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Legal Pearl

A Father Administers THC to His Child With Cancer Without Hospital Clearance

Ann W. Latner, JD
12/30/2023

  • According to the facts in the family court action, the father administered the THC oil without first consulting her treating physicians. The father stated that he intended to administer the THC oil to the child every 2 hours, and that he wanted to use THC oil instead of the hospital’s treatment plan.

    The Case

    The court first pointed out that to establish neglect “based on a parent’s failure to provide adequate medical care, a petitioner must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the child’s physical, mental, or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired, and that the actual or threatened harm to the child is due to the failure of the parent or caretaker to exercise a minimum degree of care in supplying the child with adequate medical care, though financially able to do so.”1

    Whether the parent has provided an acceptable course of medical treatment for the child is the most significant factor in determining whether the child is being deprived of adequate medical care. Here, the father never spoke with the child’s doctors before deciding that THC oil would cure her cancer.

    The Decision

    Although he introduced two expert witnesses at the hearing, the court gave little weight to their testimony as neither had spoken to the child’s treatment providers. And while one expert was qualified as an expert in pediatric palliative care, the father was not administering the THC oil for palliative care, but rather as a treatment for his daughter’s cancer.

    Thus, the court concluded that the father’s actions had put the child in imminent danger, and the evidence was sufficient to find him neglectful in providing medical treatment. The father was ordered to get psychological counseling and his parental access to the child was limited to supervised visits.

    The Bottom Line

    What needs to be noted is that, had the father been administering the THC oil as a palliative treatment, rather than a potential “cure”, the case might have gone differently.

     

    Reference:

    1. In RE: Adina B. (Anonymous). Administration for children's services (2022). Findlaw. Accessed January 10, 2023. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ny-supreme-court/2039552.html. 

    Ann W. Latner, JD, is a freelance writer and attorney based in New York. She was formerly the director of periodicals at the American Pharmacists Association and editor of Pharmacy Times.