A long time family friend and I were discussing what the Nov 4th vote on Prop 2 (Legalizing Medical Marijuana) means to him and his family. My friends daughter is afflicted with Cerebral Palsy and needs your help. Without medication she was suffering from hundreds of seizures a week. With her current combination of prescription medications theyve been able to bring that number down to about 10 which is a great improvement, but still far from ideal. Besides the obvious distress of the seizures themselves he tells me that these seizures have the side effect of working as a sort of reset switch on her brain which means she is also severely developmentally disabled. As though that wasnt bad enough, she is constantly walking a fine line with her medications trying to find the balance between high enough doses to minimize the number and severity of seizures, and a low enough dose that she does not do suffer from organ failure as a result of drug toxicity. Her father tells me that it is a struggle as even relatively minor weight fluctuations can change what the safe/effective dose is. A little over a year ago we first started discussing the potential benefits of medical marijuana for a child like his. The well publicized case of Charlotte Figi, who is afflicted with Dravet Syndrome, introduced my friend to the idea of using marijuana to help prevent seizures in children. Charlotte seemed healthy at birth but eventually started to have seizures so severe and frequent that her development was severely affected. Eventually Charlotte had lost the ability to walk talk or even eat and was repeatedly hospitalized when her heart would stop beating. The Figis did some digging and discovered that a family was effectively treating their sons Dravets with a strain of marijuana that is psychoactively weak but medically effective and though the prospect was controversial and scary, they decided to give it a shot. For a child on deaths door the risk of trying a new and incredibly benign treatment despite the legal complications was still present but worth taking. With her new treatment Charlottes family reports that Charlotte is experiencing far fewer seizures and is finally walking, talking, and playing again. Shes not the only one either; the same strain of marijuana, which was named Charlottes Web in her honor, is being used to treat more and more patients every day. Now my friend is faced with a dilemma. He wants to do anything he can to help his daughter but he can not legally access this potentially life changing drug in FL. He or his wife could take time to travel to a state where their daughter can access this care safely and legally but unless they split up the family or completely pickup roots and a leave the home, business, and community which theyve built over decades in the area this isnt possible. If he were to try to transport the medication instead of moving his family he would be committing a federal offense in addition to breaking state laws, putting everything at risk including his freedom and ability to provide and care for his family. Though I obtained permission from him to share his story Im withholding his personal details until we have more time to talk because it is such a contentious issue. Last week I told you all that I have had personal success using marijuana to help regulate my blood sugar levels as part of my diabetes therapy. I also told you about friends of mine who use it to treat Chrons, nervous ticks, and even my good friend who was able to hike hundreds of miles of the Appalachian Trail despite having Multiple Sclerosis. Today Im sharing with you one more story and asking that you share yours. Do you use marijuana therapeutically? Do you know someone who does? We have a chance to bring a lot of compassionate, therapeutic care to so many people in need. Our biggest obstacle is ignorance and misinformation. It only by speaking up to our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors and heading to the polls that we can hope to change the attitudes and laws. We are so close to change. Please dont be afraid to share your experiences and please remember to vote! Thanks, Nick More reading: ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm cnn/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/ bloomdispensary/cannabis-calms-crohns-disease/ nationalmssociety.org/Treating-MS/Complementary-Alternative-Medicines/Marijuana diabeteshealth/read/2014/03/15/8178/marijuana-may-help-blood-sugar-control-study-says--/ cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/patient/page2 election.dos.state.fl.us/voter-registration/voter-reg.shtml ballotpedia.org/Florida_Right_to_Medical_Marijuana_Initiative,_Amendment_2_(2014)
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:02:08 +0000
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