Illinois Nurse Urges Expedition Of Medical Marijuana Program: ‘Time Is Not On Our Side’

Medical marijuana is becoming more and more accepted as stories of its healing effects flood the internet. Colorado, of course, was the first to legalize marijuana as a recreational drug, and although most states have no plans to make marijuana widely available, many have adopted medical marijuana laws to treat a myriad of illnesses where traditional medication does not work.

Some conditions treated with medical marijuana include extreme pain, extreme nausea, epilepsy, AIDS, and cancer, to name a few. While most people who use medical marijuana smoke it in the typical way, this is not true for everyone. An oil extracted from the marijuana plant is making waves in the childhood epilepsy field, at times almost completely curing seizure disorders that did not respond to any other kind of medical treatment. The oil is so low in THC that it does not cause a high, making it an acceptable alternative for children.

While Illinois has already passed a law for medical marijuana, the process to make it available is not moving very rapidly. The Chicago Tribune published a letter from a nurse urging the expedition of the medical cannabis program. In her letter, registered nurse Maureen Bake pleads with Governor Bruce Rauner to push the issue forward, explaining her unique perspective as a caregiver and as a patient, as well. The following is an excerpt from her letter.

“I’m an Illinois nurse suffering from chronic pain, recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As a clinician and now patient, I’m urging Gov. Bruce Rauner to advance the medical cannabis program so patients have access to a natural and effective medicine that has been living in the shadows of less effective, highly addictive and sometimes deadly prescription drugs for far too long.”

“Cannabis is not for everyone, but it should be an accessible and viable treatment option. If a patient has high blood pressure, he or she is given medication to manage it. An infection is easily treated with antibiotic.”

“For patients with chronic conditions, those paralyzed with discomfort, nausea and pain, cannabis works. It’s time the stigma associated with [marijuana] is removed and Rauner show compassion for suffering patients by approving the 11 debilitating conditions recommended by the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board.”

“Time is not on our side; there needs to be a sense of urgency.”

Many people feel the same way. Parents all over the country have chosen to move to Colorado to access medical marijuana for their children, rather than sit at home and watch them die. According to the York Dispatch, the Boninfante family left all that was near and dear to move to Colorado in the attempt to save their son’s life.

“We’ve gone down the mainstream-medicine path, we’ve done a lot of alternative stuff. We wanted to have full access to cannabis to try to stop his seizures. So that is why we’re here: We want to get seizure relief for him.”

“Within six weeks [of starting marijuana oil] his seizures decreased by about 40 percent.”

One hurdle has been overcome with the legalization of medical marijuana in many states. However, a passed law doesn’t do patients much good if they have no access to the treatment. Hopefully, Illinois and other states will take note of the urgency needed to make medical marijuana available for qualified patients.

[Image via US Legal]