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MADISON COUNTY, Ala (WHNT) - For months, parents of chronically sick children have been pushing for Alabama lawmakers to pass Leni's Law, but recently, the Alabama House of Representatives added amendments that would restrict who could use cannabis oil, including the namesake of the bill.

Leni's Law would allow parents to use cannabis oil to treat their children with chronic epilepsy and other diseases. The law is named for Leni Young. Her family moved to Oregon because just possessing the oils that reduce her amount of seizures, are illegal in the state of Alabama.

A misconception of the bill is that it legalizes the use of medical marijuana. It's actually only a criminal defense for parents who administer the drug. “Talk to a judge and at that point I will be able to present my medical records or my daughter’s seizure records, doctor's recommendations, the medications she’s already taking and hopefully with Leni’s Law, I would have an affirmative defense of medical necessity and be allowed to go home," says Gena Dalton, who has a child with Drevet Syndrome, a form of childhood epilepsy.

Rep. Mike Ball of Madison has been fighting for this change for years. “The potential for harm is minimal, but the potential for good is vast," says Ball.

That potential for harm has convinced members of the House Judiciary committee to add an amendment that reduces the amount of THC allowed from 3% to 1%. Because THC is the main intoxicant for marijuana, some lawmakers are concerned it will be used by drug abusers. “To have the psychoactive properties, you’d have diarrhea and get sick first," says Ball.

The amendment also makes cannabis oil only eligible for children with epilepsy, which excludes those fighting cancer, autism and dementia. “There is a foolproof way to always be on the side of the Lord. You find innocent people who suffer and you get on their side, and you’re always on the right side," says Rep. Ball.

Ironically, the amendments would prevent Leni Young, herself, from coming home. "She takes 3% of THCa... so there's no need for her namesake being on the bill anyways because it excludes her," says Gena.

Rep. Ball calls the Senate's version of Leni's Law "nearly perfect", so his plan is for the House's version of the bill to pass along to the Senate, hoping the Senate will strip away the amendments, then have the House vote to concur with the Senate version. “We need to do it right, we can do it right now, but if we don’t, we’ll be back because this ain’t going away as long as I got breath," says Ball.

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A Mother's Plea

Every single day, 4-year-old Charlotte Dalton has to take powerful medication to lower her risk of seizures. “Her condition mortality rate is around 20% so anything we can do to lower that, any advantage we can gain, anything we can do to give her a typical life," says Gena, her mother.

Her parents are hopeful the doses can reduce, if Charlotte is allowed to receive cannabis oil treatments. In addition to reducing the thousands of seizures she's had so far in her young life, studies have proven the oil can limit side effects caused by Charlotte's prescriptions, that severely limit her cognitive abilities. “Right now, she speaks 2-3 word phrases at nearly 4 years old, and she walks like an 18 month old baby," says Dalton.

That's why Gena is a supporter of Leni's Law. She and many other parents of children like Charlotte are making the long drive to Montgomery Tuesday. “As a mom, as parents, you do everything you can for a child ... If that means going down to the State House and begging and pleading with these guy to consider our bill, please look at this, please look at our child," she says.

A vote is expected to take place Wednesday. Rep. Mike Ball says he's confident the bill will pass, and if Governor Bentley vetoes the move, he thinks the House and Senate will vote to override his veto.