Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
Posted on 02/20/2009 6:14:14 PM PST by Gondring
Ely photographer K.K. Forss is using words rather than a camera to offer a picture of what his life is like without medical marijuana. Forss traveled to the State Capitol to testify in support of medical marijuana legislation at a Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Medical marijuana use has been a political issue in Minnesota since the mid-nineties. The bill is currently being sponsored in the House by Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia). A five member bipartisan group is pushing it in the Senate.
Last year, though the legislation passed in the Senate, it did not make it through the House by the end of the session.
Among the arguments against the bill, opponents say it will muddle enforcement of current drug laws. Medical privacy laws will make maintaining law enforcement databases impossible. The definition of caregivers who can legally transport the substance would become vague. Children who live in the homes of patients using the drug would have easier access to it.
But Forss said he tried to show another side of the story at the hearing. He began by telling the committee about his life before using marijuana to ease severe chronic pain.
In May 2004, he went to the Twin Cities to meet with the publisher of a book of his photographs. The next morning, he said he woke to the worst pain in his life. He had surgery that day for a ruptured disk in his neck that also permanently damaged his spinal cord.
He had experienced a rare genetic condition that would not allow the condition to repair. Eight months later he had another surgery in which doctors tried to rebuild the damaged parts. It was the next in string of surgeries.
“This has been almost five years of hell. I’ve got more surgeries coming up, at least two,” he said.
Forss said the more his arm moves the worse the pain becomes. But he still needs to move it somewhat or it will “die off.”
The “blur of medications” he is taking compounds the problem.
As an overview, Forss said he can’t sleep more than an hour at a time with the pain, so he takes two muscle relaxants throughout the day. One is methadone, a drug sometimes prescribed for heroin addicts. He also wears fentanyl patches that last 72 hours for extreme pain management. Every three months he receives spinal cord injections.
Constipation and vomiting are among the side effects. When he becomes hot in summer, he loses 25-30 pounds as a result. In winter, he gains it back. The vomiting also makes his arm spasms worse.
Some of the medications affect his heart, so he takes further prescriptions to slow his heart rate and treat heartburn. An increase in blood pressure and cholesterol are part of the mix, too.
In addition, the heavy medication has caused the teeth on the sides of his lower jaw to completely crumble.
Forss has tried a variety of alternative treatments. These include two surgeries at the Mayo Clinic for further opinions, electric stimulation, ultrasound, chiropractic treatment, aromatherapy, cortisone shots, counseling for depression and pain management, acupuncture, and acupuncture with electric current, which he said was horrible and doesn’t recommend.
When he travels he said he feels every seam in the road. But going to the hearing was important.
“You have to believe you’ll get your life back at some point,” he said. “I don’t really have much quality of life any more.”
However, he said marijuana helps reverse the snowball effect of the medications he’s currently taking and creates a different snowball effect in a good direction.
He can sleep six to seven hours a night without heavy sleeping medications. When he sleeps without moving, the muscle spasms ease.
Along with reducing pain, the marijuana cuts down on his need for other medications. He said that’s easier on his heart, and less costly for him and taxpayers. His medications are paid for through the Medical Assistance Program because he’s listed as completely disabled.
As for protecting children from access to medical marijuana, Forss said the patients who would be placed in the program already secure the medications they have around their homes.
“It would be less harmful for [a child] to ingest the marijuana than any of those meds,” he said. “If they took a handful of any of my meds, they’d be dead.”
Another part of his motivation for supporting medical marijuana derives from societal perspectives.
He said the issue is often seen as a Democrat versus Republican debate. However, he labels himself as a Republican Christian.
“I’m frustrated to death with the way the Christian community sees the word ‘marijuana’ and immediately turns away,” he said.
Forss noted that marijuana has historically been used around the world for medical purposes for centuries. The Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Public Health Association, Minnesota Senior Federation and the American College of Physicians are among its current supporters.
“The whole thing about the medical marijuana bill is to let doctors make the decisions again,” Forss said. “We trust them to open our bodies up, trust them to give us radiation or chemotherapy. I don’t understand why we can’t trust them with [marijuana].”
Forss’ testimony on Wednesday was one of several from medical marijuana patients. They appear to have had an effect. The House committee took the first step toward final legislation, voting 9-6 in support of medical marijuana bill.
Nope. The whole concept of "medical" marijuana only exists because the people that are hooked on getting stoned want to be able to do it without getting punished. Their addiction is such that they will risk their families, their freedom and their finances to keep smoking dope.
Legalize pot and then tax the finished products that are manufactured with it.
