For 2-1/2 years I personally witnessed the ravaging effects of chemotherapy and radiation sickness upon my mother, who at the time was battling and being treated for breast cancer. The very same cancer which claimed the young life of many women in her family.
With bedroom curtains drawn in her room day after day, I watched helplessly in darkness as she withered slowly away, unable to muster an appetite and if she was able to eat, unable to keep anything down. Every known anti-nausea medication had been prescribed to her to no avail. Nothing the doctors could give her was able to alleviate her symptoms.
At the rate of her decline, our family had resigned ourselves to her declining strength and ultimate death. Shortly thereafter, during one of her chemo treatments a fellow patient passed my mother a marijuana cigarette and suggested she give it a try. It was, after all, rumored to help other chronically ill patients, despite opposition from most of the established medical society. Mother was reluctant, but even more desperate for relief. She made the conscience decision to smoke the marijuana.
The change was almost instantaneous. Within a matter of weeks, mother had regained some semblance of an appetite. To the family’s amazement, she seemed to have turned a corner and was able to eat. She actually began to put back on a little weight.
I am not here to advocate the general use of marijuana, but rather appeal to the State of Texas to seriously consider its use for seriously ill patients. Article after article has been written about the ineffectual benefits of marijuana use in such cases and I simply must wonder if their decision was predetermined or simply made out of ignorance. I have witnessed the benefits first hand and believe the State of Texas should join the increasing number of states that have finally recognized and admitted the benefits of the medical use of marijuana in seriously ill patients. The decision should be made by physicians who know and understand the positive effects and not a handful of legislatures who are basing their decisions on preconceived fears.
2 comments:
Jamie’s article, Medical Use of Marijuana, discusses a very hot topic today. Many people with chronic illnesses are dying each day from the effects of manmade drugs used for the purpose of curing their respective diseases. Jaime brought to light the seriousness of the situation by sharing her personal testament to the topic at hand. She makes a good stand for the medicinal use of marijuana only. There are those out there that abuse the use of marijuana; however, I agree with Jaime in that with the right legislation, the law can be written to give doctors guidelines in which to prescribe it. Americans spend millions of dollars each year to find cures for these diseases when we could possibly have had the cure at our fingertips this whole time. Marijuana has been growing naturally for years, just as tobacco has. Why not spend the hard earned tax payers’ money on testing the effects of marijuana on sick patients instead of wasting our money on trying to put people in jail for possessing it?
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