Dad defends decision to give 7-year-old daughter with leukemia marijuana for the pain

Brandon Krenzler’s daughter has leukemia and he’s adamant that the only thing that keeps her happy through the illness and pain is marijuana.

Just after her cancer diagnosis and subsequent chemotherapy, the effects of which Krenzler called ‘terrifying,’ 7-year-old MyKayla Comstock began using marijuana.

Despite the apparent benefits of the drug for MyKayla’s health and permissive marijuana laws in the family’s home state of Oregon, not everyone is thrilled with Krenzler’s choice of medicine.

Though Oregon legalized medical marijuana in 1998 and currently lists over 55,000 on its medical marijuana registry, the fact that MyKayla is so young has some people appalled by Krenzler’s choice.

‘The doctor’s response was not very good at all,’ Krenzler recently said in an interview with Huffington Post as MyKayla sat beside him, smiling brightly. ‘She called us, basically, criminals.’

Krenzler said they’ve since had to find a new oncologist.

Undaunted, Krenzler has continued to administer cannabis to his daughter. He’s also appeared on several news programs to discuss his choice and actively posts about the issue on his Cannadad blog.

‘Before the marijuana,’ Krenzler said, ‘she didn’t want to eat anything. She was unhappy. She was overly fatigued. Basically, she was experiencing everything you wouldn’t want your daughter to experience.’

MyKayla said she was tired before she began using marijuana. ‘All I wanted to do was watch movies.’

Now, MyKayla receives ‘about a gram of cannabis oil two to three times daily’ as well as the raw juice of marijuana for ‘non-psychoactive effects,’ Krenzler said.

He said they also administer cannabis topically for its benefits to the skin.

Krenzler told HuffPost he fears what life would be like for his daughter without the drug.

‘She would be sick every single day,’ he said. ‘She would be in pain for her continuous bone marrow biopsies and lumbar punctures. She would be under the influence of narcotic drugs such as Vicodin and OxyContin.’

Krenzler said MyKayla, by using marijuana, has managed to avoid secondary illnesses like extreme nausea and neuropathy, which can be caused by chemotherapy.

So, with his daughter better able to fight for her life, Krenzler has continued to be common presence on the web as he fights for his right to choose medical marijuana for MyKayla.

Alongside a Thomas Jefferson quote, Krenzler defended his choice on Facebook yesterday:

‘No Human should ever have to fear persecution from their government for their choice in Medicine.’

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