Dad Arrested for Giving Cannabis Oil to Dying Girl, 2

Adam Koessler says oil returned 'quality of life' to daughter Rumer
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2015 8:16 AM CST
Dad Arrested for Giving Cannabis Oil to Dying Girl, 2
In this Feb. 7, 2014, photo, a woman unrelated to this story loads an oral syringe with cannabis-infused oil.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A 2-year-old girl was recently given a 50/50 chance of surviving stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer, and dad Adam Koessler wants to do everything in his power to boost those chances. The Australian man started putting cannabis oil in Rumer's food and noticed "extremely beneficial" and even "miraculous" results, he says—but on Jan. 2, he was arrested and charged with supplying dangerous drugs to a person under 16. While on the cannabis oil (which does not contain the compound that gets marijuana users high), Rumer was in less pain, had more energy, and was able to eat, gain weight, and even go outside. "Her skin color came back, her eyes were sparkling again," her father says. "Her cancer-ridden little body was alive again." Without the cannabis oil, her condition has declined and she's in intensive care on morphine, the Newcastle Herald reports.

Medical marijuana advocates are standing behind Koessler, who—as part of his bail conditions—is not allowed any contact with Rumer. The NSW Hemp Party spokesman points out the fact that Rumer was put on opiate painkillers after being forced off cannabis oil and says, "The current legal position regarding the enforced medical treatment of an innocent child is unconscionable." The Cairns community is also rallying behind Rumer and her family, donating money toward Rumer's treatment, the Cairns Post reported last month, shortly after Rumer was diagnosed on Christmas Day. Two crowdfunding campaigns have raised more than $30,000, and a Change.org petition for Koessler to see his parental rights reinstated and medicinal cannabis oil to be decriminalized has more than 157,000 supporters. A Facebook page apparently run by Rumer's mother (her parents are not together, according to her dad's GoFundMe page) says her cancer was recently downgraded to stage 3. (This dad credits his son's recovery from cancer to cannabis oil.)

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