For many people who have children that are on the autism spectrum, cannabidiol (CBD), has proven to be life–changing. However, many mainstream medical professionals still remain skeptical about the effectiveness and safety of cannabis. When it comes to CBD, even the politicians can’t make up their mind about where they stand. John Hickenlooper, the Colorado Governor vetoed a bill which would have seen autism added as a medical condition that qualified for cannabis. Across the pond in the United Kingdom, politicians refused to allow a mother to import CBD oil for her son, and still refuse to allow cannabis to be added to the national health service (NHS).

Unfortunately, personal experience and opinions far outweigh the medical studies into the positive effects of cannabis. Studies have found that many people that are affected by autism, also find themselves affected by epilepsy, and CBD could help both conditions at once. When you combine this with some poor reporting by mainstream media outlets, it’s easy to see why some politicians are struggling to choose where they fall on the big issues.

Brandy Williams and her son Logan live in Arizona where autism doesn’t qualify for medical marijuana, but epilepsy does. Logan suffered from aggressive behavior, biting, hitting, and banging his head, as well as seizures related to epilepsy. Logan’s mom Brandy had tried CBD oil derived from hemp with little effect, but when she tried a full spectrum dose of medical CBD oil, she noticed some immediate effects. Logan stopped the rocking back and forth, and even his hands begun to calm down. Logan who was usually non-verbal started stringing words together and said 180 words in the first two months he was on his medical marijuana therapy.

It’s because of this that Arizona mothers are going to war with the state over their stance on autism and CBD oil. The Arizona chapter of MAMMA, Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism, is working hard to make Arizona the sixth state on the list which allows medical marijuana for autism. According to MAMMA leader Brandy Williams, the government of Arizona is far from sympathetic to their cause.

“They said there are no clinical peer review trials that have been published on cannabis and autism,” she said in an interview with Leafly, “but the same can be said for every single thing that we currently have on (the state’s) list. And then when we brought that up, they said, ‘Well, our cannabis program was a voter initiative; the health department had no say in those conditions.’”

Logan’s son that has autism is only able to access medical marijuana because he also suffers from seizures associated with epilepsy. Many people across the country also find themselves in a similar situation, but just as many misses out on medical marijuana because of the state’s current laws. While more research into the medical benefits of cannabis is still underway around the world, many parents are taking the law into their own hands to help their children.