A Camden County father cooks up marijuana-infused coconut oil for his 7-year-old daughter, who has a severe form of epilepsy. He pays out of pocket for the three doctors who must approve the girl’s medical marijuana card and drives across the state to buy the drug, which he credits for reducing the frequency and severity of her seizures.

A Franklinville mom makes a similar mixture for her 14-year-old, who’s suffered from epilepsy since she was 2. The woman adds the oil to yogurt and feeds it to her daughter every four hours. Spreadsheets keep track of the teen’s seizures and behavior, as well as the marijuana strains that her mother administers through trial and error.

These parents are doing what it takes to care for their children. But however certain they are that cannabis is helping, they are among the few who have jumped through the hoops of New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, which makes cannabis available through just three dispensaries. (The only South Jersey facility is in Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County; another planned for Bellmawr has been waiting nearly a year and a half for a permit.)

Read more at Courier Post: http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/08/27/editorial-doctors-lead-way-medical-cannabis/14710445/