Mykayla often reads the marijuana book aloud to her 17-month-old sister, Ryleigh. 

“It’s really fun,” Mykayla said. “It teaches you about cannabis, that it’s good for you and other people use it too.”

The doctor’s opinion

The faith Purchase and Krenzler place in marijuana’s curative powers is not shared by the American medical establishment.

Purchase and Krenzler said Dr. Janice Olson, the medical director of the children’s cancer and blood disorders program at Legacy Emanuel’s Randall Children’s Hospital, called the girl’s marijuana use “inappropriate.” Now they’re seeing another Legacy pediatric oncologist, Dr. Jason Glover.

Both doctors declined The Oregonian’s request for interviews.

Leaders of the American Academy of Pediatrics are circulating a resolution opposing the drug’s use in children, prompted by the growing number of states with medical marijuana programs.

“The issue,” said Dr. Sharon Levy, an author of the academy’s anti-pot resolution, “is that marijuana isn’t a medicine.”

Much is unknown about marijuana’s risks and potential benefits for kids, said Levy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of the adolescent substance abuse program at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Studies showing marijuana can be effective against nausea and vomiting have focused on adults.

Pot does not cure childhood leukemia, said Dr. Stephen Sallan, chief of staff emeritus at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Sallan, a pediatric oncologist and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said he views the drug as “relatively harmless.” He did groundbreaking research in the 1970s that found THC in marijuana helps prevent chemotherapy-related vomiting.

“If I had a teenager - not a 7-year-old - who kind of liked the psychological side effects, and it offered additional anti-vomiting protection, I would say, why not?” said Sallan.

On the other hand, Sallan said marijuana isn’t part of the “first line of anything we use” when treating childhood leukemia.

Aware of the medical community’s concerns, the couple has not discussed Mykayla’s marijuana use with Glover, though they said the doctor is aware of it. Krenzler said he also didn’t tell doctors when he gave Mykayla marijuana in the hospital.

“She has never asked for a pain pill,” he said. “We’re not going to stop what works.”

Mykayla’s father said he was stunned to learn her oncologist was not consulted about the child’s marijuana use.

Comstock, who works in a North Dakota oil field, pays Purchase child support and covers Mykayla’s health insurance. He said he observed strange behavior during an August visit and took Mykayla to a private lab, where technicians detected THC levels of an adult daily marijuana user. 

Gladstone police contacted the girl’s mother, examined Mykayla’s medical marijuana paperwork, then told Comstock there was little they could do. 

Comstock, who used pot in the past, said he doesn’t object to people over 16 using medical marijuana. But he worries about his daughter’s well being and the potential for addiction. 

“She’s not terminally ill,” Comstock said. “She is going to get over this, and with all this pot, they are going to hinder her brain growth.

“It’s going to limit her options in life because of the decisions her mother has made for her.”

Hope