Parents of kids with severe forms of epilepsy say they’ve tried all kinds of medications except medicinal marijuana. two Pennsylvania lawmakers, one republican and one democrat, are trying to change that.
Senate Bill 1182 is better known as the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act. It’s intention is to help children like Hannah Pallas of Pittsburgh. Her form of epilepsy causes hundreds of seizures a week. Her mother Heather Shuker said “time is not on our side. We don’t have time to wait because we never know which seizure is going to take Hannah from us.”
Republican State Senator Mike Folmer and Democrat Daylin Leach are authoring the bill. They say the challenge of passing it is a fear of the word marijuana. Senator Leach said “if this came from the yucca plant or if this came from the larch tree or from some bacteria that was grown in a lab this would be an utter no brainer. It would be in every CVS, in every Rite Aid in America.”
For many parents like Heather the name of the drug isn’t important. Just that it may help cut down on seizures. She says the key component that may do that is known as CBD, which doesn’t have any psychedelic effects. Heather said “Hanna would actually be administered this substance through an oil base. We could mix it in her food a couple of times a day and she would not get a high from it because the THC level is so low.”
Heather says she has thought of moving to Colorado where it’s already legal but the financial burden would be too much. The bill is still being drafted but Senator Leach says they hope to introduce it sometime this week.