Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Kelly Brown wants you to know she does not live in her mother's basement.
Brown said she is a mother, a wife, an employee, has bachelor's and master's degrees and likes to read.
"There's many different aspects about me," Brown said. "I just happen to use cannabis."
Brown, who lived most of her life in Ft. Wayne, Ind., moved to Michigan four years ago in order to participate in its medical marijuana program to treat her anxiety, she said. It was a tough move to make, leaving family and friends, she said, but moving to use medical cannabis "didn't affect my daily life in any way except improve it."
A few hours south of Brown, medical marijuana is not legally available to people in Indiana, despite efforts by Hoosiers across the state heading into the upcoming General Assembly session.
Previous measures proposed in years past that would have allowe medical marijuana in Indiana failed to gain traction. But that hasn't stopped some state legislators, county council members, veterans, activists and everyday citizens from hoping one day it will be available.
While Indiana still faces hesitancy from some to make it legal, citing the need for more research, those in support point to the four more states that made it legal in the general election last month. Now, they wait to see if Indiana will eventually join them.
'Nine pills a day'
David Thompson has considered leaving his home in Chesterton to move to a state with medical marijuana to help treat his Crohn's disease, but it's not a viable option unless it's a last resort, he said. With four kids under the age of 18, a wife, job, church life and friends and family, he would be "leaving a lot," Thompson said.
When asked how medical marijuana would change his daily life, Thompson sifted through a candy cane basket holding his medications.
"Instead of nine pills a day, maybe I could get down to two pills a day and some drops of a tincture," Thompson said.
It's been a lot of trial and error in the decade since he was diagnosed, he said, as some medications failed to work or fizzled out after months of use. Each medication came with its own side effects.
Trying to use marijuana in Indiana is just not a safe or legal option, Thompson said. He has used hemp oil, which is legal in all 50 states, to help reduce his pain, but it is expensive and left Thompson trying to figure out the right dosage without guidance.
"It would be great if (medical marijuana) was legal and we could get some real medicine out of it instead of people just stabbing in the dark," Thompson said.
'Gives people options'
The Lake County Council approved a resolution last month proposed by Jamal Washington, who said he also has Crohn's disease, sending a message to state lawmakers that they would support a medical marijuana program.
For years, State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, has drafted marijuana legalization bills, and in more recent years, she has specifically tailored them for medical marijuana. Going into the next session, Tallian said she plans to propose a program again, similar to her 2016 legislation, with a few slight changes she has not finalized yet.
"This gives people options in their healthcare decisions, without having to turn to highly addictive and over prescribed opioid medication. I have hope," Tallian said in an email.
As Tallian and other legislators handle the legislation, other organizations are going around the state to show their support for a program. Jeff Staker and the Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabis group mailed packages to all 150 state senators and representatives leading up to this year's organization day, containing books and a survey to gauge how each legislator felt about a program, Staker said. Staker said he wants lawmakers to have all the information they need to be prepared for the next session.
Personally, Staker said he has dealt with chronic back pain and was on oxycontin through the VA to treat it for years, but a medical marijuana program would help him and other veterans get alternatives to help relieve their ailments.
"A lot of veterans that I'm meeting with, are like where have you been? What has taken so long?" he said.
Since spring, David Phipps has made it his mission, along with the group Higher Fellowship, to travel to one of Indiana's 92 counties each week to hold rallies in support of medical marijuana. Watching his father suffer from Parkinson's disease and cancer got him thinking about how marijuana might have helped his father and other people in Indiana, he said.
"We only live one life," Phipps said. "We have one go with this. When I go, I want to know I at least tried to do something to improve the lives of the masses."
Call for research
Even though much of her family lives here, Brown avoids coming back to Indiana, because she's afraid of a mix-up that could land her in jail if medical marijuana was found in her system, she said. There is a stark contrast on how marijuana is perceived between Michigan and Indiana, she said, and until it's passed in her home state, she will probably continue to be nervous, she said.
There are a variety of reasons why some might oppose or simply be hesitant to approve medical marijuana in Indiana. When Washington presented his resolution, Councilman Eldon Strong told the council he has had dealt with Crohn's disease for decades and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment over the summer after a cancer diagnosis, and he thinks "there's better medicine out there" than marijuana.
One of the most common reasons Phipps and Staker said they hear for why someone is hesitant to approve medical marijuana is that they want to see more research about it.
Part of what makes it tricky to research marijuana is that it is still considered illegal and a schedule one drug by the federal government, said Ken Mackie, an Indiana University in the psychological and brain sciences department. The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies marijuana, along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy, as schedule one drugs "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential use for abuse."
Research is being done across the country, and Indiana University announced a study last month that indicated ways to target treatment for chronic pain in the brain without having many of the side effects of marijuana or opiates. While there is always more research to be done, marijuana, compared to opiates, is "clearly, clearly safer. There's no doubt," Mackie said, as it is less likely to cause overdose deaths.
'This could be you'
Mackie previously worked as an anesthesiologist in Washington, where medical marijuana has been legal for nearly 20 years. But in the ensuing years, marijuana remained a bit taboo with doctors, as it has in other states, he said. Some doctors didn't want to be linked to a medical marijuana program because they didn't want a swarm of people trying to take advantage of the system for non-medicinal purposes, Mackie said.
"The other issue is patients who tend to use medical marijuana are using it because they tend to fail more conventional therapies and they tend to be more complex patients, and they really take the time to talk and figure out what's going on," Mackie said.
Ramon Pla said he is one of the few doctors in western Illinois who evaluates patients for medical marijuana, and he decided to get into it because he is open to alternative medicines and understands patients want to be in control with their options.
Set up in Fulton, Ill., Pla has had patients drive hours to see him, particularly those not from the Chicago area, ranging in age from children with seizures on up to people in their 70s and 80s, mostly to treat pain they have, Pla said.
Marijuana might not be the best option for everyone, but people should have the choice for what works best for them, whether that's an opiate or marijuana, Brown said.
"You choose wine, you choose Xanax, and I choose cannabis," Brown said. "And that's OK."
Thompson wants people to put themselves in his shoes, Brown's shoes and other people who could potentially benefit from medical marijuana.
"This could be you. This could be your kids," Thompson said. "Wouldn't you like that option?"
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Hoosiers Search For Options As Other States Pass Medical Marijuana
Author: Becky Jacobs
Contact: 312 222-3232
Photo Credit: Kyle Telechan
Website: Chicago Tribune
Brown said she is a mother, a wife, an employee, has bachelor's and master's degrees and likes to read.
"There's many different aspects about me," Brown said. "I just happen to use cannabis."
Brown, who lived most of her life in Ft. Wayne, Ind., moved to Michigan four years ago in order to participate in its medical marijuana program to treat her anxiety, she said. It was a tough move to make, leaving family and friends, she said, but moving to use medical cannabis "didn't affect my daily life in any way except improve it."
A few hours south of Brown, medical marijuana is not legally available to people in Indiana, despite efforts by Hoosiers across the state heading into the upcoming General Assembly session.
Previous measures proposed in years past that would have allowe medical marijuana in Indiana failed to gain traction. But that hasn't stopped some state legislators, county council members, veterans, activists and everyday citizens from hoping one day it will be available.
While Indiana still faces hesitancy from some to make it legal, citing the need for more research, those in support point to the four more states that made it legal in the general election last month. Now, they wait to see if Indiana will eventually join them.
'Nine pills a day'
David Thompson has considered leaving his home in Chesterton to move to a state with medical marijuana to help treat his Crohn's disease, but it's not a viable option unless it's a last resort, he said. With four kids under the age of 18, a wife, job, church life and friends and family, he would be "leaving a lot," Thompson said.
When asked how medical marijuana would change his daily life, Thompson sifted through a candy cane basket holding his medications.
"Instead of nine pills a day, maybe I could get down to two pills a day and some drops of a tincture," Thompson said.
It's been a lot of trial and error in the decade since he was diagnosed, he said, as some medications failed to work or fizzled out after months of use. Each medication came with its own side effects.
Trying to use marijuana in Indiana is just not a safe or legal option, Thompson said. He has used hemp oil, which is legal in all 50 states, to help reduce his pain, but it is expensive and left Thompson trying to figure out the right dosage without guidance.
"It would be great if (medical marijuana) was legal and we could get some real medicine out of it instead of people just stabbing in the dark," Thompson said.
'Gives people options'
The Lake County Council approved a resolution last month proposed by Jamal Washington, who said he also has Crohn's disease, sending a message to state lawmakers that they would support a medical marijuana program.
For years, State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, has drafted marijuana legalization bills, and in more recent years, she has specifically tailored them for medical marijuana. Going into the next session, Tallian said she plans to propose a program again, similar to her 2016 legislation, with a few slight changes she has not finalized yet.
"This gives people options in their healthcare decisions, without having to turn to highly addictive and over prescribed opioid medication. I have hope," Tallian said in an email.
As Tallian and other legislators handle the legislation, other organizations are going around the state to show their support for a program. Jeff Staker and the Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabis group mailed packages to all 150 state senators and representatives leading up to this year's organization day, containing books and a survey to gauge how each legislator felt about a program, Staker said. Staker said he wants lawmakers to have all the information they need to be prepared for the next session.
Personally, Staker said he has dealt with chronic back pain and was on oxycontin through the VA to treat it for years, but a medical marijuana program would help him and other veterans get alternatives to help relieve their ailments.
"A lot of veterans that I'm meeting with, are like where have you been? What has taken so long?" he said.
Since spring, David Phipps has made it his mission, along with the group Higher Fellowship, to travel to one of Indiana's 92 counties each week to hold rallies in support of medical marijuana. Watching his father suffer from Parkinson's disease and cancer got him thinking about how marijuana might have helped his father and other people in Indiana, he said.
"We only live one life," Phipps said. "We have one go with this. When I go, I want to know I at least tried to do something to improve the lives of the masses."
Call for research
Even though much of her family lives here, Brown avoids coming back to Indiana, because she's afraid of a mix-up that could land her in jail if medical marijuana was found in her system, she said. There is a stark contrast on how marijuana is perceived between Michigan and Indiana, she said, and until it's passed in her home state, she will probably continue to be nervous, she said.
There are a variety of reasons why some might oppose or simply be hesitant to approve medical marijuana in Indiana. When Washington presented his resolution, Councilman Eldon Strong told the council he has had dealt with Crohn's disease for decades and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment over the summer after a cancer diagnosis, and he thinks "there's better medicine out there" than marijuana.
One of the most common reasons Phipps and Staker said they hear for why someone is hesitant to approve medical marijuana is that they want to see more research about it.
Part of what makes it tricky to research marijuana is that it is still considered illegal and a schedule one drug by the federal government, said Ken Mackie, an Indiana University in the psychological and brain sciences department. The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies marijuana, along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy, as schedule one drugs "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential use for abuse."
Research is being done across the country, and Indiana University announced a study last month that indicated ways to target treatment for chronic pain in the brain without having many of the side effects of marijuana or opiates. While there is always more research to be done, marijuana, compared to opiates, is "clearly, clearly safer. There's no doubt," Mackie said, as it is less likely to cause overdose deaths.
'This could be you'
Mackie previously worked as an anesthesiologist in Washington, where medical marijuana has been legal for nearly 20 years. But in the ensuing years, marijuana remained a bit taboo with doctors, as it has in other states, he said. Some doctors didn't want to be linked to a medical marijuana program because they didn't want a swarm of people trying to take advantage of the system for non-medicinal purposes, Mackie said.
"The other issue is patients who tend to use medical marijuana are using it because they tend to fail more conventional therapies and they tend to be more complex patients, and they really take the time to talk and figure out what's going on," Mackie said.
Ramon Pla said he is one of the few doctors in western Illinois who evaluates patients for medical marijuana, and he decided to get into it because he is open to alternative medicines and understands patients want to be in control with their options.
Set up in Fulton, Ill., Pla has had patients drive hours to see him, particularly those not from the Chicago area, ranging in age from children with seizures on up to people in their 70s and 80s, mostly to treat pain they have, Pla said.
Marijuana might not be the best option for everyone, but people should have the choice for what works best for them, whether that's an opiate or marijuana, Brown said.
"You choose wine, you choose Xanax, and I choose cannabis," Brown said. "And that's OK."
Thompson wants people to put themselves in his shoes, Brown's shoes and other people who could potentially benefit from medical marijuana.
"This could be you. This could be your kids," Thompson said. "Wouldn't you like that option?"
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Hoosiers Search For Options As Other States Pass Medical Marijuana
Author: Becky Jacobs
Contact: 312 222-3232
Photo Credit: Kyle Telechan
Website: Chicago Tribune
