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October 03, 2006
October 3rd, again...
Posted by Gary Storck
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
As the years go flying by, there are a few dates each year on which I try to pause and reflect. One of these is October 3, the anniversary of an eye exam I had on October 3, 1972.
For years, I had been enduring the poking, prodding, bright lights and stinging drops as part of exams and treatment of my severe case of congenital glaucoma. Unlike earlier appointments, I had smoked some good cannabis beforehand, which I had recently become intimate with, like many high school seniors of the time.
My doctor of many years checked my eye pressures as he had done so many times before, but this time was different. Rather than confirming my normally elevated IOPs remained elevated, he was rather elated to discover that on this day they were normal.
The medical record from my glaucoma eye exam on October 3, 1972
I had previously read news articles about clinical trials performed at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1971 that first reported that inhaled cannabis temporarily reduces ocular pressures. Now, I had confirmed those results personally.
From that day forward I realized that glaucoma might not blind me. I had been steadily losing vision since I was a child, and treatments were few and risky. But, now there was something that gave me hope and some peace of mind after a childhood defined by fears of going blind. The only problem was, in 1971, just a year earlier as the clinical trials were ongoing, federal authorities had reclassified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug with a high potential for abuse and no medicinal value. This was per the Controlled Substances Act, newly enacted less than two years earlier, on Oct. 27, 1970.
Today, the federal government still clings to the Schedule 1 fallacy, despite irrefutable proof that cannabis is a potent treatment for myriad illnesses and medical conditions. Ten years after California legalized medical marijuana, the war against patients continues. And, 34 years later, this patient is still waiting for the answer to the question, Is My Medicine Legal YET?
Posted by Gary at October 3, 2006 12:45 AM
Comments
Sorry, this is unrelated to a discussion of medical marijuana, but I need to tell my story to a sympathetic ear. I am a union carpenter in northern Illinois, making the drive daily from our home in Elkhorn, WI. On Sunday, August 27th I sat with friends making plans for a deck for them and we lit up a bowl. Being an old hippie, I seized the opportunity- they don't come often anymore. The following Friday at work I suffered the first accident I've reported in twenty years, even though my days are spent with power tools, on ladders, and various other potentially dangerous situations. I'm a very safe worker! After recieving treatment at an urgent care facility, I had to provide a urine sample due to company policy per comp-related injuries, then returned to work. Three weeks later, on September 22nd, my 52nd birthday, I arrived early, as always, at work where I was approached by my foreman and informed that he had to fire me due to the company's zero tolerance policy. The results of the piss test got back to the office the day before and I had tested positive for THC. I have never smoked at or before work in the ten years that I've been with this company, being a responsible individual, paid over scale,leading crews, and respected by my fellow workers as a hard worker and an excellent craftsman. In the past ten days my world has nearly turned into a living hell, feeling as if I should be ashamed, having my wife of 26 years talk of leaving, and wondering about the next paycheck as the housing industry under this administration's watch comes to a grinding halt. With the moral support of my foreman, as well as other past foremen, and our superintendent, I am attempting to cicumvent the zero tolerance policy by entering an out-patient substance abuse and recovery program through the union, hoping to get my position back. Unfortunately, I've resigned myself to the fact that for the remainder of my working life, I can't smoke- even on weekends or other non-work hours because of the length of time that pot stays in one's system. There is something wrong when insurance can dictate such an unfair policy that affects and persecutes an individual such as myself, a casual infrequent smoker doing no harm to anyone on the job. Since I started smoking in 1971 I've read with interest about NORML but like so many, have kept quiet for fear of Big Brother. Maybe it's time to step up to the microphone. Thanks for listening.
Posted by: timinelkhorn ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.madisonnorml.org/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 3, 2006 12:06 PM
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