ICYMI, the NSW Government has wisened up committed to undertaking trials of medicinal cannabis testing next year, starting with those who need help most – sick kiddies.
It’ll partner with British company GW Pharmaceuticals to facilitate the testing of epidiolex – a drug that contains cannabinoid compounds but doesn’t produce any psychoactive effects that you may have experienced from the Devil’s Lettuce – on children with severe, drug-resistant epilepsy.
The $9 million series of trials will be done out of the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, and all-round top bloke Premier Mike Baird paid a visit to Randwick Children’s Hospital to spend time with some of the little rays of sunshine that’ll benefit most from the groundbreaking plan.
He met a little boy named Tyler, who currently suffers up to 40 seizures a day, and posted his heartbreaking story to Facebook as part of a message about how chuffed he was to be giving kids the chance at a “much brighter future”.
It read:
“There are some days in this job when it really feels like we can make the world a better place. Yesterday was one of those days. World-first trials of medicinal cannabis for children will be starting right here in NSW. These are trials that will focus specifically on helping children suffering from severe epilepsy.
“Yesterday, while visiting Randwick Children’s Hospital to announce the trials, I met a young boy named Tyler who has up to 40 seizures a day. Tyler’s mum, Nicole, told me how reports of the benefits of medicinal cannabis in reducing seizures are providing hope of a better future for her family.
“Medicinal cannabis has the potential to be of incredible benefit to many, but perhaps none more-so than children suffering from seizures due to severe epilepsy. There have been really promising anecdotal reports of the potential of medical cannabis to alleviate symptoms and reduce seizures, and these clinical trials will help find the safest and most effective treatment for kids.
“We are proud to be leading the nation in the research of medical cannabis and I’m especially proud of Pru Goward, without whom these trials simply would not be happening. It’s my deepest hope that, as result of these trials, Tyler and his family will soon be able to face a much brighter future.”
Posted by Mike Baird on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
DO YOU NOT JUST WANT TO KISS THIS KID AND THEN THIS MAN?
Bravo, Baird.
Image via Facebook.
