Hibbing girl, 12, a face of the medical marijuana debate, dies
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Amelia Weaver, one of the faces of Minnesota's debate over the legalization of medical marijuana, has died.
She got the flu when she was 18 months old and had a life of seizures and pain. Eventually she was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a severe epilepsy.
She lost her ability to speak and walk. She never slept more than two hours at a time.
Her mother, Angie, of Hibbing, testified before the Legislature during the debate over marijuana legalization and after it became legal, Amelia improved, the Duluth News Tribune reported at the time.
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“Before medical cannabis, we spent most days at home. But Amelia likes to travel and experience new things,” her mother said in a LeafLine Labs (the company authorized to provide cannabis) story.. “We went to a water park, which we would never have attempted before. We’ve been to Seattle, and Amelia has been to the top of the Space Needle. She’s able to have a life. She’s able to go watch her sister in her activities and be a part of our community.”
But she was airlifted and admitted to the Mayo Clinic on Sunday night and died yesterday, her family reports.
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Her story is memorialized in the Bakken Museum's exhibit on plants as medicine.
