7-year-old girl gets medical marijuana to combat chemo
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A seven-year-old girl suffering from leukemia is one of Oregon's youngest medical marijuana patients.
Her mother says she gives her daughter marijuana pills to combat the effects of chemotherapy, but her father, who lives in North Dakota, worries about the effects of the drug on her brain development.
Mykayla Comstock was diagnosed with leukemia last spring. Her mother treats her with a gram of cannabis oil daily, The Oregonian reported.
Mykayla's mother credits the drug for the leukemia's remission. "As a mother, I am going to try anything before she can potentially fall on the other side," said Erin Purchase, 25, who with her boyfriend administers Mykayla's cannabis.
The girl says the drug helps her eat and sleep but also makes her feel "funny."
"It helps me eat and sleep," Mykayla said. "The chemotherapy makes you feel like you want to stay up all night long."
Mykayla's father, who is divorced from the girl's mother, was so disturbed by his daughter's marijuana use that he contacted child welfare officials, police and her oncologist. The father, Jesse Comstock, said his concerns were prompted by a visit with Mykayla in August.
"She was stoned out of her mind," said Comstock, 26. "All she wanted to do was lay on the bed and play video games."
Comstock, who works in a North Dakota oil field, pays child support to Purchase and covers Mykayla's health insurance. He said he observed strange behavior during an August visit and took Mykayla to a private lab, where technicians detected THC levels of an adult daily marijuana user.
Gladstone police contacted the girl's mother, examined Mykayla's medical marijuana paperwork, then told Comstock there was little they could do.
Comstock, who used pot in the past, said he doesn't object to people over 16 using medical marijuana. But he worries about his daughter's well-being and the potential for addiction.
"She's not terminally ill," Comstock said. "She is going to get over this, and with all this pot, they are going to hinder her brain growth.
"It's going to limit her options in life because of the decisions her mother has made for her," he added.
Oregon law requires no monitoring of a child's medical marijuana use by a pediatrician.
The law instead invests authority in parents to decide the dosage, frequency and manner of a child's marijuana consumption.
Many doctors worry about introducing a child to marijuana when they say other drugs can treat pain and nausea more effectively. Purchase believes marijuana heals, and credits the drug for curing her stepfather's skin cancer.
She herself is an Oregon medical marijuana patient, and her boyfriend is Mykayla's grower. She is so convinced of the drug's safety that she consumed it during the pregnancy and while breastfeeding her second child.
When her symptoms are especially bad, Mykayla's mother and her mother's boyfriend will feed her cannabis-infused food. She's had up to 1.2 grams of cannabis oil in 24 hours, the rough equivalent of smoking 10 joints.
Purchase said Mykayla's first oncologist called the marijuana use "inappropriate." She has not informed her new oncologist about the treatment.
With marijuana, Purchase said her daughter has been able to fight past the chemotherapy and return to a sense of normalcy.
"She's like she was before," her mother said. "She's a normal kid."
Her mother says she gives her daughter marijuana pills to combat the effects of chemotherapy, but her father, who lives in North Dakota, worries about the effects of the drug on her brain development.
Mykayla Comstock was diagnosed with leukemia last spring. Her mother treats her with a gram of cannabis oil daily, The Oregonian reported.
Mykayla's mother credits the drug for the leukemia's remission. "As a mother, I am going to try anything before she can potentially fall on the other side," said Erin Purchase, 25, who with her boyfriend administers Mykayla's cannabis.
The girl says the drug helps her eat and sleep but also makes her feel "funny."
"It helps me eat and sleep," Mykayla said. "The chemotherapy makes you feel like you want to stay up all night long."
Mykayla's father, who is divorced from the girl's mother, was so disturbed by his daughter's marijuana use that he contacted child welfare officials, police and her oncologist. The father, Jesse Comstock, said his concerns were prompted by a visit with Mykayla in August.
"She was stoned out of her mind," said Comstock, 26. "All she wanted to do was lay on the bed and play video games."
Comstock, who works in a North Dakota oil field, pays child support to Purchase and covers Mykayla's health insurance. He said he observed strange behavior during an August visit and took Mykayla to a private lab, where technicians detected THC levels of an adult daily marijuana user.
Gladstone police contacted the girl's mother, examined Mykayla's medical marijuana paperwork, then told Comstock there was little they could do.
Comstock, who used pot in the past, said he doesn't object to people over 16 using medical marijuana. But he worries about his daughter's well-being and the potential for addiction.
"She's not terminally ill," Comstock said. "She is going to get over this, and with all this pot, they are going to hinder her brain growth.
"It's going to limit her options in life because of the decisions her mother has made for her," he added.
