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<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Before
\n2011, the Turners were a normal Midwestern family.<\/p>\n
Wendy
\nand her husband Tommy ran a gymnastics studio. They were raising their three
\nkids \u2014 sons Skyler and Coltyn and daughter Ryleigh \u2014 in the same small town
\nWendy\u2019s family had lived in for generations. They loved to travel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then, suddenly, things weren\u2019t so normal. Coltyn<\/a> was diagnosed with Crohn\u2019s disease<\/a>, and he involuntarily became the Turners\u2019 center of attention. Most of their traveling now was to the doctor for his appointments. In order to take him, Wendy and Tommy were absent from work so often that many of their employees quit. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Crohn\u2019s With And it worked. Coltyn started doing better almost immediately. But the Turners didn\u2019t want to live their lives skirting the law, so Tommy and Coltyn moved to Colorado<\/a>. Wendy stayed behind in Illinois with their other kids and joined the medical cannabis movement, adding more power to one of its most effective factions: Mothers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thanks to the work of moms like Wendy Turner, medical marijuana is currently legal in 33 states, four U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. Like Wendy, these mothers will do anything to improve the lives of their children, who are coping with Crohn\u2019s, epilepsy, cancer and other conditions. They\u2019ve tried the name-brand medicines \u2014 Lyrica, Lexapro, Humira \u2014 and they want something safer and more effective for the ones they love.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2013, Paige Figi testified before New York State Assembly members about her daughter Charlotte, who had almost 300 seizures a week before using a CBD<\/a>-rich hemp extract. Meanwhile, the so-called \u201cCannabis Queen of Beverly Hills\u201d Cheryl Shuman<\/a> is also the leader of Moms for Marijuana International<\/a>, an advocacy group that has built a network of grassroots activists around the world. Other moms have hosted networking events, rallies and fundraisers at the ground level, all in the name of medical cannabis. You\u2019ll find women like Turner, Figi and Shuman in every state, and even overseas, where countries like Brazil and Paraguay have legalized the import of CBD products for certain illnesses \u2014 after moms spoke out, of course.<\/p>\n For \u201cWhile With their help, Barnhart co-founded CannaMoms<\/a> in 2014, an organization that provides a like-minded community to women in need. At their regular meetings, mothers can find guidance, apply for grants and learn how to help the cause. More importantly, the group provides a safe place for the parents of sick children, free from the agendas of others.<\/p>\n \u201cThere If a mother is alone in her own community, she can still find the support she needs in CannaMoms\u2019 online community. Barnhart connects regularly with activists in other countries, while at home she\u2019s working with lawmakers, sheriffs and other elected officials to change policy to help more kids like Dahlia. Barnhart\u2019s daughter is alive and doing well today, thanks in part to medical marijuana.<\/p>\n But \u201cAt Still, And, \u201cI That\u2019s Banda\u2019s \u201cI started this whole process because I wanted to live and grow and be with my children,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s an inalienable right to live and I shouldn\u2019t be punished for pursuing that\u2026 I shouldn\u2019t be prosecuted for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Sadly, This The Turners plan to stay out West for the long run, in a state that Wendy hopes will serve as an example for the rest of the country. And the family has constructed a new kind of normal. Coltyn has been on Cannatol, a sublingual supplement, since the move, and he hasn\u2019t had any major flare-ups in the two years since. He gets to ride his bike, eats like a horse and is no longer in danger of growth failure. In addition to running their own organization, Coltyn\u2019s Crue<\/a>, the Turners have started traveling again, too, to conferences and meet-and-greets and public speaking events, where Coltyn shares his story with the world.<\/p>\n Wendy \u201cKeep TELL US<\/strong>, do you This story has been updated for accuracy. Originally published in Issue 22 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The post How Moms Turned Advocates Lead the Push for Pediatric Cannabis<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Before 2011, the Turners were a normal Midwestern family. Wendy and her husband Tommy ran a gymnastics studio. They were raising their three kids \u2014 sons Skyler and Coltyn and daughter Ryleigh \u2014 in the same small town Wendy\u2019s family had lived in for generations. They loved to travel.\u00a0 AndContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":35735,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9769,50,10158,21,10159,4327,85,533,53,415,10160,9771],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35736,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35734\/revisions\/35736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\ntheir friends and neighbors couldn\u2019t wrap their heads around what was wrong.
