5-Year-Old Boy Prescribed Medical Marijuana in Arizona

A 5-year-old Arizona boy whose genetic brain defect causes him to have frequent seizures will be allowed to receive medical marijuana for treatment, according to local news station KTVK.

The boy has already undergone two brain surgeries and shock therapy in an attempt to alleviate the seizures. Now, Zander Welton's parents are hoping that by administering medicinal marijuana to their son in the form of edible oil, it will do something to improve his life.

Welton sufferers from a genetic brain defect called cortical dysplasia which causes him to have seizures; the boy is also diagnosed with Autism. His parents, Jennifer and Jacob Welton, hope to begin the marijuana treatment as soon as next week.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Arizona for three years. Zander's father Jacob received approval for a medial marijuana card and will act as a legal caregiver in administering the drug, KTVK's AZ Family reported.

Zander's cortical dysplasia, coupled with Autism, keeps him from communicating in any other way but squeals and grunts, said local news station ABC 15, which added that Zander has become increasingly combative as a result of a trial-and-error cocktail of various prescription drugs administered to him in an effort to get his seizures under control.

For medical marijuana to be given to a person under 18 years of age in Arizona, two doctors must sign off on the treatment, and a live-in caregiver must be approved for a medical marijuana card, according to ABC 15.

"They have tried all types of conventional medication treatments and none of them have worked," Dr. Elaine Burns, medical director of the Southwest Medical Marijuana Evaluation Center, told KTVK. "Second of all, there's a lot of anecdotal evidence for the use of cannabis with epilepsy."

"If this finally works for Zander and I finally get to meet who he is, that would be amazing. Because I don't know who he is, he's just a little boy that's trapped in this craziness," Zander's mother Jennifer said to ABC 15.

A Facebook page called Zander Welton's Journey has more information about this story. 

Zander is not the first child to be prescribed with medical marijuana. Earlier this month CNN reported on Charlotte Figi, a 6-year-old Colorado girl with intractable seizures (ones which cannot be controlled by medicine) who greatly benefited from medical marijuana use. After starting a treatment of marijuana oil the girl, who once had hourly seizures, can now go more than a week without one.

The strain of marijuana used to medicate Figi is low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound in marijuana) and high in cannabidiol (CBD), which has medicinal properties but no psychoactivity.

The strain, which was cultivated largely because of girl's case, is called Charlotte's Web.