New York is now the 23rd state to legalize medical marijuana within the United States. This is an answer to many parents’ prayers who have severely ill children. Missy Miller is one of those such parents. According to Elite Daily , Missy’s son, Oliver, now 14-years-old, suffered a stroke in utero and as a result has a brain stem injury that causes him to have hundreds of seizures a day, in addition to multiple other medical issues.
There are certain strains of medical marijuana that have been proven to reduce seizures in children. So it is no surprise that Missy Miller has devoted her life, in honor of her son, Oliver, to getting medical marijuana legalized in her state of New York. Although this has not been a quick nor an easy process.
It has been up to New Yorkers to rally behind The Compassionate Care Act in order to get medical marijuana legalized in their state. According to BuzzFeed.com , The Compassionate Care Act allows healthcare providers to discuss the benefits of medical marijuana with their patients. As a result, they can certify those patients with debilitating and life-threatening illnesses to have access to medical marijuana in order to relieve their symptoms.
In her continued determination, Missy Miller joined with other parents struggling with ill children and together they urged and convinced local politicians to meet their children in an effort to get the bill passed.
In a strong attempt to go a step further, Missy Miller focused her effort on getting the attention of New York Senator Dean Skelos by creating a commercial that included her son, Oliver. She continued her fight all the way to Albany, NY until the day of the final decision, per BuzzFeed.com .
During the meeting the day of the vote, Senator Skelos stood up before everyone and said, “If you asked me at the beginning of this session if I would vote ‘yes’ I would say ‘No way.” He continued, “But when you meet Oliver Miller from my district, 14-years-old… and some of the folks here mention they have 10 to 12 seizures a day…he has hundreds of seizures a day,” as reported by BuzzFeed.com.
At that point, the bill was passed, and Missy Miller knew her son, Oliver, played a very important role in that historical moment. It still may take 18 months for the medical marijuana to be readily available to Oliver and other patients, Elite Daily reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed the bill, so at least there is hope.
Photo credit: Missy Miller via liherald.com
