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Green Gold Rush: Mother of epileptic child starts organization for medical cannabis pediatrics

Cannabis medication pediatrics organization
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TULSA, Okla. — Brittany Warrior is trying to be a beacon of hope for parents who feel like there is none left for their children.

“We want them to know that they are not alone," Warrior said.

Her message is one of sympathy and understanding. The Checotah mother first noticed something was not right with her daughter, Jaqie, when she was five months old.

"One day out of nowhere she had these little weird seizures," Warrior said.

A doctor diagnosed Warrior's baby girl with, what she calls, "a rare and potentially life-threatening form of epilepsy." Soon, the little seizures started to add up and Warrior said Jaqie suffered spasms 200 to 300 times per day.

"It was so hard to watch my baby suffer," Warrior said. "She was so catatonic she did not cry, she stopped holding her head up…she was literally just trapped inside of herself."

For 15 months, Warrior said doctors prescribed every pharmaceutical medicine they could, but none of them stopped the shaking.

"We had no more medicine to try," she said.

Or so she thought. As as a last-ditch effort, a neurologist in Tulsa suggested a less conventional form of treatment - one not yet legal in Oklahoma.

"We can try cannabis in Colorado if you guys would like," Warrior said the neurologist told her.

She drove her daughter to the Centennial State, where she was given cannabis oil, and two weeks later Jaqie's health improved in spades. After medical marijuana was legalized in Oklahoma in 2018, Warrior could access her daughter's medication without having to drive eight hours. But finding the right strain for Jaqie was not easy.

"There were no pediatric cannabis consultants, nobody to really turn to for help. No resources," she said.

After countless phone calls and cries for help, Warrior said Jaqie is on an Oklahoma cannabis treatment that works, but she is searching for a better option.

Warrior launched CannaWarriors Helping Hands in January. The nonprofit helps parents navigate medical cannabis costs and connects them with pediatric consultants.

"We have helped 27 kids," she said. "And we would love to help a lot more."

CannaWarriors is partnering with Jiffy Doctor, a medical cannabis recommendation service that helps supply pediatric medicine.

You can find details on the service's grand opening on its Facebook page.


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