Cannabis Refugees Flock to Colorado to Obtain Medical Marijuana

Jordan Lyles is 18 years old with the cognitive level of a first grader. It took doctors nearly 11 years to officially diagnose her with Dravet syndrome, which is a severe form of epilepsy characterized by uncontrolled and continuous seizures.

She had her first seizure at six months old. Her mother took her to the hospital to find out what was wrong and the doctors told her it would probably be the only seizure she would ever have. But that was not the case. Jordan began to suffer hundreds a week, and it was not until that she was 11 years old when she was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome.

When Jordan was 11, she was put on three anti-seizure medications; none of them proved to be very effective. Her mother reported that Jordan was devoid of personality and that she began to suffer from "drop seizures," which is when the muscles go limp. That's when she moved to Colorado with Jordan in order to provide her treatment in the form of medical marijuana .

Jordan now has access to a specific strain of marijuana called "Charlotte's Web" that is high in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD is believed to have medicinal properties whereas THC simply gets smokers "high." As a result, Jordan's pharmaceutical medication has been drastically reduced and her seizures have as well.

However, Jordan was not the first to see such success with the "Charlotte's Web" strain of marijuana. The strain was originally named after Charlotte Figi of Colorado Springs, who also suffered from Dravet syndrome. Just like Jordan, Charlotte's medications were not helping, so she began taking this strain of marijuana in an oil form and experienced immediate success. Her seizures dropped from 300 per week to about one or two a month, and that strain of marijuana was shortly named after her.

Since the legalization in Colorado over 100 families have moved there with hopes of obtaining medical marijuana for their children to help save their lives. More could be on the move if the high CBD marijuana proves to help many more epileptic patients. With over three million people suffering from epilepsy in the U.S., it can't hurt to try something new.

To read more about Jordan Lyles and others who have fled to Colorado for medical marijuana, visit this CNN article.