Rachel Rabkin Peachman, Consumer Reports, February 26, 2019
When a child is sick and conventional medicine isn’t helping, parents understandably often turn to alternative treatments. Recently, that includes cannabidiol, aka CBD, which is a cannabis compound found in marijuana and hemp that’s being touted as a remedy for everything from pain and arthritis to seizures and sleep problems. Unlike the cannabis plant’s other well-known compound, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD does not get users high, it’s nonaddictive, and it has a low risk of side effects—which makes it seem like an appealing option for children.
While CBD is being used widely by adults, the best evidence for it comes from studies focusing on children with certain kinds of epilepsy. And increasingly, parents are giving CBD to their children to manage a range of other conditions, such as autism and anxiety.