Epidiolex, the first cannabis-based medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, is now available by prescription in all 50 states.
The twice-daily oral solution is approved for use in patients 2 and older to treat two types of epileptic syndromes: Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic dysfunction of the brain that begins in the first year of life, and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a form of epilepsy with multiple types of seizures that begins in early childhood, usually between ages 3 and 5.
Although Epidiolex is approved only for the treatment of two rare seizure disorders, doctors can now prescribe the medication “off-label” for other conditions. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, this is both legal and common; one in five of all medications prescribed is for off-label use.