Allow CBD Oil in Kentucky for Savannah

This is an interview with Mary Gross of Junction City, Kentucky about her infant daughter, Savannah. I apologize in advance for the wide breaks between paragraphs. It is a HTML coding glitch that I'm trying to work out. Since we have a medical cannabis bill pending in Frankfort, I figure it is more important to get these stories about sick Kentucky kids out than to worry about them looking perfect on the screen. In the meantime, be sure to scroll all the way down so you see everything.


Suzanne:


Mary, tell us about your infant daughter Savannah.


Mary:


Her full name is Savannah Lynn Piscatelli. She was born in November full term. She had a cleft palate and a club foot but other than that was declared healthy. She spent the first four days of her life in Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit learning to eat with the cleft. Once that was accomplished they sent us home.


She seemed fine at that time but the next day I noticed her doing something strange. It looked like a sneeze but it was different. I called to make an appointment at her pediatrician but they told me she needed to go to the emergency room right away. They believed it was infantile spasms and said she would have to go to the University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington. We spent two weeks at UK. After two video EEGs, numerous blood and urine tests, an MRI, and a spinal tap we were given the devastating news that our baby was indeed having infantile spasms, which are a type of seizure. They said she has Ohtahara Syndrome. After looking it up online we were heartbroken: a life expectancy of two years in 50% of children and the other 50% would suffer multiple seizure types throughout their lives, which are practically uncontrollable so they would have extreme developmental delays.
The University of Kentucky Hospital had never seen this before and had no experience with Ohtahara.


They tried a few anti seizure meds at the hospital with no success. Eventually they found a concoction of pharmaceuticals that took her 200-300 spasms a day down to about 75-100. They said it would be a trial and error of meds that will ultimately stop working anyway. We heard from her neurologist after about three weeks at home. He asked us if we would rather try ACTH shots, which are painful and would compromise her immune system in the middle of flu season, or try Sabril, which would more than likely damage her vision permanently. Neither of these were guaranteed to work. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make with one of my children. It took several sleepless nights before we decided to go with Sabril because the flu would kill her for sure if she got it. The Sabril has reduced her seizures down to about ten a day but she is also is on two other anti seizure meds, as well as a supplement to try to combat the vision loss. She must see an eye doctor every three months but they won't know if her vision is being affected until she is much older and by that time it will be to late.


She sleeps most of the day due to the drowsiness caused by all of her meds.

















Suzanne:


Oh, Mary. I can't even imagine. I'm so sorry. I pray we can pull off a miracle and get CBD oil in Kentucky soon so your daughter's health has a chance to improve. Why do you think CBD oil might help Savannah?


Mary:


The CBD oil has proven to reduce our even eliminate seizures in some cases. It has proven to promote brain cell growth. I have done my research and the two leading causes of death in ohtahara children are chest infections (which I can help prevent by keeping Savannah safe in her home away from people who are sick and keeping my home sanitized, as well as monitor her feeding to prevent aspiration pneumonia) and the other is SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy). I have no control over that beyond finding a way to decrease or eliminate her seizures (which, as previously stated, is being done by CBD oil).


These children also suffer severe developmental delays. Some of it is caused by the syndrome itself, but the seizures also play a very big part in that. Her seizures are near uncontrollable with pharmaceuticals. If we are able to find a medication that stops the kind of seizure she is having it will just transform into another type of seizure. The medications the doctors give her are only temporary solutions if they can find a solution at all. Those medications will have to be changed often and dosages adjusted frequently. Each of those carry their own horrible side effect that will slowly tear down her little body and increase her developmental delays.


The oil is one treatment; no bad side effects! This syndrome also causes limb stiffness which makes it almost impossible to walk. The THC (low and non psychoactive) in the oil would work as a muscle relaxant to combat the stiffness. While she will never fall into her age category for development, with CBD she could learn to walk, to talk, to understand! Without the oil she doesn't stand a chance for any of that. She will be in a wheelchair, lost in a cloud of brain deterioration. It will be over my dead body that happens without a fight. I will leave this state with resentment and go to a state that has compassion and wants to see my daughter and so many others thrive. I would go to hell and back for her if that's what I had to do.


