NC Senate Approves CBD Oil for Medical Treatment of Seizures

State lawmakers on Thursday approved a measure to allow the use of CBD oil for medical treatment of seizure disorders, sending the proposal to Gov. Pat McCrory.

McCrory said Thursday evening that he would sign the measure into law.

“This law will help ease the suffering endured by children from whom no other treatments are effective against their seizures,” he said in a statement.  “I want to congratulate the General Assembly for crafting a bill that not only improves the lives of many North Carolina children and their parents, but also provides common-sense regulation and facilitates clinical research at our major research universities.”

CBD stands for cannabidiol, a compound found in marijuana. The oil is being increasingly used by doctors to treat intractable seizure disorders, especially in children, for which other therapies are ineffective and often toxic themselves.

Under the bill, families and their neurologists would have to register with the state to possess and administer the CBD oil. Physicians also would be required to participate in a state pilot study of the effectiveness of the treatment on seizure disorders.

The bill initially called for the CBD oil to become legal as of Oct. 1, but lawmakers moved that date up to allow families to start using it in North Carolina as soon as the Department of Health and Human Services drafts rules for the pilot study.

The legislation also calls on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Wake Forest University and East Carolina University to work with the registered neurologists on clinical studies of the CBD oil. Universities also could start growing hemp to conduct research on the plant itself.

Click HERE to read more.