Alexis Bortell, a 12-year-old medical cannabis patient living in Colorado after she and her family were displaced from their home state of Texas three years ago, is suing U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions over the prohibition of cannabis, according to an NBC News report.
Alexis has suffered from intractable epilepsy since she was 7 years old. After trying a variety of mainstream medications that failed to help, Alexis and her family moved to Colorado to give medical cannabis a try. Now, her family says it has been nearly three years since her last seizure.
The lawsuit argues that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as it pertains to cannabis and seeks to have the rule overturned so individuals around the country can legally and safely access the therapeutic plant.
“She just wants to be like everybody else,” Alexis’ father, Dean Bortell, said in the report. “When she grows up she wants to be free to choose where she lives and what she does for a living. She wants to be treated like an American citizen and not just a state citizen. She doesn’t want to have to fear going to jail every time she sees a police officer.”
Several other medical cannabis patients have joined Alexis’ suit against AG Sessions, including former NFL lineman Marvin Washington, Army veteran Jose Belen, and a 6-year-old medical cannabis patient with Leigh syndrome named Jagger Cotte.
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