\n\u201cPeople didn\u2019t believe that he was sick,\u201d Wendy says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nis an inflammatory bowel disease that has varying degrees of severity; Coltyn\u2019s
\nis on the aggressive, debilitating end of the spectrum and didn\u2019t respond to
\ntraditional treatments. \u201cIt was just wacko,\u201d Wendy explains, leaving their
\ndoctors at the Mayo Clinic baffled. Coltyn ended up in a wheelchair. \u201cAnd we
\nlived our lives around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nno answers from the professionals, Wendy and Tommy \u2014 like many desperate
\nparents in their position \u2014 started to look into the matter themselves. In the
\nprocess, they learned more about cannabis and how it could relieve Crohn\u2019s
\nsymptoms. Rather than put Coltyn on yet another pharmaceutical that might do
\nmore harm than good, they decided to try out cannabis \u2014 illegally.<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ColtynTurnerCannabisTeenAdvocateCrohns.jpg\")
\nmany, this advocacy begins simply by stepping out of the cannabis closet. In
\n2013, Moriah Barnhart\u2019s 2-year-old daughter Dahlia was diagnosed with brain
\ncancer. The prognosis wasn\u2019t good. In the months following, Barnhart felt
\nlonely and afraid, and not just because of her daughter\u2019s disease. After months
\nof watching her daughter suffer the pain of pharmaceutical treatments, Barnhart
\ndecided to medicate Dahlia with cannabis instead, putting herself up against
\nher doctor\u2019s recommendations and the laws of her home state of Florida. It was
\nisolating to do so \u2014 until she started meeting other moms just like her.<\/p>\n
\nour children\u2019s diagnoses were all very different, we had so much in common,\u201d
\nshe says. \u201cMost importantly, we had the willingness to ask questions, to reach
\nfurther and an unwillingness to succumb to a prognosis or the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nwas a growing need for a non-discriminatory organization dedicated to the needs
\nof sick children and their families within the cannabis space,\u201d she says. \u201cOur
\nchildren\u2019s lives depend on truth, even when it\u2019s unpopular.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nwith all the publicity that comes with being candid about her daughter\u2019s use,
\nBarnhart (and her fellow CannaMoms) must face the stigma that comes with their
\nparticular brand of activism.<\/p>\n
\nthis point, anything that requires review of my history or even a Google search
\nallows anyone to see that I am an avid cannabis advocate,\u201d Barnhart says. \u201cEven
\nif they believe in [medical cannabis], if they believe it is bad for business
\nor believe it will be bad for them to be attached to it personally or
\nprofessionally, there\u2019s a potential to lose employment and other
\nopportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nfor Barnhart, it\u2019s worth the risk. \u201cThese are sacrifices we make,\u201d she adds.
\n\u201cBut when you are you fighting for something you truly believe in, the stigma
\nthat comes along with it becomes a badge of honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nperhaps more importantly, it strengthens the bonds between the mothers taking a
\nstand. They aren\u2019t just protecting their children \u2014 by uniting,\u00a0they are
\npotentially protecting each other from the legal dangers that come with
\ntreating their children with medical cannabis.<\/p>\n
\nthink we have a little bit more to lose as a mom,\u201d Wendy Turner points out. \u201c[Child
\nProtective Services] can still come in and take our kids away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nexactly what happened to Shona Banda \u2014 although, unlike the other mothers so
\nfar mentioned, she\u2019s the patient, not her 11-year-old son. Like Coltyn, Banda
\ntreats her Crohn\u2019s disease with cannabis. After her son told his anti-drug
\nclass about her medication, Banda was searched, arrested and charged by the
\nstate of Kansas with child endangerment, possession and other drug-related
\ninfractions. Worse: Her son was taken away by the Department of Children and
\nFamilies. In 2017, Banda pled no contest for possession of drug paraphernalia
\nwith intent to manufacture and received 12 months of mail-in probation. She has
\nsince relocated to Spokane, Washington.<\/p>\n
\nmugshot became a powerful image in the decriminalization movement in her home
\nstate and in the rest of the country. She filed a lawsuit against the state of Kansas
\nfor violating her civil rights, but it was dismissed. In 2015, Banda told Truth
\nin Media that she believed that the state was trying to make an example out of
\nher.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nthe same thing that happened to Banda could happen to the mothers who treat
\ntheir children with cannabis; even in states with progressive laws, marijuana
\nis still illegal at the federal level, and as a result, possessing it can
\njeopardize a family\u2019s welfare.<\/p>\n
\nis definitely something Wendy Turner worries about, but for now, her family is
\nsafely together in Colorado. She didn\u2019t stay behind in Illinois for too long;
\nthe medical cannabis movement there was ultimately successful in 2014, but
\nWendy felt like the odd woman out on the frontlines, where epilepsy took
\npriority. \u201cI was the lone person yelling about something else, and I kind of
\ngot drowned out,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m not going to be away from my family and try to
\nfight when we know that Colorado is a safe place for Coltyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nknows her family has been fortunate; when the time came, they were able to
\nuproot their lives and move, even if it meant leaving her hometown in Illinois
\nbehind. But just because she\u2019s in Colorado doesn\u2019t mean she\u2019s given up her
\nconvictions. And she encourages all moms to do the same.<\/p>\n
\nfighting,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause one person can change things and if you know in
\nyour gut and in your heart that this is the right thing to do, keep doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nhave any fierce cannamoms in your life?<\/p>\n
\n
\nRead More: How Moms Turned Advocates Lead the Push for Pediatric Cannabis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"