Cannabis Patient Care - October 2022

Cannabis Patient Care October 2022

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cannabis patient care | vol. 3 no. 3 cannapatientcare.com 6 from the editor c a n n a b i s patient c a r e ® | o c t o b e r 2 0 2 2 | v o l 3 • n o 3 Megan L'Heureux Group Editorial Director Why Not Medical Cannabis? WELCOME TO THE LATEST EDITION of Cannabis Patient Care! The focus of this issue is pediatric cancer. This is a tough subject to cover, but one that desperately needs attention. I remember the first time I heard presenta- tions from several of the patients, advocates, and car- egivers we highlight in these pages. Their personal sto- ries brought me to tears, and still do, to this day. I must admit my own bias at the start of my career in the can- nabis industry; when I heard people were giving med- ical cannabis to children, I was skeptical and a little shocked. However, I went to medical cannabis talks to learn. I discovered families that were desperate to do anything and everything to help their children feel bet- ter, stop the pain, and possibly be cancer-free. Imagine my surprise when I learned that cannabis was doing all those things for some of these patients! Why wasn't this being broadcast from every news station? I'm showing some of my naïveté here. Of course, there is still major stigma to overcome, protocols to be discov- ered, clinical trials, and research, research, research . . . but I still can't help but question why, especially for all those children who won't live long enough to see these hurdles be overcome. Why can't we help those children now? As with all our issues, we take the approach of highlighting the research and then several perspec- tives from people in the trenches. The challenge you will see in our first article is the huge lack of research in this area. Ruth Fisher explains that while preclini- cal research provides clear mechanisms of action for cannabis' potential to treat pediatric oncology, clini- cal studies are difficult to conduct due to the associ- ated ethics of testing children. Dr. Dustin Sulak shares that on the basis of his clin- ical experience, nearly anyone with cancer can benefit from appropriately-dosed cannabis, regardless of their age. Dr. Sulak states that medical cannabis is invaluable in treating cancer-related symptoms such as pain, mit- igating the adverse effects of conventional treatments, and as a tool in end-of-life care. However, Dr. Sulak does note that many clinicians and parents are less likely to consider cannabis for pediatric patients with cancer and urges everyone to consider the therapeutic and pallia- tive potential of cannabis without bias. From the nursing side of the equation, Katherine Golden, RN, also discusses the challenges associated with medical cannabis use for pediatric patients. Golden calls for more research focused on children as well as federal legalization of medical cannabis, but also notes that while cannabis use is never appropri- ate for healthy children, these are not the children in need. She adds that sick children undergoing severe treatment with few options to help them feel better are in great need, and if cannabis can help then every possible option must be considered. Next, we had the pleasure of speaking with patient and advocate, Rylie Maedler and her mom Janie. Rylie shares her inspiring story: from being diagnosed with aggressive giant cell granuloma bone tumors in sec- ond grade to finding relief and remission with THC, CBD, and THCA oils to founding Rylie's Smile Foundation and Rylie's Sunshine. Rylie also shares her advocacy efforts and success in changing laws in her home state of Del- aware: Senate Bill 90, also called "Rylie's Law," was in- troduced to allow children in Delaware to use cannabis oil to treat a variety of conditions and Senate Bill 181 allowed medical cannabis on school grounds. Another incredible story comes from Tracy Ryan, who is the caregiver and fierce advocate for her daugh- ter Sophie. Here, Tracy shares the initial treatment for Sophie's brain tumor, the unexpected discovery of nat- ural killer cells with Dr. Anahid Jewett, and the forma- tion of their company NKore BioTherapeutics. Finally, we hear from Meghan Hall about her daughter Brook- lyn's battle with class 3 anaplastic ependymoma. The Halls tried all available treatment options and when that failed, they turned to medical cannabis and found recovery for Brooklyn with Rick Simpson Oil. Pediatric cancer deserves more attention from everyone, but especially researchers. Medical canna- bis is not a cure, but it can certainly offer an improved quality of life and symptom relief to patients who so desperately need it. I hope you'll join us at upcoming Cannabis Science Conference events where we plan to continue addressing topics such as this. Our next event is April 19-21 st in Portland, Oregon. We hope you enjoy this issue!

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