Floridas medical marijuana program took too long to start for the parents of some sick children.
“A Tough Little Cookie”
Lucie is dancing in her room. There are stuffed animals in a corner next to a white dresser. Her bed is pink, and one of her walls is blue with a pink butterfly on it. Her mom, Gail, sits nearby. She describes her daughter as a tough little cookie.
Shes a little trooper. Thats why shes laughing and dancing now because she knows shes being talked about, she said.
Gail talks to Lucie. But, Lucie doesnt talk back. Thats because she has a type of epilepsy that causes severe seizures. The seizures slowed her development.
Lucy is 31-years-old. She doesnt speak.
She talks with her eyes. Every time I look at her, I know what shes saying to me, Gail said.
Gail said Lucie has seizures that can cause her to fall to the ground. Shes broken her collar bone three times, and has a scar on her face from seizing and collapsing.
When Gov. Rick Scott approved the use of a non-euphoric strain of medical marijuana in 2014, Gail believed this could help people like her daughter.
She wanted to be ready for it as soon as it became available, which included attending a meeting in Orlando to learn the rules.
And then, she waited. Its now been more than two years.
THC and CBD
The product is an oil thats a mix of low-THC, which causes a high, and another compound called CBD.
Theres been some research into the efficacy of using CBD to reduce the severity and frequency of seizures.
Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Nora Volkow testified before Congress in 2015, saying CBD showed promising preliminary data, and called for more research.
There have also been many positive anecdotes. The mixture was highlighted in a 2013 CNN documentary.
It told the story of a young girl who used the oil, which significantly reduced her seizures.
Gail saw that program.
I was absolutely adamant and I kept telling everyone about it and in fact my husband he said Shut up, Gail, youre driving me nuts. Stop talking about it. And Im like, No, were going to get it. We are going to get it.
But, soon after Floridas medical marijuana program was signed into law, legal battles stalled its establishment.
Just last month two companies were authorized to begin distributing products.
For Gail, it was too long of a wait.
Its ridiculous. All through red tape. Its so wrong. We need to get it available in Florida. Now. Not next week, last year, it should have been available, she said.
A year ago, Gail made the decision to begin illegally receiving the product into Florida.
I have to have it sent to someone else out of state, out of Florida and then they send it to me, she said. It cant be shipped to Florida.
WGCU News is not identifying Gail or Lucie by their last names in this story because acquiring this mix of Low-THC and CBD out of state is not legal.
A representative from the Florida Department of Health wrote in an email, “Low-THC and Medical Cannabis in Florida may only be legally obtained through the Office of Compassionate Use Registry and from a Department-approved dispensing organization.”
A Year Under The Radar
Gail leaves Lucies room to get the oil. She comes back holding a black box.
Inside is a matching bottle with Charlottes Web written on it. Its made by the Colorado-based company, the Stanley Brothers. Thats the company that assisted the little girl in the CNN documentary.
Normally, its mint chocolate flavor, Gail said. This time, however, her order got mixed up. It says olive oil on the box, but it smells like marijuana.
“I just put it on some food, on her yogurt, on cold food,” she said, “just put it onto a spoonful of yogurt and into her mouth or sometimes a little piece of carrot cake. She likes carrot cake. So she’ll love that. And well do that twice a day.”
Gail said since she began giving Lucie Charlottes Web last July, she has seen improvements.
Lucie recovers faster from seizures, and shes having fewer of them. Shes down to about one a week. Thats not the only thing thats changed, said Gail.
I dont think Ive ever seen her articulate as what she is now. Normally, she would be a lot quieter than this. I wouldnt have the eye contact that I have these days. I see everything in her eyes as the way she talks to me and shes talking to me a lot right through her eyes right now at the moment, she said, and its a wonderful feeling and you just feel more secure, just letting her take a few more steps away from you than what you ever did.
Gail said she still gets nervous sometimes about obtaining the CBD/low-THC mix from out of state. But, she has no regrets.
If youre going to save your childs life by giving her something that can save her life, youre going to do it. Thats the decision Ive made, she said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: In Florida’s Medical Marijuana Rollout, A Parent Who Would Not Wait
Author: Topher Forhecz
Contact: 239-590-2300
Photo Credit: Topher Forhecz
Website: WGCU
