Montgomery County doctor is 1 of 7 in state registered to prescribe medical marijuana oil

Dr. Benny Wang readily admits he did not know much about medical marijuana when many of his epileptic patients began asking him about cannabidiol oil, also known as CBD in the marijuana industry.

"I think most doctors are like me, I was unaware of the potential benefits of this treatment," Wang said of CBD oil. "A lot of my patients have been researching this and keeping me updated. I am aware of CBD from other states and the news."

Wang, a neurologist with offices in The Woodlands Township and Conroe, is one of only seven doctors in the state of Texas who has registered to prescribe CBD oil under the Texas Compassionate Use Act passed by lawmakers in 2015, which allows for patients with intractable epilepsy to use cannabidiol oil as a treatment for seizures.

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Patients who are seeking the medicinal CBD oil are required by the 2015 law to suffer from epilepsy and have been diagnosed with intractable epilepsy, a disorder in which a patient's seizures are uncontrollable. The condition is also called refractory epilepsy.

CBD oil, which is derived from cannabis plants cross-bred to have very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC or the element of marijuana that makes users high, is taken via a liquid dropper with very small amounts ingested orally. CBD is another compound found in cannabis plants and the level of CBD in a cannabis strain can be elevated by cross-breeding and other genetic modifications.

"CBD has been found to be very beneficial in reducing seizures," Wang said. "It's not a cure-all, but research shows CBD can help."

Patients who suffer from epileptic seizures currently take a "whole list" of medications in an effort to stop seizures from happening, Wang said. Many of the traditional pharmaceutical medications have unwanted and oftentimes severe side effects, he added.

"The side effects are frequent and range from sleepiness, dizziness and nausea to sometimes [patients] get a deadly rash," Wang said. "The more medications you are on, the higher the chance of side effects."

Wang said some patients travel to states such as Colorado, Michigan, Oregon and California – where medicinal marijuana is legal – to get the CBD oil. He also said many patients hope to stop taking traditional medications for seizures and use only CBD oil or plan to use the CBD oil as a supplement in conjunction with traditional medications.

Under the Texas law, patients who have intractable epilepsy and seek a CBD oil prescription would need to be a permanent resident of Texas, have intractable epilepsy, be examined by a doctor who determines using medical marijuana would be beneficial. Patients must also get a second opinion from a different doctor.

Patients who are approved for prescriptions would then obtain the CBD oil from a state-approved dispensary. At the moment, there are only two dispensaries initially licensed by the state and neither has produced CBD oil yet. The current crop of CBD-dominant strain cannabis plants being grown for medical use are only about 6 weeks old and will not be ready for several months, Wang said.

"The timeline has been pushed back to spring 2018," Wang said of when the CBD oil will potentially be available to patients.

While Wang is the only Houston-region doctor who registered, there are six other physicians across the state who have also registered with the Department of Public Safety to be a licensed prescriber of the CBD oil.

Although only seven doctors have registered to prescribe the CBD oil so far, Dr. Robert Dickson, medical director of the Montgomery County Hospital District, said he believes the state's legalization of medical marijuana – even though done in a more restrictive manner than most states – is a positive development.

"I think it is positive if you have more options to treat patients that are having seven, eight or 10 seizures per day," Dickson said. "The state only licensed doctors who treat seizures. There are case reports of [medical marijuana] helping patients. There is scientific literature on [medical marijuana], but it is not super robust."

Dickson said one issue hampering efforts to further develop medical marijuana is the Schedule 1 classification of marijuana, which puts cannabis is the same category as more dangerous drugs such as heroin and other opioids as well as cocaine, crack and methamphetamine.

"[Cannabis] Has always been a Schedule 1 drug, so there are a lot of hoops to jump through to do research," Dickson said. "We're way behind in the research. We need to do it right, examine the effects [on patient's medical conditions] and the ethics. The proper medical use of an herb would possibly be beneficial to some patients. We should do our due diligence."

The plants being grown at the two state licensed facilities so far are strains of cannabis with much higher levels of CBD compared to THC, Dickson noted.

"They've crossbred the plants so there is very low THC," he said. "People are both sides of the fence regarding medical marijuana, but of all the issues we're facing in the country right now, this is not the most important thing to devote energy on - obstructing research."

For Wang, the reasoning behind his pursuit of being one of the first doctors to be able to prescribe the CBD oil is simple: the health and well-being of his patients.

"To me, anything we can do to help patients, some who are suffering a lot mentally and physically," Wang said. "Anything we can do that helps the patient, I am in favor of."