Oregon law requires no monitoring of a child's medical marijuana use by a pediatrician.
The law instead invests authority in parents to decide the dosage, frequency and manner of a child's marijuana consumption.
Many doctors worry about introducing a child to marijuana when they say other drugs can treat pain and nausea more effectively. Purchase believes marijuana heals, and credits the drug for curing her stepfather's skin cancer.
She herself is an Oregon medical marijuana patient, and her boyfriend is Mykayla's grower. She is so convinced of the drug's safety that she consumed it during the pregnancy and while breastfeeding her second child.
When her symptoms are especially bad, Mykayla's mother and her mother's boyfriend will feed her cannabis-infused food. She's had up to 1.2 grams of cannabis oil in 24 hours, the rough equivalent of smoking 10 joints.
Purchase said Mykayla's first oncologist called the marijuana use "inappropriate." She has not informed her new oncologist about the treatment.
With marijuana, Purchase said her daughter has been able to fight past the chemotherapy and return to a sense of normalcy.
"She's like she was before," her mother said. "She's a normal kid."
I've always believe in the philosphy, "Smoke up!" cause it doesn't matter if your brain is "fried", it's the "feel good" that matters.
I support the mother; Chemo is horrible and a 7 year old on chemo has every right to use medical marijuana as every cancer patient on chemo does regardless of age. I think the father should go threw chemo and radiation along with his daughter; be in her shoes before he decides marijuana for medical purposes is wrong. Shame on you dad! Shame on people's negativity.
Pot is a horrible thing. Â You will see ads on Craig's list and the Weekly Classified saying 420 friendly. Â These people are highly addicted to one of the worst and horrible substances around. Â And yes, Â giving it to kids for medical purposes to their kids is a cover for what they are doing to themselves. Â I went to a Warren Miller movie and some idiot was drinking wine and smelled horrible. Â But I guess one of his kids was driving. Â I don't want to have to smell the horrors of pot or booze anywhere. Â Booze and pot is causing these people to hit traffic cops and
cause many accidents.  Giving it to kids is another horror this society is allowing.  The old TV ads run as a public service about pot,  alcohol, etc. are no longer politically correct in today's society.  You will no longer hear,  "Like Father,  like son' anymore.  NO NO NO.  Instead,  your kids will go to school and there will be courses on  Mondana and Brittany Spears for actual college credit on how good their drug or pot use or someone else's pot and alcohol use is beneficial.  Meanwhile,  another trooper is killed is killed.  You get the picture. Â
Really why did you leave out perscription drugs? I bet you take them and there is probably more deaths from pain pills killing "troopers" than pot and it sounds like your more concerned about them than a child dying. You should be ashamed of yourself! A child's life is at stake and your worried about "troopers" and your nose! Quit looking on craigslist and keep your unsensative remarks to yourself and stay home if you cant stand the "smell" of anything!
 @HullenbeckCowl OMG Pot is "one of the worst horrible substances around". Better this- LSD, Heroin, Meth, Crack, ETC.You are crazy. It is far better for people to smoke and drink (if responsibly ) then any of the latter. This child is going through horrible medical treatments. I hope that this child continues to use this medication for her needs in order to survive this terrible sickness.And people like you begin to see how ignorant they sound. Light one up and calm the F down.
 @HullenbeckCowl Also I do think the amount given to this girl is in excess. I also don't agree with smoking while during pregnancy.
 @HullenbeckCowl yeah, i get the picture. you're uninformed.
 @HullenbeckCowl You don't appear to be getting a lot of points for that one, eh?
 @Elvis  @HullenbeckCowl She's just scarred. She refuses to look into anything that doesnt support her own view. I'm not even sure I support the use in this instance, certainly not without full disclosure and cooperation with her Oncologist, but the hysteria associated (read as the sky is falling and society is doomed) with it is way over the top. IMHO
 @HullenbeckCowl LOL Reefer Madness alive and well.
 @Blindman  @HullenbeckCowl LOL, like you are shocked?
Apparently there is no age limit to medical marijuana. Next we will be seeing medical marijuana prescribed for ADHD kids. Hey, why not prescribe it to everyone! Let's all be a society of "stoned out" people. Let's escape reality and live in the 60's again.Â
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This story makes me sick! Â Â Â
@Eye4anEye Were the sixties that bad? Seemed like all the "hippies" had it right, Peace and Love! But the goverment was brainwashing everyone then, telling you that drugs are bad.....mmmmmk Guess your just stuck in the 60's and the bs war on drugs, when are you coming back to reality?
 @Eye4anEye I would much rather my hypothetical child use marijuana to help with ADHD than what they give the kids these days. Do you have any idea how many people get that medication just to bust it up and snort it? It's disgusting.
