The East Edition
A Kid Using Medical Marijuana Wednesday, June 06, 2012 By Ariel Paniacci
In Lansing, Michigan, a mother has tried every prescription drug for her son and did not find anything that would control the frequent seizures her son suffered from because of a severe form of epilepsy. The mother, Rebecca Brown, tried everything for her son and some of the drugs that he took caused kidney stones and pancreas problems as side effects, is when Brown turned to medical marijuana. The son, cooper Brown, 14, is one of the Michigan residents of 44 under the age of 18 that has medical marijuana. Brown says that her son’s seizure has dropped a lot since he started using the medical marijuana this year. But this treatment is controversial. Medical marijuana is illegal at the federal level. Also, some doctors say that people should not use medical marijuana spatially children under 18. It should not be used because a lack of clinical studies means there is uncertainty about the effects that marijuana can have on developing brains and nervous system. Brown is not the youngest child to have a state medical marijuana registry. A 7 year old,, two 9 year olds, an 11 year old, and a 13 year old can legally consume medical marijuana in Michigan. The state of Michigan officials will not disclose the children’s medical condition because they are minors. The officials do not know how the young children take marijuana if they smoke the drug, or take it in a baked good or a liquid extract called a tincture or by using a vaporizer. Many parents say that the use of medical marijuana is successfully to treat their children for Dravet Syndrome, which Brown has, and autism attention deficit disorder, muscular dystrophy, and pain and nausea of cancer, has among other ailments. Brown says that cooper will never smoke marijuana but he eats the marijuana in food that his mother makes. She will not identify her supplier but with elevated levels of a lesser known compound, which this is ant seizure properties. In an interview with Free Press Brown knows that she may face criticism for going public with the medical marijuana. She is hoping to help more families with the lesson the stress and suffering that her family is going through. |