Rylie Maedler, a 13 year old uses cannabis oil by using a pipette, placing 2 drops of oil on her tongue 3 times a day. Once in the morning, during lunch and just before going to bed.
The american teen lives in Delaware and has been taking cannabis oil since the age of 7, after being diagnosed with aggressive giant cell granuloma (AGCG), an illness that affects the jaw, palate, maxilla, sinus region, eye orbits and cheeks. AGCG can see patients suffer from painful tumors and devastating seizures. Lesions are often removed with surgery, chemotherapy, interferon or daily calcitonin injections. Rylie explains what it was like for her in second grade; "In second grade, my face started to grow and it was getting bigger, and my mom decided to take me to the hospital," Rylie told InsideEdition. "I was just so uncomfortable. Seeing my face in the mirror made me really sad," she added.
Like most mothers, Rylie's mum looked into ways to help her child. With growing media attention, Janie Maedler carried out her own research into cannabis oil to see if it may be able to help with her daughters illness. After hearing from others with the same rare condition, and hearing how cannabis oil was helping, Janie decided to give it a try; I was so scared," Maedler said. "Any time you give your child any kind of new prescription, you're scared, because you're looking for those side effects.”
To the surprise of Rylie's doctors and indeed her family, the tumors began to shrink and her seizures stopped entirely!
“It's way smaller than it was before and I haven't had a recurrence in about four or five years,” Rylie said.
“Cannabis oil made me feel so much better," she added.
While Rylie has experienced great results with cannabis oil, it is always recommended that you speak to a physician before starting any cannabis based treatments with young children.
If you are thinking about trying it, it is best to speak to a pediatrician who specialises in using cannabis extracts. You may have to carry out a lot of research and don't get caught up on finding a local doctor as you may get the best advice looking for a pediatrician based in another country.
Rylie now takes cannabis oil legally after campaigning to have 3 laws passed in her home state of Delaware. One law passed was to allow children to be administered medical marijuana, with another allowing children to take it to school. The last law that Rylie worked on allows children with severe autism to be classed as a qualifying condition to be treated with medical cannabis.
Rylie hasn't stopped there, she is currently campaigning for nurses to be legally allowed to administer medical marijuana to kids.
"It was illegal when my mom gave me cannabis," Rylie said. "It made me feel so much better and I didn't understand why other kids couldn't have it, so I wanted to help those kids."
Rylie set up a non profit organisation called, Rylie's Smile Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to helping sick children and their carers. To no surprise, Rylie has started a research and development company called Rylie's Sunshine. It's goal is to create marijuana-based recipes for debilitating pediatric illnesses.
“I want to give them medicine that is good quality and also affordable," Rylie said. If you would like to learn more about medical cannabis, be sure to book an appointment here at GratefulMeds to talk to one of our members. You can find us on Google Maps here. Help support Rylie by donating to Rylie's Smile Foundation here.