ByCharlotte’s story is one that has helped to jumpstart the cannabis movement.
Charlotte Figi is one of the people around the world who was born with Dravet Syndrome. Dravet syndrome is a very rare form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy. The disorder is caused by a genetic mutation that affects the brain’s sodium channels and causes frequent epileptic seizures, developmental delays, and impaired intellectual development.
Charlotte Figi suffered her first seizure when she was three months old and when she was two years old, she was having 300 grand mal seizures per week. She was experiencing severe developmental delays and her parents, Matt Figi and Paige Figi were told to put her into hospice care. She was prescribed pharmaceutical drugs and had to deal with their side effects. The family tried everything, all kinds of diets, acupuncture… but nothing prevented seizures.
When she was five years old, she was having several seizures every night. One day Charlotte’s mother Paige Figi saw that the twin sister was hugging Charlotte and telling her that she was happy that she is still alive.
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How Did the Figi Family Decide to Give Marijuana to Charlotte
Matt Figi, the father of Charlotte, found a video on the internet showing the effects of marijuana on another kid. At that time, Charlotte was having 2 seizures every hour, she couldn’t talk, move or walk. They started to think to give cannabis to their daughter but it was a hard decision to make to give medical marijuana to a five-year-old kid. But there was not so many options left.
At the end, Charlotte’s parents decided to give cannabis a try and after trying several different strains, they finally found one strain which is called “hippie’s disappointment” that seemed to help that contains high levels of cannabidiol (CBD). On the very first day, Charlotte didn’t have any seizures during the day after she took some of this medical cannabis extract, and also that night! She started to have only one seizure a week.
And her mother Paige Figi’s Facebook page updated a previous post to announce Charlotte was “seizure free forever.” And Charlotte Figi became the face of the medicinal CBD movement.
Charlotte Figi Day
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently aired a documentary called “Weed.” The documentary tells the story of Charlotte Figi. Her story quickly gained international attention, and she became known as the “girl who changed the face of medical marijuana.” In the years since her story first made headlines, Charlotte has become an advocate for the use of medical marijuana, and her family has founded a foundation in her name. The Charlotte Figi Foundation is dedicated to spreading awareness of the medicinal benefits of marijuana and helping others access this life-changing medication. The foundation has also partnered with organizations like the Epilepsy Foundation to help educate others about medical marijuana. Thanks to the efforts of Charlotte and her family, the world is beginning to witness the power of medical marijuana.
When she is 13 years old, she was hospitalized with pneumonia, which caused her seizures to return and resulted in respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. It is announced that her complications are suspected to be coronavirus related. She died peacefully in her mother’s arms on April 8, 2020.
April 7th is proclaimed “Charlotte Figi Day” in Colorado.
Charlotte was a little girl but she had a huge impact! If not for Charlotte, hemp might still be illegal to grow in the United States, and millions of people around the world who suffer from epilepsy might not have access to CBD—rich medicine to control their seizures.
Thanks to Charlotte Figi, medical cannabis is now widely recognized as a potential treatment for a variety of conditions. Now the medical-cannabis community and followers of Charlotte’s story are mourning her loss while remembering the ways she forever changed the cannabis industry.
What is the Role of Stanley Brothers in Charlotte’s Life
A couple of weeks after Paige Figi started to give medical marijuana to Charlotte, the dispensary was out of the strain that they were supposed to buy. The cost of buying the weed would be so high for the Figi family and the insurance was not paying for it.
Then Paige Figi heard about the Stanley Brothers, who have a greenhouse with marijuana that is high in CBD and she contacted them to get some. It was an ethical decision to make but at some point, Stanley Brother accepted to give this little girl some at a price that the family can afford.
“Charlotte was ten feet tall and carried the world on her shoulders,” the Stanley brothers posted in a memorial on their website. “Inspiring is a lacking word, as are courageous and vivacious and strong and beautiful. She was divine. She grew, cultivated by a community, protected by love, demanding that the world witness her suffering so that they might find a solution. […] Her story built communities, her need built hope, and her legacy will continue to build harmony.” they wrote.
Charlotte’s Web
The oil that reduced Charlotte’s epileptic seizures was later named “Charlotte’s Web” in her namesake. Charlotte’s web has built hope for many people suffering from intractable conditions.
