Baby Receives Hemp Oil Treatment at Children’s Hospital Colorado
A baby girl who began experiencing life-threatening epileptic seizures days after her birth is receiving hemp oil treatments in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Colorado.
The oil could not be prescribed by Children's, as it is not FDA-approved. However, the girl's parents bought the liquid form of marijuana this week in Colorado Springs and were told to give it to their daughter under hospital supervision.
"We took CBD Oil as an election of our own. They went ahead and told us to administer the CBD oil to her," said Nicole Nunez, Amylea Faith Nunez's mother.
Nunez says her daughter started taking Charlotte's web CBD oil on Thursday, administered from a tiny syringe squirted into her mouth. She added that her daughter is enrolled in a case study at Children's.
"From where we started, from where we see her today...It's a miracle to see how much she's changed in a few days we've been using the CBD oil with her," said Nunez.
Children's Hospital Colorado spokeswoman Elizabeth Whitehead said the hospital could not comment on the case per patient privacy laws, but released the following statement to Denver7:
We don't yet have the science to fully understand medical marijuana and how it impacts children, which is why Children's Colorado supports research to determine the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana. Children's Colorado has a CDPHE-funded medical marijuana study that is strictly observational to assess response rates, changes in behavior, and side effects of artisanal marijuana products on children with severe epilepsy. Enrollment starts at one-month of age. This study is for families who choose to provide artisanal marijuana to their children for epilepsy, and Children's Colorado providers do NOT administer the marijuana. Medical providers do not know the long-term effects that marijuana will have on learning, memory and behavior, especially in infants and young children. We have more questions than answers. This is a tough issue, especially in Colorado where families have easier access to medical marijuana. If a family makes the tough decision to explore the use of medical marijuana, Children's Colorado will continue to provide care to these children. Most of these families have children with very complex medical needs, and Children's Colorado wants to continue to see them, help to monitor them and be on the lookout for potential adverse side effects.
Nunez, whose family is from Albuquerque, says her family is considering moving to Colorado to continue their daughter's treatment. A GoFundMe account has also been launched by someone close to the family to help them with medical expenses.