Statement from the Charlie Foundation

Just this morning, I saw that the Charlie Foundation had posted a statement of its position on the use of cannabis therapies to treat intractable epilepsy. This statement made me cry. 

Please read The Charlie Foundation's position on marijuana derivatives for the treatment of epilepsy. 

Although the Ketogenic Diet did not work for Otis (and believe me, after 2 and a half years, we really really tried to make it work!), it has been and continues to be an absolute miracle for many many children with intractable forms of epilepsy, which other medical treatments, including drugs and surgeries, have failed to treat. The Charlie Foundation was founded by Jim Abrams, the father Charlie, who as a toddler (he is an adult now) was cured of his seizures by the Ketogenic Diet. If you are interested in knowing more about the Charlie Foundation and the hope and valuable resources it provides to families of children either on, beginning, or considering Ketogenic therapies, I recommend that you pay a visit the Charlie Foundation web site, and its "About" page here. 

Although it will probably still be quite some time before our state and federal governments and the medical community accept and promote cannabis therapies as viable options for the treatment of epilepsy, statements like this one and the one issued recently by the Epilepsy Foundation give us so much hope that there will eventually be a time when families will not have to fight so hard or uproot their lives in order to pursue a plant-based treatment that could save their child's life.