Pubdate: Wed, 02 Apr 2014
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Trevor Greenway

GIRL WITH EPILEPSY NEEDS MARIJUANA EXTRACT, MOM SAYS

'Charlotte's Web'. Non-THC Strain Of Marijuana Only Available In The U.S.

Kim Martelle just wants her daughter to grow up like other kids:
playing, swimming and getting into a little bit of trouble.

But for eight-year-old Cadence Hope, many of her days have been spent
in a wheelchair with a hockey helmet strapped to her head to prevent
brain damage from the multiple "aggressive seizures" she has daily.

"While parents are busy buying hockey helmets for their kids to play
hockey, we were busy buying a hockey helmet so that our daughter could
go out in the 40 C heat of summer to play with her brother," said
Martelle, beginning to cry.

The little girl has intractable epilepsy and Martelle has been reading
miracle stories from the U.S. about a strain of marijuana called
Charlotte's Web that has been helping kids with epilepsy and other
genetic disorders lead normal lives in Colorado.

Charlotte's Web reportedly has no psychoactive properties and won't
get a user high, but for kids like Cadence, it could make all the difference.

"We are watching kids basically go from catatonic in wheelchairs to
riding bicycles, swimming in swimming pools, saying 'mama and 'dada'
for maybe the first time in their lives," said Martelle, during a
medical marijuana rally on Parliament Hill Tuesday.

Martelle and others are fighting to have the drug legalized in the
country - or at least studied extensively.

But Martelle says she can't get legal access to the drug to extract
the cannabidiol (CBD) and mix it into her daughter's diet. Cadence has
tried the mainstream medical route, taking all sorts of "toxic" pills
that nearly paralyzed her from the neck down.

A ketogenic, high-fat, lowcarb diet has helped Cadence regain her
mobility, Martelle says. Cadence can move around and play, but still
has nightly seizures. Moving to Colorado is not an option for the
family, so Martelle hopes pot will become a "front line treatment" for
epilepsy, MS and other diseases.

"We need to reclassify cannabis as a medicinal herb, not a drug," she
said.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D