This place (Kentucky) I have loved for my thirty-three years, the place my parents and their parents called home: to turn their back on my baby and deny her this would be a complete disgrace in every sense of the word. And quite frankly, it pisses me off that I would have to fight and beg and plead for this. I have been loyal to Kentucky and it's about damn time it be loyal to me! I'm sorry for the language. This is just so ridiculous to me that there is even a question as to whether or not this should be available. It's a no brainer. It's the greed that makes this an issue for politicians. No real justification from them. And while they pay their little games, our children are suffering and dying. It breaks my heart every day and makes me want to run from this place as fast as I can to a place that offers hope for tomorrow. A place like Colorado. I'm so scared to make this move. It takes me completely out of my comfort zone. I'm a simple country girl who can count the times I've left this state for anything on one hand. I so badly wish it didn't have to be this way.













Suzanne:


I know. It is ridiculous. As I write this my son is thrashing about in pain. But if I go comfort him that makes things worse so I just wait it out, tell him it will be okay, and hope it ends quickly. This is our lives and it does not have to be this way. There are children with my son's same conditions in Colorado who no longer live like this. They thrive now.


It is often said that Kentucky is last in everything. I wonder if sometimes that is because we refuse to make key choices at opportune times. By the time we do eventually make those choices everyone else is already out ahead of us. With that said, I'm madly in love with this place. I always say I may not have been born here but I will die here. I just want us to get with the 21st century on this important issue that concerns sick children and adults.


So what is the plan as of today: is your family definitely moving to Colorado or will you wait out the legislative session to see what happens?


Mary:


My plan right now is to go to Colorado and establish residency, see doctors, and apply for the red card when I get my income taxes back in about a month or so. It is going to be so costly I just can't afford to do it right now. While I wait for the red card and for our name to come up on the Charlotte's Web waiting list I will come back to Kentucky. Once it is available, I will be going up with Savannah and my three year old daughter, Abigail Piscatelli. My boyfriend, their father, John Piscatelli, will have to stay in Kentucky to work. He has been at his job for over ten years and holds a pretty high position with them. He will support us while we are there and come visit when we can afford that trip. We will do that for a few months as we go through a trial of the CBD Oil. If all goes well John will relocate with us and Colorado will become our home until Kentucky has access to oil.


I dread splitting my family up. We have never been apart and my girls love their daddy very much. I know this is going to be very hard for them, especially Abby. She is a daddy's girl if there ever was one! I have faith that Kentucky will legalize, but I don't have faith that they will really get to work on it and make it accessible to us quickly. Time is of the essence. I'm afraid it could take a year or more to actually have things up and running if the bill does pass. With a life expectancy of only two years, waiting around to see is not really an option for us.


Suzanne:


Another family having to split up to get their child what she needs. It is the same story we hear time and time again and yet my ears never get used to it. It is still as shocking to me reading your words as it was when I read those first news reports of parents moving to Colorado so their kids could get the oil. I promise you; we will not stop fighting in Kentucky until all children who need this can legally get the oil here. We will not stop until your family, The Byrds, and the nine other Kentucky families in Colorado can come home.


Is there anything you would like the state legislature to know? We have stated our case; now the ball is in their court.


Mary:


I would just like them to know that this issue has been put on the back burner too long. We must make change for the well being of the residents of this great state. We are the people they represent and the people say legalize! Don't make us suffer any more. Don't make us leave our homes. Sooner or later the fact that people are fleeing will catch up to Kentucky. This state needs its people. Its believers. Its supporters. So the time has come for politicians to be the believers and the supporters instead of sitting back and watching us go without even a fight.

Mary's Interview With CN2 Louisville At The CBD Oil Senate Committee Hearing On January 15, 2014 

Testimony I Would Have Given at Kentucky's Senate Committee Hearing on CBD Oil

I intended to sign up to testify at the Senate Health and Welfare Committee hearing for CBD Oil on January 15, 2014. However, I wasn't able to put my words together in time on account of my recent cancer diagnosis, work, and managing Alex's regressions. A week has passed but this unspoken testimony sticks in my brain like a splinter, so I've decided to bare it here. Thank you for listening.






ALEX



Alex was born a healthy baby, but by age three there were undeniable red flags. He was so high functioning, though, that the professional evaluating him came back three times before she would even render a diagnosis: Autism. Therapists told us Alex appeared to be a genius, so we had every reason to believe his future could still be bright. But by age six he had an IQ of 52 and was back in diapers. Our child was deconstructing before our eyes and nobody could tell us why.


