SC: Proposed Medical Marijuana Bill Could Change Teen's Life

Katelyn Baker

Well-Known Member
A bipartisan bill is expected to be filed on Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana in South Carolina. FOX 46 Charlotte spoke with one mother who said, if approved, this could improve her teen daughter's quality of life.

Isabel Jurado, 14, goes through seizures that have become almost routine.

"You're pretty much told to go home and watch your child deteriorate and try to manage the symptoms," Isabel's mother, Leslie Jurado, said.

Seizures and movement disorders come with her deadly disease, Sanfilippo Syndrome.

"She has no control over these movements," Leslie Jurado explained.

Jurado currently gives Isabel CDB Oil. She said it's the best legal medicine she can get. CDB is one of more than 100 active ingredients in cannabis, however, Isabel still shakes uncontrollably.

Jurado tells FOX 46 Charlotte after talking with doctors and families of similar patients she believes her daughter needs the effects of the entire plant, which is legal in most states but illegal in South Carolina.

"I view it as medicine," she explained.

A number of South Carolina lawmakers are introducing the Compassionate Care Act. If approved, it will allow qualifying patients with debilitating medical conditions to use and safely access medical marijuana.

FOX 46 Charlotte obtained a preview to the bill. Conditions that would fall under this bill include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, agitation of Alzheimer's disease, PTSD, autism, idiopathic pulmonary firbrosis, Parkinson's disease, neural-tube defects, or the treatment of these conditions, or a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that produces: cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe-debilitating pain, severe nausea, seizures, neurological disorders or severe, persistant muscle spasms.

The bill would also create a Medical Cannabis Review Board.

FOX 46 Charlotte has been covering a similar debate in North Carolina, but there has been limited movement with medical cannabis legislation. Opponents believe it would be one step closer to recreational legislation.

"I'm just trying to get the best medicine to her as fast as I can," Isabel's mother said.

Most kids with Sanfillippo Syndrome rarely live to see their mid-teens. It's why Jurado is fighting.

"I know I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just trying to help my child," she said.

Isabel is non-verbal. FOX 46 Charlotte asked Jurado if her 14-year-old daughter could talk, what would she say to lawmakers about cannabis.

"I'm just a child who's suffering and I deserve a chance to have access to a clean, safe product that can give me a better quality of life," she said.

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News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Proposed Medical Marijuana Bill Could Change SC Teen's Life
Author: David Sentendrey
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Photo Credit: Fox 46
Website: Fox 46
 
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