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Medical Marijuana Gains Support in Some State Legislatures by Mary Branham Seth Hyman wakes up each day on edge. He ends it the same way. “We are always on edge—24/7,” said Hyman. The reason: His 8-year-old daughter Rebecca is considered medically complex, which means she has a lot of medical issues. She’s nonverbal. She can’t walk. She is fully dependent on others at all times of the day. Still, Hyman said, Rebecca is mobile in the sense that she likes to do things like play with her special toys. “Even with all her disabilities and challenges, she is the greatest little inspiration in our life,” Hyman said. “She is full of so much love and joy and willingness to do things, even with her disabilities.” The most significant struggle she faces, he said, is seizures, which started about four years ago. Some are minor; others are more serious. The Hymans don’t bother counting each seizure because there are so many every day. They believe medical marijuana could help Rebecca. About 1,000 miles north of Hyman’s Weston, Fla., home, Jill Haas can relate.
SMOKING MARIJUANA TO SLOW ALS PARRISH, FLA.—While sitting at her dining room table, Cathy Jordan, 63, of Parrish, inhales a marijuana joint held by her husband, Robert Jordan, 65. Cathy was diagnosed 27 years ago with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She has been smoking marijuana ever since and says it has slowed the progression of her disease. © Cherie Diez/ZUMA Press/Corbis
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CAPITOL IDEAS | MAY / JUNE 2014
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