Lillian, 8, is one of thousands of Australian children living with epilepsy, a condition which sees her suffer more than 60 seizures each day.

Amid months of furious debate about the merits of medical cannabis, the most moving and dramatic stories have flowed from the families of children like Lillian.

The Melbourne mum whose son has gone from having a seizure a minute to virtually none at all; the Coffs Harbour dad whose eight-year-old girl was given up for dead by doctors but has been delivered a new lease of life from cannabis oil; the parents forced to source an illegal drug on the black market just to ensure their child has the medicine they need.

The stories have been both heart-wrenching and real – and the government could no longer ignore them.

In December, Premier Mike Baird announced the government would proceed with clinical medical marijuana trials for children with intractable epilepsy, a move that has the potential to transform thousands of young lives.

Seven months on, and a date is yet to be set for the trials.

It may be true the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly but for the anxious families of severely epileptic children, the delay is agonising.

Sluggish roll-out aside, on this issue, the government, in particular Mr Baird, has shown something sorely lacking in modern politics – courage and real leadership.

The trials announced in December will place NSW at the vanguard of medical marijuana reform in Australia.

And they will almost certainly result in meaningful change.

The result of the trials seem a foregone conclusion.

The weight of anecdotal evidence for marijuana helping some patients deal with the rigours of chemotherapy, appetite stimulation and seizure control is utterly incontrovertible.

This nation sits on the cusp of an historic change. 

And none of it could have happened without ordinary people, like Lizzie Macquarie, sharing their extraordinary personal stories.