Know Your Herbs

Charlotte Figi, the little girl who inspired millions of people around the world as she and her family launched a movement that led to widespread changes in marijuana laws, has died due to complications related to coronavirus.

Speaking for her family, a friend announced Charlotte’s death on the Facebook page of Charlotte’s mother, Paige Figi, late on April 7, 2020.

“Charlotte is no longer suffering. She is seizure-free forever. Thank you so much for all of your love,” read the post, which also asked the public to respect the Figi family’s privacy.

Charlotte, who was 13, suffered from Dravet Syndrome, a rare drug-resistant epilepsy that begins in the first year of life in an otherwise healthy infant. 

Over the past several weeks, Paige Figi and her partner Greg Iafeliece had been posting updates on social media pages, detailing how the coronavirus had torn through their home, affecting everyone in their family of five, and ultimately sending Charlotte to the hospital.

“Charlotte will be fine, I’m sure of it. She hasn’t been inside a hospital in like nine years. And she didn’t successfully navigate 13 years of Dravet Syndrome and The War on Drugs just to die from a cold,” Figi wrote on April 4th, although she noted that her daughter was suffering from something that was “so far from a cold.”

The Realm of Caring Foundation, co-founded by Paige Figi, also confirmed that Charlotte’s death was due to complications from COVID-19.

On March 30th, Figi posted on Instagram that health officials in their hometown of Colorado Springs would not test them yet because “kids aren’t even getting [Covid-19].”

One day before Charlotte’s death, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on April 6th, which indicated that children seem to be largely unaffected by the deadly coronavirus, and so far make up a small percentage of confirmed cases.

But as in the case of adults, children who fared the worst were the youngest and those with underlying health conditions, like Charlotte whose epilepsy became evident when she was just three months old.

Throughout her early years, Charlotte suffered hundreds of seizures daily, small and gran mal. Explained by her mother to a rapt audience at the 2019 High Times’ Female 50 Awards ceremony, by the time she was five, Charlotte had nearly lost the ability to walk and talk and required a feeding tube. When pharmaceutical treatments had proven ineffective, Charlotte’s parents began to research the use of cannabis oil after hearing about other successful cases.

Another speaker at the women’s event, Eleanora Kennedy, a friend of Paige Figi, woke up to the shock of Charlotte’s death. “My heart is broken at this tragic news. Charlotte was the heart and soul of the medical cannabis struggle as she and her family bravely helped prove that CBD is effective in reducing seizures,” Kennedy, a co-founder and co-owner of High Times magazine told Weedmaps News. “CBD gave Charlotte, and many other children, the lives they deserved.” 

Developing Charlotte’s Web

When Charlotte was four, Paige sought out Joel Stanley, owner of the Colorado Springs medical marijuana dispensary, who along with his six brothers developed a high-cannabidiol (CBD), low-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) strain that proved effective in treating seizures — especially in children.

When Paige administered the Web oil, Charlotte went from having 300 seizures a week to a few episodes per month. In honor of Charlotte, the Stanley brothers named their CBD product and their Colorado-based company, Charlotte’s Web.

Charlotte’s story took on global significance in 2013 when Dr. Sanjay Gupta made a documentary about her as the first installment of CNN’s “Weed” series. And The New York Times referred to Charlotte Figi as “Patient Zero” in a May 2019 story on CBD.

Now, expressions of grief and support are flooding into her family’s social media pages from all over the world.

“Our hearts break for the Figi family. This Angel literally changed the world, and our family, forever. Praying for comfort,” wrote David and Mandi Cromar who relocated to Colorado several years ago from Utah to be closer to Charlotte Figi and the medical cannabis that kept her alive.

Via email, Charlotte’s Web told Weedmaps News that out of respect to the Figi family, they are not commenting or speaking with the media at this time.

The Stanley brothers’ tribute to Charlotte is available online. 

In lieu of flowers or cards, the Figi family has asked that donations be made to the Realm of Caring Foundation.

P.O. Box 15224

Colorado Springs, CO 80935

Featured image by Irina Iriser/Unsplash

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Cannabis consumers around the globe recognize 4:20PM as the perfect time of day to light up. And when not disrupted by life-altering viruses like Covid-19, celebrating 4/20 as marijuana’s (un)official holiday, with its accompanying 420 festivals and cannabis cups has never been more accepted. 

In wider cultural context, 4/20 has a long, strange history, with seemingly disproportionate days of murder and mayhem. The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999, and in 1914, members of the Colorado National Guard opened fire on striking labor activists in Ludlow, CO. In recent memory, the April 20, 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig killed 11 workers and unleashed ecological devastation into the Gulf of Mexico waters. 

