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The Devil's Lettuce: Primary Caregivers have the Constitutional Right to Distribute Medicinal Marijuana to Their Terminally Ill Child
Author(s) -
Bergstrom Ian J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/fcre.12366
Subject(s) - terminally ill , tragedy (event) , statute , medicine , cancer , pediatric cancer , family medicine , psychiatry , law , nursing , political science , palliative care
Pediatric cancer is a tragedy that affects many American families. Despite the effectiveness of pediatric cancer treatments, patients experience adverse side effects that can be relieved by medical marijuana. However, medicinal marijuana is only lawful in twenty‐eight states, including the District of Columbia. This Note proposes that all fifty states enact compassionate‐use statutes permitting parents to lawfully possess and distribute the herb to their terminally ill child (between the ages of five to fourteen) to alleviate the effects of cancer treatments. Medicinal marijuana use provides pediatric cancer patients with better‐quality lives and the determination to win the war against cancer.