October, 29 2013, 09:40am EDT
On Behalf of Five-Year-Old with Severe Seizures, ACLU Seeks Ruling in Arizona to Protect Access to Medical Marijuana in All Forms
MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona filed a lawsuit Monday in the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County to protect the parents of five-year-old Zander Welton from criminal prosecution for successfully treating their son's debilitating seizures with a medical marijuana extract.
The lawsuit names as defendants the state of Arizona, Gov. Janice Brewer, Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery, the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services William Humble.
Zander's severe epilepsy is one symptom of his focal cortical dysplasia type 2A, a rare, congenital condition. Another is autism. Earlier this year, the Arizona Department of Health Services approved the medical marijuana application his parents submitted for Zander and issued a medical marijuana patient identification card for him.
Said ACLU attorney Emma Andersson: "When Arizona's voters said yes to legalizing medical marijuana for seriously ill patients in 2010, they certainly meant the plant as well as extracts from the plant. Casting a cloud of criminality over medical marijuana extracts is wrong and cruel. After seeing not one but two brain surgeries fail to help their son, Zander's parents finally found an effective treatment in a medical marijuana extract--they don't deserve to be scared off from the best medicine available for Zander. Zander deserves to have access to this life-changing treatment."
Because some top officials have suggested that only the marijuana plant itself is legal for medicinal purposes and thus any extracts derived from the plant are illegal, Zander's parents, Jennifer and Jacob Welton, stopped giving Zander the oil for fear of criminal prosecution.
The oil containing the marijuana extract, in combination with dried marijuana plant, had reduced Zander's seizures dramatically.
Before starting the oil and plant regimen earlier this year, Zander, at age five, had the motor skills of a one-and-a-half-year-old, because the seizures had stunted his physical abilities. After a short period of the oil and plant regimen, Zander's parents saw his motor skills and coordination vastly improve. For the first time, he can stack more than two blocks at a time, eat with utensils, and walk around objects without touching the wall or another object for stability. Zander is also on the verge of being able to run.
"Zander's parents have been forced to put their son's medical progress at risk, all because County Attorney Montgomery is prioritizing his ideological opposition to the voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act over patients' needs," Andersson said. "No parent should have to factor in jail time when deciding to use the most effective medicine to protect their child's health."
Zander and other patients around the country who have found relief from severe epilepsy in medical marijuana extracts appear to benefit from the chemical CBD (short for cannabidiol) in marijuana. The extract Zander was taking contained concentrated CBD and had no measurable THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana. The plant material used in Zander's treatment comes from plants grown to have low amounts of THC.
But because of the threat of criminal charges, Zander's parents, in consultation with medical marijuana experts and Zander's physician, stopped using the oil and increased the amount of dried plant material in hopes of making up for the loss of CBD from the oil. But the dried plant is difficult for Zander to swallow, and it is unlikely that he is getting enough CBD to maximize its benefits.
Said Dan Pochoda, Legal Director of the ACLU of Arizona: "Despite losses in federal and state courts, Gov. Brewer and County Attorney Montgomery continue to take steps to undermine the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. Zander Welton and his medical progress are now endangered by their political agenda. It's time for our state to acknowledge the clear statement made by the voters about the legality of medical marijuana extracts."
So that Zander's parents can resume the most effective treatment for his debilitating illness, the ACLU is seeking a judgment declaring that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) decriminalizes the use of extracts and other products derived from marijuana for medical purposes. The ACLU is also requesting an injunction to prevent criminal charges against the Weltons and other Arizonans who are using marijuana-derived products for medical reasons and in compliance with the AMMA.
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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"So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is," said one critic.
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Public health advocates, federal lawmakers, and other critics responded with alarm to The New York Timesreporting on Friday that an attorney helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. select officials for the next Trump administration tried to get the U.S. regulators to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in 2022.
"The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox," said Liza Barrie, Public Citizen's campaign director for global vaccines access. "Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time."
Public Citizen is among various organizations that have criticized President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, with the watchdog's co-president, Robert Weissman, saying that "he shouldn't be allowed in the building... let alone be placed in charge of the nation's public health agency."
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According to the newspaper:
Mr. Siri is also representing ICAN in petitioning the FDA to "pause distribution" of 13 other vaccines, including combination products that cover tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.
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Ayman Chit, head of vaccines for North America at Sanofi, told the newspaper that development of the vaccine began in 1977, over 280 million people worldwide have received it, and there have been more than 300 studies, some with up to six months of follow-up.
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Asked about RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine record during a Time "Person of the Year" interview published Thursday, the president-elect said that "we're going to be able to do very serious testing" and certain vaccines could be made unavailable "if I think it's dangerous."
Trump toldNBC News last weekend: "Hey, look, I'm not against vaccines. The polio vaccine is the greatest thing. If somebody told me to get rid of the polio vaccine, they're going to have to work real hard to convince me. I think vaccines are—certain vaccines—are incredible. But maybe some aren't. And if they aren't, we have to find out."
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Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, warned that "they want your kids dead."
Author and musician Mikel Jollett similarly said, "So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is."
Multiple critics altered Trump's campaign slogan to "Make Polio Great Again."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) responded with a video on social media:
Without naming anyone, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor, put out a lengthy statement on Friday.
"The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a terrible disease. Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed—they're dangerous," he said in part. "Anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts."
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