Eventually we learned that Alex had Multi-Focal Petite Mal Epilepsy and that this was likely responsible for his severe regressions. Simply put, some part of his brain experiences epileptiform activity all day long.






Alex's was prescribed pulse steroid doses for two years. Prednisone was a miracle. My son started talking again and most autistic stereopathy disappeared: arm flapping, repetitive behaviors, verbal jargoning. You name it. Gone. Progress came with great risk, though: osteoporosis, adrenal disease, diabetes. So steroids were abandoned, taking rapid developmental progress and complete seizure control with them.






My son's first anticonvulsant made him obese and raised his liver enzymes, so we stopped giving him that. The new medication gives him the impulse control of a toddler. Now I must constantly be on Alex or he may run into traffic, pull a boiling pot of water onto himself, or try to jump out of a moving vehicle. I won't even get into the aggression. And so, we see the neurologist at the end of the month to possibly try yet another anticonvulsant that will probably not fully control his epilepsy but will impart God knows what new side effects.






There are children in Colorado with Alex's conditions taking CBD Oil who don't live like this anymore. They have impulse control now, less repetitive behaviors, less rage. They appear to have all of the benefits Alex had on steroids without the risky side effects. Without any side effects at all, really. My son deserves that chance, too.






MY CANCER


On January 3rd I was diagnosed with cancer. The peer review studies on CBD and full spectrum cannabis's ability to fight cancer seem endless. Here is a recent report from CNN's Sanjay Gupta called CBD vs. Cancer.













I want to access what I believe is my best chance at survival so I can take care of this child who will need me much longer than most kids need their parents. As it stands now, to access this I would have to leave my family and move to a legal state by myself. Since I would only do this as an adjunct to conventional cancer options, moving would make those treatments out-of-network, which I cannot afford. And besides, I need my family now more than ever. I don't want to be alone in a studio apartment somewhere in Denver throwing up into a garbage day-after-day.






WHY DON'T YOU JUST............


I'd like to address some of the suggestions often made to those of us seeking legal access to CBD in prohibitive states and state why these are not options for my family.






1. "Why don't you just move? I'd move in a heartbeat if it were my kid."


Would you? Would you, really? Does anyone really think it is that easy? Ask the families who just moved how that is working out for them. Yes, their epileptic children are doing better and that makes it all worthwhile, but these families are struggling. Jobs are scarce. Some families have had to split up, with half the family staying back home to make income while the other parent is in Colorado with the sick child who cannot legally leave the state with her medication. There are siblings missing their mothers, retirement funds depleted, families without support. All because politicians in home states don't want to allow this because they think it's too hard.






If we were to move it would take my husband a year to get his professional license set up. And, starting over in a new state with no connections would cut his income by half. Autism is expensive and requires every penny we make now, so my family couldn't make it on less. And, we can't risk our health insurance now since I need that now for cancer treatment. This is not the time for my family to be starting over. We shouldn't have to.






2. "Why don't you just buy it on the Black Market? If it were my kid I'd find a way to get it."


In his documentary "Weeds" Sanjay Gupta mentioned how marijuana on the black market is being bred to contain up to 30 % THC (unaltered strains are under 10%) and that this is why some people have adverse reactions to it like panic disorders. There's no way I'm giving that to my son. And, since high CBD strains do not produce a high and are not smoked, they aren't exactly available on the black how market anyhow.






Besides, I place a high premium on being a law abiding citizen. I just do. I'm a mother. A pre-school teacher. I don't care for anything mind altering. I even refused prescription medication after my C-Section surgery and probably will after my lumpectomy, too. Plus, my future is already so uncertain. I still don't even know what cancer treatments I may need.  I don't need to be sitting in a jail cell with my bald chemo head when I should be spending every precious moment with my family.








I HAVE A BETTER IDEA


I have a better idea. Help us. Just help us please. Co-sponsor SB 43, The Cannabis Compassionate Care Act  and update SB 50 to allow CBD Oil into Kentucky as hemp.






Thank you.






Sincerely,




Suzanne Maria De Gregorio
January 21st, 2014
Louisville, Kentucky

Epilepsy/High CBD Hemp Oil Success Story: Harper

Today I interview Penny Howard of Hope 4 Harper. Penny has had success reducing Harper's seizures with a legal-in-all-fifty-states high CBD hemp oil.



Suzanne:



Hi Penny. Tell us about Harper. What is her condition?