@fremonster @Eye4anEye and you cant OD from pot
 @Eye4anEye Actually what they are giving kids today for ADHD is effectively speed and actually given out pretty frequently. Not saying they should use MM for it, I probably wouldnt unless studies from legitimate sources were completed... But it is pretty well documented that the drugs currently used perhaps wasnt such a good idea either...
What we have here is a perfect storm of selfishness. A mom so consumed with pot she directly breastfeeds it to an infant, and a separated dad that cant see past his own bitterness and anger enough consider that this drug may give his daughter a little bit of comfort from a pain that no 7 year old should know. The answer is somewhere in the middle, I wish these 2 jackalopes could look past their own agendas and see their kid there. Heartbreaking.
This is beyond awful. That Dad needs to get his poor girl.  My daughter just ended 3 years of a treatment for Leukemia and is the same age as this girl.  She had a really aggressive type and beat it.  They have great meds for nausea called zofran. It is harmless. So, really? Marijuana at age 7?? With no one monitoring but the mom and boyfriend. We were treated at Seattle Children's and I can't even imagine our team of oncologists letting someone derail a treatment program this way. So, so sad for this little girl. As a parent of a cancer kid, your heart is breaking all the time.  You worry they will make it, you worry for the long term effects, you worry about the childhood lost.  Why, why would you add something else that might cause more brain issues???  I cannot understand.
 @legowars You went through that so now you are ready to prescribe what is best for EVERY body, as if you had a degree in medicine. And, it looks like there are many who would follow you without knowing who you are. Interesting. I have talked to one of the best chemo guys at a cancer center about medical pot. He was for it. I'd take his advise over yours any day.
 @legowars zofran does have side effects, bad headaches, some cases of blindness. Cannabis has no bad side effects. No one in the history of cannabis use has ever died or suffered serious side effects. Thats thousands of years of use in different societies. Absolutely talk to your oncologist about using cannabis to combat the horrible effects of chemo and radiation. But any doctor who has actually bothered to research the subject will say that its safe to use. And dosage doesn't really matter that much. You can't OD on it. The worst that could happen is you have a nice nap.
 @Blindman  @legowars nice nap or the giggles if i smoke a good bowl which i do once a week for my health benefits i get relaxed and eat a full meal sometimes the munchies come but not always, then after i eat my dinner ( I usually smoke in late afternoon.) a few hours later i will either go to bed or take a small friendly nap. I also find it soothes upset stomachs its better than any other drug out there. I say if it helps them than go for it and this little girl is probably traumatized from the get go so this is a way to help her be comfortable no kid should go through that nobody should my mom just had her second chemo session last week and is now having more side effects this time around she hasn't wanted to eat much and has the dry heaves once in awhile.
There are soooo many judgemental & ignorant people in this thread.Â
If they want to treat their daughter with Marinol there is no problem. It is a prescribed drug and has not side affects that promote getting high nor do you have to inhale it. I do not see why the parents need to feed the marijuana to their daughter. Going on a whole foods diet will help with the cancer. I believe their is are clinics in Mexico and Texas that use alternative methods ( not Marijuana) to actually cure and reverse Cancer. Chemo only makes things worse as does Radiation Therapy. However there is no money in it for the FDA and or the Medical Insurance providers. Check out Bruzinski Cancer Centers.  I believe you can find the info on line. (:
 @missyk Why use marijuana instead? Because marijuana is a natural product, Marinol is created in a lab.
Because the option to get high has been removed from it. Yes, marijuana is natural alchol is also made from natural substances fermented. Cocain comes from the cocao leaf. SO???? Tell me some other lame excuse to get high. I have been clean and sober for 30 yrs. First it was Pot then Alcohol, and so on. When one likes to check out of reality there are many ways to do so. I think if anyone is going to give a child any form of marijuana it should not have a substance that will intoxicate and change or alter the brain function at such an early age. Just as I believe aderol and other medications to treat ADD ADHD, Depression , mental illnesss and so on. Any drug that might do harm to the brain of a child who is still developing should be used with great discreation and care. If your an adult do what ever you wan to yourself.
First off I am all for alternative medicine and options in conjunction with traditional medicine. Â However, I have to say if she thinks that the marijuana is going to cure the leukemia than why do the chemo at all? Â 10 joints in 24 hours is a bit much in my opinion for a 7 year old. Â Â This article says the mother takes it as well but doesn't explain what condition she has that justifies her taking it while pregnant and breastfeeding. Â It seems a bit coincidental that the entire family has to be on this stuff and the boyfriend is her "grower". Â This article may be a biased but the information given seems to me that they are a little too liberal with the canibus for a 7 year old and it isn't just the 7 year old but a big part of their life in general. Â If it was just the girl with the condition being given medicial marijuana that would be one thing but the stepfather, her, her boyfriend grower and the child?
