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How a 5-Year-Old Girl Gave CNN's Sanjay Gupta New Perspective on Medical Pot
Facing a child treating her severe seizure disorder with medical marijuana, Gupta was forced to see the error of his ways
"CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is making waves for his recent reversal of opinion on medical marijuana. Part of this has to do with an expansive body of medical evidence but the touching story of a 5-year-old girl may have also played a meaningful role.
What if you were the parent of a small child suffering from a severe form of epilepsy that sent her into debilitating shocks hundreds of times each week, disrupting nearly every moment of the day, often leaving her in a catatonic state and crippling her development? You’ve tried every treatment available, seen countless specialists and nothing seems to work.
You’ve taken your child home from yet another emergency hospital visit, this time carrying with you the immeasurable weight of a “do not resuscitate” order from her doctor. Her treatment providers have exhausted every avenue they know of and have left you with very little hope.
Finally, at the height of your desperation you discover one last course of action but it is not one without controversy. You’ve learned about a plant containing chemicals that have proven beneficial to children like your daughter. However, the first complication is that the plant also has psychoactive properties and as much as you want to help your child, you don’t want to keep her in a constant state of intoxication.
You find there are strains of the plant with less of the intoxicant chemical and more of the one you believe has the medical benefits you need. However, there is a second very daunting complication: the plant is illegal and this fact creates significant consequences.
Few clinical researchers have had the ability to do thorough testing of the plant and objectively review its side effects due to politics and the fact that the federal government has banned it. Getting a reliable and safe supply will be an extraordinary challenge. And even if your local laws permit limited access to the plant and your child improves with it, you may never be able to travel with her across state lines without the risk of arrest and possibly having your little girl taken away from you by the authorities.
A young couple from Colorado, Paige and Matt Figi, faced this very harsh dilemma and their story is the subject of Dr. Gupta’s special “Weed,” airing this Sunday night. Their 5-year-old daughter, Charlotte, struggles with a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome, and though they have endured extreme measures to treat her with medical marijuana, the results have been outstanding. Charlotte has gone from having hundreds of seizures a week to only one small episode each month with regular and carefully monitored use of the plant..."
How a 5-Year-Old Girl Gave CNN's Sanjay Gupta New Perspective on Medical Pot
Facing a child treating her severe seizure disorder with medical marijuana, Gupta was forced to see the error of his ways
"CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is making waves for his recent reversal of opinion on medical marijuana. Part of this has to do with an expansive body of medical evidence but the touching story of a 5-year-old girl may have also played a meaningful role.
What if you were the parent of a small child suffering from a severe form of epilepsy that sent her into debilitating shocks hundreds of times each week, disrupting nearly every moment of the day, often leaving her in a catatonic state and crippling her development? You’ve tried every treatment available, seen countless specialists and nothing seems to work.
You’ve taken your child home from yet another emergency hospital visit, this time carrying with you the immeasurable weight of a “do not resuscitate” order from her doctor. Her treatment providers have exhausted every avenue they know of and have left you with very little hope.
Finally, at the height of your desperation you discover one last course of action but it is not one without controversy. You’ve learned about a plant containing chemicals that have proven beneficial to children like your daughter. However, the first complication is that the plant also has psychoactive properties and as much as you want to help your child, you don’t want to keep her in a constant state of intoxication.
You find there are strains of the plant with less of the intoxicant chemical and more of the one you believe has the medical benefits you need. However, there is a second very daunting complication: the plant is illegal and this fact creates significant consequences.
Few clinical researchers have had the ability to do thorough testing of the plant and objectively review its side effects due to politics and the fact that the federal government has banned it. Getting a reliable and safe supply will be an extraordinary challenge. And even if your local laws permit limited access to the plant and your child improves with it, you may never be able to travel with her across state lines without the risk of arrest and possibly having your little girl taken away from you by the authorities.
A young couple from Colorado, Paige and Matt Figi, faced this very harsh dilemma and their story is the subject of Dr. Gupta’s special “Weed,” airing this Sunday night. Their 5-year-old daughter, Charlotte, struggles with a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome, and though they have endured extreme measures to treat her with medical marijuana, the results have been outstanding. Charlotte has gone from having hundreds of seizures a week to only one small episode each month with regular and carefully monitored use of the plant..."
