Pubdate: Mon, 13 Jan 2014
Source: Marietta Daily Journal (GA)
Copyright: 2014 The Marietta Daily Journal.
Contact:  http://www.mdjonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1904
Author: Joshua Sharpe

CHEROKEE COUNTY MOM ADVOCATING FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN GEORGIA

HOLLY SPRINGS - Corey Lowe doesn't know if medical marijuana can help
her daughter, but as a mother she said she is willing to fight for a
chance to make her child's life better - no matter how long that life
may be.

Lowe, 35, of Holly Springs, is pushing state lawmakers in 2014 to
legalize medical use of the drug in hopes it might help her
12-year-old daughter Victoria, who has chronic seizures and cannot
speak because of development issues.

"This may or may not work, and all I'm asking is to have the
opportunity to try it," Lowe said Friday. "I'm always trying to find
something to help her. We're not some potheads ... trying to get our
daughter stoned."

Victoria, a Hasty Elementary School student, was diagnosed with
mitochondrial disease at an early age. Lowe said doctors told her and
her husband, Jason, to do their best to make their child's life as
good as possible, because she probably wouldn't live to be an adult.

That's easier said than done, her mother said.

Victoria has had seizures for nearly her entire life. They
come

suddenly and she sometimes has 50 times a day, Lowe said. As a result,
Lowe believes her daughter's brain has been stalled in development,
making her life more closely resemble that of a toddler.

Answers, though, have been slim for Victoria's parents about exactly
why she is the way she is. Lowe said she isn't even sure if the
diagnosis was correct, as some parts of Victoria's condition have
puzzled doctors.

At 12, Victoria still wears diapers and needs help to do the simplest
tasks. She fights when her mother tries to make her put on shoes or a
jacket, because she can't stand the feeling. She has to be picked up
from school many days, because her teachers can't handle the seizures.
She relies on a service dog to bark when she has a seizure if she's
away from people.

And although she has never spoken a word in her entire life, Lowe said
Victoria has only been able to learn two signs in sign language.

"She's never picked up on sign language," her mother said. "You just
kind of have to know her needs and wants. You've got to be intuitive."

If Victoria wants something, Lowe said she points and grabs it. If she
doesn't want it, she pushes it away.

"She has no quality of life," said Lowe, who has five other
children.

But after doing research about what other families have seen through
the use of medical marijuana in children like Victoria, Lowe believes
the drug might at least make her daughter's life more bearable.

Coveted results

In recent months, Lowe has become more and more interested in the
potential of marijuana used as medicine.

She's spent a great deal of time reading up on the pros and cons and
talking with other families who are also intrigued by the idea.

Then she met Aaron Klepinger.

Klepinger moved his family to Colorado from Marietta in late 2013 on a
leap of faith that the medical marijuana available there could somehow
help his son Hunter. Eight-year-old Hunter also has chronic seizures
and, like Victoria, leads the life of a much younger child because of
development issues.

"He's had seizures nearly every day for eight years," Klepinger said
Friday, adding that Hunter is on the development level of a
1-month-old. "He's severely, severely affected."

But after six weeks of taking a regimen of oil extracted from
marijuana, Klepinger said his son's life has changed.

"In that six weeks, we had a period of six consecutive days with no
seizures, which has never happened in his life," said Klepinger, 36,
who is hoping to move back to Georgia when the drug is allowed for
medical use. "He's much more aware of his surroundings and able to
focus. He holds eye contact much better now, significantly better.
Little things to use are huge, because he's so severely affected."

Lowe looks at children like Hunter and she wants what they have for
Victoria.

"I want her to stop having seizures and begin to talk and say 'Mom, I
want cereal,' or 'Mom, I love you,'" she said. "I see story after
story after story that I'm following and I (wonder) what are we
missing out on here? Why do I have to uproot my entire family and move
to Colorado? We have six kids who are established."

Lobbying for change

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have so far allowed medical
marijuana. Lowe doesn't see why Georgia can't become the next state on
the list during the 2014 legislative session.

She and other parents have joined together in a statewide advocacy
group called Americans for Safe Access Georgia, which they hope will
get the state's lawmakers to consider their cause.

Some legislators appear to at least be listening.

House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) told Atlanta media this
week that he had concerns about making the drug available for medical
use in Georgia, but he was open to considering it. He added that
politics needed to be taken out of the discussion and facts should be
considered.

State Rep. Scot Turner (R-Holly Springs) said he'd be willing to be a
part of the conversation.

"I'll echo what the speaker said," Turner said Friday. "I think we
should at least talk about it and look at the facts of the potential
benefit, and obviously take a look at the downside as well."

Turner said he thought lawmakers could possibly take up the issue for
discussion during the 2014 session.

Lowe said she's heard from several others who are open to the
possibility of changing Georgia's stance on medical marijuana. If that
happens, she hopes Victoria could have a chance at something close to
a normal life.

"I think that everything's coming out in due time. More and more
people, who are educating themselves and are saying 'Hey, we never
looked at this before,' are getting on board," she said. "I think that
it can get passed this year if we keep the momentum and keep educating
people."  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D