In 2014, Mr Baird visited the Tamworth family, who were pushing for the legalisation of medical cannabis, which Dan Haslam was using in his battle against bowel cancer.

Dan’s mother, Lucy, told The Leader Mike Baird was “the most compassionate politician I’ve come across”.

After the Premier met her son, he took a few weeks to reflect before wholeheartedly supporting legalisation.

“The second time we met, he was very emotional as talked about Dan and his predicament,” Mrs Haslam said.

“He was in tears and he apologised to me, but I told him ‘don’t be crazy’. He said he had put himself in my position, and it was obvious the kind of person he was.”

Mrs Haslam said Mr Baird would come and quietly visit Dan without the fanfare.

“He would sit down for a cup of tea with him or go for a walk through the garden together,” she said.

“Not many politicians would do that without the cameras around. It shows the genuine person Mike Baird is and I think his resignation is a sad day for NSW.”

Mr Baird penned an emotional article in July 2015, not long after Dan passed away.

“There are some things that stay with you no matter how much time passes,” he wrote.

“Almost a year ago, I met a young man named Dan Haslam, and the look in his eyes that day is something that will remain with me always.”

Mr Baird took a risk openly advocating for the legalisation of medical cannabis, Mrs Haslam said.

“If you think back to how things were at the time, nobody was supporting it, not even state or federal health ministers were supporting it,” she said.

“It was a fairly bold move on his behalf.”

His advocacy kick started a wave of support and started a chain reaction, with other state Premiers and various ministers soon backing legalisation.

Given how moved Mr Baird was by her family’s story, Mrs Haslam wasn’t surprise to learn he was stepping down due to the various health battles his own family was going through.

Mrs Haslam hopes he will continue advocating for the use of medical cannabis.

“After the first meeting he contacted me and said we should stay friends on this forever, and I believe we will,” she said.