There are too many diseases and disorders and too few failsafe and effective treatments out there. At such a point in time, Cannabidiol (CBD) has come as a welcome herbal boon to a lot of people across the world.
But trying something new is never easy, especially when a user is an elderly person or your child. But these categories of people are the most vulnerable to ailments and need constant care, most of which are difficult to treat and can often be debilitating too.
Besides treating some symptoms of cancer and fallouts of cancer treatment, CBD has been known to be helpful in treating certain symptoms of Parkinson’s [1 & 2] and Alzheimer’s [3 & 4] among the aged and autism [5 & 6], ADHD [7 & 8], and even controlling seizures associated with some very rare forms of epilepsy [9, 10 & 11] among children [12].
Is there any age limit of Buying or Consuming CBD Oil?
Theoretically, there is no age limit for consuming or using CBD oil as long as the substance is legal in your country (which it is the US). However, its access can be difficult owing to the numerous grey areas in CBD regulation in this country.
Earlier, since CBD was extracted from the same group of plants that produced THC, a hallucinatory substance, countries, and states were reluctant to allow its use, especially if the users belonged to the vulnerable categories – the elderly and children.
But some studies [13 & 14] have shown how CBD oil can safely treat symptoms among children suffering from rare forms of epilepsy, like Lennox–Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) and Dravet Syndrome.
But CBD oil often comes mixed with other components, including THC, and a lot more studies need to be done to be sure about the safe levels of THC in the bloodstream of the aged and children.
Safety & Legalities
Until then, it is safe for children under the age of 3 years and the elderly (60 years and above) to stick to CBD isolates or CBD oil having less than 0.3% THC level – both of which are legal across America.
However, safety isn’t the only thing of concern when it comes to CBD oil. Different states across the US have different laws. While some states maintain that you have to be at least 21 years to consume or use a CBD product, others are more lenient and allow cannabidiol to be used at an age as young as 16 years.
There are no specific age regulations in place across the country at the moment. However, it is expected that more lawsuits will follow soon enough, that with the growing popularity of this substance and its undeniable therapeutic benefits, and a specific age limit for CBD will be set by the government that will be effective for people across the country.
Our Takeaway
Quite a long list of ailments, associated with children, has been successfully treated with CBD oil.
We all know that CBD oil doesn’t come cheap and quite a few people even cross state borders to gain access to them to treat themselves or their loved ones.
It is also true that CBD can be quite therapeutic to the human body and mind, including children (we have seen its benefits to children with rare forms of epilepsy).
However, there are few things you must remember before you decide to administer your child with CBD oil or product. They are:
- Consult a doctor.
- Do your research on the brand of CBD oil you narrow down on before buying; look for users’ experience and third party lab test reports,
- Not all CBD products are good or even effective; some can even be harmful owing to the fact that the CBD may be artificially made in labs or aren’t CBD at all but some other chemicals altogether; they may even contain components that are harmful for human consumption, let alone children’s consumption.
- There is also a fear of contamination among hemp-based CBD products. Even though this type of CBD is safer as they have no or very low levels of THC, industrially made products produced on a large scale often tend to contain contaminants owing to lack of proper regulations.
- One of the components of natural cannabis – terpenes – is good for everyone, including children. Look for natural CBD products that contain these compounds. They help boost CBD’s strength even while playing therapeutic roles themselves.
CBD oil has certainly made its niche as a medically beneficial compound among both scientists and users. However, when it comes to our children, we need to be extra-careful about the veracity of the company claims about its products.
We can’t possibly emphasize this point well enough – Do your homework on the products available in the market, learn more about the brands, and certainly consult your doctor.
Your doctor may have a better idea as to which brand of CBD oil or product is safer and more efficient for your child.
