Letter: Pass Utah's HB105

I'm writing as a father of a daughter with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. I encourage support of Utah's HB105 in order to legalize the use of cannaboid oil as a therapeutic treatment for seizures. I thank Gage Froerer for introducing the bill.

My daughter suffered an in-utero stroke and was born with cerebral palsy. Her first seizures started at 8 months of age and have only ever been partially controlled with prescription medications and ketogenic diet. In 2011 our daughter qualified for a surgery which severed the nerves connecting the stroke-damaged side of her brain. Since then she has been seizure free, but it still makes me emotional to describe, because I know what it's like to fight for someone you care so deeply about.

This house bill is significant because it allows a therapeutic solution that offers tangible relief from seizures which are otherwise not controlled by medicine. There is stigma around the treatment because it is derived from a form of cannabis; but the amount of THC in the hybrid used is low enough to meet the federal definition of industrial hemp. The medicine is oral and non-psychoactive. Significant neuro-protective properties are found in CBD, and it causes fewer side effects than anti-seizure medications.

This bill offers hope to Utah families whose lives are impacted by epilepsy. This is a viable treatment to significantly reduce seizures for some people who are not otherwise able to control their seizures.

Greg Green

South Jordan

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Letter: Pass Utah's HB105