NUGL Magazine April 2019 Issue | Page 25

angry, he was getting agitated,” says Shah. “He had no appetite. He just stopped eating.” As Roshaan’s condition worsened, Dr. Shah knew they needed to do something different. Dr. Shah and Ambreen made changes to Ro- shaan’s diet and began giving him CBD, along with a few other herbal supplements. It took rig- orous and sustained effort, but the results were incredible. “We were able to take him com- pletely off Ritalin. His focus is so much better -- he’s getting As and Bs in school,” Dr. Shah says with a note of pride in his voice. After seeing the changes in Roshaan, Dr. Shah realized the powerful role of cannabinoids in treating chronic illness. As part of a holistic health regimen, Shah believes, “Cannabis has unlimited potential.” That said, he qualifies, “the secrets are still closed.” What we do know, ac- cording to Shah, is that cannabinoids possess anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, neuroprotectant, analgesic, and immune-boosting properties, making cannabis potentially effective at treating an exceedingly broad range of illnesses. Armed with that knowledge, Dr. Shah is helping patients change their lives with canna- bis and eagerly awaits the expansion of medical cannabis in Iowa, which recently became legal. Dr. Shah currently uses cannabis to help his hospice patients, as the approved conditions for which cannabis can be prescribed are still quite limited. That said, Dr. Shah looks forward to a day when he can prescribe cannabis more freely to his patients. “I hope that sometime in the near future … I can use it for people with so many other problems, like my son,” he says. NUGL Magazine 25