A nationwide survey of Australians has revealed that people suffering from epilepsy are able to control it with weed. Cannabis helped 14 percent of respondents manage their condition and dealing with seizures. The Epilepsy Action Australia study, in partnership with the Lambert Initiative at the University of Sydney, looked at the effects of the drug on 976 people. They were asked to self-report on any perceived effects. Many of those that responded cited “more favourable” side-effects of using cannabis compared with standard anti-epileptic drugs. “Despite the limitations of a retrospective online survey, we cannot ignore that a significant proportion of adults and children with epilepsy are using cannabis-based products in Australia, and many are self-reporting considerable benefits to their condition,” said Anastatsia Suraeve from the Lambert Initiative. Results of the study were published in the journal Epilepsy & Behaviour. “More systematic clinical studies are urgently needed to help us better understand the role of cannabinoids in epilepsy,” Suraeve said. The medicinal uses of cannabis have also been studied here in the UK. The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said cannabis-based ingredient cannabidiol – also known as CBD – is an effective medicine in calming people down. Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterised by epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures are episodes that can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to long periods of vigorous shaking.