'Parents crucified': Mum's plea for medicinal cannabis

THUMBS UP: Tammy and Bailee Baxter support the legalisation of medicinal cannabis oil. TAMMY Baxter considers her family as one of the "lucky ones". The Gladstone mum, who strongly supports the legalisation of cannabis oil for medication, has spent 17 years learning how to bring up a unique child with a disability. When Mrs Baxter heard news the State Parliament passed the Public Health (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2016, she thought it was about time. Her son Bailee Baxter has intellectual disabilities and autism. Through a structured, confined lifestyle she has managed to control her son's symptoms naturally, without the use of medication. She made a personal decision to not use medication and steroids recommended by some specialists. But she said not all families are as "lucky". "Why are we filling our children full of medications that we're not entirely sure what they're made up of when there is a natural alternative (cannabis oil)?" she said. "I'm not saying that cannabis oil doesn't have any side effects, but let's try it in moderation and monitor it and use it properly. "In my research I have found many reasons why we should use it, and very few for not using it." As a mother of two Mrs Baxter has gone through the battles of raising a child with a disability. She said the "atrocious amount of red tape" made any decision for her son's health a difficult one. While she said Bailee did not need medicinal cannabis, she said it would help parents in their constant battle to control their children's health complications, including seizures. "Parents are being crucified for trying a natural product," she said. Mrs Baxter, who has also had chemotherapy and radiation for cancer, said she would recommend parents to consider the alternative medicine. "For my personal point of view we're poisoning our bodies with chemotherapy and radiation. "Then there's this natural product that is sitting there and we're not utilising it." http://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/advantages-outweigh-the-disadvantages/3100861/#/0