Most parents in the United States try their hardest to keep their kids from using marijuana. But not little Charlotte Figi’s mother. The 6-year-old from Colorado has Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, which causes debilitating seizures. In the past, her seizures inhibited Charlotte from eating or even getting out of her wheelchair. After trying just about every possible treatment, Charlotte’s family found the only remedy that seems to quell the seizures has been medical marijuana.
After a treatment of cannabis oil, Charlotte’s seizures were reduced from 300 times a week to about three times a week over an eight-month period. The program was approved for Charlotte by neurologists and pediatricians.
The company that created the cannabis, naming the strain “Charlottes web,” is now using the same treatment to help other children. Josh Stanley, the owner of the company, spoke with KDVR in Denver about Charlotte’s treatment, saying it has allowed Charlotte to come off all of her pharmaceuticals.
More than 40 children in Colorado are card-carrying medical marijuana users, with the youngest being under a year old. Charlotte’s story was featured over the weekend in a CNN documentary called “Weed,” which sparked a debate on the use of medical marijuana.