Do you know why cannabis was made illegal? If you’re in the JAG Corps you are an intelligent individual - educate yourself:
Racism (number one reason)
Fear
Protection of Corporate Profits (certainly you jest)
Yellow Journalism (what, here in America)
Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators (no way)
Personal Career Advancement and Greed
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html
Check out the link and after reading the truth, go have yourself a beer.
Then what is the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine doing- http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/nav/home-bulletin.htm
And how about all these organizations and websites- http://www.cannabis-med.org/science/links-pat.htm
and what about all this talk at Medpot.net- http://medpot.net/forums//index.php?s=8adb362d36492e97f2940be663235a3e&showforum=13
Just what do you think they are doing? Have you ever heard of Sativex?
Tell that to my friend who couldn't walk at times without it.
The whole concept of "medical" marijuana only exists because the people that are hooked on getting stoned want to be able to do it without getting punished. Their addiction is such that they will risk their families, their freedom and their finances to keep smoking dope.
If she was so "addicted" to it, then why did she use it only about once a year, when her symptoms got bad?
Sorry, but regardless of whether or not there are fakers out there, the truth is that there are people for whom it is a Godsend.
Oxycontin is abused by people all the time as well. I don’t hear a lot of calls to ban it. All things considered I would guess Oxycontin could probably be worse for you than marijuana.
Are you saying she's able to walk but it's too painful to do so without smoking pot? Or that she's not able to walk but pot miraculously cures her and allows her to walk?
The whole concept of "medical" marijuana only exists because the people that are hooked on getting stoned want to be able to do it without getting punished. Their addiction is such that they will risk their families, their freedom and their finances to keep smoking dope.
If she was so "addicted" to it, then why did she use it only about once a year, when her symptoms got bad?
Beats me. I don't have near enough information about your "friend" to make an educated guess about her motivations for smoking pot.
Sorry, but regardless of whether or not there are fakers out there, the truth is that there are people for whom it is a Godsend.
I'm sure there are people that believe that. Pot is pretty seductive. Those who smoke it think all kinds of things. They think it makes them think clearly. They think it makes food taste better. They think it makes them more spiritual. They think it makes them love more. It's a miracle I tell ya.
Apparently collecting money from gullible people. I can become a member of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine by coughing up some Euros. And I'm not even a doctor!
And how about all these organizations and websites- http://www.cannabis-med.org/science/links-pat.htm and what about all this talk at Medpot.net- http://medpot.net/forums//index.php?s=8adb362d36492e97f2940be663235a3e&showforum=13
Most, if not all, of these types of organizations are funded by radical leftists such as George Soros. You should be asking yourself why are all these leftists are so eager to get pot legalized?
Just what do you think they are doing? Have you ever heard of Sativex?
I gotta give the drug companies credit on this one. They're going to make a lot of money on people who want to spray pot in their mouths in Canada. Luckily our politicians have seen the wisdom in keeping this farce out of the US. But hey, give Obama a couple months. He's never seen a leftist cause that he won't embrace.
Never tried either one, but what you say makes sense.
1. Cannabis will be of consistent quality, with standardized THC levels per gram.
2. We weed out (pun intended!) all the cannabis dealers who put in potential dangerous additives into the cannabis.
3. It would tremendously cut down on a lot of illegal criminal activity.
In short, it would be like ending the Prohibition, especially given the problems with poor quality and sometimes poisonous alcoholic drinks of that period!
From what I understand, the muscles won't relax (whether spasms or just tightened up, I don't know exactly) and allow her to walk. Since pharmaceutical muscle relaxants don't work (or knock her out rather than allow her to walk), I guess you could call it miraculous, but that's just a semantic point.
Beats me. I don't have near enough information about your "friend" to make an educated guess about her motivations for smoking pot.
Yet you presumed to, in your previous post.
Pot is pretty seductive. Those who smoke it think all kinds of things.
I wouldn't know; I've never tried to stuff.
But that does not precludes competence in commenting on the topic.
And has she had scientific testing to determine whether this is a placebo effect? That's what it sounds like to me. People hear about this "miracle" marijuana, smoke it, get high and all of sudden anything is possible.
Beats me. I don't have near enough information about your "friend" to make an educated guess about her motivations for smoking pot. Yet you presumed to, in your previous post.
Sorry, I should have expanded my definition of proponents of medical marijuana.
1. Those who like to smoke pot and want to do so legally.
2. Leftists who want to legalize pot to hasten the demise of a faith based, capitalistic society.
3. Those who have been duped by the first two groups.
I wouldn't know; I've never tried to stuff. But that does not precludes competence in commenting on the topic.
