Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a historic piece of legislation legalizing cannabis oil on Friday. Parents of children with epilepsy say the oil reduces seizures without getting kids high. Many of them are hoping it will help their kids.
Tina McDermott, of Davenport, is one of them. Her 8-year-old son, Ryan, has a rare form of epilepsy, and the family was considering moving to Colorado to seek treatments with cannabis oil.
Since it’s now legal in Iowa, her family is staying here and hoping this oil is the answer.
“If it continues to get worse, we’d rather try the oil than more medicine,” Tina McDermott said.
She says the side effects from prescriptions used to treat Ryan’s dravet syndrome often times do more harm than good.
“He gets heavily sedated at night when we give him medicine. He got pancreatitis and was hospitalized for six days in March from one of the other medications,” said McDermott. ” He’s drooling. There’s just so many side effects.”
McDermott says research shows there are no known side effects from using cannabis oil. Although there’s no guarantee it’ll help cut back on seizures, its something she’s willing to try.
“I don’t know if it will take them away fully, but it will definitely decrease them and it can bring him off of his med’s. He’s been on med’s for eight years. We’ve never known him without medicine,” said McDermott.
The new Iowa law doesn’t take effect until July 1. Families of children with epilepsy can only possess up to 32 ounces of the oil, but they have to travel out of state to get it.
“Driving up there and paying for it because it’s not covered by insurance. It won’t be covered by insurance. We’ll have to pay cash for it. No credit,” said McDermott. “That’s going to be our biggest hurdle to financially be able to go back and forth and buy it.”
It’s a price she says she’s willing to pay to ease Ryan’s pain.
Davenport Mom: Cannabis Oil New Beginning for Son
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