Penny:



Harper is our youngest daughter, age three and a half, with CDKL5 Disorder.  She was born April 12, 2010.  In hindsight there were signs of problems while in utero but with no special needs or epilepsy in our family we just didn't know. It wasn't until two weeks of age that we noticed her first seizure and that's because my aunt Marlene came to visit and gave herself the job of holding the new baby Allllll day!  Three times she noticed jerking that seemed abnormal to her so after the first two times she asked us about it.  With Harper being our second child we did not really have time to chase after her two year old sister and hold her all day so we never noticed this.  But after it was brought to our attention I held her all night and there it was:  seizure!  My heart sank!  I knew right away without a doubt what it was.  And, May 1st our lives were forever changed, never again to be the same as they had been, or even what we had dreamed them to be.  Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, because now we have a whole new appreciation for life: ours, Lily's, Harper's and how we are supposed to be living it.  A new view on our bodies, our environment and how we are supposed to be treating it.  We even saw the reality of medicine, which we completely misunderstood.  So although we are sad for the life we lost, we are grateful that Harper has come to show us the life we didn't know existed.



Suzanne:



 Is CDKL5 treatable with anticonvulsants? What has been Harper's experience with those?


Penny:



There is no AED or combination of AEDs or other epilepsy therapy (ie. Vagal Nerve Stimulator, Ketogenic Diet) that can control seizures for CDKL5 Disorder.

Those affected suffer from intense, uncontrollable seizures, sensory issues, gastrointestinal and cardiological difficulties, visual impairment, scoliosis, and severely delayed developmental growth. The severity of Harper's particular case is yet unknown, but we remain hopeful.



Suzanne:



You decided to try Harper on a high cannabidiol hemp oil that is legal in all fifty states to see if it would help her seizures. Can you tell us about that?



Penny:



After a year of hearing of the success with some trying Charlotte's Web, my husband Dustin decided to search legal alternatives and found Hemp.  Being legal we decided to try it without hesitation and were cautiously impressed with the results.  We plateaued after two months of use but even at our plateau Harper is experiencing less seizures per week/month than she had prior to starting hemp.



Suzanne:



That's fantastic! I have spoken with another family whose child experiences seizure reduction on legal, high CBD Hemp Oil and a dozen or so who did not. That can be true for any intervention. I've even spoken with a mother whose epileptic child saw no seizure reduction with Charlotte's Web. Each family has to weigh its options: if something is safe and affordable do you give it a try? It sounds like you are quite pleased that you did.



Penny:

Yes I agree. Like with any type of seizure therapy, be it AED, VNS, Diet or Hemp/Cannabis it will not work for everyone.  Just because Real Scientific Hemp Oil did not help with improvement that doesn't mean Charlotte's Web won't help you and vise versa.  For us it wasn't about all or nothing but rather improvement.  Harper is still on her AED, Depakote, while using Hemp.


We are happy with our choice to try RSHO.  I understand the concern in trying something new. When Harper was 20 months she was sitting supported, drinking from a straw cup and eating very well many foods by mouth, pulling to crawl position and really in a good place with 3 seizures per day lasting about 2-3 minutes long and none at night.  I wanted better for her so I worked with a hospital nutritionist in an effort to gain better seizure control.  Our grand plan backfired with massive debilitating seizures lasting 8-15 minutes long, 24+ times per day and night.  They were so incredibly intense - Harper dislocated her jaw.  She lost EVERYTHING including her ability to eat, and even to self sooth by sucking on her fingers.  Everything she spent twenty months working so hard to gain was lost and has yet to return all because we tried something new.  It's a risk! But I never want to say that I didn't try to do everything I possibly could to help make her life the absolute best it could be.  

 

That tragic event landed us in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for two weeks, where I realized although Harper could physically do nothing she still understands.  That changed our focus from physical to communication.  We have spent our time helping her learn to communicate and working to get her an eye gaze communication device.  My dad always says, "we live in a world of words."  Harper's success in life will be determined by her ability to communicate not her physical abilities.  


Suzanne:

Can you estimate a percentage of seizure reduction you are seeing?



Penny:

The week prior to starting RSHO Harper had 64 seizures now she runs between 28-35 per week.  

 

Suzanne:



What brand of high CBD hemp oil does Harper take?


