A five-year-old girl, who has a rare disease, has featured in an open letter to the Prime Minister in an appeal to make medicinal cannabis more accessible.
Katelyn Lambert suffers from Dravet Syndrome, which is a rare form of epilepsy.
In the open letter written by Katelyn’s grandparents (in Katelyn’s voice) and published in a metropolitan newspaper, it is detailed how cannabis has helped Katelyn deal with her symptoms.
She wrote that she had brain damage “due to the hundreds of seizures” she said she had before she “started using natural cannabis plant extracts.”
“What I would like you to understand is that for me and lots of children like me, cannabis plant extracts are the best treatment for reducing seizures. Before I finally took cannabis extract, my doctors and specialists tried many pharmaceutical drugs. None of them stopped my seizures and now I regret taking them because they are known to cause very bad side effects. Since taking cannabis extract the number of nights I have stayed in hospital has reduced by 89%.
Prime Minister, the cannabis plant extract I EAT to live well is legal in many countries, including the USA. Surely it is my basic human right to eat this natural plant extract just as much as it is your human right to eat natural fruits and vegetables to maintain your good health?”, she wrote.
Seven News reported last week that her millionaire grandfather, Barry Lambert, is so frustrated with the lack of progress in Australia that he is now funding trials in the US. “This is a crime against humanity and something must be done about it,” he said.
Source: Au.news.yahoo.com and ABC.net.au