“Background and purpose: Cannabis has been used to treat epilepsy for millennia, with such use validated by regulatory approval of cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. Unregulated artisanal cannabis-based products used to treat children with intractable epilepsies often contain relatively low doses of CBD but are enriched in other phytocannabinoids. This raises the possibility that other cannabis constituents might have anticonvulsant properties.
Experimental approach: We used the Scn1a+/- mouse model of Dravet syndrome to interrogate the cannabis plant for phytocannabinoids with anticonvulsant effects against hyperthermia-induced seizures. The most promising, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), was further examined against spontaneous seizures and survival in Scn1a+/- mice. CBGA was also examined in conventional electroshock seizure models. In addition, we surveyed the pharmacological effects of CBGA across multiple drug targets.
Key results: The initial screen identified three phytocannabinoids with novel anticonvulsant properties: CBGA, cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA) and cannabigerovarinic acid (CBGVA). CBGA was the most potent and potentiated the anticonvulsant effects of clobazam against hyperthermia-induced and spontaneous seizures, and was anticonvulsant in the MES threshold test. However, CBGA was proconvulsant in the 6-Hz threshold test and a high dose increased spontaneous seizure frequency in Scn1a+/- mice. CBGA was found to interact with numerous epilepsy-relevant targets including GPR55, TRPV1 channels and GABAA receptors.
Conclusion: These results suggest CBGA, CBDVA and CBGVA may contribute to the effects of cannabis-based products in childhood epilepsy. While these phytocannabinoids have anticonvulsant potential and could be lead compounds for drug development programs, several liabilities would need to be overcome before CBD is superseded by another in this class.”
https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.15661
“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid known for its beneficial effects including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, CBD is a compound with antidepressant, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant and antipsychotic effects. Thanks to all these properties, the interest of the scientific community for it has grown.
“Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Studies have shown the complexity of epileptogenesis and ictogenesis, in which immunological processes and epigenetic and structural changes in neuronal tissues have been identified as triggering epilepsy.
“A significant number of epilepsy patients are refractory to conventional antiepileptic drugs. These patients experience considerable neurocognitive impairments that impact their quality of life and ability to function independently. This need for alternative treatment has generated increased interest in cannabis use as a therapeutic option in these patients.
“The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB/Akt)/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway has been associated with several pathologies in the central nervous system (CNS), including epilepsy. There is evidence supporting the hypothesis that the PI3Kγ signaling pathway may mediate the powerful anticonvulsant properties associated with the cannabinoidergic system.
“There is increasing interest in the use of purified 
“Advances in the development of drugs with novel mechanisms of action have not been sufficient to significantly reduce the percentage of patients presenting drug-resistant epilepsy. This lack of satisfactory clinical results has led to the search for more effective treatment alternatives with new mechanisms of action.
“In recent years, cannabis has been gaining increasing interest in both the medical research and clinical fields, with regard to its therapeutic effects in various disorders. One of the major fields of interest is its role as an anticonvulsant for refractory epilepsy, especially in the pediatric population. This paper presents and discusses the current accumulated knowledge regarding artisanal cannabis and Epidiolex®, a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pure 
“Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by the presence of seizures and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Despite the number of antiepileptic drugs, one-third of patients did not have their seizures under control, leading to pharmacoresistance epilepsy.