Landon Riddle of Colorado is only 3 years old, but he is the center of a hotly contested debate regarding medical marijuana. He was recently given only a few weeks to live after reacting very badly to chemotherapy, but once his mother began to administer medical marijuana, even the chemo became unnecessary. The problem is that Landon didn’t live in a state where medical marijuana is legal to administer.
Landon has acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Or should we say – HAD. It all started with a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes in 2012, but quickly progressed to a full stage cancer. Within weeks, Landon was flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City because his symptoms were progressing very rapidly.
“His whole chest was full of leukemia tumors, which is why he couldn’t breathe,” his mother says. “They started him on chemo, but told us that he probably wasn’t going to make it.” Landon’s mother was told he had an 8% chance of survival.
Landon was expected to be on chemotherapy treatments for FOUR YEARS, but after a few months he became extremely ill. This is when his mother turned to medical marijuana, though it wasn’t legal in Utah, through a suggestion made by Landon’s grandmother.
Landon’s mother did what any would do to save her son – she moved to Colorado. She rented a room, got Landon’s medical marijuana card, and began giving him marijuana — THC for the pain and nausea, and CBD for its own healing properties. The dose was based on Landon’s weight. He first took it in oil form, but now takes a pill.
She says that his red and white blood cell counts increased dramatically after only a few doses.
“It is atrocious that anyone on the planet would be charged for choosing cannabis over pharmaceuticals. My heart goes out to Adam Koessler and Rumor Rose, along with uncountable other families that are affected by cannabis prohibition. Get ready for the fight of your life. Having a sick child is a battle in itself, but making this choice is a whole new world. You’re going to need thick skin, intuition, and a solid team. Don’t waste time making sure every other pharmaceutical does more harm than good. If it feels wrong in your gut, it’s probably wrong,” she added.