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posted by martyb on Friday June 01 2018, @07:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the smoking-stopped-son's-seizures-so-son-siezed dept.

They Let Their 15-Year-Old Son Smoke Pot to Stop His Seizures. Georgia Took Him Away. (archive)

The pharmaceuticals weren't working. The 15-year-old boy was having several seizures per day, and his parents were concerned his life was in danger. So Suzeanna and Matthew Brill, of Macon, Ga., decided in February to let their son try smoking marijuana — and his seizures stopped for 71 days, they say.

The Brills' decision led to the boy, David, being taken away from his parents, who face possible fines and jail time after being charged with reckless conduct for giving him the drug. David has now been in a group home for 30 days, and his seizures have returned. He is separated from the service dog that sniffed out his seizures, and he is able to communicate with his parents only during short visitations and phone calls.

They maintain they made the right decision for their son's health, despite their current predicament. "Even with the ramifications with the law, I don't care," said Mr. Brill, his stepfather. "For 71 days he was able to ride a bike, go play, lift weights. We were able to achieve that with David medicated not from Big Pharma, but David medicated with marijuana."

The Brill parents were jailed on April 20, and posted bond on April 25.

Since The New York Times published the article, Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum has received media attention and threatening phone calls, one of which he played back for reporters at a press conference.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by digitalaudiorock on Friday June 01 2018, @08:18PM (27 children)

    by digitalaudiorock (688) on Friday June 01 2018, @08:18PM (#687435) Journal

    They're clearly ratcheting up the failed war on drugs just as Trump and Sessions have encouraged them to. Interesting in the context of the recent "right to try" stuff which is apparently the "right to try shit that probably doesn't work as long as long as big pharma makes their $$ but not stuff that does work but was used by hippies"...but I digress...

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  • (Score: 1, Troll) by mobydisk on Friday June 01 2018, @08:46PM (25 children)

    by mobydisk (5472) on Friday June 01 2018, @08:46PM (#687448)

    Came here to post this. But note that the "right to try" only applies to terminal people. Perhaps it should be taken further. Maybe it should also apply to "debilitating" illnesses as well. Although if the outcome was that extreme, it might be worth moving to another country. This is also why we need serious medical research into cannabis. It would break my heart to see my child smoking marijuana. But if the chemical can be used safely without having to smoke it, then we have a win-win situation.

    I want to know what this kid's medical situation really is though. The article states that:

    “We complied, and within 14 hours of complying we were rushing our son to the hospital,” she said. “And it was one of the most horrific seizures I’ve ever seen.”

    I don't know much about epilepsy, but it sounds like he has seizures really really often. Wow, frightening. But the timing also seems more than coincidental. Did the cannabis make the subsequent seizures worse? Could the parents be exaggerating the most recent seizure to make their point? I hope that a good doctor can assess this situation quickly. Going from life-threatening seizures every day to none for months is a miracle if it is true.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @10:15PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @10:15PM (#687472)

      It would break my heart to see my child smoking marijuana.

      Smoking weed is the least of your worries. They are eating tidepods and snorting condoms now.

    • (Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Friday June 01 2018, @10:23PM (17 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday June 01 2018, @10:23PM (#687477) Journal

      It would break my heart to see my child smoking marijuana.

      Why? It's better than alcohol, heroin, jenkem, sniffing glue, etc. Maybe get that heart condition checked out.

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      • (Score: 3, Funny) by RandomFactor on Friday June 01 2018, @11:58PM (1 child)

        by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 01 2018, @11:58PM (#687518) Journal

        Damn you...I had to go Google and read about jenkem. That's just nasty.

        --
        В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
        • (Score: 2) by leftover on Sunday June 03 2018, @01:07AM

          by leftover (2448) on Sunday June 03 2018, @01:07AM (#687865)

          Holy shit!!!

          --
          Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
      • (Score: 2) by digitalaudiorock on Saturday June 02 2018, @12:33AM (5 children)

        by digitalaudiorock (688) on Saturday June 02 2018, @12:33AM (#687525) Journal

        Why? It's better than alcohol, heroin, jenkem, sniffing glue, etc.

        Exactly...and I'm getting pretty tired of the decades-old myth that marijuana is addictive. Bull-fucking-shit. There's simply no such thing as a physical dependency to it, and I'd argue that you can only say it's "addictive" to the same degree that anything can be, including chocolate cake.

        • (Score: 2) by dry on Saturday June 02 2018, @05:12AM (4 children)

          by dry (223) on Saturday June 02 2018, @05:12AM (#687586) Journal

          Err, chocolate cake is actually physically addicting, at least if made with real cocoa. Chocolate is similar to caffeine, including being physically addicting and legal though there was a movement to illegalize it at the end of the 19th century and it has been bred for weakness ever since the Catholics showed up in Central America.

          • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 02 2018, @09:25AM (3 children)

            by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 02 2018, @09:25AM (#687625) Journal

            Since you brought this up, do you know if there is any successful effort to cultivate the more addictive/stronger varieties of the cocoa bean?

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            • (Score: 2) by dry on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:18PM (2 children)

              by dry (223) on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:18PM (#687720) Journal

              Interesting question that I wish I could answer but I've never heard of a breeding program to make stronger cocoa.

              • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:25PM (1 child)

                by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:25PM (#687721) Journal

                Or alternatively, locate the seeds of the lost varieties. They could remain viable even after centuries, or contain enough DNA to be copied.

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                • (Score: 2) by dry on Saturday June 02 2018, @06:12PM

                  by dry (223) on Saturday June 02 2018, @06:12PM (#687772) Journal

                  Not very likely to be viable. Not many seeds stay viable even for decades (buttercup seeds in the seed bank (soil) can be viable for 30 years) unless under perfect conditions. DNA perhaps.
                  Quickly searching, it seems some old strains still exist in Trinidad and are being cloned, sequenced and such. See https://sta.uwi.edu/cru/wbdm_ancientcocoa.asp [uwi.edu]

      • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:30AM (4 children)

        by Sulla (5173) on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:30AM (#687574) Journal

        Why do people start using drugs? In high school lots of people tried to push it on me but I never had any desire. One of two people in my graduating class to never do anything (alcohol/tobacco/etc) during my time in school. Never really understood the whole thing. I am not and was not religious or told not to by my parents, just never saw the desire to affect my ability to think or mess with my brain chemistry.

        --
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        • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:39AM

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:39AM (#687579) Journal

          Been wondering the exact same thing for as long as you have. I'll drink once or twice a year, usually on Lunar New Year and my birthday, but never to excess. It's somewhere between mystifying and frightening that people want to mess their heads up like that...

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:43AM

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:43AM (#687581) Journal

          Not all drugs are created equal...

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        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by dry on Saturday June 02 2018, @05:15AM

          by dry (223) on Saturday June 02 2018, @05:15AM (#687587) Journal

          Because life is shitty and they want to escape. Most animals are the same, when the stress is too high, they'll self medicate if given the chance.

        • (Score: 2) by Whoever on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:47PM

          by Whoever (4524) on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:47PM (#687733) Journal

          For many people, their inhibitions reduce their ability to enjoy themselves. Alcohol reduces inhibitions, thus allowing people to have more fun.

      • (Score: 2, Disagree) by mobydisk on Tuesday June 05 2018, @09:59PM

        by mobydisk (5472) on Tuesday June 05 2018, @09:59PM (#689047)

        Because it is a stinky nasty habit with negative health consequences. Really, smoking anything is bad. Better if we can find another delivery mechanism. Although I'd settle for marijuana that doesn't stink. That alone would be a world-changing breakthrough.

      • (Score: 2) by mobydisk on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:29PM (2 children)

        by mobydisk (5472) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @09:29PM (#692541)

        So if i said "It would break my hear to see my child stabbing himself" would you reply with "Why? It's better than shooting himself." There's better ways to get medicine than smoking it in a stinky weed. There is the potential for THC to be 10x more effective, at a lower dose, without the side-effects. But your snarky response successfully shut down that entire avenue of discussion.

        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:30PM (1 child)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday June 13 2018, @10:30PM (#692577) Journal

          So if i said blah blah stabbing

          Irrelevant.

          stinky weed

          "Fragrant weed".

          There is the potential for THC to be 10x more effective, at a lower dose, without the side-effects. But your snarky response successfully shut down that entire avenue of discussion.

          The potential, and the discussion has been constrained by a decades-long failed government policy that needs immediate reversal for more than just medical reasons. There isn't much to discuss here that hasn't been mentioned a million times on SoylentNews or elsewhere.

          You want effective treatments without "stink" or even getting high (CBD)? Get the plant descheduled. Not on Schedule 2 or 3, just off completely. Then you will see a lot more of the research you want to see, with much larger sample sizes.

          Given the safety profile of this drug, parents should be able to permit their seizure-prone kids to use any delivery method for at least the next 2-3 decades while scientists figure out what other compounds in the full plant are involved in reducing the seizures. Kids can also vape rather than smoke it. Apparently, edibles have been used for this purpose too.

          Is it ideal that parents/patients have to guess at an effective course of treatment or experiment with different forms of it? No, but that's how it's going to be for many years. People can figure out if the dose/delivery reduces seizures from hundreds per month to zero, and there is no overdosing.