 @keri555 So, 10 joints of a medicine proven to be safe, effective, natural, with no deaths in recorded history isn't ok, but drugs made in a lab, proven to cause deaths (such as chemotherapy) are fine?   Just want to make sure I have this straight.
 @Shelly  @keri555 Do you vaccinate your kids?
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If God forbid, I ever get cancer and have to go through chemo, I sure hope I am able to comfortably lay on the bed and play video games. What does the father want her to be doing after the chemo sessions? It's not like she's going to be out riding her bike, as long as she's comfortable, that's all that matters.Â
A gram a day is a lot. I don't how bad chemo is, but you'd think for a little 7 year old, (50lbs?) it wouldn't take near that much to ease the symptoms. The concept is not to be "stoned", it's to even out the effects. It's like with prescription pain meds, if you take one the pain goes away, but if you take 3, the pain goes away, and you're wasted. She doesn't need to be wasted. I do think it could hamper her development a little, but I don't think she will get addicted; it's not physically addicting. A doctor needs to step in and monitor this better.
Marijuana is addictive. Smoking it ruins your lungs, and gets you high. for children it can hinder their brain developement.Â
 @missyk False, False, true, possible. Have you looked up the side effects from the cancer drugs made by big pharma?  Yeah, I didn't think so.
What many are saying is that marijuana is a "natural" drug and therefore assume it is safe. Although I am not against marijuana and I do believe it does have it's purposes, just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's safe. It's fine in moderation, however I have seen first hand the damage to a brain marijuana can do when taken daily and for many years. As with synthetic pain relieving drugs and their side effects, marijuana has side effects too. I pray for this sweet little girl that she develops into a healthy young woman with no lasting side effects. It would be beneficial if we were able to read a follow-up story on this child 10-20 years from now and see just how she did fare with all these daily high doses of marijuana. Good Luck little one!
 @Robinsnest Yeah, lets feed her with drugs produced in labs that cause death, brain damage, major organ damage, etc. The hell with the one proven to be safe, effective, & to have never caused a death in recorded history. Okay.....yeah, you're definitely on the right track. ROFL
Read any scientific articles to back your claims of brain damage caused by marijuana? Are you a doctor? How was this " brain damage" diagnosed?
She's only 7 years old with Lukemia.. poor Mykayla. That's a really tough thing to go through.. my cousin and a good friend of mine's mom had that. Really tough disease. I hope the Chemo and marijuana do well for her. Poor, sweet Mykayla.. hang in there kid. As for the "all the pot" she's intaking through the medicine.. I say keep it up. It is GREAT for being a medical healing herbal and is great for cancer patients to help them eat and reduce the pain. Unless they find another equivalent for her, I'm all for it. Just hang in there, it's tough to go through and keep smiling. To Jesse and Erin, hope you guys get through this and MyKayla is in my prayers. That's really hard for a kid, so kudos to her making it thus far and being a brave, good little girl and fighting through it.
Frightening someone would gamble mixing and matching any alternative things with the use of Chemo without talking with their Oncologist first. I'm the mom of a 9 year old survivor of ALL Leukemia. I always talked with her team before doing anything to make sure there would be no conflict with what she was taking and what I might give her. It's also to everyones benefit to note what is being taken if something does work to help other childhood cancer patients. Cancer patients often have other health issues that come with immunosuppression We went through MRSA and C-Diff A & B during treatment I wouldn't have wanted to worry about hiding something from the team of people that cared for my daughter as well as the rest of my family We all had MRSA and 2 of 4 of us ended up with C-Diff Quite the nightmare Being forthcoming made it easier for the team to help us and have all the information they needed to figure out what would and wouldn't help us God bless and keep the child fighting I hope her parents find a way to get on the same page and work together on caring for her and being honest with the oncology team caring for her about what they're doing. Honest communication gave us alot of needed information to make our situation better. An example: Many people aren't aware tub toys kids play with are a breeding ground for health problems and not a safe choice for immunosuppressed kids. They don't get cleaned out well with the squeeky thing in the base of them I had an oncologist take a blade to one to show me what he was taling about. Seeing the nasty goo inside it had me tossing the basket of toys we used and swaping them out for plastic kitchen items that could be used and then put in bleach water and air dried. There's very little oncologists haven't seen or heard and being forcoming with them can only teach a kid the importance of communicating with their doctors as they get older and eventually have to maintain their own care without their parents. Once treatment is over there's a long laundry list of potential health issues a former cancer patient can have over the remainder of their life. Responsible health care and being forcoming with their doctor to insure they stay well and any issues that do present are caught early and managed well. Academic delays can be a pain. Treating the body with things that can alter brain cells can only make matters worse. The stuff used in IT sedation (Chemo in the spinal fluid) to prevent cancer from going to the brain are challenge enough for the body without getting creative at home.
