A couple from Macon, Georgia, said their 15-year-old son suffers from seizures almost every day. Matthew Brill said his stepson suffered from several seizures a day and said one time he had a seizure in his sleep and ended up covered in vomit. The couple said their son had a service dog to help him cope, but nothing seemed to be abate the intensity of the seizures.

“We look at our child in a ball in the middle of the floor, unable to anything, but their entire body is convulsing and tensed up and you have to pick your child up carry them to your vehicle because you live 45 minutes away from help. I hope no parent ever has to do that,” Suzeanna Brill told WGXA.

Suzeanna and Matthew Brill, of Macon, Ga., decided in February to let their son try smoking marijuana.  As a result his seizures stopped for 71 days, they say.

This led the boy, David, to be taken away from his parents, who face possible fines and jail time after being charged with reckless conduct for giving him the drug. David has now been in a group home for over a month, and his seizures have returned.

He was also separated from the service dog that sniffed out his seizures. He is only able to communicate with his parents during short visitations and phone calls.

This outlook on medical marijuana varies greatly from states in which medical marijuana is legal. For example Colorado just passed a green-lit-law which allows school nurses to administer non-smokable medical marijuana to students whose parents have granted them permission to do so.

Although many states have legalized medical marijuana, it is still illegal under the federal government. The federal government classifies it as a schedule one drug which in the same category as heroin and a more restrictive category than schedule 2 drugs like cocaine and meth.

It will be interesting to see which direction David’s story takes as his parents fight to get him back, and the help he needs.