With a 62-11 vote, the House passed a bill Monday that would allow the use of hemp oil extract for the treatment of seizures related to intractable epilepsy.
Shara Park, Deseret News
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SALT LAKE CITY Two-year-old Leah McClellan, dressed in light purple, stared at the ceiling of the House gallery while lying in her grandfather's lap.
She hardly moved and didn't crack a smile like other toddlers might.
Leah is on medication that has severe side effects such as making her sedated and catatonic and is only a somewhat effective treatment for the five to 20 seizures she has daily.
Leah smiles on "good days," which happen only about once a month, her mother said.
What Leah was oblivious to Monday afternoon was the Utah House's 62-11 passage of a bill that would allow the use of hemp oil extract for the treatment of seizures related to intractable epilepsy. HB105, which has been revised and substituted seven times, will now go to the Senate.
About 100,000 people in Utah have epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Association of Utah. Nearly 33,000 of those people have seizures that are refractory or difficult to control.
"Seeing her suffer her seizures is the most heartbreaking thing a mom can experience because there's nothing we can do but just hold her hand," said Leah's mother, April McClellan of Herriman.
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House passes bill allowing hemp oil extract for seizure treatment