By Luke Voogt
When Corio teen Cori Glencross regained consciousness on a bus, not knowing where she was, the driver thought she was drugged.
He told her to get off, leaving traumatised Cori to call her parents.
“I was scared because I had no idea where I was,” she told the Indy
The 19-year-old had suffered an absence seizure, a form of epilepsy.
An assault in Geelong four years ago worsened Cori’s condition, mother Casey Donald said.
She now suffers up to 20 seizures a day, leaving her jobless and unable to drive.
“It makes it so hard to go out and act like a normal 19-year-old,” Ms Donald said.
“You also worry about if she’s out and about and she comes across the wrong person.”
But medicinal cannabis could be the solution, Ms Donald believes.
“It would mean she could basically have a life.”
Ms Donald’s hopes could have basis, with Epilepsy Foundation’s website reporting a study in which medicinal cannabis reduced seizures on average 54 per cent.
The compound worked better on patients already taking medication, like Cori, the website said.
Ms Donald said she had seen the benefits first-hand when sister Narelle Donald became terminally ill.
Narelle’s fiancee, Jason Littlewood, prepared cannabis oil for her after she was diagnosed with aggressive bone, liver and lung cancer.
“Watching it work and seeing what it could do for pain, I can imagine what it could do for other things,” Ms Donald said.
The State Government harvested its first cannabis at a secret location two weeks ago for a trial with epileptic children after legalising the drug for medical use last April.
But Mr Littlewood said federal and state governments should speed up availability.
“There are just too many people suffering – it eats me up inside.”
Mr Littlewood and Ms Donald have joined other Geelong residents campaigning for access to medicinal cannabis.
A Hamlyn Heights woman, 45, said medicinal cannabis should be available for her father, suffering bladder cancer.
“It’s definitely something that should be available for people like him,” said the woman, who wanted her name withheld to protect her father’s identity.
“He not scared of dying but he’s scared of pain. I don’t think the politicians have any right to deny people (its) use for medicinal purposes.”
But alcohol and drug education group Dalgarno Institute and Australian Medical Association warn that testing must be stringent.
“If it’s not done through evidence-based best practice it’s self-medication quackery, which is dangerous,” said the institute’s Shane Varcoe.
“The testing of this product on people, especially children, must be done with the utmost care.”
Gleaning the benefits of cannabis was highly complex given its many chemical compounds, Mr Varcoe said.
