Parents of sick child ‘stunned’ to win cannabis therapy battle

Nova Scotia parents win fight with government to allow their daughter prescribed access to cannabis oil.

Alexa MacLean

Brent and Chantelle Oulton have gotten the breakthrough they’ve been desperately waiting for.

The parents have been given the green light to start cannabis therapy treatments for their 12-year-old daughter Morgan, who suffers from daily seizures.

“I’m stunned and of course excited, but I guess I’m still a little leery until everything’s concrete in writing and we start,” said Chantelle.

Their daughter was born with brain abnormalities and diagnosed with a cognitive impairment. She also suffers from severe epilepsy and lives with autism.

The Oulton’s say they’ve tried dozens of pharmaceutical drugs but none of them have helped. In a last ditch effort to stop Morgan’s seizures, her neurologist referred her to a doctor that prescribed her cannabis oil as a form of treatment.

That was three months ago, and because Morgan’s under provincial care, they haven’t been able to access the prescription.

But after going public with their plea to the government, the Oulton’s have now been given the go-ahead to start treatment.

“We got a call from our lawyer to let us know that the Department of Community Services has offered us a temporary agreement to go ahead and start the cannabis treatment and in the meantime we will draw up a whole new agreement between us and her future care providers,” Oulton said.

Oulton says she hopes this sets the precedent for future cases of parents with children in provincial care wanting to access prescribed cannabis therapy.