A father was shown giving his five-year-old son marijuana on a controversial reality programme in a desperate attempt to ease his epilepsy.

The Discovery Channel’s ‘Weed Wars’ follows dad Jason as he seeks the controversial medicine for his son Jayden.

Jayden has Dravet’s Syndrome, an extreme form of epilepsy, which has brought on hour-long seizures since he was a few months old.

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‘My son was born on August 17, 2006 and you can imagine the dreams I had for him.’ Jason told Weed Wars which was aired on Thursday.

‘Christmas morning, four months after he was born, he had his first seizure that lasted an hour long. My whole life changed.’

Clearly emotional, Jason added: ‘It hurts.’

Traditional medication has provided little relief for little Jayden.

Desperate, Jason turned to Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland and the focus of the Discovery Channel reality show.

Controversial: Jason purchased a non-psychoactive tincture and gave Jayden his first dose orally on camera

Medicinal: The CBD tincture Jason purchased from the Harborside Health Center was non-intoxicating so Jayden should not have felt any side effect or high

Medicinal cannabis, which is legal in California but still a federal crime, can be used to treat epilepsy.

He purchased a non-psychoactive tincture and gave Jayden his first dose orally on camera.

‘I’m not trying to get my son high,’ said Jason on the show. ‘I’m trying to cure my son’s seizures.’

The CBD tincture he used was non-intoxicating, meaning that Jayden should not have felt any side effect or high.

Suffering: Jayden has Dravet’s Syndrome, an extreme form of epilepsy, which has brought on hour-long seizures since he was a few months old

Epilepsy: Traditional medication has provided little relief for five-year-old Jayden who has suffered since he was just four months

Since airing this autumn, ‘Weed Wars’ has aimed to shed light on the medical marijuana industry and dispel the myths and stereotypes that might surround it.

The medical marijuana war is one that Harborside Health Care has battled for years, and the centre drew national attention when it was hit with a $2.4 million tax bill last October.

‘What kind of drug trafficking organization actually files a tax return? None of them do,’ said Harborside CEO Steve DeAngelo to The Huffington Post.

‘The very fact that we filed a tax return and told the IRS all the details of what we are doing proves we are not a drug trafficking organization.’

Desperate: Jason turned to Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland and the focus of the Discovery Channel reality show, for help to cure his son

Harborside is clearly testing the limits of public acceptance with the recent episode, but DeAngelo claims that establishing trust is essential to the cause.

In an article titled ‘Don’t Call it Pot’ in the New York Times, DeAngelo explained that maintaining a safe and legitimate environment is the cornerstone of the organization.

‘We want to make it safe, seemly and responsible,’ he said.

‘If we can’t demonstrate professionalism and legitimacy, we’re never going to gain the trust of our citizens,’ said DeAngelo. 

‘And without that trust, we’re never going to get to where we need to go.’

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