by DrugPossessionLaws.com Staff
A 7-year-old leukemia patient from Portland Oregon who received medical marijuana treatments has sparked a debate amongst her parents as to whether she is too young, or whether it would stunt her development.
Mykayla Comstock was diagnosed with leukemia last spring. Her mother Erin Purchase, 25, says on gram of cannabis oil daily has helped Mykayla to go into remission and eases the side effects of chemotherapy, but her father worried she was frequently stoned and reported the situation to child welfare officials, according to NBC NEWS.
“First you get hungry, then you get really funny, and then you get tired,” Mykayla said.
Mykayla’s mother credits the drug for the leukemia’s remission.
“As a mother, I am going to try anything before she can potentially fall on the other side,” said Erin said.
Medical marijuana is legal in 18 states and is a widely accepted treatment for the side effects from chemotherapy. Some studies have shown that cannabis oil may also treat cancer directly. But researchers have also been documenting studies that show cannabis may lower IQ points in young users, especially teens. This sparks debate over the benefits of medical marijuana, and whether age should be a factor.
Mykayla’s father, Jesse Comstock, 26, who lives in North Dakota said he was concerned following a visit with Mykayla in August.
“She was stoned out of her mind,” Comstock said. “All she wanted to do was lay on the bed and play video games.”
Comstock covers Mykayla’s health insurance and pays child support.
Comstock said he has used marijuana in the past, and supports medical marijuana for people over the age of 16. But he worries about his daughter and Oregon law requires no monitoring of a child’s medical marijuana use by a pediatrician.
“She’s not terminally ill. She is going to get over this, and with all this pot, they are going to hinder her brain growth,” he said.
But Mykayla’s mother said she believes cannabis is healing and that it helped cure her stepfather’s skin cancer. She is also an Oregon medical marijuana patient.
“[Mykayla]’s like she was before; she’s a normal kid,” she said.
Oregon has long been one of the more progressive states on marijuana use and although it was voted down, Oregon was one of three states to vote on a referendum that would have legalized recreational marijuana use like Colorado and Washington.
