PORTLAND, Oregon — A Clackamas County judge sentenced a mother to 90 days in prison for interfering with her daughter’s care by refusing established medical treatment. Prosecutors claim Christina Dixon, 39, tried to treat her daughter’s liver cancer with CBD oil.
In November, a jury found Dixon guilty of custodial interference and criminal mistreatment for refusing doctor’s orders and interfering with her care.
The case sparked debate over a parent’s right to control medical care. In 2020, Dixon told KGW she didn’t believe chemotherapy was helping her then 13-year-old daughter Kylee. Instead, the Wilsonville mother used alternative treatments, including vitamins, herbs and CBD oil to treat Kylee’s cancer at home.
The case caused much uproar from the alternative medicine community. Though CBD may alleviate some symptoms of cancer, such as nausea and pain relief, the substance cannot actually cure or control the disease.
Doctors wanted to remove the cancerous tumor. Instead, prosecutors claim Dixon ignored a state order to bring her daughter in for medical treatment and fled to Las Vegas, where the FBI tracked the pair down.
Kylee was taken into state protective custody and in 2020 underwent surgery.
“She had the surgery, and she’s cancer-free now because of it,” explained Kylee’s father, Jim Dixon.
Dixon said he felt there should have been a tougher sentence for his ex-wife, Christina.
“I was a little saddened to see how easy she got off on all this, considering all the damage she’s done,” said Dixon.
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