Sometimes Haleigh would have more seizures,
and we just didn’t know if that was a function of
medical marijuana changes, or changes elsewhere
in weaning her off seizure medicines.”
How the oil works to alleviate seizures is not
quite clear, said Dr. Bryan Doner, a board-
certified emergency medicine physician and CEO
for Compassionate Certification Centres, a
medical marijuana consulting company.
“We know for sure that the body has an
endogenous endocannabinoid system; a system
inside your body right now, already, that exists to
process cannabinoids. We understand that those
endocannabinoids work on the neurotransmitter
system of the brain, that there is some sort of
utility there. And we know that these medical
cannabis oils bind to the receptors to produce
physiological effects. In cases like Haleigh’s,
those physiological effects include a reduction in
the number and severity of seizures taking place.”
Meanwhile back in Georgia, Peake introduced a
medical marijuana bill during the 2014 Georgia
legislative session that was shot down. As a
result, other families like the Coxes began to
move west.
“We became sort of friends with everyone in the
cannabis community; they looked out for Haleigh
like one of their own,” Janea said. “Others started
making the trek, too. People would see our story
and all of a sudden, they’d be out there in
Colorado, calling me up. They’d pack up their
entire lives and just move.”
Janea Cox prepares medications and vitamins for
Haleigh.
“Medical marijuana is saving Haleigh’s life,”
said Janea
And eventually Janea and her team hit upon the
right combination to help Haleigh. She was orally
administered a blend of two oils that reduced the
number of her seizures from 200 a day to one or
two. And she greatly reduced the number of other
pharmaceuticals she was taking.
5: Historic legislation
Back in Georgia, Peake would not be deterred.
During the 2015 legislative session, he
introduced House Bill 1, called Haleigh’s Hope
Act. It was similar to the bill that failed the
previous year, but it was amended so that
cultivation and sale in Georgia was not legalized.
It passed both the House and Senate with ease,
and in April 2015, Gov. Nathan Deal signed the
bill into law while Peake and the Cox family
looked on. The law permits registered patients to
possess up to 20 ounces of oil containing no more
than 5 percent THC.
The family rejoiced, but Janea and Haleigh had to
bide their time in Colorado while the law was put
into place, the logistics for the registry worked
out and temporary registration cards distributed.
Then last August, the Cox family’s Forsyth home
burned down. Brian was doing yard work at the
time, so no one was injured, but every possession
the family owned was lost. Following an
investigation, the fire was attributed to an
electrical malfunction near an air conditioning
unit.
“That was, next to Haleigh’s fight, the hardest
thing I’ve ever had to handle,” said Janea.
Today the family lives in Brian’s late
grandparents’ house in Forsyth while a new
house is under construction, thanks in part to
contributions from the Young Leadership
Program of the Associated General Contractors
of Georgia Inc.
In that home, the Cox family will continue to
serve as the most visible medical marijuana
advocates in the state. Janea wants to see
cultivation legalised in Georgia so parents aren’t
forced to break the law transporting the oil from
states where it can be purchased legally.
According to its website, TSA does not search
passengers for marijuana or other drugs, but if it’s
found they turn the matter over to local law
enforcement.