Sarah Hussain / Red Dirt Report
Kelli and Katie Dodson sit in Rep. Jon Echols' office. Katie's Law is named after Dodson's daughter.
Echols anticipates bi-partisan support for Katie's Law expansion
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma lawmaker will try to expand a medical marijuana law to adults who suffer from epilepsy, dementia, Alzheimer’s and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Currently, Katie’s Law, named after state Rep. Jon Echols’ niece, allows minors who suffer from severe forms of epilepsy to be treated with cannabidiol oil and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, within clinical settings and trials. The trials have been ongoing since May and have proven to be successful for the young seizure patients in Oklahoma, their parents have said during interviews with Red Dirt Report.
Many other families have moved to Colorado so they can receive higher THC doses. Colorado voters approved the use of medical and recreational marijuana three years ago.
Katie’s Law allows Oklahoma patients to use the CBD oil combined with a maximum level of 0.03 percent THC. That THC level would not change under Echols’ current proposal.
“Considering the success we have had in Oklahoma, we need people over the age of 18 to continue with that treatment,” he said. “There’s been no abuse and no harm just like we said.”
About 70 percent of Americans diagnosed each year with epilepsy are adults, according to the Epilepsy Association of Oklahoma.
Adding dementia, Alzheimer’s and PTSD to the list of diseases that can be treated with the CBD and THC oil is common sense, Echols said.
“There is no legitimate reason not to support this bill. How many of us have a family member or know someone who suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s or PTSD? Dementia literally takes the memories and ideas the person used to have. I can’t imagine the harm when you’re seeing the benefit of an aging person being able to retain those memories and thoughts,” he said.
Echols acknowledges the CBD-THC treatment is not a cure-all for these diseases, but medical research shows the treatment slows the progression of ailments that would otherwise cause a person’s mind to deteriorate.
“Their cognitive functioning hangs on as long as their body is doing well,” he said.
CNN reported last year researchers have discovered that THC has been used to help Alzheimer’s patients gain weight and that it lessened some of the agitated behavior that patients can exhibit. In one cell study, researchers found it slowed the progress of protein deposits in the brain. Scientists believe the proteins may be part of what causes Alzheimer’s, although that’s never been confirmed.
Meanwhile, as many as 20 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, experts say. On average, about 22 former military men and women commit suicide every day, the VA estimated in 2012.
That’s due, in large part, because traditional antidepressants such as Zoloft and Paxil weren’t working.
But the options to the pharmaceuticals are changing in places like New Mexico which recently started allowing VA hospitals to prescribe medical marijuana for American soldiers’ PTSD. Maine became one of the first few states to follow suit.
Echols acknowledged some critics of his bill may point to the fact that the CBD-THC oil is not approved by the government’s Food and Drug Administration.
“I don’t have extreme faith in the FDA anyway,” he said. “There are lawsuits filed against drugs approved by the FDA all the time. Plus, we don’t tend to ask the federal government for permission on how we govern the state of Oklahoma anyway.”
Echols believes he’ll have bi-partisan support for the expansion of Katie’s Law.
“To me, it just seems like a common sense bill,” he said.
The original Katie’s Law received overwhelming support in the House and Senate before being signed by Gov. Mary Fallin last year.
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma lawmaker will try to expand a medical marijuana law to adults who suffer from epilepsy, dementia, Alzheimer’s and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Currently, Katie’s Law, named after state Rep. Jon Echols’ niece, allows minors who suffer from severe forms of epilepsy to be treated with cannabidiol oil and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, within clinical settings and trials. The trials have been ongoing since May and have proven to be successful for the young seizure patients in Oklahoma, their parents have said during interviews with Red Dirt Report.
Many other families have moved to Colorado so they can receive higher THC doses. Colorado voters approved the use of medical and recreational marijuana three years ago.
Katie’s Law allows Oklahoma patients to use the CBD oil combined with a maximum level of 0.03 percent THC. That THC level would not change under Echols’ current proposal.
“Considering the success we have had in Oklahoma, we need people over the age of 18 to continue with that treatment,” he said. “There’s been no abuse and no harm just like we said.”
About 70 percent of Americans diagnosed each year with epilepsy are adults, according to the Epilepsy Association of Oklahoma.
Adding dementia, Alzheimer’s and PTSD to the list of diseases that can be treated with the CBD and THC oil is common sense, Echols said.
“There is no legitimate reason not to support this bill. How many of us have a family member or know someone who suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s or PTSD? Dementia literally takes the memories and ideas the person used to have. I can’t imagine the harm when you’re seeing the benefit of an aging person being able to retain those memories and thoughts,” he said.
Echols acknowledges the CBD-THC treatment is not a cure-all for these diseases, but medical research shows the treatment slows the progression of ailments that would otherwise cause a person’s mind to deteriorate.
“Their cognitive functioning hangs on as long as their body is doing well,” he said.
CNN reported last year researchers have discovered that THC has been used to help Alzheimer’s patients gain weight and that it lessened some of the agitated behavior that patients can exhibit. In one cell study, researchers found it slowed the progress of protein deposits in the brain. Scientists believe the proteins may be part of what causes Alzheimer’s, although that’s never been confirmed.
Meanwhile, as many as 20 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, experts say. On average, about 22 former military men and women commit suicide every day, the VA estimated in 2012.
That’s due, in large part, because traditional antidepressants such as Zoloft and Paxil weren’t working.
But the options to the pharmaceuticals are changing in places like New Mexico which recently started allowing VA hospitals to prescribe medical marijuana for American soldiers’ PTSD. Maine became one of the first few states to follow suit.
Echols acknowledged some critics of his bill may point to the fact that the CBD-THC oil is not approved by the government’s Food and Drug Administration.
“I don’t have extreme faith in the FDA anyway,” he said. “There are lawsuits filed against drugs approved by the FDA all the time. Plus, we don’t tend to ask the federal government for permission on how we govern the state of Oklahoma anyway.”
Echols believes he’ll have bi-partisan support for the expansion of Katie’s Law.
“To me, it just seems like a common sense bill,” he said.
The original Katie’s Law received overwhelming support in the House and Senate before being signed by Gov. Mary Fallin last year.
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