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'Charlotte's Web' Cannabis Oil Showing Great Results For Girl

BAILEY, Colo. (CBS4) - One of the dozens of families who moved to Colorado in order to treat their kids with a cannabis oil that helps combat seizures says they are seeing outstanding results.

Jenna, 8, and her family moved to Colorado in January from Minnesota. She has epilepsy and had been on a waiting list for the cannabis oil known as Charlotte's Web, which is now legal to use under Colorado's new marijuana laws.

Charlotte's Web Charlotte's Web (credit: CBS)

Charlotte's Web, which has less than .03 THC, is named after a Colorado girl who was the first to receive the treatment. It is a custom-cultivated marijuana strain with a high amount of a compound shown to help control seizures in some children.

Jenna has extractible epilepsy due to brain malformation and -- until this year -- surgeries, diets and medications weren't helping control her daily seizures.

Her parents told CBS4 partner CBSMinnesota.com this week that they started Jenna up on the Charlotte's Web treatments two months ago. Since then, there has been a shocking reduction in seizures, plus some unexpected benefits beyond that.

"She was having around 300 seizures a month, and currently we are down to 50," said her mom Marie Jay. "She's definitely developing a personality that we've never seen, so it's been very awesome."

The full scope of the changes in a seizure sufferer once they are on Charlotte's Web aren't supposed to manifest themselves until about nine months of treatments, but Jenna has already been able to reduce the amount of medications she's taking and is sleeping better and has fewer headaches and stomach aches.

"It almost chokes you up sometimes. You get really excited and happy, because she's hilarious," said Jason Jay, her father.

Minnesota lawmakers are working on a bill that would allow the treatments in that state, and the Jays say they would move back if such a bill was passed.

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