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Susan Meehan didn't take the decision to move to Maine with her daughter lightly, but said she had an obligation to save the girl's life.
"You don't tear your family apart at the seams without knowing something is going to work," Meehan said Wednesday, with Cyndimae sitting on her lap, as she testified in favor of an expansion of the state's medical marijuana program that would make the drug available for children.
Meehan left her Montville home in 2013 — leaving behind her husband and the life she had established in Connecticut — after police raided the grower she was using to get cannabis oil to treat her daughter's chronic seizures caused by Dravet syndrome. Cyndimae had gone 92 days without a seizure "until the police ... destroyed the plants that were saving my daughter's life," Meehan said.
In Maine — where the medical marijuana program is available as an option for children — Cyndimae, now 13, has been doing better, Meehan said. She's able to walk. The seizures have become far less frequent. But Meehan risks arrest if she returns to Connecticut and continues treating her daughter.
"I don't think lawmakers often understand the direct impact of their decisions upon families," she said in an interview following her testimony before the public health committee. "Sometimes they're talking about a tax and maybe that impacts a family, but it's not a life-changing or a life-giving decision. Legalizing medical marijuana for pediatric use would truly impact and save many pediatric lives."
Members of the committee were sympathetic to Meehan's plight. Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, thanked her for coming back to testify for a second year. A proposal to expand the medical marijuana program to include children last year wasn't raised for a vote in the House or Senate.
Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, long an opponent of loosening the state's marijuana laws, said more research is needed before children can be offered marijuana as a treatment option.
"As it stands, the scientific evidence in favor of medical marijuana is too scant, and the possible consequences too great," she said. Appearing before the committee in the afternoon, she urged lawmakers to proceed with caution, though she expressed support for the use of the drug from children with terminal illnesses.
Pediatricians — who were opposed to last year's bill — have shown support for this year's legislation, which would limit the use of marijuana to nonsmokeable forms, includes only six specific conditions, and would add a pediatrician to the group of doctors who have oversight over the state's medical marijuana program.
"We in Connecticut recognize the potential for use in cases of children with terminal illness or debilitating conditions such as intractable seizure disorders that do not respond to traditional treatment modalities," said Sandra Carbonari, immediate past president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "In these situations the benefit of potential relief of pain and suffering outweighs concerns about future brain development."
In his testimony, William Zempsky, a physician at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, said it's "become clear to me that there are some of our most vulnerable patients who would truly benefit from the use of medical marijuana."
Some parents said anti-epileptic drugs have led to terrible side effects for their children. Dwayne Paul said his daughter Shelby experienced extreme fluctuation in weight, behavioral issues, tiredness, insomnia and hallucinations from the 33 different medications she's tried.
"Realize that this can be a treatment that stops someone from seizing and helps many in Connecticut live a more 'normal' life," the Hamden father wrote in testimony to the committee.
Linda Lloyd of the Pawcatuck section of Stonington said she had exhausted all treatment options for her 6-year-old son, Henry, save for invasive brain surgery, to treat his seizures.
"I have exhausted every possible option, except for one," she wrote in her testimony. "And that's medical marijuana."
Joy O'Meara told lawmakers she has been to the hospital hundreds of times and has lost count of the number of 911 calls she's made for her son Jamison, who has intractable epilepsy. O'Meara, who lives in Trumbull, said she's researched cannabis oil and wants that available as a treatment option for her son.
"When you watch your child suffer day after day, it is the most heart-wrenching feeling," she said. "Sometimes you wonder how long their bodies can handle this."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Connecticut Parents Plead For Medical Marijuana For Their Children
Author: Russell Blair
Contact: Hartford Courant
Photo Credit: Adobe stock photo
Website: Hartford Courant
"You don't tear your family apart at the seams without knowing something is going to work," Meehan said Wednesday, with Cyndimae sitting on her lap, as she testified in favor of an expansion of the state's medical marijuana program that would make the drug available for children.
Meehan left her Montville home in 2013 — leaving behind her husband and the life she had established in Connecticut — after police raided the grower she was using to get cannabis oil to treat her daughter's chronic seizures caused by Dravet syndrome. Cyndimae had gone 92 days without a seizure "until the police ... destroyed the plants that were saving my daughter's life," Meehan said.
In Maine — where the medical marijuana program is available as an option for children — Cyndimae, now 13, has been doing better, Meehan said. She's able to walk. The seizures have become far less frequent. But Meehan risks arrest if she returns to Connecticut and continues treating her daughter.
"I don't think lawmakers often understand the direct impact of their decisions upon families," she said in an interview following her testimony before the public health committee. "Sometimes they're talking about a tax and maybe that impacts a family, but it's not a life-changing or a life-giving decision. Legalizing medical marijuana for pediatric use would truly impact and save many pediatric lives."
Members of the committee were sympathetic to Meehan's plight. Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, thanked her for coming back to testify for a second year. A proposal to expand the medical marijuana program to include children last year wasn't raised for a vote in the House or Senate.
Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, long an opponent of loosening the state's marijuana laws, said more research is needed before children can be offered marijuana as a treatment option.
"As it stands, the scientific evidence in favor of medical marijuana is too scant, and the possible consequences too great," she said. Appearing before the committee in the afternoon, she urged lawmakers to proceed with caution, though she expressed support for the use of the drug from children with terminal illnesses.
Pediatricians — who were opposed to last year's bill — have shown support for this year's legislation, which would limit the use of marijuana to nonsmokeable forms, includes only six specific conditions, and would add a pediatrician to the group of doctors who have oversight over the state's medical marijuana program.
"We in Connecticut recognize the potential for use in cases of children with terminal illness or debilitating conditions such as intractable seizure disorders that do not respond to traditional treatment modalities," said Sandra Carbonari, immediate past president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "In these situations the benefit of potential relief of pain and suffering outweighs concerns about future brain development."
In his testimony, William Zempsky, a physician at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, said it's "become clear to me that there are some of our most vulnerable patients who would truly benefit from the use of medical marijuana."
Some parents said anti-epileptic drugs have led to terrible side effects for their children. Dwayne Paul said his daughter Shelby experienced extreme fluctuation in weight, behavioral issues, tiredness, insomnia and hallucinations from the 33 different medications she's tried.
"Realize that this can be a treatment that stops someone from seizing and helps many in Connecticut live a more 'normal' life," the Hamden father wrote in testimony to the committee.
Linda Lloyd of the Pawcatuck section of Stonington said she had exhausted all treatment options for her 6-year-old son, Henry, save for invasive brain surgery, to treat his seizures.
"I have exhausted every possible option, except for one," she wrote in her testimony. "And that's medical marijuana."
Joy O'Meara told lawmakers she has been to the hospital hundreds of times and has lost count of the number of 911 calls she's made for her son Jamison, who has intractable epilepsy. O'Meara, who lives in Trumbull, said she's researched cannabis oil and wants that available as a treatment option for her son.
"When you watch your child suffer day after day, it is the most heart-wrenching feeling," she said. "Sometimes you wonder how long their bodies can handle this."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Connecticut Parents Plead For Medical Marijuana For Their Children
Author: Russell Blair
Contact: Hartford Courant
Photo Credit: Adobe stock photo
Website: Hartford Courant
