Sessions May Have Met His Match With Marijuana Lawsuit By 12-Year Old

What’s the story?

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been a vocal opponent of marijuana legalization, for both medical and recreational purposes. But he may have met his match in Alexis Bortell, a Colorado 12-year old who is suing the Attorney General in order to overturn the federal government’s prohibition on medical marijuana.

Why does it matter?

Medical marijuana is legal in 29 states and the District of Columbia, though not in Alexis Bortell’s home state of Texas. Bortell has "intractable epilepsy", a condition that produces life threatening seizures and does not respond to conventional medications.

Her doctors in Texas recommended invasive brain surgery, or moving to a state that had legal medical marijuana. Bortell and her family moved to Larkspur, CO where she is able to legally obtain and take two small doses of marijuana oil twice a day.

She has been seizure free for two and a half years, but can’t travel to any state where medical marijuana is not legal like Texas. She can’t visit family there, particularly her elderly grandparents.

So, she, along with another child, a military veteran, a marijuana advocacy group and former Broncos player Marvin Washington, are suing the Attorney General Sessions to overturn federal law against medical marijuana so she can move freely around the country.

The suit alleges that the federal prohibitions on medical marijuana are "irrational and unconstitutional". The lawyer representing the plaintiff stated to Fox 21 Denver, “[the government] made a representation that cannabis has medical application for the treatments of Parkinson`s Disease, HIV-induced dementia and Alzheimer's disease and yet at the same time the United States government maintains that there is absolutely no medical benefit for the use of cannabis. That is of course absurd."

Currently, marijuana is classified under federal law as a Schedule One substance, with no possible medical benefits.

The federal government has already lost one motion to dismiss the case.

What do you think?

Do you think medical marijuana should be legalized by the federal government? What about recreational marijuana? What are the laws in your state? Do you think they’re working?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)

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