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Marijuana remains illegal in Ohio, but 20 states and the District of Columbia have legalized pot to some degree, and Washington and Colorado have legalized recreational use.

(Ted S. Warren, AP file photo)

Eighty-seven percent of Ohio voters support the use of medical marijuana, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

There are already 20 states that allow medical marijuana programs and current legislation could expand that number. In fact, some parents are taking their children to Colorado, where recreational pot is legal, to seek help for life-threatening seizures.

There, parents can find a strain of marijuana called Charlotte's Web, named after a 5-year-old girl who has up to 300 seizures a week. The special strain does not have THC, the ingredient in pot that makes the user high.

“A year ago, she could only say one word," Charlotte’s father, Matt Figis, said. "Now she says complete sentences."

In Georgia, Republican State Rep. Allen Peake is an unlikely champion for medicinal pot. After meeting with families of young children who rely on cannabis oil to treat seizures, he changed his position.

"I had been below the learning curve on this thing, and I had to ramp up really quick because the obstacles that we met were people thinking, 'Oh Lord, here we're going down the slippery slope of medical marijuana for a headache or any ailment' ... or, at worst, opening it up to the legalization of marijuana on a statewide basis for recreational purposes," Peake said.



Marijuana has also been used in the treatment of chronic pain, glaucoma, ALS, Crohn’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

So have you used marijuana for a medical reason? Tell us about your experience in the form below.

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