Reference:
- Cannabidiol as a Promising Strategy to Treat and Prevent Movement Disorders? Frontiers in Pharmacology; May 11, 2018; Fernanda F Peres, Alvaro C. Lima, Jaime E. C. Hallak, José A. Crippa, Regina H. Silva, and Vanessa C Abílio; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5958190/
- Cannabinoids in Parkinson’s Disease; Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research; Feb 1, 2017; Mario Stampanoni Bassi, Andrea Sancesario, Roberta Morace, Diego Centonze, and Ennio Iezzi; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5436333/
- In vivo Evidence for Therapeutic Properties of Cannabidiol (CBD) for Alzheimer’s Disease; Frontiers in Pharmacology; Feb 3, 2017; Georgia Watt and Tim Karl; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5289988/
- Cannabidiol Modulates the Expression of Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Genes in Mesenchymal Stem Cells; International Journal of Molecular Sciences; Dec 23, 2016; Rosaliana Libro, Francesca Diomede, Domenico Scionti, Adriano Piattelli, Gianpaolo Grassi, Federica Pollastro, Placido Bramanti, Emanuela Mazzon, and Oriana Trubiani; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5297661/
- Oral Cannabidiol Use in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder to Treat Related Symptoms and Co-morbidities; Frontiers in Pharmacology; Jan 9, 2019; Dana Barchel, Orit Stolar, Tal De-Haan, Tomer Ziv-Baran, Naama Saban, Danny Or Fuchs, Gideon Koren, and Matitiahu Berkovitch; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6333745/
- Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cannabidiol: Have We Seen This Movie Before? Global Pediatric Health; Nov 29, 2018; Carlos A. Salgado, MD1 and Daniel Castellanos, MD; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6287295/
- Cannabinoids in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A randomised-controlled trial; European Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology; May 30, 2017; Cooper RE, Williams E, Seegobin S, Tye C, Kuntsi J, Asherson P; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28576350
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and lifetime cannabis use: genetic overlap and causality; Molecular Psychiatry; Jan 4, 2019; Soler Artigas M, Sánchez-Mora C, Rovira P, Richarte V, Garcia-Martínez I, Pagerols M, Demontis D, Stringer S; ADHD Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, International Cannabis Consortium, Vink JM, Børglum AD8, Neale BM, Franke B, Faraone SV, Casas M, Ramos-Quiroga JA, Ribasés M; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30610198
- Cannabidiol as a treatment for epilepsy; Journal of Neurology; Nov 9, 2017; William O. Pickrell1 and Neil P. Robertson; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5688214/
- Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Hard Evidence at Last? Journal of Epilepsy Research; Dec 31, 2017; Emilio Perucca; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5767492/
- Evidence for cannabis and cannabinoids for epilepsy: a systematic review of controlled and observational evidence; Journal of Neurology and Neurosurgery Psychiatry; Mar 6, 2018; Stockings E, Zagic D, Campbell G, Weier M, Hall WD, Nielsen S, Herkes GK, Farrell M, Degenhardt L; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29511052
- Cannabinoids in Pediatrics; The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics; May-Jun 2017; Christopher T Campbell, PharmD, Marjorie Shaw Phillips, MS, and Kalen Manasco, PharmD; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473390/
- Trial of Cannabidiol for Drug-Resistant Seizures in the Dravet Syndrome; The New England Journal of Medicine; May 25, 2017; Orrin Devinsky, M.D., J. Helen Cross, Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C.H., Linda Laux, M.D., Eric Marsh, M.D., Ian Miller, M.D., Rima Nabbout, M.D., Ingrid E. Scheffer, M.B., B.S., Ph.D., Elizabeth A. Thiele, M.D., Ph.D., and Stephen Wright, M.D. for the Cannabidiol in Dravet Syndrome Study Group; https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1611618
- Effect of Cannabidiol on Drop Seizures in the Lennox–Gastaut Syndrome; The New England Journal of Medicine; May 17, 2018; Orrin Devinsky, M.D., Anup D. Patel, M.D., J. Helen Cross, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., Vicente Villanueva, M.D., Ph.D., Elaine C. Wirrell, M.D., Michael Privitera, M.D., Sam M. Greenwood, Ph.D., Claire Roberts, Ph.D., Daniel Checketts, M.Sc., Kevan E. VanLandingham, M.D., Ph.D., and Sameer M. Zuberi, M.B., Ch.B., M.D. for the GWPCARE3 Study Group; https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1714631
