• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: 'Extreme' Arizona wildfire burns 5,000 acres in just 7 hours
  • Recommended: Alleged 'alphabet murders' killer tells jury, 'I'm not the monster'
  • Recommended: 'Industry of mediocrity': Rookie teachers woefully unprepared, report says
  • Recommended: Colorado's most destructive wildfire mostly contained as officials welcome rain

NBC News reporters bring you compelling stories from across the nation. For more US news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 26
    Nov
    2012
    9:12am, EST

    Ore. girl, 7, is medical marijuana patient

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    PORTLAND, Ore. - A 7-year-old girl suffering from leukemia has become one of Oregon's youngest medical marijuana patients.

    Mykayla Comstock's mother credits the drug with helping put the cancer into remission.

    But her father, worried about the effects of the drug on her brain development, alerted child welfare officials to the treatment.

    Mykayla was diagnosed with leukemia last spring and the marijuana eases the effects of chemotherapy, according to her mother. The girl takes a gram of cannabis oil daily, The Oregonian reported.

    "First you get hungry," Mykayla told the paper. "Then you get really funny, and then you get tired."

    Her mother, Erin Purchase, 25, administers Mykayla's cannabis with the help of her boyfriend.

    Mykayla's mother credits the drug for the leukemia's remission.

    "As a mother, I am going to try anything before she can potentially fall on the other side," said Erin Purchase, 25, who administers Mykayla's cannabis together with her boyfriend.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Mykayla's father, who is divorced from the girl's mother and lives in North Dakota, contacted child welfare officials, police and her oncologist.

    Jesse Comstock said his concerns were prompted by a visit with Mykayla in August.

    "She was stoned out of her mind," said Comstock, 26. "All she wanted to do was lay on the bed and play video games."

    Comstock pays child support to Purchase and covers Mykayla's health insurance, the paper reported.

    Oregon law requires no monitoring of a child's medical marijuana use by a pediatrician. 

    Three states will decide on Tuesday whether to take the unprecedented step of legalizing marijuana. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

    Comstock, who says he used pot in the past, told the paper that he doesn't object to people over 16 using medical marijuana. But he worries about his daughter's well-being and the potential for addiction.

    "She's not terminally ill," Comstock said. "She is going to get over this, and with all this pot, they are going to hinder her brain growth.

    Weed wars: If states legalize marijuana, will feds still crack down or steer clear?

    Purchase believes marijuana heals, and also credits the drug for curing her stepfather's skin cancer. She herself is an Oregon medical marijuana patient.

    "She's like she was before," she said of Mykayla. "She's a normal kid."

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    • Tammy Duckworth: Congress won't be as bad as Iraq
    • Alleged Walmart shoplifter dies after confrontation with employees
    • 'Human error' blamed for gas explosion that damaged 40 buildings
    • 2 drown, teen missing trying to rescue family dog
    • After Sandy's deluge, mold and dust are the threats
    • Military vets battle over who had it harder
    • Three shooting victims found in Dallas motel room
    • Video: Community rallies around teacher devastated by Sandy

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


    492 comments

    1 gram of cannabis oil is nothing compared to the opiates children may get or all the chemo drugs that are killing ALL the cells unhealthy and healthy in her body... I hope she makes a full recovery!

    Show more
    Explore related topics: life, drugs, health, oregon, medical-marijuana, leukemia, commentid-oregon

Browse

  • featured,
  • crime,
  • weather,
  • military,
  • updated,
  • california,
  • florida,
  • environment,
  • shooting,
  • us-news,
  • new-york,
  • texas,
  • education,
  • chicago,
  • police,
  • gulf-oil-spill,
  • los-angeles,
  • kari-huus,
  • murder,
  • nbcnewyork,
  • guns,
  • new-jersey,
  • afghanistan,
  • obama,
  • colorado,
  • trayvon-martin,
  • sandy,
  • nbclosangeles,
  • barack-obama,
  • crime-and-courts,
  • politics,
  • gay,
  • fire,
  • arizona,
  • veterans,
  • george-zimmerman,
  • connecticut,
  • crime-courts
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • June (260)
    • May (461)
    • April (608)
    • March (548)
    • February (510)
    • January (563)
  • 2012
    • December (457)
    • November (460)
    • October (477)
    • September (432)
    • August (525)
    • July (519)
    • June (508)
    • May (566)
    • April (538)
    • March (576)
    • February (471)
    • January (417)
  • 2011
    • December (455)
    • November (190)
    • October (9)
    • September (3)
    • August (51)
    • July (8)
    • June (3)
    • May (12)
    • April (5)
    • March (3)
    • February (1)
    • January (8)
  • 2010
    • December (5)
    • November (1)
    • October (2)
    • September (28)
    • August (40)
    • July (35)
    • June (177)
    • May (50)
    • April (9)
    • March (2)
    • February (2)
    • January (4)
  • 2009
    • December (5)
    • November (5)
    • October (2)
    • September (11)
    • August (4)
    • July (12)
    • June (1)
    • May (1)
    • April (1)
    • March (3)
    • February (3)
    • January (2)
  • 2008
    • December (3)
    • November (2)
    • October (6)
    • September (30)
    • August (26)
    • July (10)
    • June (4)
    • May (8)
    • April (13)
    • March (9)
    • February (7)
    • January (6)
  • 2007
    • December (10)
    • November (6)
    • October (22)
    • September (11)

Most Commented

  • Supreme Court strikes down Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote (3934)
  • Census: White majority in U.S. gone by 2043 (1937)
  • Indiana woman on death row since she was 16 to be released (1283)
  • After Scouts lift gay youth ban, Baptist group calls for firings (2343)
  • Six months later, Newtown families grieve, push for stricter gun-control legislation (1284)
  • Obama proposes reductions to Cold War-era nuclear arsenal (1389)
  • Mom, three teen daughters shot in Nashville; gunman still at large (1121)

Other blogs

  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • US news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise