Paradigm Shift: Court Rules 11yo Girl Can Treat Her Seizures with Cannabis—In School
By Matt Agorist
Schaumburg, IL — In a testament as to how the world is rejecting the war on cannabis and, instead, embracing its incredible medicinal properties, an Illinois court has just ruled that an 11-year-old girl will be able to treat her seizures with cannabis — while at school.
Nothing highlights the hypocrisy, immorality, and sheer idiocy of the drug war quite like marijuana prohibition. Here we have a medicine that kills cancer cells, saves the lives of countless epileptic children, heals broken bones, relieves pain, treats PTSD, is not dangerous, and exhibits a variety of other incredible benefits – yet the state will kill you over it. The good news is, however, that in spite of the reefer madness maniacs tightening their grip on the drug war, people are resisting and the effects are saving lives — Ashley Surin is one of them.
When she was much younger, Ashley found herself in a battle for her life as leukemia took over. Thankfully, she won that battle but not without consequences. As a result of the chemotherapy, Ashley developed seizures.
Luckily for Ashley, however, medical marijuana helped to drastically decrease those seizures.
“We’re amazed with her progress,” Maureen Surin, Ashley’s mother told NPR. There was a catch, however, in treating Ashley’s seizures with cannabis — she couldn’t go to school — because it was illegal.
Widget not in any sidebars
Ashley’s family wasn’t going down without a fight though and this week, in a landmark ruling, she won that fight.
As NPR reports, her parents filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday against Schaumburg School District 54 and the State of Illinois, claiming that the state’s ban on taking the drug at school violates the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On Friday, a judge ruled in their favor after hearing from the school district, which reportedly had concerns that its employees may be subject to legal penalties for helping Ashley with her medications.
“What people seem to misunderstand here is that medical marijuana is a prescription like any other drug,” the girl’s attorney, Steven Glink, said. “Prohibiting it in school would be the same as prohibiting other medications such as Ritalin, Adderall or Concerta.”
To be clear, Ashley is not smoking joints at school. She simply wears a patch that delivers the cannabis which keeps her seizure free.
Clarifying that point, the judge in Ashley’s case said, “No one’s saying she wants to fire up a bong in math class,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
While this ruling is certainly a victory for Ashley and all children whose lives can improve from the use of cannabis, it could be short-lived thanks to the current administration’s war on this most amazing plant.
In the land of the free, citizens found in possession of a plant — that grows wild on every continent except Antarctica — can and will be kidnapped, caged or killed. In fact, in just the short time it took you to click this article and read the above paragraphs, someone was just arrested for cannabis.
According to the most recent FBI statistics available, an American citizen is kidnapped and caged for cannabis — on average — every 48 seconds.
An estimated 653,249 American citizens — who harmed no one — had their lives ruined in 2016 for possessing this plant, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Crime In the United States (CIUS) report.
“Arresting and citing over half a million people a year for a substance that is objectively safer than alcohol is a travesty,” said Morgan Fox, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). “Despite a steady shift in public opinion away from marijuana prohibition and the growing number of states that are regulating marijuana like alcohol, marijuana consumers continue to be treated like criminals throughout the country. This is a shameful waste of resources and can create lifelong consequences for the people arrested.”
Arresting people for cannabis is good for business — the police state and big pharma business, that is. If we look at who’s lobbying to keep cops kidnapping people for a plant, we see that it is money, and not morals, that motivates this issue and children in states where the plant is illegal, suffer as a result.
While states have moved to decriminalize this plant, the damage done by its prohibition is immense, irreversible, and nothing short of tyrannical. It is high time humanity stand up and demand an end to this brutal and murderous war on a plant.
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project, where this article first appeared. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.
