A Day to Remember

Imagine having 100 seizures a day. It would undoubtedly be an arduous life, to say the least. Consider the fact that these seizures can be triggered from anything from heat to flashing lights, and the plight becomes all the more unbearable. Six-year-old Haiden Day has struggled with this his entire short life. That is, until he found the high CBD, low THC strain Sour Tsunami #3, to alleviate his symptoms.

Haiden Day suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of severe epilepsy. The daily onslaught of seizures was incredibly difficult to treat. Medications prescribed to treat it can and did cause an array of sometimes terrifying side effects. By the time Haiden’s dad Ryan Day heard that certain strains of medical cannabis helped effectively alleviate symptoms of Dravet syndrome, he was desperate to find a treatment.

Once Day understood how effective high CBD low THC strains could be at treating his son’s seizures, he was sold on medical cannabis. He moved his family from Virginia to Washington mainly for better access to medical cannabis. Virginia does not currently allow medical cannabis. The temperate climate in Washington also limits the risk of heat-related seizures.

After moving to Washington for its liberal medical cannabis laws, it was still a struggle finding someone to prescribe medical cannabis to a young child. Eventually, a naturopath who knew a Dravet sufferer personally wrote the prescription. With the prescription in hand, Ryan and Haiden headed to the dispensary. It was there they found a strain that changed everything.

Sour Tsunami #3 was the strain Day chose, due to its high CBD, low THC content. Haiden consumed the strain via an edible concentrate his father made him. Day noticed a change in his son right away. The number of seizures Haiden suffered each day was reduced dramatically, immediately after he consumed an edible concentrate of Sour Tsunami #3.

In a panel titled “Medical Marijuana, A Community of Voices” held last year at Seattle Town Hall, Day spoke about the results of the CBD treatment. Day described the effects of CBD treatment using as “miraculous.” Day explained how after two-and-a-half months of daily CBD treatment, Haiden went from having approximately 100 seizures a day, to having “no visible seizures” on an average day. Day also told of how Haiden is beginning to develop cognitively, something that had been delayed due to the constant seizures.

Sour Tsunami #3 was developed by a grower at Solstice named Alex Cooley. Solstice is a fully permitted medical cannabis growing facility in Seattle. Double Diesel, Ferrari and Sour Diesel were crossed to create this strain. Sour Tsunami is known for its high CBD, low THC content, and Sour Tsunami #3 takes those qualities to a whole new level. Currently, the strain tests at 12.53 percent CBD. In 2013, Solstice’s Sour Tsunami # 3 won the Dope Cup award for “Purest CBD.”

Ryan Day is a former marine, and never imagined himself becoming a medical cannabis advocate, much less a grower. But that’s exactly what he is. In an article from The Seattle Times, Day explains his decision to begin growing. He also explains why it’s so important to allow medical cannabis users to grow their own medicine, and allow collective gardens.

“If there is no home-growing and no collective gardens where people can chip in, most parents are priced out of this,” Day explains. “If my son was twice as heavy he’d need two ounces a week. That’s the entire take-home pay for some people,” he said.

Luckily for Day, Solstice gave him instructions on how to best cultivate the specialty strain. Hopefully, current medical cannabis laws are maintained in Washington, and the Days are able to continue growing their own medical cannabis at a relatively low cost. The last thing any medical cannabis patient needs is to worry about how they’re going to afford their medicine, much less to consider whether or not they’ll be prosecuted for growing it. With proposed cuts to the rights of medicinal home growers, affordable access to medical cannabis is at risk for many. Hopefully, stories like the Day’s will reiterate the importance of liberal medical cannabis laws for the patients who need it most.