Penny:

Harper uses HempMedsPx Black OIl.  We recently attempted to add a high does of their Gold to her mix.  The black is more whole plant based and the gold is the black filtered one more time.  When we used this combo in the past I noticed problems when adding the gold, but I added it at a low does.  This time I went for it and added a high amount of gold and kept her black stable.  It's still too soon to determine how this combo will impact her seizure control.  But so far it's not making it worse! That's a plus! 
  

Suzanne:



What does it cost roughly per month?



Penny:

Thanks to HempMedsPx's willingness to establish an "Epilepsy Program" a sample tube runs $50 each plus shipping.  Non-sample tubes run about double/triple that depending on your preference of black or gold.  Seeing as Harper is on the small side we run through about 1 tube of black in 5 weeks.  I think gold will be about the same but again it's still too new to tell.  


Suzanne:


Has Harper shown improvement on RSHO Hemp Oil?


Penny:


I feel we saw improvement pretty quickly with Harper but I approached her use of this product cautiously optimistic.  We document her seizure activity, along with food consumption and potty in a book organized by time of day.  The week prior to starting RSHO Harper had sixty-four seizures.  The week she started she had twenty seizures and week two was an amazing ZERO visible seizures.  What I mean by visible are seizures we actual see compared to the brain activity considered a seizures that we do not see.  Harper's last video EEG indicated she has over forty plus seizures per day of which we saw ten.  After just over three months on hemp Harper has settled into about 30+/- seizures per week.  Still a reduction and we and many others have noticed more interaction, eye contact and alertness from her. 


Suzanne:


Can you please tell our readers how RSHO Hemp Oil is different from hemp oil they might find on grocery store shelves?

Penny:

PLEASE NOTE:  I am not an RSHO expert!  I am just a mom who wanted a legal alternative to medical marijuana/Charlotte's Web because we live in Texas where it is not yet legal to try. 

It is my understanding that RSHO is NOT the same is Hemp Oil you might find in your local health food store.  Hemp in the health food store is hemp oil pressed from hemp seeds and contains NO CBD. 

Suzanne:

Newcomers are often confused as to the difference between high CBD cannabis oil and high CBD hemp oil. They think we are talking about basically the same thing. Can you please explain the difference?

Penny:

High CBD Cannabis and High CBD Hemp Oil are not the same in that the Cannabis Oil comes from the Marijuana plant and Hemp Oil comes from the Industrial Hemp Plant, a "cousin" plant to Marijuana.  Similar but not the same.  Just as some find relief with Charlotte's Web and some do not the same applies to RSHO.  If RSHO is not successful for you it does not mean that Charlotte's Web will not be and vise versa.  Also, if you are finding RSHO successful would you find more success from Charlotte's Web?  I don't know? In some ways Charlotte's Web and RSHO are very similar and both considered hemp from a ratio standpoint.  What makes something hemp:  1) coming from the hemp plant itself and 2) the ratio of CBD to THC.  There is a lot of confusion in the world of RSHO and medical marijuana because of the interchangeable terminology.  

---------------------------


Harper's CBD Journey on Penny Howard's website Hope 4 Harper:


Before and After Six Weeks on High CBD Industrial Hemp


Two Months on Industrial Hemp CBD

Autism/CBD Oil Success Stories: Joshua and Nick

Here I interview Gabby from California. Her boys, Joshua and Nick, have autism without epilepsy. They are thriving on CBD Oil (not Charlotte's Web in this case).

Suzanne:

In which state do you live?

Gabby:

CALIFORNIA

Suzanne:

Do both of your sons take CBD oil or just one? Which brand?

Gabby:

BOTH. Our CBD is made locally for us, no brand - we test every single batch.

Suzanne:

How do you test the batches?

Gabby:

The batches are lab tested.

Suzanne:

How does physician involvement work in California? I'm more familiar with how it
is done in Colorado at this point.

Gabby:

The physician will ask for symptoms to treat: insomnia, anxiety, appetite, pain, aggressiveness, etc. Then he will prescribe CBD and in some cases THC.  He issues a prescription and you are left to find the oils or resins at the dispensaries.  He recommended I talk to other parents to figure out brands and doses.  And, with minors he requires to see the kid every three months to renew the prescription. All appointments must be paid in advance: close to $600 dollars.

Suzanne:

Have you seen any improvements in your sons' conditions? If so, what
specifically?

Gabby:

Both started out as very severely autistic kids. Joshua is high functioning now and Nick is on his way.

