Parents Want Medical Marijuana for Son: Its not a political issue. This is a compassion issue.Lily Dane Will Gillen has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. Every day, the 11-year-old experiences debilitating violent seizures. Shelley Gillen says the current treatment options for her sons condition are not ideal: The medicines that hes on right now, there are multiple side effects and he is in a constant fog. Another option for Will is available a few hours away in Colorado. That treatment is a medical marijuana product called cannabidiol oil, or CBD. Colorado parents with children similar to Will have been reporting positive results. Heres the problem: under current Nebraska law, the Gillens would be considered child abusers if they gave Will medical marijuana. In Nebraska, all marijuana use is illegal. Dominic Gillen, Wills father, expressed frustration with their current options: You got this major surgery is an option and you have this possibility oil or something may help him. It seems like its a pretty easy choice. Its frustrating knowing that across the border there is an option. The Gillens contacted state Sen. Sue Crawford for assistance. Crawford is researching CBD to decide whether to push for legalization: The U.S. Food and Drug Administrations current research does not show CBD as an effective seizure-reduction treatment. But parents in Colorado and elsewhere report promising results. Stanford University neurology researcher Dr. Catherine Jacobson conducted a parent survey to see how children were responding to cannabidiol. The results are impressive: These parents had children with some of the most difficult-to-treat syndromes of epilepsy found in children: Dravet syndrome, Doose syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. All of the kids were being treated with a nonpsychoactive compound made from cannabis cannabidiol. Their parents report remarkable results 83 percent noted that their childrens seizure frequency had been reduced. Two-thirds of these children achieved a greater than 80 percent reduction in seizure incidence. Seventy-five percent of the parents reported success in weaning their kids from other ASDs (anti-seizure drugs); a similar proportion noted improved sleep, mood and alertness in their children. Most important, the surveys author notes that common negative side effects reported on other ASDs were notably absent on cannabidiol, including rash, vomiting, nausea, confusion, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, dizziness and aggressive behavior. (source) Wills parents hope the state allows the treatment for their son and others with similar conditions. Its not a political issue. This is a compassion issue, Dominic said. Contributed by Lily Dane of The Daily Sheeple. Lily Dane is a staff writer for The Daily Sheeple. Her goal is to help people to Wake the Flock Up! 