World News: In Argentina, Chubut First to Accept Cannabis Oil

Not only is cannabis oil an approved medication in Argentina, but the medication is covered by health programs for public employees.  The primary use for the oil is the treatment of epilepsy and seizures.

Prior to its approval in Chubut, patients had to travel over 3,000 km round trip to Buenos Aires to obtain their medicine.

The Buenos Aires Herald reported that Governor Mario Das Neves has enacted legislation passed by the Legislature, which includes the use of cannabis oil known as Charlotte’s Web be included in the public health system not only for epilepsy but also “for other pathologies that the provincial health minister deems appropriate.” The oil is manufactured by a company in the United States, where it is considered a medical form of cannabis in some states. Due to its composition it does not produce a high associated with other marijuana products as has a low percentage of THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis.

Legislator Gutavo Fita of the Victory Front (FpV), told Télam that he was “very satisfied because from now on Chubut families that need cannabis oil for the treatment of a disease are no longer going to have the travel to the Customs Office in Buenos Aires to get and they are going to be more at ease.

Fita recalled that one of the reasons for the advocacy was the story of Micaela, who suffers from severe and debilitating seizures, and the failure of convention treatments, specialists and medication to provide any relief. Micaela was taking up to 27 pills a day and was suffering up to 10 seizures a day lasting up 35 minutes. Her mother, Carola, said that after discovering cannabis oil as an alternative, “she was hesitant at first to use the alternative treatments, even after legally acquiring it through an importation process that required an incredible about of bureaucratic paperwork.

“But the worsening of her condition and the circumstances forced the use of the oil and I had immediate results concerning the seizures, dropping drown from 10 a day to two or three a week and of less intensity” she said to Télam, BA Herald.

Read more here: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/222003/chubut-first-to-accept-cannabis-oil