A Mother's Choice for her 3-Year-Old Son: Chemotherapy or Medical Marijuana

If your child was sick, would you do anything to help him or her feel better? 

When 3-year-old Landon Riddle was battling leukemia, mom Sierra Riddle started treatment for her son: aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, according to a story in the Huffington Post.

"Sierra watched her little boy become violently ill from the chemotherapy -- Landon suffered nerve-damage in his legs, nausea that led to vomiting dozens of times a day, intense pain and at one point went 25 days without eating following the treatment," according to CNN.

Believing that the family had no other options, she looked into medical marijuana. They family moved to Colorado Springs, Colo. where her son could receive liquid forms of Cannabidiol, or CBD, and Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC.

"Within four weeks we could see the improvement," Sierra told KRDO.

Riddle says that no matter what people think about her decisions, the plain and simple truth is that marijuana has helped her son.

The debate over medical marijuana continues nationwide as more states legalize it. Some believe that it will benefit both patients in pain and boost the economy, calling it the new "Gold Rush." 

Colorado has reportedly netted millions of dollars since they approved medical marijuana in 2010. The Huffington Post said that "with a population more than double the size of Colorado's, Illinois stands to rake in even more tax dollars when the new medical marijuana law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2014."

What do you think? Would you use medical marijuana to help a child or other family member? Tell us in the Comments section below.