Fifteen-year-old David Ray texted his mother the good news this morning: “I’m coming home, with an exclamation point.”
A little more than two months ago, Ray was taken from the Twiggs County home he shared with his mother and stepfather, Suzeanna and Matthew Brill, after authorities learned the teen had been smoking marijuana to treat his seizures.
The Brills were charged with reckless conduct and David, who his mother said had been seizure-free for 71 days while he was using pot, suffered “one of the worst seizures of his life.”
David went to the hospital. The Brills went to jail.
IN DEPTH: Attitudes toward pot shift in Georgia, but tough laws remain
The Division of Family and Children Services on Monday outlined a protective order that returns full custody of David to his mother. They will be required to meet with a DFCS case agent twice monthly for at least the next six months, which will include drug tests for David.
And while they won’t be allowed to treat David with marijuana, they will soon receive a prescription for Epidiolex, the cannabis-based oil that is legal to use in Georgia but illegal to purchase in Georgia or to transport across state lines.
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