Pubdate: Tue, 29 Oct 2013
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2013 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Fernanda Santos

WITH SUIT, PARENTS OF BOY WITH SEIZURES PRESS ARIZONA OFFICIALS ON 
MARIJUANA ACT

PHOENIX - Arguing that medical marijuana has been the most effective 
treatment for their son's seizure disorder, the parents of a 
5-year-old boy filed a lawsuit here on Monday to force state 
officials to include marijuana extracts - oil-like resins with very 
low levels of the psychoactive ingredient THC - as a legal product 
under the state's medical marijuana act.

As it stands, the act, approved by voters in 2010, allows patients to 
use "any mixture or preparation" made with dried marijuana flowers, 
like brownies. The boy's parents, Jacob and Jennifer Welton, have 
been crushing the flowers and mixing them into applesauce, which they 
say has become difficult for the boy to ingest after brain surgery 
last year compromised his ability to eat. They do not want to buy the 
extract, found on the black market, for fear of being arrested.

"We're not criminals," Ms. Welton, 30, an enrollment adviser at the 
University of Phoenix, said in an interview. "We just want what's 
best for our son."

The Weltons' legal action opens a new front on the fight over 
legalizing marijuana for medicinal use across the country, focusing 
on very sick children to highlight its potential benefits.

Arizona's statute has no age restrictions; patients under 18 can use 
medical marijuana as long as a parent or legal guardian is told of 
its potential risks and is in charge of buying and administering it, 
among other requirements.

But the Maricopa County attorney, Bill Montgomery, has said that 
patients can be criminally prosecuted for using extracts and other 
products that do not meet the definition of "cannabis" under the 
state's criminal code, which treats resin extracted from marijuana as 
an illegal narcotic. The couple lists Mr. Montgomery, Gov. Jan Brewer 
and Will Humble, the director of the Arizona Department of Health 
Services, as defendants in its lawsuit.

"We're taking a proactive measure," said Emma A. Andersson of the 
American Civil Liberties Union's Criminal Law Reform Project and the 
Weltons' lead lawyer. "Rather than waiting for these parents to be 
criminally prosecuted, we're asking the courts to clarify what the 
medical marijuana law is."

The Weltons' approach has already scored victories and forged 
alliances in unlikely corners. In August, Gov. Chris Christie of New 
Jersey, which has one of the nation's strictest marijuana statutes, 
allowed dispensaries to provide edible products made with marijuana 
leaves or extract to children. On Monday in Michigan, State 
Representative Mike Shirkey, a Republican, introduced legislation 
that would add edible products and extracts to the list of products 
deemed "usable" under the state's medical marijuana law, approved by 
voters in 2008.

Utah does not have a medical marijuana program, but a Republican 
legislator there, State Representative Gage Froerer, plans to propose 
a bill allowing the use of extracts to treat children.

In an interview, Mr. Froerer said, "With these low THC levels and the 
research I found coming from Colorado" and other states where the 
extracts are legal, "you ask yourself, if this was one of your kids, 
would you want this product available?"

Through representatives, the defendants declined to comment while 
litigation was pending. Still, in a recent blog post, Mr. Humble 
talked about the confusion caused by the different definitions of 
marijuana and cannabis in the state's medical marijuana law and 
criminal code, saying that patients who use medical marijuana and the 
dispensaries that sell to them "may be exposed to criminal 
prosecution" if they have "resin extracted from any part" of a marijuana plant.

Mr. Montgomery, in a wide-ranging news conference last month, said 
one of his concerns was that the medical marijuana law sets limits 
only on dispensing dried marijuana - 2.5 ounces per patient every 14 
days - making it hard to regulate the sale of resins and oils.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved the country's 
first studies on the marijuana compound cannabidiol, a 
nonpsychoactive marijuana component, as an antiseizure medication. 
Some scientists believe the compound quiets the electrical and 
chemical activities in the brain that trigger seizures. Extracts are 
often heavy on cannabidiol, with a negligible amount of THC.

The parents of Zander, the 5-year-old boy here, decided to request 
medical marijuana for him after watching a CNN documentary featuring 
the story of a girl from Colorado whose seizures fell to a handful 
over eight months from about 300 per week. At that time, Zander, who 
has cortical dysplasia, a genetic defect, was facing the prospect of 
a third brain surgery.

His daily seizures, which started when he was 9 months old, had made 
him unresponsive to emotional and physical prompts, Ms. Welton said. 
He was first given medical marijuana seven weeks ago, and since then 
he has been able to stand straighter, stack blocks and walk backward 
for the first time.

Ms. Welton said extracts, in addition to being easier to ingest, can 
be taken in more precise doses than the plant.

"We tried so many other regular pharmaceutical medications. They 
don't have the same stigma, but they didn't help him and sometimes 
they made him worse," said Ms. Welton, who has two other children. "I 
wouldn't want any of my other kids using marijuana. But this is 
Zander's medication, and for the first time, I feel like there's hope for him."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom