The doc caquiste, to him, is for the pot

Screenshot
Dr. Lionel Carmant, in his laboratory at the CHU Sainte-Justine.

Marie-Christine Noël

Saturday, 17 march 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 17 march 2018 01:00

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The doctor the star of the Coalition avenir Québec is more open to the legalisation of cannabis for his own political formation : it deals with the children with success thanks to a derivative of this substance.

Dr. Lionel Carmant has not yet announced its candidates in the next provincial election in October, even if it is tipped as “ministrable” to Health care in any government caquiste. But what we already know assuredly, that is that it is much less cautious than his colleagues caquistes about the legalisation of cannabis.

“Anyway, we don’t have a choice,” he said, aware that the federal bill seems inevitable, and that Quebec will have to comply with.

“I’m for the legalization, it is made here in our society,” he said in an interview while he was explaining the beneficial effects of cannabis oil administered to children with epilepsy.

According to him, the minimum age to consume it in a recreational capacity should be 21 years of age.

The CAQ ahead of the same figure, but has adopted a position much more hostile compared to the pot. Its spokesman in matters of justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, said on 13 September that his party is ” opposed to the legalisation of cannabis “.

He argued that the CAQ wanted to ” bring the debate on the fight against the consumption of cannabis “.

Commissioned by the CAQ

Dr. Carmant is focusing its research on the impact of epilepsy in children. A pioneer in the field, he has developed a protocol to treat young people with epilepsy with cannabis oil.

The CAQ has also given the mandate to develop a plan of early screening of developmental disorders in toddlers when its leader, François Legault, presented it proudly to the media, the 22 January, when the caucus of the party in Sainte-Adèle.

On the question of cannabis, Dr. Carmant has the intention of helping the CAQ to find solutions.

“I can explain the side effects and benefits […] let’s Say, it is very used, the marijuana, and I think that to get to the bottom of the problem, we need to understand why so many young people use it,” he said. I know that these are often children with depression and anxiety. “

“I understand the people who want to delay the age. What worries me even more is how you [the distributor of] marijuana is not legal will adjust to keep its customer base, ” notes Dr. Carmant.

For or against

In the political spectrum of quebec, the liberal Party also has concerns with the legalization promised by the Trudeau government. The minister responsible for the public Health, Lucie Charlebois, has never hidden his concern about the legalization ” of a substance that involves significant risks for the health “.

The Parti québécois is far more flexible. It adheres to the proposal that Ottawa set the legal age at 18 years.

Québec solidaire is also for the project of federal law. The mna Amir Khadir, has also requested last month that the government Couillard to allow the cultivation of cannabis plants at home.

He works miracles with cannabis oil

Dr. Lionel Carmant successfully treat many children with epilepsy using an oil-based treatment of cannabis without the euphoric effect. Its protocol celebrates its first year of existence this month, and he already has a ” miracle “.

“The youngest treated group had one or two months of his arrival, points out the researcher. The average age of my patients is five or six years. “

To qualify for treatment, children must first have tried, without success, five anticonvulsant drugs. The treatment of cannabis oil is, therefore, their last resort.

And the results are conclusive. “There are some patients who are no longer in crisis, welcomes Dr. Carmant. Kids stop to convulse, they have a better contact and more interaction. “

Kemyth, 17 years old, is part of the 30 % of young people in the registry to which the treatment works. His mother puts him on the language one milliliter of oil per day. No seizures at school and at home.

Photo courtesy

Myriam Ambroise

Mother

“Before, he said the words, now it is sentences, welcomes his mother, Myriam Ambroise. It is a miracle. “

The product that consumes Kemyth is a molecule that is derived from the pot called cannabidiol. It has no euphoric effect.

Expensive

The family expenditure 202 $ per month to get hold of the cannabis oil. Comfortable financially, Ms. Ambrose is aware that many families are not in the same situation as she is.

“I find it a pity that children do not have access to this treatment because of the cost. It would need to be paid for by the government, ” says the mother of two boys.

According to Dr. Carmant, families have had to just forego treatment due to cost. “It was thought to recruit 100 children this year. We hosted a quarantine, ” he adds.

In the long term, young people with other health problems could be treated with cannabis oil.

“[To] 35% to 50% of children who have epilepsy also have developmental delays [ADHD, autism] and we note that sometimes their condition improves. Is it that it is the decrease of the seizures or the effect of the oil, it is difficult to say for the moment, ” says the neurologist who continued his research.

If, for the moment, the addition of a dose of THC – the substance responsible for the euphoric effect of the pot – is prohibited, Dr Carmant is not closed to the idea.

“There is research to be done to better understand the effectiveness of marijuana on epilepsy “, he notes.