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The Today File

Your guide to the latest news from around the Northwest

November 26, 2012 at 1:21 PM

Is medical marijuana right for a 7-year-old?

The Oregonian had a provocative story this weekend about a mother who gives her 7-year-old daughter medical marijuana to quell effects of the girl’s chemotherapy treatments for leukemia. The mother says marijuana is a wonder drug for the girl; her dad called Child Protective Services.

Like Oregon, Washington has no age limit for medical marijuana. Unlike Oregon, Washington doesn’t have a patient registry, so there’s no telling how many kids here hold a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana. (In Oregon, there are 52.)

I’ve privately heard about a few parents who agonize, then choose to give their kid medical marijuana to treat severe illnesses (they’ve also opted to not go public, to protect their kid, and, I suspect, themselves from mommy-shaming). The few public stories about parents giving medical marijuana to their kids — such as this father in Yakima who ended up facing felony charges — aren’t flattering.

What a miserable choice: Give your child a medicine that has been linked to slower brain development in adolescent users (and suffer the condemnation)? Or withhold a treatment you believe may ease your child’s suffering?

Comments | More in General news | Topics: medical marijuana

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The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and edited by Assistant Metro Editor Nick Provenza.

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