I guess not. But keep in mind that it's not harmless and it's not the miracle cure the left tries to convince us it is.
To refresh, I’m the JAG guy (not an attorney) who does admin separation boards for those who “pop hot”.
The responses are not as angry as I expected. But I would submit that there are long term consequences of marijuana use that have not been discussed on this thread.
Some out there view decriminalization as some moral crusade.
No one has speculated as to why medical marijuana is always smoked. Can’t THC be synthesized and given in doses like any other medication? Or is it just more fun to smoke it?
Me, I quit smoking cigarettes because of what tobacco does to the lungs. If tobacco smoke is harmful, marijuana smoke must be as well.
And I really can’t fathom why racism is a factor in keeping marijuana illegal. My mental picture of a typical pot smoker is a spoiled white college kid.
Anyway, I have intruded upon the libertarian devotional thread. I apologize, take my leave, and will go pour myself some whiskey as soon as the sun goes down.
;^)
You are a fine example of the reasoning of people that support the fraud of pot prohibition. That is some really far out conspiracy theory. Can I ask you a direct question? Have you ever visited JackHerer.com or even heard of his book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes?
For people that really have intellectual curiousity on cannabis/hemp/marijuana/Sacred Grass, reading that online edition is is an act of responsible citizenship in opposition to the ignorance that lets the absurdity of pot prohibition stand: http://jackherer.com/chapters.html
Cannabis prohibition violates fundamental conservative values as William Buckley often wrote at the National Review and there is no conservative principle that calls for fraud and a propaganda ministry in the ONDCP that is required by law to lie: http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2007/10/09/theDrugCzarIsRequiredByLaw.html
Alcohol prohibition was a sincere policy that came out of trying to minimize the harms that came with alcohol after the distilled spirits became popular after the Revolution. It took a hundred years for supporters to get their shot and not to long to find out that that there was no way to prohibit what the public wanted and all prohibition was doing was adding violence, crime, and corruption of government to the harms of alcohol use, plus the federal government lost a big part of its revenue.
The thing about hemp prohibition was that there was no outcry for it or even any problem, especially that hemp crop on the farmers field. It has always been a fraud and the fraud since the beginning is well told in “The History of the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in the United States”: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm
On both sides of the badge...
Nope, but does that really matter? Setting aside the "seems like it" (baseless speculation) comment, it works, and she's a very bright woman who doesn't seem to have received any detrimental effects, hasn't gone on to other drugs, rarely uses it, isn't causing others harm, etc.
People hear about this "miracle" marijuana, smoke it, get high and all of sudden anything is possible.
I'm guessing that she first tried marijuana recreationally, but discovered it helped her medically.
As for the rest of your post, I still see nothing backing up your contention.
Thank you and I mean that.
Can I ask you a direct question? Have you ever visited JackHerer.com or even heard of his book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes?
I did just visit jackherer.com and I feel like I went back to the 70's. Even worse, it's irresponsible idiots like Jack Herer who propagate drug use among children. From his website:
Gee...that's pretty funny to have a character from a children's book smoking dope. Oh wait, it's better. Here's an excerpt from a cute little poem that goes with the image:
I offer buds and hash for free, There is no benefit to me. Someone said that that you were sick, green buds and hash might do the trick. If you find you're getting thinner, With no appetite for dinner, Or you suffer from sclerosis, Epilepsy or neuroses, For almost all the ills that ail ya, buds and hash will never fail ya. Have glaucoma? PMS? Green buds and hash have much success. For protection against strokes, Its best to have some potent tokes. If your muscles are not dandy, Try some green bud infused candy. For migraines, spasms, even cancer, Green buds and hash provide the answer. If you are not feeling right, Then have green buds and hash tonight.
Wow...apparently pot can cure nearly anything. Oh, and in case you missed it "If your muscles are not dandy, Try some green bud infused candy." Let's brainwash some more kids into a life of drug abuse.
There is so much pro-drug propaganda on that website that it's ridiculous. Do you think Jack would be all for manufacturing things out of hemp if they bred THC free hemp? Somehow I don't think so.
Well if it doesn't matter then why don't we get a bunch of propagandists to make some kind of super secret sugar pill and push the notion that it will cure everything "medical" marijuana does?
As for not causing others harm is she doing it legally or illegally?
I'm guessing that she first tried marijuana recreationally, but discovered it helped her medically.
No it didn't. She THINKS it helps her. There's a big difference between that and actual medicinal effects.
As for the rest of your post, I still see nothing backing up your contention.
What part?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.