Florida Senate passes bill to legalize strain of marijuana to treat seizures

As an 11-year-old Panhandle girl who helped change the minds of leery lawmakers looked on, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a proposal Monday legalizing a strain on marijuana that could stop life-threatening seizures in children with a rare form of epilepsy. Saying the goal is to legalize a limited strain of marijuana for 'compassionate use' the Florida Senate overwhelmingly approves a bill to open the door to distribution of a cannabis extract.

For RayAnn Moseley, 11, and her parents, the bill, SB 1030, is her last best hope that she could get legitimate access to a marijuana extract that could potentially save her life.

RayAnn has cerebral palsy and has suffered from intractable epilepsy, a debilitating disease that has failed to respond to surgery and a host of prescription drugs. Her mother, Holley Moseley of Gulf Breeze, told a Senate committee that their next option is a surgery to disconnect the two hemispheres of her brain "or try a natural product that's working on children in Colorado, also known as Charlotte's Web.''