Dan Asbury wanted a normal life. He wanted to walk his dog, pay bills, go grocery shopping and fight for a cause. Unfortunately, the cause Dan chose was a losing one--the legalization of marijuana for medical use.

Dan was uniquely qualified for this fight. He was a quadriplegic who used marijuana to quell the pain in his legs and control violent spasms that more than once rocketed him out of his wheelchair. Pot did for Dan what prescription drugs did not. It also brought him into the public eye and led to a felony conviction.

Dan's story begins in 1980 when, at age 24, he fell over a fence and broke his neck. For seven years, he took prescription muscle relaxers and painkillers. But, the side effects included lethargy, depression, dizziness, blurred vision, mouth ulcers and thoughts about suicide. A fellow patient urged Dan to try marijuana. The difference was dramatic. I interviewed his mother, Elizabeth, a Licensed Practical Nurse, 10 years ago. She said, "When on drugs he was nasty, irritable When he went to marijuana, he was more mellow. When on drugs, he had trouble sleeping and he had a lot of spasms that threw him out of his chair. Couple of times I found him on the floor and I had to call someone because I couldn't pick him up."

Once Dan felt normal he sought a normal life. He walked his dog, Cujo. He wheeled the streets of Oregon picking up recyclables. He studied at the library. And, he fought for his causes. The two closest to his heart, besides the legal use of medical marijuana, were the care of Willow Cemetery, where many Civil War veterans are buried, and improving city sidewalks. He was among those who threatened to sue the city to reduce the slope of curb cuts to comply with federal guidelines.

Dan was successful in these two efforts, but it was the lost cause that most remember.

Dan was charged with growing marijuana and trafficking. His case attracted media attention when the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) helped pay for Dan's defense and sent an expert on the medical use of marijuana.

The prosecutor offered probation for a guilty plea to the trafficking charge, but Dan wanted his day in court. He got it on December 21, 1995. Dan woke up at 4:30 a.m. His wife fed him, washed him, bundled him up and fastened a yellow flashing light to his stocking cap. Dan hit the road in his wheelchair. It was 6:00 a.m. It was dark. It was 29 degrees. There was a dusting of snow on the road. Forty minutes later, he reached the bus stop. When he arrived at the Lucas County courthouse in downtown Toledo, Dan prayed for a Christmas miracle. But, it was not to be. Ironically, he was eventually convicted of trafficking, a crime he denied, and acquitted of cultivating, a crime he admitted.

The judge sentenced Dan to two-years, suspended the sentence and granted probation. She ordered 75 hours of community service, random drug screening and drug counseling.

Dan was unrepentant following his release from probation. He wrote in a letter to the editor to The Press, "I recently completed two years of probation for growing my own medicine. The important thing is, I went to my backyard and resumed my activities. Because of seeds, my water bucket, God's good earth, His sunshine, and his rain, I now have medicine. Anybody want to come see them?"

Dan justified his marijuana use in a statement to the court. He told the judge he watched his younger brother struggle with cancer and waste away from 220 to 65 pounds. He told her how marijuana helped him ease the pain of chemotherapy. He told her he sent 551 letters to government officials in an effort to allow him to treat his condition as he thought best. He pleaded with her not to turn him into a criminal. He told her the difference marijuana made in his life. "Your honor, since I threw away my pills of poison, I have been one highly motivated, highly talented and highly intelligent individual."

Dan told her about his plans to become a volunteer in occupational therapy and attend college. He never turned that dream to reality. He did, however, train for a job as a customer service representative, but he never finished the training.

Paul Abbey, his cousin, remembers Dan like this, "He stood for many values. He was a great person. He loved life and sticking up for what's right for America."

Dan Asbury died Wednesday, September 13 of complications from a heart attack. He was 50. One doctor predicted he wouldn't live past 46. He proved him wrong just like he proved those wrong who underestimated his tenacity. Oregon motorists will remember seeing Dan wheeling down the sidewalk, or when that was impossible, wheeling down the road risking injury, frustrating drivers to complete his mission. Those who follow in Dan's tracks will be safer because of him and the others who forced the city to change its curb cuts to allow easier access.

Dan inspired those of us who knew him not because of what he fought for but because of how he fought. Each day he overcame the pain and limitations of his condition and went about his daily business.

Newshawk: Jim White
Pubdate: Thu, 21 Sep 2006
Source: Press, The (OH)
Copyright: 2006 The Press, Metro Press
Contact: news@presspublications.com
Website: http://www.presspublications.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2511
Author: John Sozozda