When bad laws crush good people and medical efficacy in the same cold vise.
Dylan -- in his 20's and a Lawrence, Kansas resident who requested that his last name be used because he uses cannabis illegally -- said that after years of trying different treatments and medications for his back and neck pain, the result of a childhood car accident, he tried pot for the first time at a party in high school. It immediately helped him with his pain and mobility, and substituted for legal opiate painkillers that had previously left him sick and addicted.
Dylan had watched the way medical cannabis alleviated his uncle's side effects from chemotherapy -- reviving his appetite, energy and ability to sleep. The uncle would get marijuana from a friend who would drive to Colorado, where it was legal, but his supply was cut off after the friend was arrested. The condition of Dylan's uncle took a turn for the worse, and he died soon after. Dylan blames the death on the loss of his uncle's medical marijuana supply.
Eventually, Dylan was himself arrested for marijuana possession and forced to give up smoking pot. He endured more surgeries, epidurals and pills, some of which made him so sick and out of it he failed out of college. However, a few years ago, finally off probation, Dylan said he went back to marijuana, and the therapeutic effects were the same. He now works at a local restaurant and is back attending Kansas University.
"I haven't had a surgery in over six years because of the healing powers of cannabis, Dylan said." "Why should I be arrested, thrown in jail and forced to spend thousands of dollars for trying to live my life pain-free?"
Medical marijuana, which remains illegal in Kansas, has been legalized in 21 states.
From the Lawrence Journal World
February 4, 2014
Dylan -- in his 20's and a Lawrence, Kansas resident who requested that his last name be used because he uses cannabis illegally -- said that after years of trying different treatments and medications for his back and neck pain, the result of a childhood car accident, he tried pot for the first time at a party in high school. It immediately helped him with his pain and mobility, and substituted for legal opiate painkillers that had previously left him sick and addicted.
Dylan had watched the way medical cannabis alleviated his uncle's side effects from chemotherapy -- reviving his appetite, energy and ability to sleep. The uncle would get marijuana from a friend who would drive to Colorado, where it was legal, but his supply was cut off after the friend was arrested. The condition of Dylan's uncle took a turn for the worse, and he died soon after. Dylan blames the death on the loss of his uncle's medical marijuana supply.
Eventually, Dylan was himself arrested for marijuana possession and forced to give up smoking pot. He endured more surgeries, epidurals and pills, some of which made him so sick and out of it he failed out of college. However, a few years ago, finally off probation, Dylan said he went back to marijuana, and the therapeutic effects were the same. He now works at a local restaurant and is back attending Kansas University.
"I haven't had a surgery in over six years because of the healing powers of cannabis, Dylan said." "Why should I be arrested, thrown in jail and forced to spend thousands of dollars for trying to live my life pain-free?"
Medical marijuana, which remains illegal in Kansas, has been legalized in 21 states.
From the Lawrence Journal World
February 4, 2014
