Medical marijuana 'cures' 6-year-old California boy with rare form of epilepsy that prevented him from walking, sleeping and eating

Miracle: Before 6-year-old Jayden David started treating his epilepsy with marijuana, he couldn't even walk up stairs

When he was just a baby, 6-year-old Jayden David was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome, which causes him to have violent seizures several times a day.

The seizures were so bad that they prevented the Modesto, California boy from walking, playing with friends and essentially living a normal life – he’s been rushed to the hospital by ambulance at least 40 times.

To combat the disease, Jayden was prescribed 12 different medications that he has to take every day. In all, the boy takes 22 pills a day.

‘At one point Jayden had seizures 24 hours a day lasting an hour and a half,’ Jayden’s father, Jason David, told KCRA. ‘I went to my doctor and said, “I don't think Jayden is going to last, he can't sleep, can't eat, he hasn't used the restroom, he can't do anything.”’

At one point, the debilitating disease got so bad for his son that Jason said he considered killing himself.

As a last resort, Jason David opted to try a liquid form of marijuana to treat Jayden’s seizures. And it worked.

‘(The) first day I gave him medical marijuana, thank God. (It was) the first day he went seizure free in his life,’ Jason David said.

Jayden's father, Jason, said he considered suicide because he was so distraught over his son's rare condition

The marijuana used to treat Jayden’s seizures contains a component called CBD (cannabidiol) that provides the same medical qualities as normal marijuana, but with less of a high.

Jayden has been getting a few drops of the CBD a day for the last two years, And his father says the results have been nothing short of remarkable – he plays, he can walk up and down stairs and he even gives his dad high-fives.

The pediatrician who prescribes the boy with the medical marijuana said he’s seeing a spike in children with autism and seizures benefitting from medical marijuana. In many cases, it works when other medications fail.

Prescription pot: Jayden's pediatrician says he's seeing a spike in parents opting to treat epileptic or autistic children with marijuana

Jason says he wants to share his story to encourage other parents in similar situations to do what they think is best for their children – even if that means using medical marijuana.

Jayden’s paediatrician admits that there haven’t been many studies conducted to determine the medicinal benefits of marijuana, which is why doctors have differing opinions about whether it should be used to treat certain diseases.

Currently, however, researchers at the University of California-San Francisco currently are studying the affects CBD has on epileptic children.

Jayden and his father will be featured in a CNN special by Dr. Sanjay Gupta that examines the benefits of medical marijuana. Gupta wrote a column earlier this week saying that after doing research for the special, he now supports using medical marijuana to treat various illnesses. He previously opposed medical marijuana.

The special is set to air Sunday.

Flip-flop: Dr Sanjay Gupta now supports medical marijuana after opposing it for years

Culled from DAILY MAIL