Just this past weekend, New York became to 23rd state in the US to legalize medical marijuana. Now, meet the 14-year-old teen who helped make it happen.
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Oliver Miller is a 14-year-old teen from Atlantic Beach, New York. When Oliver was still in utero, he suffered a brain stem injury.
Because of the injury, Oliver suffers from hundreds of seizures a day, as well as a host other complicated medical issues.
Recently, medical marijuana has gained international attention for curbing seizures in children. However, because of New York law, Oliver has not been given access to this treatment.
With 22 states having legalized the use of medical marijuana, the spotlight turned to New Yorkers to rally behind the Compassionate Care Act, which would make New York the 23rd state to legalize marijuana.
Frustrated with the progress and action the state was taking on legalizing medical marijuana, Missy Miller, Oliver's mother, devoted her life to fighting for the legalization of the drug.
Within a span of a few months, Missy rallied together with other parents that have children who are also in need of help.
Together, they urged local politicians to meet their children, so they could understand the importance of passing the bill.
Missy then turned her attention to New York Senator Dean Skelos, who represents her district.
She even rolled out a local television commercial to get his attention.
Missy continued her fight up to Albany, New York, leading up to the big decision on June 19, 2014.
The following day during the vote, Senator Dean Skelos had this to say:
Then he said this:
At that point, Missy realized that because of Oliver, Senator Dean Skelos had changed his vote.
And with that, the bill had been passed.
On Saturday, July 5th, Governor Cuomo signed the measure into effect.
A lot of people look at Oliver, or children like Oliver, and think what do they contribute. If they're here with all these problems, what do they really contribute? But Oliver really has contributed.
Missy is still continuing to fight for Oliver to receive expedite access to medical marijuana... But at least now, there's hope.
