Can You And Marijuana Save This Child’s Life?

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This young gentleman—pictured as a baby in the video—is nine years old now. His name is Tommy Williams and he currently suffers from as many as three hundred seizures a day. Three. Hundred. Seizures. A. Day. Can you imagine dealing with 300 uncontrollable problems in a day now, at your age—let alone as a child? Tommy’s pediatrician advised that his next big seizure could kill him.

According to a representative for Compassionate NY, an organization dedicated to helping New Yorkers with serious debilitating illnesses access medical marijuana, this is a simplistic description of how emergency access to medical marijuana could help kids like Tommy:

There’s a group of medications containing medical cannabis that have been confirmed to effectively treat the seizures brought on by severe epilepsy. This strain of cannabis is low on THC, which is the psychoactive element of marijuana, and high on cannabinoid, which is the active medicinal element.

Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, authorized a really limited clinical trial that admitted about 100 children who suffer from the kind of epilepsy that can lead to sudden death if a severe seizure strikes. The problem is, there are about 725 kids in the state who suffer from severe epilepsy. They can’t get into the trials, so they can’t get any cannabis. They’re stuck taking upwards of 80+ different prescription meds a day, many of which have severe side effects. Some have had to undergo brain surgery to have a portion of their brain removed.

Most of these families don’t have the means to leave their jobs and homes and relocate to states like Washington or Colorado, so they’re stuck here, fighting the good fight, but with the clock ticking every day. Cuomo already has the legal power to open new trials and authorize up to 20 in-state dispensaries.

It’s easy to help. You can tweet at @NYGovernorCuomo with #NYCantWait or #MyHolidayWish and encourage him to give access to emergency medical marijuana, to help keep New York’s progressive will—and, more importantly, the many individuals suffering from life-threatening ailments—alive. If you’re not a New York resident, know that your actions will still help to create the pressure necessary for the state government to make these lifesaving changes.

Find more information here.