Medical marijuana has been legal in Georgia for almost two years, and for many, it's helping them with serious medical conditions. Soon, more people in the state could be treated with it in the near future. We checked in with the family that inspired the original bill.
Haleigh Cox started having seizures when she was about 8 months old.
“It was a complete nightmare,” Janea Cox said. “One of us had to be right next to her at all times just in case she was to have a seizure and quit breathing. We would have to get her started again.”
Cox is Haleigh’s mom and says she had hundreds of seizures a day.
Doctors' answer to that was 5 different prescriptions, with the maximum dose. That’s when Cox and her husband started looking for other options and found medical cannabis. The family headed to Colorado to start treatment, since it was illegal in Georgia.
“Her seizures are so much better controlled,” Cox said. “She has two to three on a really bad day, but that's down from 100 to 200 plus.”
While they were in Colorado, Representative Allen Peake got to work passing Georgia's medical marijuana law. That allowed Haleigh to come home to Forsyth and continue treatment with cannabis oil.
“Being able to look at us, sit up, and hold her head up, so it’s a necessity in our lives,” Cox said “It’s also a great rescue for Haleigh if she starts to seize uncontrollably. I can use a small drop on my finger, rub it on her gums and it will stop the seizure completely.”
Cox hopes the current law will be expanded to cover other medical conditions. They could if the general assembly passes Peake’s bill, currently in the senate.
“The medicine has helped Haleigh stay alive,” Cox said. “Out in Colorado, we saw a lot of conditions being treated with it and thriving on it, and getting off the horrible pharmaceuticals causing problems in their lives.”
A problem the Cox family thinks it has solved, with a drop of cannabis oil.