As a parent watching your child suffer with uncontrollable bouts of epileptic seizures, is there anything you wouldn’t do to make it stop? Would asinine state laws based on primitive mentalities prevent you from giving your child an effective treatment?

“My goal for him is to hear his voice…to hear him talk. We just want him to be happy,” says one parent in this heart-wrenching video.

A particular strain of cannabis oil is showing remarkable benefits for children with severe epilepsy. This plant extract, manufactured under laboratory conditions, is high in CBD (cannabidiol)—a non-psychoactive ingredient—and low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). It does not get kids high.

Despite the proven medicinal benefits of marijuana and its derivatives, 14 states and the federal government are stuck in the Reefer Madness era. In those 14 states, parents can be jailed for administering cannabis oil and have their child taken away.

The fact that cannabis oil is classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act means that clinical research is made extremely difficult, delaying this promising treatment for children. Since long-term uncontrolled seizures can cause continued regression, intellectual disability, and even death, the government’s prohibition is downright immoral.

“This is more than just make it so that he doesn’t have seizures anymore. I want him back. I want him to thrive and live and enjoy us. And if a plant can do that why do we object?” asks another parent.

While we wait for government to join the 21st century, CBD-rich cannabis oil is being used as an effective alternative to chemical medication, surgery, and neurostimulation with electrodes. These “accepted” treatments do not always work for severe epilepsy, so it is no surprise when desperate parents turn to a plant extract.

Dr. Linda Laux of the Lurie Children’s Hospital described the astonishing benefits of cannabis oil treatment on severely epileptic children: “Some of the kids clearly became more verbal, better coordination. I had one child who started walking while they were using the medication.”

The parent who just wanted to hear her child’s voice was flooded with emotion: “We instantly saw results. He was smiling again. We noticed the decrease in seizures. He was able to transition. At this point, he was finally able to gain cognitive skills.”

It is past time for government to get out of the way of medical advancement. End the prohibition of a plant that could ease the suffering of millions.