NICK: 8 Years Old





He has improved remarkably. My son was non-verbal and he started talking, pointing to things, naming all he sees, singing songs, counting in English and Spanish. Sensory issues are almost gone and fine motor is improved. He sleeps better, asks verbally for bath, food, toilet, etc. He looks at his peers and wants to imitate them. He would avoid being touched and now asks for hugs. He also now keeps his clothes on, takes pictures and draws, loves music, sings, and dances. And he lets doctors and nurses take vitals. That's new. He would scream and run away before. A different kid!

Oh and Nick is starting to answer yes and no questions. This started today. I'm telling you it's like Christmas morning every day. Can't wait to see what new thing cannabis is going to do for us!

Nick has been taking CBD and THC for three months.

I have not talked to many other parents on cannabis, but I have talked to many on stem cells. SAME RESULTS! But not as invasive or costly!

JOSHUA: 10 Years Old




My other son is also autistic and was already talking, but now he's talking better! He is asking for new food items. He would self restrict his diet. This morning he asked for scrabbled eggs! WHAAAAT! That is new.

Joshua has been taking CBD and THC only a few weeks.

Look, here they are playing together!




Suzanne:

 

This is truly remarkable, but not surprising since it is the same story I keep hearing again and again.

You mentioned that your kids also take a THC oil tincture. While epileptic kids just take CBD, I've heard time and time again that some autistic children also benefit from a THC tincture beyond the trace amounts in CBD oil. While that sounds knee-jerk-scary without more information, this has kept some children with severe autism out of institutions (here, here, and here). Can you tell us about your boys' THC tinctures? What percentage of THC is in the tincture?

Gabby:



This is my source of THC. It is only a small small dose: no bigger than the tip of a pencil. I dose it at 6:00 pm to make them unwind from the day. Promotes relaxation, gets rid of the anxiety and helps achieve deep healing sleep.

Even epileptic kids can benefit if you do micro dosing 10 g. Of full cannabis oil + 10ml. of olive oil. 1 to 2 drops 2 to 3 times a day.

Suzanne:

THC is an interesting factor with epilepsy because in high doses it can cause seizures but parents and doctors are finding tiny bits of it actually help the CBDs work better. When growers lower the amount of THC in high CBD cannabis plants to resemble those in hemp parents find the anticonvulsant properties do not work as well. It is a synergy of plant based components that I believe they will have a hard time duplicating when they start isolating CBDs to make pharmaceuticals.

Is there anything you'd like our readers to know?

Gabby:

From Wikipedia's article on neurogenesis:

"Some studies have shown that the use of cannabinoids results in the growth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus from both embryonic and adult stem cells. In 2005 a clinical study of rats at the University of Saskatchewan showed regeneration of nerve cells in the hippocampus.[55] Studies have shown that a synthetic drug resembling THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, provides some protection against brain inflammation, which might result in better memory at an older age. This is due to receptors in the system that can also influence the production of new neurons.[56] Nonetheless, a study directed at Rutgers University demonstrated how synchronization of action potentials in the hippocampus of rats was altered after THC administration. Lack of synchronization corresponded with impaired performance in a standard test of memory.[57] Recent studies indicate that a natural cannabinoid of cannabis, cannabidiol, increases adult neurogenesis while having no effect on learning. THC however impaired learning and had no effect on neurogenesis.[58] A greater CBD to THC ratio in hair analyses of cannabis users correlates with protection against gray matter reduction in the right hippocampus.[59] CBD has also been observed to attenuate the deficits in prose recall and visuo-spatial associative memory of those currently under the influence of cannabis,[60][61] implying neuroprotective effects against heavy THC exposure. Neurogenesis might play a role in its neuroprotective effects, but further research is required."

  
Suzanne:

Thank you so much, Gabby. Every autism parent who is brave enough to speak the truth of cannabis for sick kids sends out a ripple that reaches dozens more, then some of those do the same, and before we know it we will have created a tide that cannot be turned back.

Gabby:

 I refuse to hide because I am not doing anything wrong or bad. I am not ignorant nor doing this without having done exhaustive research and being backed up by a great doctor. And, I believe it's a sin to keep all this knowledge to my self and be worried about what people think.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Links provided by Gabby for further reading:

Scientists Meet to Discuss Cannabinoids and Stem Cells

The Marijuana Miracle: Why a Single Compound in Cannabis May Revolutionize Modern Medicine - The Nation

Neurogenesis - Wikipedia