Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jul 2014
Source: Woodbury Bulletin (MN)
Copyright: 2014 Forum Communications Company
Contact:  http://www.woodburybulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4992
Author: Mike Longaecker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

LAW NOW PASSED, WOODBURY FAMILY EXPLORES MEDICAL MARIJUANA OPTIONS FOR SON

A path Jessica Hauser never expected to be traveling is moving her and
her family toward a crossroads.

The journey began when the Woodbury woman's son, Wyatt, was diagnosed
seven months into his young life with an epileptic condition called
infantile spasms.

As Hauser and her husband Jeremy learned over time, the condition
would cause Wyatt to have about 200 seizures a day.

"It's horrible," Jessica said of watching her son experience the
seizures. "I wouldn't wish this upon anyone."

The journey continued with the search for treatment options. Nothing
seemed to help, with the Hausers learning that the longer the seizures
persist, the more likely they will leave Wyatt with developmental
disabilities.

Hungry for information, Jessica took to the Internet where she learned
that some families were experimenting with medical marijuana for
children with severe epilepsy.

She learned more about the option and eventually found herself aligned
with a medical marijuana advocacy group that this year urged lawmakers
and Gov. Mark Dayton to change state law. A version of the medical
marijuana law passed in May that will cover patients like Wyatt once
the program is up and running in 2015.

The unexpected journey now has the Hausers at the edge of a precipice
and they don't yet know what's on the other side.

Jessica and 2-year-old Wyatt left this month for a month-long trip to
Oregon, where Wyatt is undergoing an experimental trial with medical
marijuana. Oregon is the only state in the nation that allows
non-residents access to medical marijuana treatment.

Just a few days into the trials, the drug seems to be working: Jessica
reports that Wyatt's seizures were reduced by 75 percent after being
treated with cannabinoids  the active chemical in medical marijuana.

"We're cautiously optimistic," said Jessica's father, Neil Hutzler,
who is accompanying her and Wyatt on the trip while Jeremy and the
couple's other son, E.J., remain back in Woodbury.

As the cannabis trials continue, they push toward a tipping point:
What if it works?

If medical marijuana indeed proves to be a solution for Wyatt, Jessica
and Jeremy will have to decide whether to wait the year for
Minnesota's program to begin or to pick up the family and move to
Oregon, where treatments could begin immediately.

"You'd do anything to help," Jessica said. "You'd travel across the
state  or the country."

The Hausers won't be able to legally bring back any of the medicine to
Minnesota, though treatment would beckon in Oregon without legal
consequences.

Hanging in the balance is Wyatt, who is already lagging behind due to
the seizures; the 2-year-old currently has the cognitive faculties of
a 7-month-old, while his motor skills allow him to crawl, but not yet
walk on his own.

Advocacy Emerges

As Jessica and her family enter the next leg of the journey she does
so after taking on a role she never expected: advocate.

Jessica said assuming the role of medical marijuana advocate was
unusual for her since she's not a user of the drug.

"But as a mother, you'd do anything for your child," she
said.

Jessica teamed up with Minnesotans for Compassionate Care, a medical
marijuana advocacy group that lobbies at the Capitol. She was among a
group of parents from the group who met personally with Dayton at the
governor's mansion, where they urged him to reverse his opposition to
medical marijuana in Minnesota.

Hauser made headlines around Minnesota after she reported back from
the meeting, saying Dayton suggested she illegally buy marijuana for
her son.

The parents' appeal to Dayton apparently helped the effort gain
traction and revived a bill that was thought to be dead earlier in the
legislative session.

Lawmakers eventually passed a narrower version of the bill than
advocates had sought. While the legislation  later signed by Dayton
will allow patients like Wyatt to receive medical marijuana, it does
not open up the treatment to sufferers of chronic pain, a key group
that advocates had hoped to include in the legislation.

"It was bittersweet," Jessica said of the bill's passage.

And while she said she's disappointed that more patients aren't
covered, she is hopeful that people representing those groups will
take the bold steps needed to make their appeals to lawmakers.

"There's a lot of other risk involved there," she said, noting that it
could mean chronic pain sufferers having to step forward and admit to
using marijuana illegally in order to testify that it works for them.

"It will be difficult for other groups to be as vocal."

Meanwhile, Jessica soldiers on as a passionate advocate in support of
Wyatt.

"I'll be even more passionate if I discover what is (happening in
Oregon) is working," she said.

The Program

Wyatt is participating in a program in Oregon called
MxBioTech.

Jessica said the program is uniquely tailored to patients'
needs.

After experiencing the first few days in the program, Jessica said
she's been impressed by the program's use of the scientific method in
administering doses to Wyatt. He receives the medicine as a liquid
that's mixed with coconut oil he takes orally.

She's also found the program to be immensely educational. Through
MxBioTech, Jessica has learned how cannabinoids interact with human
physiology and how different people respond to different profiles of
the medicine.

"I know way more about cannabis than I do about any other
pharmaceutical," she said.

She's also learning that it might work. The 75-percent reduction in
seizures for Wyatt is encouraging, Jessica said, but noted that the
program is far from over.

The question is inescapable: What if it works? The journey would take
another turn.

The final results in August will be pivotal, Jessica
said.

"Does it work? We'll know that before we leave," she said. "It could
be a tough position at the end of the month."

To follow Wyatt Hauser's progress in Oregon, visit Jessica Hauser's
blog at http://meetcannabis.wordpress.com/  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D