Confronting The Stigma Of Medical Marijuana

[The General]

Imagine what it might be like to possess a medical-marijuana licence in Canada. Now, take away all the junk food, video games, lounging around and other typical stereotypes that are often associated with pot use. Add a sore back, sleeplessness, chronic pain all over your whole body, arthritis, extreme nausea and a constant headache. When I broke the story of Health Canada exposing 40,000 medical-marijuana patients in a mailout gaffe in November, those are the stories I came across. Harrowing tales of very sick people–with everything from multiple sclerosis to terminal cancer – who spend the entirety of their days trying to manage pain. Most were already concerned about being left without meds, as Health Canada's looming changes to its medical-marijuana access program will mean patients can no longer grow their own pot and will instead be forced to buy from commercial growers at more than 12 times the price.

So, in the aftermath of Health Canada exposing these patients, the stress put on them is difficult to imagine. Most of the people I spoke to reported being frowned upon or winked at by postal workers as they delivered the Health Canada package. One man who lives in a retirement home in Ontario said the delivery person quipped, "I would sure like to be in this program." Really? Would you? Would you like the chronic pain that comes with it? Would you really like to consume up to 100 grams of pot every day just to feel normal?

This is why the issue of medical marijuana is so important to me. Most of the patients I have spoken to aren't "potheads." They aren't junkies or drug dealers. They are sick people who have found a natural medication that seems to work. But, on top of being sick, they have to contend with the judgment of others, all because they use a medication associated with getting high and pigging out on Doritos. The experience of reporting these stories proved to me that the stigma associated with medical marijuana can be just as paralyzing as any illness it treats.

News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Metronews.ca
Author: Trevor Greenway
Contact: Contact | Metro
Website: Confronting the stigma of medical marijuana | Metro

 

[AnnaDoses]

At this point I think many people are just morons. No matter how much research is provided they either can't understand the information, don't know how to use it, or are to lazy to get help with it. It's frustrating that millions of American taxpayers are spending millions in out-of-pocket dollars for harmful chemical drugs because they, or other people in their neighborhoods, are too stupid to understand thousands of MMJ research documents. The Granny Storm Crow research listings should be in every learning institution in the U.S. The American school system has failed everyone.