Minnesota mom charged for treating son's pain with medical marijuana

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minnesota mother is charged with child endangerment for giving her son medical marijuana to treat his pain, CBS station WCCO reports.

Angela Brown in Madison calls the cannabis oil a lifesaver for her 15-year-old son, Trey.

"No mother should have to hold their child so they don't hurt themselves," she said. "He didn't want to live."

He suffered a traumatic brain injury three years ago at a baseball game.

"It's been a very, very rough three years," said David Brown, Trey's father.

One pitch at a pickup game of baseball with friends would forever change Trey Brown's future.

"It just hurts in my brain everywhere," he said. "I really can't explain the pain."

That pain came in headaches, muscle spasms and seizures. It got so bad the teenager couldn't go to school and started to punch and cut himself.

"I was afraid to go to the bathroom, he'd be harming himself," Angela Brown said.

Nothing that came from Minnesota doctors seemed to work. Last winter, they left for Colorado where they found help.

"Within an hour of him taking it, we could tell a difference," Angela Brown said.

The Browns brought cannabis oil back home from Boulder, Colo.

"I felt better, the pain went away," Trey Brown said.

But when his school wondered what was helping him, teachers were not happy with his parents' answer.

"It was a week later when my mom called and said, 'The cops are looking for you,'" Angela Brown said.

Investigators seized the oil and charged Angela Brown with child endangerment and causing a child to need protection.

"The prosecutor's version of this is that a good mom allows her child to be in pain, to self-harm, and attempt to take his life," Angela Brown said. "I guess that's a good mom in his eyes."

Lac Qui Parle County Attorney Richard Stulz said he had no comment on the charges. He said the paperwork speaks for itself.

"He's got the muscle spasms, the pain, everything back to where it was before," David Brown said.

The Browns say they will handle their legal fight before likely starting over in Colorado, as their son waits in pain.

"I used to cry myself to sleep every night," Trey Brown said. "That was really hard."

Angela Brown faces two years in prison and a $6,000 fine if she's convicted.

The family was told that even when Minnesota's law takes effect next summer, they may not be able to access the same marijuana strain that's been working for their son. It's why they believe a move to Colorado is best.