Second Epilepsy Patient Allowed to Use Medical Cannabis in S’pore

A second person in Singapore has been allowed to use cannabis-derived medication to treat epilepsy. 

The “young patient” is suffering from epilepsy that is resistant to treatment. The patient has been granted approval to use a cannabinoid pharmaceutical, or medical cannabis, after an application was made. 

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), approval was granted to this patient “as all available and suitable therapeutic options had been exhausted”. 

The MHA described the patient’s condition as “extremely debilitating” and explained that the patient’s doctor had submitted an application to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to use a cannabinoid pharmaceutical as it “might address the unmet medical need”. 

The application was then reviewed and approved by the HSA, the Central Narcotics Bureau, the Health Ministry as well as the MHA. 

The MHA did not provide information on the patient’s gender and age for the sake of patient confidentiality. 

First Patient in Singapore to Use Cannabis-derived Medication

On 1 December 2019, the authorities had allowed the use of cannabis-derived medication to treat a girl who had been suffering from drug-resistant epilepsy for the first time in Singapore. 

The girl was suffering from refractory epilepsy. She did not respond to therapies, and registered medications for treatment did not work for her either. 

The MHA did not release any updates or information on the condition of the first patient after the cannabinoid treatment due to the need for patient confidentiality. 

Cannabinoids are chemical compounds present in the cannabis plant. The two most prominent compounds are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). 

Both compounds have potential medical uses but cause different effects on one’s body. THC is the compound that gives “high” commonly linked to cannabis and drug use. 

CBD, on the other hand, has been deemed by the World Health Organization as posing no risk to public health, as well as no potential for abuse. 

It was not confirmed by the MHA whether the treatment used for both patients was the drug Epidiolex, which is the first and sole pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid medication that has been authorised by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Epidiolex contains CBD and is used to treat children with severe forms of epilepsy by impeding brain signals that lower the excitability of the cells which result in seizures. 

In December 2020, a United Nations commission voted to re-categorise cannabis for medical uses as less dangerous. The Singapore Government expressed disappointment over this move by the UN.

The MHA had released a statement saying that this move could encourage the incorrect view that cannabis is now less detrimental than before.

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