By JEFFREY POWELL
Medical marijuana and its derivatives have become hot button issues throughout the United States in the past few years. The debate seems to revolve around true medical use and the recreational use of marijuana under a guise of medical applications. Gulf Beach resident Holley Moseley visited the Dec. 17 DeFuniak Springs Rotary Club meeting to shed some light, and her very personal perspective, on the subject.
While working as a nurse in pediatric care at Sacred Heart Hospital she had a young, blond-haired blue-eyed patient which had been diagnosed with intractable epilepsy and cerebral palsy. The young girl was in need of a medical foster home and Moseley brought her home around Christmas time. RayAnn was legally adopted by the Moseleys two years later.
“From day one we knew this was meant to be,” Moseley said of Ray Ann joining the family. “There was a higher power involved here. I believed I could fix her, I believed she was so severely neglected that we could get her caught up and she could live a normal life. However, her epilepsy was a real challenge. She was in a state of constant seizure. We thought for a while that she was not going to make it.”
Although Moseley supported and used conventional treatments for RayAnn’s complicated set of circumstances, she and her husband always held out hope for something new that could help their daughter. They hope they have found that solution in a strain of medical marijuana called Charlotte’s Web.
Like many people, the Moseleys first learned of this treatment while watching a CNN documentary about a young girl named Charlotte Figi, who suffers from problems similar to RayAnn’s. Charlotte’s parents had also exhausted all conventional treatments and were willing to do anything for their child. Almost immediately the marijuana realm oil worked. Charlotte became lucid and continues to progress to this day.
Charlotte’s Web is a strain of medical marijuana processed into an extract that is high in cannabidiol (CBD) content. It does not induce the psychoactive “high” typically associated with recreational cannabis strains that are high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
After discovering Charlotte’s Web the Moseleys traveled to Colorado and met Charlotte and her family. They also met the men that grow the low THC plants. A grower recently got a call from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz who was doing research hoping to make the substance legal in this state.
Moselely has visited with Gaetz and other politicians on a “what would you do” campaign that appears to have worked.
“On June 16, Gov. Rick Scott signed the compassionate medical cannabis act of 2014 into law and the Department of Health are currently writing the rules and regulations, Moseley said with a smile. “This will only come in oil for patients suffering from cancer, seizures and muscle spasms. Doctors will also receive special training regarding the oil.”
The state is in the process of finding five nurseries in the state to grow the cannabis. They will be selected on their ability to provide the service and location of the nurseries. They will also have to have been in business for the last 30 years.
“I am so thankful for the representatives and senators who were brave enough to stand behind us. said Moseley. ” Espesialy the Gaetzes. We can not thank them enough. We look forward to the day RayAnn can start with the treatments.”