          Back to what I originally responded to. I just have this image of you keeling over and sobbing in the moment you find your kid's pot stash. Really? Maybe save that reaction for finding a pack of cigarettes or the other substances listed.

          Astoundingly, cannabis has not been linked to a significant increase in lung cancer or COPD, despite researchers with government grants looking for such negative effects. That could change in the future, but as of right now it is in a different class altogether than tobacco. By the time a type of cancer is conclusively linked to cannabis smoke, we might have nanobots that can cure most cancers without surgery. And then we can wipe the tears away.

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          • (Score: 2) by mobydisk on Thursday June 14 2018, @03:27PM

            by mobydisk (5472) on Thursday June 14 2018, @03:27PM (#692960)

            Agreed. That was the kind of reply I was hoping for from my original post.

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by sjames on Friday June 01 2018, @10:27PM

      by sjames (2882) on Friday June 01 2018, @10:27PM (#687483) Journal

      It's not that unusual in epilepsy to have a rebound effect if you abruptly stop taking anti-seizure medicine. He was likely having exactly that sort of rebound thanks to child "protective" services and the local sheriff.

    • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Friday June 01 2018, @11:24PM

      by Snotnose (1623) on Friday June 01 2018, @11:24PM (#687504)

      But note that the "right to try" only applies to terminal people.

      I'm 99% sure I'm terminal, and AFAIK everyone I know is also terminal (not sure about Jo, from what she's said she's in her 60s but looks to be in her 40s). Some happy lawyer will use this to let everyone smoke weed in Georgia :)

      Joking aside, I understand why the drug companies don't want this. Some of these experimental drugs are fricken expensive and hard to make. If you say "hmmm, this looks like it might help for Lou Gehrig's disease" you will suddenly find your pool go from a couple hundred to a couple thousand. Do they have to make enough for everyone, instead of their besties?

      I had a childhood friend die of Lou Gehrig's disease 3 years ago. He was a successful DJ in 2 countries (Japan and Australia), did a ton of voice acting, and got stricken 2 years before he died. He'd moved back in with his parents (who I saw at my Mom's funeral, but they never mentioned he was living with them and dying) and, when it came time to put in a feeding tube he said no. I talked to his sister after he died, he was adamant in nobody knowing where he was, nor that he was dying.

      Dunno where I'm going with this except when my stories start with "when I was a kid we", 90% of the time Mike was the "we".

      --
      Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Saturday June 02 2018, @02:54AM (3 children)

      by Nerdfest (80) on Saturday June 02 2018, @02:54AM (#687549)

      But if the chemical can be used safely without having to smoke it, then we have a win-win situation

      You can, quite easily. You can dry-herb vape, or use tinctures or extracts. These can also be just CBD based varieties that don't have the 'high' of THC at all.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 02 2018, @03:24AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 02 2018, @03:24AM (#687561)

        I've tried CBD tincture, and it worked a bit to reduce muscle spasms. But it also made be groggy, so maybe there's still some THC? I also tried legal-in-all-states "CBD oil" from hemp, which did nothing for me.

      • (Score: 2) by mobydisk on Tuesday June 05 2018, @09:56PM (1 child)

        by mobydisk (5472) on Tuesday June 05 2018, @09:56PM (#689045)

        Sure, but does that actually work to reduce seizures? The delivery mechanism matters. Some chemicals work through inhalation, but not when ingested, or injected, or through the skin, or as a suppository, etc.

        • (Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Tuesday June 05 2018, @10:46PM

          by Nerdfest (80) on Tuesday June 05 2018, @10:46PM (#689062)

          All of these work apparently. The time to take effect and duration vary though. I think tinctures are a far better method for seizure control.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by stretch611 on Friday June 01 2018, @10:03PM

    by stretch611 (6199) on Friday June 01 2018, @10:03PM (#687468)

    Right to try is a misnomer...

    There already existed ways for terminally ill patients to get experimental drugs. A doctor would need to go to the FDA for permission (which was granted in 99% of the cases.) There was even a way to get approval over the phone in time critical emergencies where the patient only had hours to live.

    "Right to Try" is a way to get the FDA out of the picture and allow Big-Pharma to decide everything.

    https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/right-to-try-designed-to-weaken-fda-law-s-author-says [fiercebiotech.com]

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-31/right-to-try-author-says-law-s-intent-is-to-diminish-fda-s-power?cmpId=yhoo.headline&yptr=yahoo [bloomberg.com]

    So another way that trump has favored big industries ability to get more profit while ignoring consumer safeguards.

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