Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jun 2014
Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2014 San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Contact: http://www.sgvtribune.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.sgvtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3725
Author: Jason Henry

REALM OF CARING CALIFORNIA RAISES MONEY FOR GROW HOUSE AFTER RELOCATING IN LA

With a wait list nearing 1,000 people, pediatric cannabis group Realm 
of Caring California is looking to grow.

The recently relocated non-profit foundation, which turns cannabis 
into a non-psychoactive oil that helps treat seizures in children and 
adults, hopes to eliminate its wait list by opening a $100,000 
marijuana growing facility in central or northern California. 
Director Ray Mirzabegian expects a big chunk of the needed money - an 
estimated $30,000 - will come from a fundraising dinner hosted Monday night.

"If not by the end of this year, by spring of next year, there is not 
going to be a waiting list in California," Mirzabegian said Monday to 
a roaring crowd. "Nothing matters to us but the children and the patients."

Realm of Caring, which was founded in Colorado, opened an office in 
Los Angeles last year, but the city's limitations on dispensaries 
forced it to close almost immediately. RoC treats children and adults 
with seizures, cancer and other ailments using Charlotte's Web, an 
oil created from a branded strain of cannabis named for its first 
patient Charlotte Figi.

The oil, which contains high amounts of the compound cannabidiol but 
low amounts of THC, produced a series of anecdotal success stories 
that caused flocks of desperate families to relocate to Colorado - 
and later California.

For some families, few other options remained.

Realm of Caring California now operates under the license of NoHo's 
Finest, a dispensary in North Hollywood. They opened another office 
on the same property to keep their clients separate, according to Mirzabegian.

"Our clients are pediatrics and families show up with their 
children," he said. "Even the best of the best (dispensaries), it's 
not a family environment. It's nothing against them, the demographics 
are different."

Because state law limits each grow facility to 99 plants, the 
organization has to open another green house if it wants to meet the 
demand, he said.

Monday's fundraiser gave families using the drug a chance to speak to 
sponsors and donors. Families described seeing child with severe 
epilepsy smile for the first time in years. Realm of Caring 
Foundation Executive Director Heather Jackson said her son, Zaki, one 
of the first to use Charlotte's Web, went from needing hospice care 
to going 20 months without a seizure.

"Zaki is riding a bicycle now by the way," Jackson said to cheers. 
"That's anecdotal evidence for you."

Pasadena resident Meg Coldwells's son, Hayden, has been on the wait 
list since August. Coldwells turned to another cannabidiol product, 
AC/DC, to treat Hayden but she's hoping to switch him to Charlotte's Web soon.

"I didn't want to wait so I found a private grower who could make the 
oil," Coldwells said. "We are crossing our fingers that by the time 
we get to the end of our supply, we'll be off the wait list for Realm 
of Caring."

Hayden's seizures dropped from dozens per day to around three or 
four, she said. The seizures that did happen had a shorter duration 
and were less intense. Other cannabidiol products work as well as 
Charlotte's Web, but Realm of Caring gets most of the attention 
because it promises that any patient given the oil will never lose 
access to their supply.

Dr. Bonni Goldstein, whose sees dozens of pediatric patients using 
cannabis, found about 75 percent of those using cannabidiol products 
experienced seizure reductions.

The use of cannabidiol has little scientific research behind it. At 
least one pharmaceutical company will start clinical trials on the 
drug later this year, but for now little more than anecdotal evidence 
exists. Realm of Caring is moving forward with its own research and 
expects to launch trials in South America in the near future. The 
group wants to classify its product as hemp and ship it into the 
country from Uruguay.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom