Skeptical about Medical Marijuana as an effective treatment? Read this
This was written by Tim Morgan, John Morgan's brother who is paralyzed. Read this summary of his heartbreaking journey with Pharmaceuticals:
It happened when I was 18 and in my senior year of high school. I was working part-time at Disney's Polynesian resort as a lifeguard and one afternoon, a parent reported a kid missing in the waters by one of the boat docks.
I dove in, not realizing there was concrete underneath the dark water, and felt like I was electrocuted.
At the hospital, the doctor said the good news was that I was alive, but the bad news is that I was paralyzed. From that day on, I was a C6-7 quadriplegic.
Please help support Amendment 2 and provide those patients, like me, with legal access.
There's a gross misconception that when you're paralyzed, you simply just go numb below the point of injury. If only that were true. Instead, I - like many suffering from spinal injuries - have suffered through painful spasms and nerve pain, including so-called phantom pain in my limbs. I also suffer from Autonomic Dysreflexia - a dangerous condition with spinal cord injury patients that results in acute, uncontrollable blood pressure spikes.
After my injury, doctors had me on a series of pharmaceuticals, including Vicodin, Celebrex, Vioxx, Darvacet, and Xanax. They left me feeling like I was in a stupor.
My life changed after I was able to start smoking (and later eating) a small amount of marijuana: My spasms instantly eased up. My nerve pain became manageable. And remarkably, I stopped having Autonomic Dysreflexia symptoms.
Later, In my 40s, I started feeling sick - and found out I had head and neck cancer.
Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy followed - and everything that comes with those.
I tried Marinol - at $3500 a pill - and it didn't work.
Marijuana, on the other hand, got me through my pain and nausea. I was able to regulate it, to get the affects without feeling or acting stoned. It didn't just better my quality of life. I believe I'm still alive because it's helped manage the life threatening symptoms and avoid the deadly effects of narcotics.
My story isn't unique. No one in this state should have to worry about the legality of managing their pain or nausea.
The only moral vote is the one that grants patients the right to access medical marijuana - YES on 2.