his first seizure.
"Immediately, they took him to the emergency room," said his father, Asaf Parush. "They doped him up and he was basically passed out the first week of his birth."
For six months, Parush and his wife, Noa, held on to the belief that Lavie's condition would improve. But the seizures worsened. He suffered dozens a day. Doctors diagnosed him with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Lavie was severely brain damaged.
Asaf Parush administers medical cannabis oil to his son Lavie to treat his epilepsy.
Asaf Parush administers medical cannabis oil to his son Lavie to treat his epilepsy.
Doctors put the baby on one drug after another to try to stop the seizures. Each drug required another visit to the hospital. And each one led to another disappointment as the seizures continued unabated. Some drugs had severe side effects, Parush said. Steroids, for example, weakened Lavie's immune system and caused him to become incredibly bloated.
Just before Lavie's first birthday, Parush heard about the use of medical marijuana -- commonly called medical cannabis in Israel -- to treat epilepsy.
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