You may have heard this extraordinary story Charlotte FigiA little girl from Colorado who was dying from frequent violent seizures until her parents decided to try cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis and marijuana that has helped other sick children.
It turned out that CBD did for Charlotte what all the medications in the world couldn’t: it saved her life.
For nine years, She died in 2020 at the age of 13Charlotte almost didn’t have seizures. Her story was chronicled by CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, who said Charlotte’s experience completely changed his view of cannabis and its medical potential.
Gupta’s 2013 special issue “Weed” gave much-needed hope to Reseda nursery school teacher Beth Sahyoun, whose Son ArmandThe then-20-year-old had suffered frequent seizures for six years.
“I was totally reluctant,” Sahyun told me. “I’m not familiar with cannabis. We were part of the medical establishment, and it felt very uncomfortable, but when you’re desperate, you go into unknown territory. You have to do it.”
He soon found Dr. Bonnie Goldstein, a Los Angeles pediatrician and pioneering cannabis doctor who had helped Armand use CBD to stay seizure-free for nine years.
I met Goldstein several years ago when I was writing Proposition 64, a 2016 ballot measure An organization that is pushing to legalize recreational marijuana in California recently contacted me, distressed that the California Legislature is on the verge of making it impossible for her patients to obtain the CBD products they need to live normal lives.
controversial law, Assembly Bill 2223, It’s a well-intentioned effort to close a loophole in the state’s cannabis law that has led to a flood of unregulated, intoxicating, cannabis-derived products entering the market. The bill has already passed the Assembly with bipartisan support and is now before the Senate.
Federal Government Commercial production of cannabis legalizedIn 2018, a form of cannabis commonly grown for non-drug uses. Under federal law, hemp cannot contain more than 0.3% by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of marijuana known as THC. If that percentage is exceeded, the plant is considered hemp, which, unlike cannabis, is highly regulated, tested and taxed and can legally only be sold by dispensaries.
Here’s a loophole: A synthetic form of THC can be extracted from hemp-derived CBD. That substance, called delta-8 THC, is psychoactive. Because it is said to pack a softer punch than the THC in cannabis, delta-8 products are often referred to as “weed light” or “diet weed.” And because hemp is not regulated like cannabis, delta-8 products can be purchased by anyone online or at gas stations and convenience stores. The number of teenagers is alarming Reports of use of a product that has not undergone any systematic evaluation of its safety.
“During the conversion of CBD, you get unexpected byproducts. When you buy an unregulated, untested Delta product, you’re taking your health into your own hands,” Goldstein said.
Dr. Bonnie Goldstein, a pioneer in the use of CBD for pediatric patients, said this at Hesse Community Park in Los Angeles last week.
(Zoe Cranfill / Los Angeles Times)
Legal cannabis dispensaries, whose owners have overcome almost unimaginable bureaucratic and financial hurdles, are naturally unhappy about a product that harms their business and endangers the public.
Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, a Yolo County Democrat, is the author of AB 2223, which would ban these “weed lite” products. The bill would ban any hemp product that contains more than 1 milligram of THC per container.
“The final conclusion,” said Aguiar-Curry in a statement“It’s that if it makes you intoxicated, it shouldn’t be sold outside of dispensaries.”
“We are trying to strike a delicate balance between meeting children’s health needs and preventing illegal drugs from reaching other children,” he said in a statement emailed to me Friday morning. His bill ensures that CBD can be sold in the state as long as it does not contain traces of THC and is not intoxicating. Products with higher levels of THC would be available in dispensaries, where they will not fall into the hands of youth.
The problem is that Goldstein’s patients would run afoul of the law. They’re typically treated with a CBD-to-THC ratio of about 20 to 1 or higher, but they’d take enough to exceed the proposed THC limit.
“If my patient takes 20 milligrams of CBD, he’s also getting 1 milligram of THC,” he said. “But if he’s getting 200 milligrams of CBD, that same ratio gives him 10 milligrams of THC. If he’s taking 1,200 milligrams of CBD, he’s getting 60 milligrams of THC. There is no intoxication because we start with a low dose and titrate, which minimizes any harmful effects. Second, very high doses of CBD reduce the effects of THC because CBD opposes the effects of THC.”
Armand Sahyoun, 29, is on a 25-to-1 formulation; he takes 1,600 milligrams of CBD and 64 milligrams of THC daily.
“There’s no downside because it took months to get to this dose,” Goldstein said. “It works beautifully.”
“You’re lucky if you can find a bottle with more than 600 milligrams of CBD at a dispensary,” he said. “That means a child taking that high a dose would end up finishing an $80 bottle every day.” Beth Sahyoun told me her son’s medication costs $900 a month.
Charlotte’s mother, Peggy Figi, founded the nonprofit organization Coalition for Access Now, which educates the public and lawmakers about the health benefits of CBD.
“We are the victims of the harm caused by these hastily written state bills trying to fix the delta-8 problem,” Figi told me. “45 million Americans take CBD supplements daily for their health — first aiders, grandparents, children with epilepsy, the elderly, people with pain. These people are happily using this product.”
If there is no provision for families like the Sahyuns, the state Senate should not pass AB 2223. And even if it passes both houses in its current form, Governor Gavin Newsom should not sign it.
“Your child is sick, you have no hope, you find CBD hemp, which is not harmful, not addictive,” Goldstein said. “Your child is thriving, and now the government says you can’t have it anymore? That’s very cruel and senseless to understand.”
A ray of hope emerged last weekend: After trying in vain to contact Aguiar-Curry for some time, Goldstein finally heard from her office. The doctor hopes to meet with the legislator this week to discuss her concerns.