Those who have 4/20 birthdays are an eclectic group, but the most infamous of all is Adolf Hitler, born in 1889. Hitler is rightfully reviled worldwide as the initiator of World War II and one the architects of the Holocaust, a “final solution” that murdered millions of people, including Jews, LGBTQ+ and gypsies. 

Fortunately, not everyone sharing this birthday is as notorious or dangerous as Adolf Hitler. And of course, many other April 20th babies have made notable contributions to art, culture, music and government. Read on for a bit of history and celebration.

Famous Names with 4/20 Birthdays

• Sandro Botticelli (1445): most famously known for his painting, The Birth of Venus, he was a defining painter of the Early Renaissance.
• St. Rose of Lima (1586): this patron saint for Latin America and the Philippines was known for a life of asceticism and caring for the poor.
• Joan Miró (1893): a leader in the Surrealism style, this Spanish painter created a large body of work, including The Tilled Field.
• John Paul Stevens (1920): Stevens, considered a moderate justice, was the third-longest serving Justice in the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Daniel Chester French (1850): French is an American sculptor most famous for his design of the statue of Abraham Lincoln at Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial.
• Tito Puente (1923): Puente, called the “King of Latin Music,” was a trailblazer in mambo and Latin Jazz compositions.
• George Takei (1937): famously known for his role as Sulu on the Star Trek TV series, Takei is now an author and activist, working closely with LGBTQ and Japanese American communities.
• Jessica Lange (1949): Lange is an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning actress best known for her roles in Tootsie and American Horror Story. 
• Wim Hof (1959): nicknamed The Iceman because of his ability to swim and run on ice and in extreme cold, the Dutch extreme athlete also created the Wim Hof breathing method.
• Carmen Electra (1972): probably most famous for her role in the TV show Baywatch, she also performed as a singer with Prince’s Paisley Park records and modeled for Playboy.
• Stephen Marley (1972): this musician follows in the footsteps of brother Ziggy Marley, and his father, reggae icon and Rastafarian Bob Marley.
• Killer Mike (1975): American rapper, actor, and activist who enthusiastically supported Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election cycle. 
• Miranda Kerr (1983): Kerr is not only the first Victoria’s Secret model from Australia, but has her own line of organic skincare products, KORA Organics.
• Tan France (1983): this fashion expert for the revamped Queer Eye also has the distinction of being the first openly gay, out Muslim man on western TV.

So, happy 4/20! Whether you’re celebrating your birthday or the freedom to blaze, do so safely. And wash your hands.

Featured image by Shutterstock. 

The post 4/20 Birthdays in Weed History appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has removed a marijuana-based medication from the list of federally controlled substances.

GW Pharmaceuticals announced on Monday that Epidiolex, a prescription drug it developed that’s derived from cannabis and used in the treatment of epilepsy, had been taken off Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act. Effectively immediately, the CBD medication is no longer a controlled substance, the company said.

That means individuals will be able to more easily obtain Epidiolex. GW said in its notice that it will “begin the process of implementing these changes at the state level and through the EPIDIOLEX distribution network.”

After that point, state reporting requirements under prescription drug monitoring programs will no longer be applicable. Like many non-controlled drugs, people will still need to get a prescription from a doctor, but those prescriptions will be valid for up to a year and can be transferred among pharmacies.

“This notification from DEA fully establishes that EPIDIOLEX, the only CBD medicine approved by FDA, is no longer a controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act,” Justin Gover, CEO of GW, said in a press release. “We would like to thank DEA for confirming the non-controlled status of this medicine.”

“Importantly, the descheduling of EPIDIOLEX has the potential to further ease patient access to this important therapy for patients living with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet syndrome, two of the most debilitating forms of epilepsy,” he said.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the medication in 2018. DEA said it would be placed in Schedule V, rather than Schedule I like marijuana and its derivatives.

FDA pushed back in a letter to the agency, arguing that CBD carries minimal risks and has established health benefits and so it shouldn’t be controlled at all. DEA replied that international treaty obligations warrant its control, albeit in the least restrictive category of Schedule V. FDA then said that if that changed, the agency should “promptly” revisit its status as a controlled substance.

Last year, the World Health Organization clarified that CBD containing no more than 0.2 percent THC is “not under international control.”

Meanwhile, FDA is in the process of developing regulations for hemp-derived cannabidiol products that aren’t approved as medications following the 2018 Farm Bill’s legalization of the crop and its derivatives. The agency said in a report to Congress last month that the rulemaking process is ongoing, but it is actively exploring pathways to allow for lawful sales of the cannabis compound as a dietary supplement, and it’s developing enforcement discretion guidance for products that are currently on the market.

Featured image from Shutterstock

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.

The post CBD Prescription Drug Is No Longer A Federally Controlled Substance appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm