You wake up, it's still dark outside, but you know it's time. The rumbling in your bowels and that "Wet Mouth" feeling means it's time for another chemo session. You get up and race to the bathroom, hoping you are not too late again, when here it comes, everything you ate last night (what little you COULD eat, that is). So far , you have lost forty seven pounds, twenty five of which you could not afford to lose, all because of the cancer that is eating at your belly. Chemotherapy every six to eight hours for the past 3 months has trained your mind and body so well that you get sick just thinking about the next session. You have felt yourself growing weaker these past few weeks, as you battle to retain what little weight and dignity you have left. You look in the mirror over the sink, marvelling at how much older you look; lines on your face and nearly bald. At least your hair is finally growing back after the radiation treatments made it all fall out, hoping to yourself that it is finally the last one. Once again you pray; pray for your life and pray for relief from the illness that comes with the treatment that is somehow almost worse than death.

Your cousin Marty left you a present the other day, but you have been afraid to open it or even think about opening it, but you are desperate, so you stagger into the livingroom and reach in the vase where you hid it. A small pipe and a bag of marijuana. Marty told you about a story he read on the internet about how marijuana helps the nausea that comes with chemotherapy and relaxes the stress that also accompanies the cancer. You didn't believe him at first; wouldn't the T.V. news or newspapers have said something about marijuana helping cancer patients? But you did your homework and looked it up on the net, and there it was, big as life, several hundred references to marijuana and it's value in treating chemo nausea, AIDs wasting, chronic pain, Alzheimer's disease, and a bunch of diseases you had never heard of before.

You are not sure how to do this; do you smoke the stems and seeds too? you carefully pinch off a small amount and place it in the pipe. Your hands tremble a little as you work and your heart is beating like you have been running. You realize that you are more afraid of getting caught than smoking marijuana. Now where are those darn matches? You stopped smoking when the doctors discovered the cancer, but you are sure you didn't throw out all of the lighters; there's one in the drawer in the kitchen. As you bring the stem to your lips, you light the flame and gently inhale. You cough your head off at the first hit, but it gets easier as you smoke more. Five minutes later, you can't believe the difference. The nausea is nearly gone, and you even feel a little hungry for the first time in months. You remember you have some ice cream in the freezer and get a small bowl of it, hoping it doesn't make you sick. Afterward, you even have a small salad and a peanut butter sandwich. You think "Why wasn't I told this by my doctor?"

This is the case of many thousands of Ohioans. No matter whether it is AIDs, cancer, chronic pain, or one of the hundred or so diseases that have been studied; Marijuana has been proven to help a plethora of conditions. In Ohio, the doctors argue for, and the politicians, cops and judges argue against. I don't recall reading that a medical degree is required to run for office or enforce the law, so where do these undereducated people get off telling you how to treat your own medical condition? Medical cannabis is a reality in 11 states, and is on the verge of becoming legal in several more. The only thing stopping it is old beliefs held by old people that refuse to come into the twenty first century with modern medicine. I don't mean the public, I mean the politicians that make the rules, and the judges that enforce them. In this modern age of the internet, it is getting harder and harder to lie to the public about anything, particularly this hotly contested topic. Conflict of interest runs rampant through our government, with many of our representatives either being backed by big drug companies, alcohol, or tobacco, or holding shares in their companies. These same companies help perpetuate the lies about medical cannabis by running large ads and T.V. spots comdemning the use of marijuana in any shape or form, constantly trying to confuse the public about medical and recreational use.

Across Ohio, voters are realizing that they have been lied to by their leaders, and a change is on the way. More than 70% of the people polled nationwide say that marijuana should be available by prescription, and more than 50% believe it should just be legal, period. Those of us that have suffered needlessly or hidden in our homes terrified of being arrested deserve a break. If it were you, wouldn't you want a safer, non-addictive substitute for your medications? It's time for a change, Ohio. Marijuana may not be the cure all for everything, but it sure helps a lot of things seem easier, like coping with pain and depression, nausea and wasting, Alzheimer's and ADD. Stand up and be heard, or better yet, write or call you local paper, you government reps, your families, and tell them "It's Our Turn!" Legalize Medical Cannabis before it happens to YOU!

Keep it GREEN
Mikeee