This is Abram when he was around 7 months old. He was "globally delayed" on his milestones and within a few months, he began having absence and complex-partial seizures. Before his first birthday, we learned he had a mass in his brain. It took nearly two years and three world-renowned hospitals to diagnosis him with bi-lateral cortical dysplasia and that his entire life he was having non-stop subclinical seizures. He'd stopped progressing, he stopped making sounds (besides screaming and crying non-stop) and by the time they added in anti-epileptic drugs - he actually regressed - lost skills - lost the few words he did have and lost the ability to walk and crawl (skills he had just gained after YEARS of therapy.) Thanks to a brave Neurologist who told us privately about seeking out medicine from CO, our son's life changed for the better and we began using an organic cannabis oil. Our son's life has changed immensely and we don't want to go backwards, now. With the legislative session in full-swing again - there are many states falling victim to the CBD-Only laws - just like Iowa. We are at least currently allowed up to 3% THC but with our bill set to expire on July 1 and no medical cannabis bill filed from the Majority - I am terrified of what is going to happen before the session in Iowa is up. The Minority party has already filed several medical cannabis bills but I'm guessing that as usual, things will fall upon party lines and instead of helping those who need it the most it will be a game of politics instead of a show of empathy and grace for Iowa's most medically complex.
There recently was an article written here in Iowa (along with news stations picking up the story) of our friend and his mama, who tried the pharmaceutical version of CBD and it did not work for him. Of course, in true media fashion and the drive for click-bait worthy news - the title of each piece was "cannabis oil doesn't work" which does a great disservice to families like mine who have been fighting for whole-plant cannabis (along with the mom in the article) since we started advocating. CBD-only helps a small percentage of the tiny percentage of people who benefit from Cannabidiol, alone. Children like Abram get better results with a full-spectrum whole-plant oil that includes the original terpenes and cannabinoids in the plant vs an isolated compound and do even better when allowed THC as a larger component of their treatments. In addition, the pharmaceutical grade "CBD-only" medicines are a FAR CRY from the organic medicines that parents such as myself are asking for. The medicine that was discussed in the articles here claiming "cannabis oil doesn't work" actually has ethanol, sucralose (artificial sweetener) and artificial flavoring in it in addition to the CBD and sesame oil carrier it is put into. With children who are medically complex and are triggered by things from casein and gluten to artificial sweeteners and flavorings, it is beyond me why that is put into a "medicine" for a child. I personally would prefer to know exactly where my son's medicine comes from including where the farm is, who makes the oil, how it's made as well as knowing exactly what is in it. My son's cannabis oil is organically grown, C02 expressed and is just two ingredients: the C02 expressed oil and it's carrier oil - organic safflower oil. His oils come with a batch number and labs that match the batch number to show me exactly what cannabinoids are in it and proof that it is free of contaminants. The market right now is overflowing with crooks, scam artists and big-pharma pushing an agenda on our lawmakers to make it so that only THEIR drug will be re-scheduled at the state level and so that THEIR drug will corner a market making children like mine suffer who have already seen impressive results from the organic oils coming from actual farmers and humans who truly care about the people they serve. It's happening in Iowa and across the nation as big-corporate lobbyists are fighting against us to take away our right to choose the medicine that goes into our children. I urge you to read the article posted below: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/leafly-exclusive-gw-pharma-moving-cbd-bills-low |
About MeHello! My name is Erin. I am Abram's mom, a tireless advocate for UBE2A Deficiency Syndrome and a fierce proponent for medical cannabis. MOST POPULAR BlOG ENTRYJOIN US
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