I don't think there is actual proof of marijuana damaging the brain at any age, but with a healthy kid it's much better to be on the safe side. This, however, is not a healthy kid. If she can have some relief and be able to enjoy video games while fighting this terrible disease, so be it. It does seem than the mother is a little fanatic about marijuana too, and she may not be objective with other options, but who knows. In this case it looks quite hard to judge from the outside, it's a quite complicated situation and we don't know all the details. I just hope this girl gets better and passes through this with as little suffering as possible.
Hey man, this is a LOT more 'natural' then a lot of prescription drugs that could have been prescribed, and i have to applaud the mom for looking at ALL the alternatives.It sounds like Mykayla's mom and boyfriend are closely monitoring her and only dispensing when necessary and in controlled amounts- exactly like any other kind of medicine out there.
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It sounds like it's really helped the girl's nausea and helped her with remission, I see nothing wrong with the medical Mary Jane at all.I have also read of medial marijuana completely curing an older woman's glaucoma after she'd tried about every other possible treatment with no luck.
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I hope Mykayla stays in remission!
 @WAbornnraised Seriously. If they prescribed Percoset or Vicodin or some other prescription painkiller, it's likely that nobody would see anything wrong.
 @WAbornnraised If the mom is going to an oncologist to treat the cancer, you would think that she would consult him/her about treating her daughters other symptoms... The oncologist is without doubt the most qualified person to treat the girls disease and symptoms. Its odd that the mother would trust a oncologist to treat the cancer but not the side effects.... Maybe she needs to be open to alternative drug therapy. Well, she has no medical training so maybe she should trust the oncologist who spent countless hours studying, seen thousands of patients, and is certified to correctly tailor a drug therapy regimen.Â
 @GOCOUGS  @WAbornnraisedÂ
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The drugs to treat the side effects of chemo are sometimes worse than the chemo. If the only side effect is that she feels "Funny", I'll take that any day over the harmful effects of the other drugs...
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 @Poisonous Giraffe I would suggest doing a bit more homework. Various drugs are used to treat the side effects of chemotherapy... One of the last line drugs is medical marijuana. I can think of three other drug classes that are more frequently used and have very few side effects for the majority of patients. While I find medical marijuana to be a viable treatment for some patients, it is more common to inform your oncologist of specific side effects and trust his or her expertise in treatment.Â
Cancer sucks. Chemo is man made poison to KILL something that sucks. Unfortunately, this man made, life saving poison sometimes kills the ones it was designed to save because of the side effects. If Mary J can counteract those side effects, you can bet your sweet bippy that if one of mine needed it, they'd get it. Pot (as demonized as it is), is a natural "herb" so to speak. Not created in a lab, no Big Pharm companies raking in BILLIONS because of it, and it actually HELPS some people. No WONDER our government wants to fight it's legalization tooth and nail. Is anyone ELSE sick of this insanely stupid argument AGAINST pot yet? I am.
 @Wolfen u need to know your vote counts u rule the government with a vote that is what America stands for that is why u live in the USA !
 @maggie112  @Wolfen If you're gonna dream kid, dream BIG :)
 @Wolfen its not the government. its the people and the feds making money off of big bust ect
@maggie112 @Wolfen " its not the government. " Then you say it's the "FEDS" making the money. Let me help you just a little- the "feds' is the "goverment".
Put the doobey down and go to bed.
 @snoopy84  @maggie112 i will just light another one up thank you very much and the Feds can go screw themselves who needs them?
"Many doctors worry about introducing a child to marijuana when they say other drugs can treat pain and nausea more effectively."
Other pain drugs like Oxy, morphine and vicadin? All drugs they say you should take with food-oh yea, she is on chemo and can't hold anything down. If she got any of those drugs down then "She was stoned out of her mind," said Comstock, 26. "All she wanted to do was lay on the bed and play video games." (Just trying to make a point)
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But is Comstock saying if the girl was 16, then it would be fine? leukemia doesn not care what age you are and it can be very painful.
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As for communicating, sounds like they are, Comstock seems to know what is exactly going on while in Nort Dakota-by the way Comstock, there is an airport there.
 @snoopy84 You and I don't agree often snoopy84, but on THIS one, you're spot on.