Bellevue family ‘ecstatic’ over medical marijuana lawsuit’s dismissal
Now 22, Will Gillen was just 11 when his parents, Shelley and Dominic, first started pushing Nebraska lawmakers to allow medical marijuana. Since then, “we’ve had a lot of crushing losses in this,” Shelley said.Along the way, the first medical marijuana petition being removed on a technicality in 2020, and bills narrowly failed. But Tuesday night, a major hurdle was cleared. “I was ecstatic,” Dominic said.Learn more: Lancaster County District Court rules decision by Nebraska voters to legalize medical marijuana should stand Dominic said that the case being brought has been stressful to volunteers who fought for it to pass. “We are hoping very much that they can get some peace now and know that the good work that they did and all the work that they put in hasn’t been for not and that they’re getting it. There’s a reward for it for all of us,” he said.Will, who lives with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, experiences daily seizures and cognitively functions at the level of a 1 or 2-year-old, they said. “If anything, maybe it could help lessen some of the seizures, and maybe it could also help with calming his behaviors as well,” Shelley said.Will is nonverbal, and they also hope the treatment could help with his ability to communicate. “We’ve always, from the beginning, wanted just to have our doctors be able to have that as an option to be able to try,” Dominic said. The family is waiting to see what happens in a possible appeal before assuming the matter is over.
Now 22, Will Gillen was just 11 when his parents, Shelley and Dominic, first started pushing Nebraska lawmakers to allow medical marijuana.
Since then, “we’ve had a lot of crushing losses in this,” Shelley said.
Along the way, the first medical marijuana petition being removed on a technicality in 2020, and bills narrowly failed.
But Tuesday night, a major hurdle was cleared.
“I was ecstatic,” Dominic said.
Learn more: Lancaster County District Court rules decision by Nebraska voters to legalize medical marijuana should stand
Dominic said that the case being brought has been stressful to volunteers who fought for it to pass.
“We are hoping very much that they can get some peace now and know that the good work that they did and all the work that they put in hasn’t been for not and that they’re getting it. There’s a reward for it for all of us,” he said.
Will, who lives with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, experiences daily seizures and cognitively functions at the level of a 1 or 2-year-old, they said.
“If anything, maybe it [medical marijuana] could help lessen some of the seizures, and maybe it could also help with calming his behaviors as well,” Shelley said.
Will is nonverbal, and they also hope the treatment could help with his ability to communicate.
“We’ve always, from the beginning, wanted just to have our doctors be able to have that as an option to be able to try,” Dominic said.
The family is waiting to see what happens in a possible appeal before assuming the matter is over.
