Modesto City Council Divided on Medical Marijuana for Sick Kids

This weeks Safety and Communities Committee meeting saw parents of children with seizure disorders stand up to talk of their experiences. The Modesto City Council was regaled for three hours with stories of heartbreaking seizures and hospital visits.

And then each spoke of medical marijuana helping in ways that prescription drugs never could. “I didn’t pick medical marijuana; medical marijuana picked me,” said Jason David, whose son, Jayden, suffers from Dravet syndrome. Jayden went from 22 prescription drugs to 2 prescriptions and a small tincture of medical marijuana. The particular strain David uses is high in CBD, the chemical that suppresses seizures, but low in THC, the chemical that causes a high.

The goal of the parents was to have the Modesto City Council reach out to county and state officials for support.

The CBD-high strain is made by Realm of Caring, a nonprofit lab that grows strains with high CBD ratios. “What we are here to do is help these children and their families. We are the antithesis of what we have come to know as medical marijuana.” said co-founder Josh Stanley.

Ultimately the night did not end in success; one only council member was interested in pursuing the topic. The other two remained stalwart in their stance of not supporting medical marijuana, citing law enforcement and liability concerns with the legality of medical marijuana. “I hear a lot of stories of what is going on and it is very emotional to see and I hear what you are saying,” said Councilman Dave Lopez. “But for my Police Department, it needs it to be cut and dry.”

As it stands, a marijuana-lab regulated by a city government is still unknown.