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Victoria green lights cannabis for kids
The Murdoch Children’s ­Research Institute will begin to explore the use of medicinal cannabis to reduce symptoms for children in palliative care who are suffering from conditions other than cancer.
Victoria has signed off on a world-first study into the use of medicinal cannabis for children in palliative care.
This includes severe cerebral palsy, neurodegenerative disorders and cardiac disease.
About 70 per cent of children in Victoria’s palliative care unit have conditions other than cancer.
The study is the first in the world to investigate how medicinal cannabis could help reduce their pain.
“In paediatric palliative care, life expectancy is often very difficult to predict. Their quality of life is often very poor, and of course the parents want their kids to be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible.
Associate Professor Daryl Efron,
Lead researcher
“
Currently,  medicinal cannabis is held to a different level of regulation to other medications. It’s typically unsubsidised, making it very expensive for families, and patients have to justify their need.
Parents have long been calling for the drug to be explored among child patients.
Many will have had limited success with pain alleviators currently on the market, which often aren’t formulated for children or come with significant side-effects.
Recruitment will begin later this year to find 10 patients as young as six months old living with a life-limiting condition.
In Australia, medicinal cannabis is approved for adults living with quite a few conditions, including multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, chemo-induced nausea and in palliative care.
Associate Professor Efron will oversee the study, working with parents and children to administer low doses of CBD or THC oil - doses low enough to reduce pain, anxiety and discomfort without getting patients high.
If they can prove it’s helpful among children, it will be a treatment breakthrough.
WORDS: Chloe WhelanPRODUCER: Bianca Mastroianni
																															

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/web-stories/free/the-australian/victoria-green-lights-cannabis-for-kids