Several bills have been introduced during the current legislative session that , if passed , could affect Haleigh ’ s Hope Act . House Bill 65 and House Resolution 36 would expand the law , but according to Peake , “ none of the legislation that has a chance of passage this year addresses cultivation .” And Senate Bill 16 , which was introduced by state Sen . Ben Watson ( R-Savannah ) and has already passed the Senate , would limit the amount of THC present in cannabis oil to 3 percent . Watson , who is a medical doctor , has also called for federal officials to reduce the classification of marijuana from a schedule 1 drug so it can be subjected to research studies . “ To say cannabidiol has no medicinal value is just not true ,” Watson told the AJC last month . “ It ’ s politicised , sure ,” said Peake . “ And that ’ s too bad . Because real families are losing their children . At least four kids have died just since the law was enacted . It ’ s real-life .”
But for all the politics , it ’ s also an opportunity .
“ Look , this happens once in our history , right ?” said Doner . “ When we look back in 10 or 20 years , we in the broader medical and political arenas aren ’ t going to look at cannabis with the same stigmas as we did before . This has been a movement initiated on the patient front , and it has gained traction because by and large there are tremendous medical gains to be had . We don ’ t understand nearly as much as we could , but we do understand that medical marijuana is , in many cases , working to produce great outcomes for patients .”
Haleigh , now 7 and three years removed from the seizure that sent her mom on a collision course with history , is finally emerging from the nightmare that once gripped her . In January , Haleigh sat up for the first time . A few weeks later , she went two days in a row without a single seizure .
“ Now that we are solving the seizures , she is getting so much better ,” said Janea . “ She is able to express herself . For four straight years , she couldn ’ t tell us if her stomach hurt or that she was about to have a seizure . She had no communication at all . Now she can answer yes or no questions . And it ’ s amazing how much she knows .”
Janea never meant to be a spokesperson for medical marijuana ; she says she ’ s never even tried it . But people stop her in the grocery store to ask if she ’ s the “ weed lady ,” and she patiently explains that , yes , she was in the AJC , or on CNN yesterday , but no , she is not the “ pot mom .” She ’ s Janea Cox , Haleigh ’ s mom .
And then , just the other day , it happened , the moment Janea had prayed for since the seizures first began . She and Haleigh were watching “ Gilmore Girls ” on TV and having lunch . Haleigh , wearing her signature hair bow , looked up at her mother with those big brown eyes and she smiled .
Hi momma ! Haleigh said , speaking a sentence for the first time in her life .
Stunned , Janea smiled and cried and took her daughter ’ s hand .
Hi honey , she replied .
Janea and Haleigh were present for the executive order signing with Rep . Allen Peake ( behind her ) and Gov . Nathan Deal . After two years of trying , Georgia lawmakers reached a consensus on legalizing medical marijuana . Deal , surrounded by affected family members , signed an executive order to start the process in March 2015 .